Meet Amanda Bernstein – Birth and Postpartum Doula
Meet Amanda Bernstein – a birth and postpartum Doula, Ka Huna massage therapist and Pilates instructor based in Sydney, Australia. She helps, support and empower women and couples on their journey to meet their baby. She is also a mum of two, and it’s her personal experience that has driven her down this path to help other women.
The word “Doula” is a Greek word that means “woman’s servant”. A Doula is a trained and experienced support person, and does not replace a midwife or a doctor. Doulas can attend your birth at a private or public hospital, and even at your home. A Doula “mothers the mother” and provides continuity of care with physical and emotional support during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Amanda Bernstein offers this service to you from a uniquely holistic perspective, incorporating her extensive Doula, Ka Huna and Pilates training and expertise.
As your Doula, Amanda will be there to support you by providing information around your birthing choices and discussing your concerns, queries and fears. During your birth she will be there for you, to help with massage, position suggestions, breathing and sounding techniques, aromatherapy, homeopathy, photography and more. Ultimately being there so you and your partner both feel continuously cared for and supported. After the birth Amanda debriefs your birth and she helps further with tips and demonstrations for settling and wrapping your baby. Suggestions for breast or bottle feeding, and can even cook you a meal or fold a load of laundry. You may just need your doula to simply hold your baby so you can shower!
Doulas build a relationship with their clients and the continuity of care travels through their pregnancy, labour and postnatal period. Often in a hospital setting, there are changing shifts of midwives and obstetricians so the simple continuous presence can really allow the birthing women to feel rested, safe and reassured that she’s not alone and that all is well. Amanda offers massage, acupressure point techniques, words of encouragement and affirmations. She also supports the woman’s partner and gives suggestions on things they can do to help to keep them involved and included in the birth experience.
The key to a successful labour is the preparation before the day itself. Trusting in your body’s ability to birth a baby and knowing deep down that your body and baby know what to do. Surrounding yourself with people that believe in you is the key too. That is why having a Doula is super important.
Many women who choose a doula either do not want medication, or only want it if they really feel they need it. Things like a better position, hot water, meditation and breathing can make a big difference. As Amanda says – “Fear in my opinion, is one of the biggest causes of pain, along with other potentially unnecessary interventions. Like an induction without a medical need. There are different types of pain medication, from gas to morphine to epidurals. All carry risks for both mother and baby, and this is something we discuss during our meetings in pregnancy.”
Amanda also practices Ka Huna massage. This is a Hawaiian style of bodywork that is deeply relaxing on an emotional, physical and spiritual level. It’s the under body work in particular that makes this massage so unique. For those open to a bigger experience, Amanda offers deeper work. She uses her intuition to find places in the body that hold onto emotional trauma that has manifested itself physically. Not everyone is open to this kind of work though as it can be very confronting and open raw emotion. Amanda Bernstein offers Lomi Lomi style and Pregnancy massage too. She also works with a male therapist as some people prefer to receive from one gender practitioner over another.
Going on this journey requires a lot of personal development. It allows Amanda to renew her energy and she gives so much out of giving. She says that “Being able to offer my pregnant clients Ka Huna is very special.”
As a pilates teacher, doula Amanda also specialises in pregnancy and postnatal recovery, offering a mobile service to your home or office, focusing on functional exercises that reduce the risk of injury in everyday life. She loves helping new mothers in their home as well. She is a very caring and nurturing person.
If you are pregnant and need any kind of support through the whole process and after birth period, I sincerely recommend Amanda. She contributes so much to making you feel more comfortable while giving a birth. Amanda soothes your concerns and gives you the best practices for an easy and smooth birth.
If you’d like to contact her, please check out her websites –
www.EssentialMe.com.au and www.PilatesWithPurpose.com.au
