Today's mother is generally not given the chance to enjoy her pregnancy, labour and new baby because of the pressures that society places upon her. This has lead to the popularity of the “Paramana-Doula”. Women these days meet a series of midwives for ante-natal care, they experience one or several shifts of midwives during labour and they usually meet other midwives for post-natal care. There is a need to rely on one supportive figure before, during and after the birth. This is where the Doula comes into play for a Doula refers to an experienced woman who offers emotional and practical support to a woman (or couple) before, during and after childbirth thus enabling a woman to have the most satisfying and empowered time that she can during pregnancy, birth and the early days as a new mum. Birth doulas are trained in childbirth and have a good knowledge and awareness of female physiology BUT the doula is not supporting the mother in a clinical role - that is the job of the midwife/medical staff. The doula phenomenon is thought-provoking because it appears as a resurgence of "authentic" midwifery, via lay women belonging to several generations. It is the unexpected expression of the most deep-rooted needs of pregnant women, labouring women and lactating mothers. Interestingly the doula movement started in the USA , which is a country where the midwives had almost completely disappeared.

Nav trained under French obstetrician Michel Odent and inspirational Paramana-Doula Liliana Lammers. Liliana Lammers is a highly experienced doula who runs Paramana-doulas in London . Michel has been instrumental in influencing the history of childbirth and is familiarly know as the obstetrician who introduced the concept of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms back in the 70’s. As a practitioner he developed the maternity unit at Pithiviers Hospital in France in the 1960s and '70s. His approach has been featured in eminent medical journals such as Lancet, and in TV documentaries such as the BBC film Birth Reborn. With six midwives he was in charge of about one thousand births a year and could achieve ideal statistics with low rates of intervention.
As a researcher he founded the Primal Health Research Center in London (UK), which focuses upon the long-term consequences of early experiences invitro.(www.birthworks.org/primalhealth) Research also suggests that the way we are born has long-term consequences in terms of sociability, aggressiveness or, otherwise speaking, capacity to love. He is the author of approximately 50 scientific papers and 11 books published in 21 languages.

Nav does not charge for the initial meeting for the simple reason that one can not select a Doula without having met with her first. Bookings are taken on a first-come first-served basis. On having made the decision to book Nav as your Paramana-Doula, you will be asked to sign a contract. This ensures availability for your birth and sets out what you can expect from your doula and what she will expect from you in return. Nav is a member of Doula UK , the UK association of doulas and adheres to the strict code of practice