Birth doula
Someone who stays
Some women write to me early in the pregnancy, some a fortnight before the birth. Whenever you come, we start from where you are: preparation, someone with you through the whole of labour, and the first days at home.
I'm on call for you from 38 to 42 weeks, around the clock. Call or message whenever you need to, as often as you need to — nothing is too early and no question is too small.
How we work
01 · WE MEET
A conversation over video or a coffee, whenever suits you. I'll ask a lot of questions: how you're feeling, what matters to you, what's worrying you, how you imagine this birth. Not to fill in a form — I want to know you. The call is free, and afterwards you decide in your own time.
02 · WE PREPARE, TOGETHER
A detailed session in person, around two hours, and we take it properly. Your choices, where you want to give birth — at home, on a labour ward or in a birth centre — what you'd like and what you'd rather avoid, and a plan that is yours, not a template. We talk gently about the moments that don't go to plan, so that if one comes, it doesn't come as a shock. Your partner is there, and he gets his own part of it.
03 · YOUR BIRTH
I come when you want me there and I stay for the whole of it. Positions, breathing, massage, rebozo, whatever helps on the day. Afterwards I help you with the first feed and your first hours with your baby, and I don't leave until I know you're both settled.
04 · THE DAYS AFTER
I come to your home — feeding, sleep, recovery, and all the questions that only appear once everyone else has gone home. And you still have my number. You're meant to use it.
What's in my bag
Over the years I've gathered a set of tools, and I take from it whatever speaks to you.
Hypnobirthing — I'm an accredited KG Hypnobirthing teacher. If it speaks to
you, we work with breathing, relaxation and mindset.
Essential oils — for relaxation, and for the moments when you need to gather
yourself instead.
Rebozo — a woven shawl. It relaxes the pelvis and helps you find a position in
which your baby can move more easily.
Bodywork — movement and changing positions, so that you're physically more
comfortable and labour can take its own course.
Breathing — during contractions, and separately for pushing, where it works
quite differently.
I don't push any of this on you. What suits one woman doesn't suit another — which is why my bag has to hold everything.
Choosing where to give birth
Hospital, birth centre or home — I've worked in all of them, in every part of London.
If you haven't decided yet, we'll go through what each one would actually mean for the birth you want: how that unit tends to work, what's available there, what happens if you need to move. This is one of the most useful conversations we have, and it happens early.
Preparation
More than 600 women have prepared for birth with me
Alongside my doula work I have taught live antenatal courses to over six hundred women, and I run a Facebook community for Russian-speaking mothers-to-be in the UK. Most of what I know about what actually frightens women before birth, I learned there — from the questions they really ask, not the ones books answer.
So the preparation sessions are not a course I deliver. We start from what is actually worrying you, and I bring what I have seen work — and what I have seen women wish they had known beforehand.
Ways to work together
Open the one that sounds like you — what is included and what it costs are inside. Everything is set out in a written contract before you commit to anything, including what happens if your birth doesn't go to plan, and a backup doula is part of every package rather than an extra.
Birth supportPreparation & your whole labour
£2000
- One unhurried session in person, around two hours, with a birth plan we make together. If you need more, we continue online
- On call from 38 to 42 weeks, day and night — call or message as often as you need
- I'm with you throughout labour: positions, breathing, massage, rebozo, whatever helps on the day
- Your partner is prepared and included, not left standing by the wall
- The first feed and the first hours after birth — and I don't leave until I know you're both settled
Birth & first daysPlus a home visit afterwards
£2500
Everything in Birth support, plus:
- A second session before the birth, in person or online: pain relief, natural and medical; fears and where they come from; relaxation; the details of your own unit. Planning a home birth? We prepare for that separately
- I stay with you longer after the birth. The first hours are when everyone else leaves — the midwife goes to do her paperwork, your partner rings his family, and you are lying there with your baby not knowing whether you can get up, eat or make it to the shower. I stay while you rest
- One visit to your home in the first ten days
Birth, baby & beyondThe fullest preparation and aftercare
£3500
Everything in Birth & first days, plus:
- Two preparation sessions in person, around two hours each, and separate work with your partner: massage, positions, how to support you physically and emotionally
- Two home visits after the birth
- Reach me any time for two weeks afterwards
- A birth debrief — space to talk calmly through how it all went
Planned caesareanPreparation and the day itself
£1500
A caesarean is a birth too, and it deserves preparing for. We go through exactly how the day runs, what you can ask for and what you can choose within it — skin to skin in theatre, who stays with your baby, how the first feed can work. I am with you on the day where your hospital allows it, and I support you while you recover.
Birth preparationOne session, with or without hypnobirthing
£400
One session for you and your partner. Your options, your hospital, breathing and relaxation, and a birth plan you write yourself. With hypnobirthing or without — you choose, and it costs the same either way. For families who want to prepare properly and then go on their own.
Paying in instalmentsAsk me — it changes nothing else
Instalments
You don't have to pay it all at once. A deposit confirms your dates and the rest can be spread across your pregnancy — we will agree a schedule that works for you. Just say so at our first conversation; it changes nothing at all about the support you get.
Looking for support at home in the first weeks instead? Postnatal days and nights are here.
What families say
So grateful to Valentina for her incredible support throughout my pregnancy, birth, and postnatal period. Her calm presence, knowledge, and genuine care made such a difference at every stage. I truly couldn't have asked for better support.
— Katerina CalpaneThis was my first birth, and I was very nervous and completely unsure how to handle children. Valentina was incredibly helpful and taught me a lot about childcare, and she also helped me get used to this completely new role. My baby even began to recognise her and was very happy when she came. If I have a second child, I will definitely contact Valentina again.
— Alexandra BakroShe is a really nice, professional specialist. She knows her job and gives a lot of support. She answered all my questions and I was not nervous. It was my first pregnancy and I took a course with her, so I understood all the stages and knew what to expect.
— Olga BelenkayaIs your date still free?
I take a limited number of births at a time, so that I'm genuinely available to each one. The call is free, and afterwards you decide in your own time.
