Expert Postpartum Care for New Mothers in Melbourne.

Our Mothercare packages include:

  • Postpartum Planning & in home sessions

    Before your baby is born we’ll meet online to plan how you can make postpartum healing and recovery a priority after giving birth. After your baby is born I’ll care for you in your own home so that in the fog of sleep deprivation, wild baby love, and serious hormonal changes, you feel held and Mothered too.

  • Nutritious & delicious Snacks made for you

    Choose from my menu of nutrient dense, delicious, easy to digest, mostly gluten free postpartum recipes. Ideal postpartum foods support tissue repair & milk production and are made for you, not by you! You’ll get the ingredients in and I’ll cook them for you, in your own home.

  • Postpartum Bodywork Shiatsu/Moxa/Belly Binding

    Shiatsu is a restorative form of Japanese massage. It’s based on the meridians of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is received through your clothes lying on mats on the floor, or on your bed. Moxa warms, nourishes, and calms your whole system. Belly Binding provides support for your soft, post-birth abdominal muscles.

  • Postpartum Core Recovery

    From about two weeks postpartum we’ll start incorporating early Core Recovery exercises into your bodywork sessions. These gentle, breathwork based exercises will help you feel more connected to your post-birth body. You’ll also receive my online course Restore: movement foundations for postpartum core recovery so you can learn exactly how to rehabilitate your pelvic floor & abdominal muscles after giving birth and before returning to ‘normal’ life.

  • The Motherbody Way community

    As a part of your Mothercare package you’ll receive a discount to join The Motherbody Way - my online community for Mothers (suitable from 6 weeks postpartum). With live postnatal Pilates classes, sharing circles, workshops, self care & movement immersions you’ll feel stronger through your core, more at ease in your body, and warmly supported by other mothers.

  • Closing the bones Ceremony

    Closing the Bones will help you farewell your maiden self, welcome in your new Mother self, and settle back into your body after the expansive experience of childbirth. The full Traditional Mexican Closing Ceremony includes massage, steam bath, wrapping with Rebozo’s, and resting. It’s offered to mothers to support the transition into Motherhood (whether you gave birth recently or ages ago!) I’m so grateful to have trained with Traditional Mexican midwife Naoli Viniver to learn this potent ritual.

Download Packages & Pricing Here

“Thank you Sophie for your amazing care, you really made my weeks brighter and lighter! From the food to the bodywork, I felt so much better after each visit… re energised! I DEFINITELY would recommend it to other mothers! First thing I told my partner after the first visit was that every new mother should have a postpartum doula! I can’t believe it’s not more common! This has been by far the best money spent. I wish I had thought of it with my first baby!”

- Mama Olga.

BOOK a FREE Call to see if we’re a good fit.

  • It’s SO hard to plan for postpartum when you don’t know how birth will go, you don’t know what your baby will be like, and you don’t know how you’ll adapt to Motherhood!

  • Inviting someone you’ve never met into your home to support you at one of the most vulnerable times of your life can feel like a wild leap of faith!

  • So let’s chat! In a quick 15 minute call you can find out if we’re a good fit, and how I might best support you as a new Mama.

FAQs

it's a bit of an unknown inviting someone into your home at a time when everything feels unfamiliar and vulnerable. How will it work?will I feel relaxed? what if the baby cries the whole time? what if I’m too tired or feel unwell? will I feel awkward about being cared for? do I really need it or is it OTT?

I totally get it. This is one of the biggest concerns every mum I’ve ever cared for has had. So below are some words from real life actual Mothers who’ve received postpartum support from me.👇🏽

Damaris: “It was everything I could have hoped for. There was no awkwardness or feeling of 'I shouldn't be lying here, I shouldn't be doing that.' Sophie's presence (and guidance) gave me permission to rest, to indulge, to do whatever I needed to do. And if the baby cried for 4 hours and the vague plan changed, that was totally okay too. And you were generally lovely company too - supportive, gentle, non-judgemental, wise. I think the best thing that you said beforehand was that you hoped I would be in my pyjamas when you came round - I was very happy to do that!”

