About Us
Who is The Birth Circle Mackay?
I’m kiah. I am your stereotypical Sagittarius- outspoken, passionate and fiercely loyal. I love reading historical fiction, sunrise walks along Mackay’s beautiful beaches, and deep, genuine conversation. I love to talk, and will try watching almost anything. I have a strong sense of justice, and will always stand up for what I believe is right. I am the mother of three beautiful souls and have spent a third of my life in love with my husband Ben.
And I am a doula. My work is from the soul. It comes from the heart, from the very essence of who I am. I am not just a doula because of a qualification. I am a doula because it is who I am, it embodies me. My entire journey of womanhood and motherhood has led me to birth work. It is my life’s purpose.
Why did I become a Doula?
My journey into birth work started with my first birth. I went into my pregnancy with the belief that no plan was the best plan, and ended up accepting an induction, without any real understanding of what I was consenting to. I was put on my back, attached to monitors, and left to birth my baby with an unsupportive midwife I had never met before.
The epidural inserted by a trainee anaesthetist wasn’t placed correctly, and it failed to take any pain away but kept me confined to the bed. My darling Luna was eventually born while I screamed and begged for it to end. There I lay with my baby on my chest, shaking and in shock from what I had just experienced.
It wasn’t until I fell pregnant with my second child, that I began to seriously question everything I thought I knew about birth. I started listening to birth stories and began to see common themes. Individuals who weren’t afraid of birthing their babies had better experiences.
People who understood how the system worked, those who had tools to help them stay calm, and those who felt supported and in control of their experience were leaving their births feeling empowered, rather than traumatised. I read books, I researched, and I began to feel prepared to birth my baby. But despite feeling knowledgeable and capable of advocating for myself, my care providers were able to get me to consent to induction. They used the fear that my baby had grown so big it would be almost impossible for me to birth her. My expected “giant” 5 kilo baby girl, Rainey, was born weighing less than 3 kilos.
Despite my best efforts to educate myself, the fear based maternity system had failed me, and made me believe I was not capable. The whole experience put a fire in my belly. I knew I had to make sure others didn’t experience what I had gone through, and if the system wasn’t going to change, I had to prepare people for the system.
I spent the next 18 months immersing myself in birth, and learning all I could about the maternity system. I read, I listened, and I learnt all I could. I completed the full spectrum doula course with Dynamo Doula Training and gained my certification as a Full Spectrum Doula. I then put it all in to practise when we consciously conceived our third baby.
I birthed my son Wiley calmly into the water in a ‘destination’ homebirth, as my private midwife watched on. I caught my own baby, my hands the first to touch him. I had to travel away from home and stay in an Airbnb to achieve this, my dream birth, because my past experiences excluded me from the local birth centre. I had the opportunity to have my physiological birth with nothing but support from my care provider, and it was the most powerful feeling.
I believe every individual deserves care that is free from fear and from bias. All information should be given to the person carrying the baby, and they should be in charge of making decisions about their body and their birth.
My role as a doula is not to empower you or tell you what you should do. You are capable of empowering yourself. My role is to help you navigate the maternal health care system, a system that expects every pregnancy to fit into the same boxes. My role is to help you realise you have nothing to fear from birth, and to be a support to you regardless of your birth choices. Freebirth, home birth, hospital birth, caesarean birth, it doesn’t matter how you birth, as long as you feel supported, safe, in control and comfortable. Birth should be your greatest accomplishment not your greatest fear.
I am a sounding board, an educator, a counsellor, a friend, and an unwavering support. I will hold space for you and stand by your side without judgement. Together we will navigate the system and give you the greatest chance at the birth you want and deserve.
I work with individuals during all stages of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. The capacity in which I support you is entirely based on what you need. I offer emotional support, as you navigate the shifts and upheavals that come with this rite of passage. I offer educational support, presenting up to date and evidence based research, information and best practise guidelines. I am a physical support, holding space and physically holding you through your labour and birth. I can support you in pregnancy, during birth and in your sacred postpartum space. I am here for you, a complete, unwavering, unbiased support system.
I have spent the last 5 years studying, experiencing and immersing myself in all things birth. My mission is for you to feel supported, respected, heard and safe, whatever way you give birth. Let me be in your corner, and support you as you journey the transformative realms of birth.
