I’m so glad you’re here!
Welcome.
I’m Flora Adams, a birth and postpartum doula trained with BiA Doula Training in Amsterdam. Though my background is biochemistry and mathematics, my passion is for supporting women in the transformation of maiden to mother, in all its raw intensity and vulnerable power. I don’t believe in empowering you in your new role as a mother so much as being a mirror for you to see yourself–the powerful, beautiful, perfect mother you already are, doing the exhausting, excruciating, and glorious work of loving a tiny new human into being.
We all begin the same way: consciousness unfolding within a woman’s body, unable to differentiate a “me” from the beautiful rush of her blood, lub-dub-lub-dub-lub-dub of her heartbeat, and exquisite warmth, softness, and safety of that first home.
A doula is an experienced and empathic support woman for pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. This role has been described as “mothering the mother” because it is so versatile and is defined by unconditional and continuous support. This support can take many forms:
- An interactive and engaging childbirth education course tailored to you and your partner, covering topics from exercise and nutrition during pregnancy to comfort techniques for labour, normal newborn development and behavior, and planning for postpartum self-care
- Explaining the Dutch maternity healthcare system and standard protocols during labour and immediate postpartum (medical pain relief, IV fluids, birth pools, umbilical cord clamping and cutting, etc)
- Assisting you in crafting an effective birth plan and facilitating effective communication with healthcare providers
- Teaching your partner comfort measures for labour (reflexology points on feet and hands, light touch massage, counter pressure, double hip squeeze, visualizations and breathing patterns, among others) and creating a plan for you two to practice the comfort measures you like best in your final weeks of pregnancy.
- During labour: holding space and maintaining a calm and peaceful atmosphere in which you are not disturbed; ensuring that you and your partner are as comfortable as possible, eating and drinking sufficiently; recommending different labour or birthing positions for labour progress or comfort; light touch massage, counter pressure, and a shoulder to lean on; adapting spontaneously to your needs, matching your tone, and modelling calm and confidence in your capacity to give birth.
- Cooking nourishing meals and snacks, making healing teas which support breastfeeding, and cleaning for you during your postpartum recovery
- Breastfeeding support, information, and contacts within the community
- Holding space for you to process and acknowledge your birth experience and matrescence
As your doula my goal is to be who you need me to be, and to show you yourself: the powerful, capable, beautiful mother you already are and are becoming.
Here is a bit of my background:
My husband and I have lived in the beautiful Veluwe region of the Netherlands since 2019. We welcomed our lovely daughter, Jane, in 2021. Becoming a mother was a transformative experience—one which brought deep feelings of gratitude for my own mother and the support offered by my husband and a dear friend who was our doula.
It made me realise how important it is to have agency and be encouraged during labour, to be treated with dignity and compassion, and for that support to be steady and unbroken.
As a birth doula, I am able to provide this type of gentle, continuous care.
I help you prepare for childbirth regardless of what type of birth you plan to have, and with empathy and experience support you during your entire labour, from within 2 hours of the moment you would like me to join you. I also meet with you postpartum to help you process the experience of giving birth and how you are feeling postpartum–not as a medical person looking for symptoms, but rather seeing you as a new mother to be supported and cared for with compassion. For more on what a birth and postpartum doula is, check here. For more on my role and how I can support you, please read the Services page.
This is a bit of my story and what brought me here. If you would like to read more, please read the About page. If you have questions or would like to share what brought you here, please send me a message with the contact form. I would love to hear from you!