All about me,
your South West London Doula, Ruth

During the birth process, I value honesty, accuracy, and transparency. I’m there to help you understand and translate the information coming at you from different people throughout your pregnancy and labour.

I believe that at such a vulnerable time in a woman’s life, she deserves support she can truly rely on - someone who always has her best interests at heart.

I understand what it’s like to feel far from home.

Hi! I’m Ruth, a birth doula and postpartum doula in Southwest London, and I know firsthand what it means to navigate life’s biggest moments without your village nearby.

I was born prematurely in a tin Nissan hut in rural Nepal in the late 1970s, where my parents were doing community development work in remote villages. My mum was incredibly brave - giving birth far from her own family, in an unfamiliar medical system, where skin-to-skin contact was the only incubator available and gas and air was the only pain relief. She faced one of life’s most vulnerable moments away from everything familiar, and she did it with courage and the support of the community that showed up for her.

That experience and my own shaped everything I believe about birth and the power of having someone by your side. It’s why I’m so passionate about caring for London’s expat community one family at a time - because I understand that when you’re far from home, you need someone who can help create that home-from-home feeling during life’s most precious moments.

My own journey taught me that birth rarely goes exactly as planned - and that’s okay.

When I got pregnant just 11 months after we married, it was a complete surprise. As soon as I found out, I started researching birth and babies in obsessive detail! I felt on top of the world - conception and childbirth seemed like a walk in the park. My first birth was a beautiful home water birth with incredible midwife support. I had a fantastic NCT group and an even more awesome NHS postnatal group. I felt invincible.

Then came my second baby. Another homebirth, The labour was straightforward until it wasn’t - 4.2kg with shoulder dystocia. In those moments that stretch on forever when you wonder if your baby will ever breathe, I was so grateful for my midwife Maria, who I trusted completely. She calmly used some biodynamics to shift my pelvis and he flew out, albeit slightly blue. I was beginning to realise that birth was not always easy and I was not an Amazonian goddess in the world of giving birth.

Two weeks later, I developed bad mastitis because I’d been too busy with guests and a toddler. This taught me the vital importance of that “tenth month” - slowing life right down for a new mum. It’s a lesson I carry with me in every postnatal visit I make now, offering practical support to help new families create that sense of home even when their actual homes feel thousands of miles away.

I’ve walked through the heartbreak and the hope.

After fostering two babies (which taught me so much about resilience and the power of temporary love), I was ready for my next two children. But first came an early miscarriage - a shock to someone who’d assumed she was a “champion babymaking machine.”

When I got pregnant with number three, everything went smoothly until 37 weeks when she was found to be breech presentation. The skilled consultant managed to turn her, but at 41 weeks my waters leaked for over 24 hours and my midwife Maria persuaded me to transfer to hospital for induction. It led to a very, very quick, intense birth - nothing like I’d planned.

Then, while trying for baby number four, we went through three more miscarriages. I have lived that roller coaster of checking temperatures, charting, peeing on sticks, hoping, being disappointed. I know the anxiety of getting pregnant and wondering every single day if there might be blood. I know the trip to EPU for a scan to see a heartbeat or not. We even started the IVF process.

With help from the miscarriage clinic, we finally stayed pregnant with number four. I experienced the deep anxiety and worry that comes with carrying a much-longed-for baby - anxiety that lasts all the way to nine months and beyond. Once again, I planned a home birth, and once again we transferred to hospital when my waters broke full of meconium. After induction, it was another quick labour - this time with my 12-year-old as a brilliant doula!

These experiences shaped me into a doula who understands that birth plans change, bodies surprise us, and the most important thing is feeling supported through it all.

This is why continuity and cultural sensitivity matter so much to me.

Through all four pregnancies and births, I was incredibly fortunate to have the same midwife Maria for my first two births, and with her for all appointments happening at home. I don’t take that continuity for granted. Having one familiar face who knew me, believed in me, and understood my journey made a massive difference to my state of mind and the way I approached my labours. In those scary moments when my second baby was stuck, I trusted Maria with our lives - and that was a massively reassuring feeling.

I know that many of you navigating the NHS system are anxious about explaining your story to a different stranger at every appointment, wondering if they’ll understand your concerns, your cultural background, or your birth preferences. The anxiety of not being truly known by the people caring for you during such a vulnerable time is real and exhausting.

That’s exactly why I became a birth support specialist - to give you that same continuous personalised support when your healthcare system might not.

