Hello, welcome,
I’m Laura. I’m an experienced celebrant, doula and birthkeeeper. In these intimate and powerful ceremonies I hold space to honour and celebrate you as a mother to be (or be again) at this incredible stage of creating life. We invite your close female friends, sisters and elders to support you as you enter this rite of passage.
These ceremonies are usually held during the third trimester of pregnancy, as you are preparing your mind and body and soul to journey into the portal of labour, birth and motherhood.
After completing my doula training in 2017 in The Netherlands I have been honoured to hold space for many births, witnessing the power and magic of labour and helping to guide women through each expansive moment towards holding their baby for the first time.
“If a mother values herself her children will value her”
– Vamila McClure
These blessings ceremonies can help a mother let go of any negative beliefs or fears she may be carrying and allow her community to uplift and support her.
Blessingways are traditional to the First American Navajo who mark the transition a woman makes when she moves into motherhood. It is a time when she is nurtured and honoured by the other women in her community.
We respectfully call these ‘A mothers blessing’, a beautiful alternative to a baby shower where as well as showering the mother with gifts or flowers we also create a sacred space and invite guests to participate in rituals that connect us to each other and help honour the mother to be.
We co-create this together and the ceremony can include a number of the following rituals:
Creating a flower crown – Each guest brings a few flowers and we weave together a flower crown for the mother to be to wear during the ceremony. The crown can also be preserved and dried as a keepsake.
Foot bath ritual – The mothers feet are soaked in warm water with epsom salts, essential oils and herbs, reducing any swelling or inflammation and allowing her to soften and relax as she prepares herself to receive the words and blessings.
Heartfelt sharing from guests – Each guest is invited to bring poem or share a few words of their own about motherhood, love or the role they will have in the life of the new child.
Bead Ceremony – Everyone is invited to add a bead to a string, creating a beaded chain that the mother can take with her into labour, carrying with her the strength and care of her community. Anyone who is unable to make it in person can send a bead and a message that can be woven in. This can also be made into a beautiful rattle for the baby to play with.
Candle Ceremony – We each light a small candle to honour the new life that is about to be born. Words can be shared or this can be done in silence. These candle are then taken home by the guests and can be relit again once the mother is in labour or has birthed her baby into the world.
Web of Life – A ball of beautiful string is used to connect each woman’s wrist to one another’s in the circle – a web of womanhood. When the cord connects all of us, this unites us all as women and represents the circle of women as mothers/daughters/sisters/friends and the circle of life. Then we will cut the cord, leaving enough length to tie the ends into a bracelet. You and your guests might want to wear the bracelet until the birth as a reminder of the strength a group of women can hold for a birthing mother.
Post Natal Support – A list of names and dates can be created for each guest to offer their help and support once the baby is born. This could be preparing a meal, offering to help clean or tidy the home or holding the baby whilst the mother takes a shower. Making this commitment in advance can carry this love and healing into one of the most important and intense times of a woman’s life and knowing she is not alone in the huge task of caring for a newborn.
Feasting & Grounding – To close the ceremony we ground our body with food. This could be tea and cake. Or each guest could bring a dish to include as a larger feast. We close the sacred space and shift our energy back into the everyday, allowing this ritual to carry us forward in our own lives.
As a placenta encapsulation specialist I offer a unique service of creating placenta remedies to support you during your postnatal period, helping give you and your baby the very best start together. Please read more about this here
Please get in touch to find out more about my services. I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you for your response. ✨
CO-CREATED CEREMONIES 