U-Fhern: “I didn't expect myself to feel so comfortable as I'm generally quite an introvert but we had some lovely and insightful chats!”

Bree: “I felt nervous for the first visit but by the last it was pure excitement and appreciation!”

Bianca: “It’s easy to think it’s too much money but it really is investing in yourself and making yourself a priority from the start.”

Olga: “You were so polite, discrete, and respectful of our space, you had just the right balance!”

Ash: “It just felt like a family member coming over to nurture me.”

do you have a view on how/when to start given I don't know when I'll be home from hospital and my partner will have a few weeks off followed by a few weeks part time?

Even though your partner might be home with you during the early weeks, it can be extremely supportive to have a postpartum doula support you during what is inherently a very vulnerable and precious time.

Usually I start caring for new mums as soon as they're home from the hospital or if it’s a home birth, often I’m there the very next day! We do bodywork which is deeply relieving and restorative for a body that has recently given birth. When we do bodywork for you, it's helpful to have your partner or someone there who can hold your baby so you can rest and recuperate. Of course, if there's no one there to hold your baby we just work around the needs of your baby. Also, partners can feel overwhelmed just like mamas and sometimes they need support too.

can the planning session be skipped/traded: what's the value of keeping it?

I'd never skip the planning session! I see it as the most important and valuable part of the entire process. There's a huge educational component for both you and your support person. It’s where we set expectations and plan how you can be best supported to heal and recover after your baby is born!

Do you bring food or do you cook in our home, who buys the ingredients?

You buy the ingredients, I cook them for you. I cook in your home!

with regard to pilates, I don't yet know what delivery mode I will use as to whether this can be at all applicable to me?

We don't do regular pilates within those early six weeks. We do core recovery which is appropriate for this early phase of postpartum recovery. Specifically we do breathwork to get your diaphragm and ribs moving and your pelvic floor and deep core responding to the way you breathe. It's coordinating and re connecting the movement pathways for your core system that can be a little disorganised after pregnancy and birth. We can also do some protective movements such as how to move from sitting to standing to decrease the load traveling through your core to help prevent pelvic injuries like prolapse and leaking.

What is bodywork/shiatsu/closing the bones/belly binding/core recovery?

I use the word bodywork to include tactile and kinaesthetic ways of caring for your body - think massage. Bodywork is an integral part of my standard in home support visits, not extra.

Shiatsu massage is a style of Japanese massage based on the same meridian pathways and points used in Acupuncture. Instead of needles, I use my fingers, hands and elbows to hold and tend to your body. It’s done on a mat on the floor through your clothes.

Closing the Bones is a traditional Mexican ceremony that includes massage, a steam bath, resting, rocking and wrapping with Rebozo’s. This is a ritual to farewell your maiden self and welcome in your new role as a Mother. Usually I offer this at about six weeks postpartum.

Belly Binding involves belly massage to help return your organs to their optimal alignment and gather you abdominal muscles back into centre. We then use fabric, either tubi grip or a Bengkung to gently bind your belly which provides support during the early weeks when your core muscles are long, lax, and feel squishy like jelly.

Core Recovery helps you reconnect with and coordinate your pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscles in relation to the way you breathe and move your body. This is a deeply restorative and valuable part of recovering after birth that’s often missed out. Ideally this is what you do AFTER giving birth and BEFORE returning to exercise or regular life to help you prevent or rehabilitate common postpartum pelvic injuries like leaking and ab separation.

What locations do you work in for in home postpartum doula care?

I offer in home postpartum doula care throughout Metropolitan Melbourne, including: Inner North - Carlton, Abbotsford, Brunswick, Coburg, Reservoir, I’ve traveled to Greensborough, South Morang and Sunbury! I also support mums in the West - Williamstown, Footscray, Seddon, Kingsville, Sunshine. And Sometimes I’ve even ventured South of the River to St kilda, Toorak and Albert Park. My travel limit is usually 30 mins driving each way from Thornbury.

When should I book in?

I tend to book out about 3 months in advance as many mums book early in their pregnancy. If you’re interested in booking in, please get in touch sooner than later!