About Nurturing Birth

Nurturing Birth was set-up by Valerie Goedkoop in 2002 when she became herself a birth and postnatal doula. In 2005 Valerie decided to offer a range of courses to help women train and prepare to work as doulas. Nurturing Birth has now trained over 1000 women all over the UK.

Valerie Goedkoop

After many years working for multi-national companies, Valerie decided to focus on her passion: pregnancy, labour and early years. For many reasons, becoming a doula seemed to be the perfect job for her. She has supported dozens of families and continues to do so.

Training: Valerie has trained in the UK as well as with DONA (Doulas of North America). She now runs her own course for doulas throughout the country (she is a recognised trainer with Doula UK). She regularely attends workshops, conferences and study days on birth and breastfeeding. She has been published in MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, the UK's leading midwifery journal (vol19, no 2, June 2009, pp217-218).

She is often quoted in pregnancy magazines and is featured in "Being Dad", a new DVD (July 2009) aimed at preparing fathers for birth. You can also hear her interview on the role of a doula (podcast).

Check out her references as a doula.

In her spare time.... She has been a volunteer for Doula UK (the UK association for doulas). She was their chairperson in 2005. She is a lay representative on the Pembury and Maidstone hospitals Maternity Services Liaison Committee in Kent and helps out at breastfeeding clinics.

Our trainers and facilitators:

Bushra Finch is an experienced doula, recognised with Doula UK and has
held several volunteer and committee posts since 2003. She has been
featured in baby and pregnancy magazines, interviewed for several radio
programmes as well as speaking on pregnancy and birth at several
conferences. She holds personalised antenatal sessions for parents and,
in partnership with Diane Walters, has recently developed birth
preparation day workshops for prospective parents. Bushra is a Maya
Abdominal Massage practitioner, having completed practitioner and
certification training with Rosita Arvigo in America. Maya Abdominal
Massage seeks to preserve and restore women’s health by correct
placement of the internal organs. Bushra is currently training to be an
hakima - a practitioner of Tibb (traditional eastern medicine). She is married and has four children.

Kicki Hansard, Cert Soc Sci (Open), SNHS (Professional Relaxation Therapy), is an experienced doula, recognised with Doula UK and a Certified Doula with BOND. She took part in the documentary about doulas called "Mum + One" which is currently being shown on the Discovery Home & Health Channel. She occasionally holds talks about doulas to student midwives and alternative health practitioners and is currently studying for a degree in Psychology.
Kicki is married and has two children.

Lulu Winfield is a birth doula, pregnancy reflexologist, hypnobirthing practitioner and yogabirth teacher. She has attended over 90 births in her role as a professional birth doula over the last few years and offers one to one courses on "preparing to be a birth partner" or birth preparation for couples. She has been a member of Doula UK since its early days, she is a recognized birth doula, mentor and assessor, working with trainees towards achieving Doula UK recognition status. She is also involved in the training co-ordination within Doula UK. Lulu teaches pre-natal yoga and childbirth education as a certified yogabirth teacher. She has been interviewed for various complementary health and pregnancy magazines and lives in West London with her two daughters.

Sue Saunders has been specialising in breastfeeding, lactation and human milk feeding since becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 1989, and she has a background in breastfeeding counselling, midwifery and nursing. She qualifies her varied experience in both hospital and community settings, in Western Australia, West Africa and England as 'empowering and challenging'. She has been teaching breastfeeding and lactation to health care professionals and parents for the past 18 years both by facilitating courses and running breastfeeding consultations.

Lyn Scazafabo has been Women and Children's Health Nurse for 35 years and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1994. She is the mother of 5 and grandmother of 7. her clinical experience includes working in both the acute care setting and the community. She founded the Breastfeeding resource Center at the University for Medicine and Dentistry in Camden, new Jersey (UMDNJ). After coming to England to research her family history in 2000 she fell in love with the Kent countryside and applied for a job as an infant Feeding Advisor with the NHS. Lyn has worked in this role in both East and West Kent. In addition to being a Registered Professional Nurse, Lactation Consultant and Childbirth Education Instructor Lyn has organized breastfeeding conferences for UMDNJ, developed and taught multidisciplinary courses on lactation management to health care professionals and offered breastfeeding classes to childbearing families both in the USA and in England.