As an international doula serving the expat community in Southwest London, I become that familiar face you can count on. Someone who knows your story, remembers your fears, celebrates your hopes, and truly understands you. You won’t have to explain yourself over and over again to strangers. From our very first meeting through your pregnancy, birth, and into those early weeks with your baby, I’ll be there - someone experienced in birth who really does know you well.

I understand what it’s like to navigate an unfamiliar system. Many of my clients are new to London, far from their own support networks, trying to understand NHS protocols and procedures that feel completely foreign. I provide that cultural bridge - helping you navigate the system, advocating for you with medical staff, ensuring you’re heard and understood, and signposting to resources, support, and trades you’ll need as you settle into life with your baby.

I’ve had the profound privilege of providing doula services to families from across the globe - the USA, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Nigeria, Korea and so many more countries. Each person brought their own story, their own traditions, and their own courage. My strong reviews reflect the deep trust these families have placed in me during their most vulnerable moments, and my commitment to being your home from home when your own family can’t be here.

Growing up in Nepal, I witnessed women caring for women. Life was lived openly on verandas and front door steps, where communities were intimately involved in each other’s milestones. After birth, new mothers were completely looked after for 40 days by the women around them. It really does take a village, and when your own village is thousands of miles away, you deserve to build a new one here.

I believe in you - and I know that birth doesn’t have to be perfect to be empowering.

My doula services include comprehensive antenatal preparation, continuous labour support, and postpartum care that extends well beyond the birth. My aim above all is to help you feel empowered during your baby’s birth and afterwards feel like you had the best birth experience possible - whatever that looks like for you. Not the birth that looks perfect on Instagram. Not the birth you initially planned. But the birth where you felt supported, heard, safe, and strong - even when things didn’t go as expected.

I also understand if your partner struggles to get involved or doesn’t know how and when to help. My husband is a great birth pool filler and emptier, but as a labour partner… let’s just say I understand! That’s where I come in - to provide emotional support, to guide your partner in how to help you, and to hold the space when things get intense.

I’m here to support the whole journey - not just the birth.

As both a birth doula and a newborn care specialist, I offer support that extends from pregnancy through those precious early weeks and months. From antenatal preparation sessions where we explore your hopes and concerns, to continuous labour support where I’m by your side through every contraction, to postpartum visits where I help with breastfeeding, recovery, and building your confidence as a new parent - I’m there.

I also know about the hard parts no one warns you about. I’ve hit that ‘overwhelm wall’ myself. With each of my babies, around the time they reached one, I felt so tired and so much was being asked of me that I just didn’t feel like I could cope anymore. Looking back, I can see that was a perfectly normal way to respond to life with small people - but in those moments, it didn’t feel normal. It felt isolating and frightening.

If you’re experiencing those feelings now, or if you’re worried you might, please know: you’re not failing. You’re human. And you deserve an emotional support doula who understands, who won’t judge, and who will help you find your way through.

Practical support that makes a real difference.

Now that my youngest is in Year 3, I love supporting pregnant women, new mums, dads, and families as they go through this massive life change. From assembling baby equipment and arranging transportation to advocating for you with medical staff, supporting you through breastfeeding challenges (and mastitis!), helping you navigate those first solo outings on London transport,  signposting to the best local resources, and simply being there when plans change - I’ll be right beside you, creating that home-from-home environment you need.

I also help run a mums and toddlers group, and I really enjoy seeing first-time parents getting to know each other and bonding. We always have a question time, which is a great way to iron out any worries early on and connect you with other families navigating similar experiences.

You deserve support that bends and flexes to meet you exactly where you are.

Many of my clients are navigating pregnancy in London without family nearby. Some are from across the world, trying to understand an unfamiliar healthcare system while carrying the weight of cultural expectations from home. Some are solo parents. Some have faced unexpected complications, miscarriages, fertility struggles, or anxiety about carrying a much-longed-for baby. Some simply need someone to believe in them when they’re not sure they believe in themselves yet.

What they all have in common is this: they’re incredibly brave, and they deserve someone who sees that bravery and supports it unconditionally.

If you’re reading this and feeling uncertain, overwhelmed, or alone - please know that you’re stronger than you know. You deserve the kind of care that my mum received in that tin hut in Nepal: unwavering, compassionate, continuous personalised support from someone who truly believes in you and knows you deeply.

As I continue caring for London’s expat community one family at a time, I’d love to chat about how my doula services can support you on this incredible journey. You’re not alone - and together, we’ll create the experience that’s right for you and your baby.

I look forward to journeying with you and helping you and your family to thrive.