Abuela Doulas started with me, but the vision for change was always bigger than one person. As that vision grew, so did the team carrying it.
Some hold the methodology and take it into the next cohort. Some bring expertise I don’t hold myself. Some stay with our doulas after they qualify, when the real questions start. Different roles, same purpose: making sure this work outlasts me.
Each of our facilitators and mentors brings the traditions of their own heritage into the room, alongside the methodology. This isn’t separate from the training, it’s part of it.
What does a mentor actually do? Whatever you need them for. Setting up your business, getting ready for a client you’re nervous about meeting, talking through a birth that’s still sitting with you, or a postnatal visit that didn’t go the way you needed it to. Some of it’s practical, some of it’s just needing someone who gets it.
Thando Zwane is a birthkeeper, mentor and speaker with over 13 years of experience supporting families through pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
Her work bridges the gap between evidence-based practice and the deeper, often unspoken, emotional and cultural experience of birth. Rooted in her Zulu heritage and shaped by years of hands-on experience within a range of birth settings, she brings a perspective that is both grounded and expansive.
Thando has supported families across London and has built a reputation for calm, steady and informed care. Alongside her work with parents, she trains and mentors birthkeepers at different stages of their journey, supporting them to develop not only their skills, but their presence, confidence and discernment.
Her teaching is clear, direct and rooted in real-life practice. She guides birthkeepers to understand their role deeply, build trust with families and navigate both the practical and relational aspects of this work with integrity.
Thando is passionate about raising the standard of care in birthwork and supporting birthkeepers to show up in a way that is both skilled and deeply respectful of the families they serve.
North London-based doula, yoga teacher, hypnobirthing instructor and antenatal educator, Nikita has been supporting families through the perinatal year for more than a decade. She brings Yoruba heritage to this work — and with it, an understanding of birth rooted in cultural knowledge that runs far deeper than any curriculum.
Nikita is Abuela Doulas trained. That matters to us,and it should matter to you. It means she understands what it is to support birthing people within systems that don’t always serve them well, and she shows up with that understanding intact at every stage of care.
She also brings exceptional breadth. Over the last 15 years, Nikita has taken her teaching to Greece, Italy, Portugal, America and Australia. She serves as Brand Ambassador and teacher for Australian doula app The Birth Class, and runs her own antenatal education offer, Birth Prepped. Her practice spans relaxation, birth preparation, physical strength building, hypnobirthing and infant feeding support, emotional, educational and practical, from pregnancy through the weeks after birth.
We’re glad she’s here.
Rubí is an Abuela-trained doula, social anthropologist, and traditional postnatal care practitioner with deep roots in Mexican indigenous wellbeing traditions. Originally from the Huasteca region of Mexico – a place with rich ancestral knowledge passed down through generations – she grew up learning from her mother and grandmother to understand health and healing from a hybrid, culturally grounded perspective. That knowledge lives at the heart of her postnatal practice today.
Her postnatal work is rooted in la cuarentena – the Mexican tradition of the 40-day lying-in period – alongside rebozo closing ceremony, healing foods, and the decolonial reclaiming of ancestral postpartum knowledge. She holds the postnatal period as sacred, unhurried, and central to long-term maternal wellbeing.
She trained as a doula in 2019 while working at a refuge supporting mothers who were survivors of domestic abuse, and has since built extensive experience in trauma-informed, culturally-responsive, and anti-racist maternity care.
Dr Lyndsey Hookway is an experienced paediatric nurse, children’s public health nurse, IBCLC, researcher, responsive sleep/parenting advocate, and the author of 6 books. She has worked with children and families for more than 20 years within in-patient paediatrics, paediatric ambulatory care, NICU, and the community.
Lyndsey is a researcher at Swansea University, exploring the needs and challenges of medically complex breastfed infants and children. In 2019 she founded the Breastfeeding the Brave project to raise awareness of the unique lactation needs of sick children in the paediatric setting. Lyndsey is the co-founder and clinical director of the Holistic Sleep Coaching program and Thought Rebellion. She is a respected international speaker and also provides regular training, advocacy and consultancy to both NHS and private organisations.
Natasha works as a specialist Reproductive trauma Psychotherapist and trainer, with over 25 years of experience working in children’s social care and mental health services within the NHS, local authority and private practice. She has a particular interest in Reproductive trauma, loss and grief, which includes working with those who have experienced fertility issues, pregnancy loss, still birth, birth trauma and Tokophobia.
Natasha is an advocate for Trauma informed care, inclusivity and better birth outcomes, which are reflected in the training she offers.
Sam is a Doula, Antenatal Educator, and Founder of The Perinatal Academy with a passion for supporting birth workers in building thriving businesses. With 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing and having set up and launched three successful birth businesses herself, Sam understands the real challenges of finding pregnant clients, building visibility, and creating sustainable income. She helps birth workers move beyond overwhelm, establish their unique presence, and connect with the clients they’re meant to serve for long-term business vitality.
Lorna is a highly experienced and well-respected doula and mentor, with almost two decades in the field. She supports new and seasoned doulas to build and sustain successful doula businesses, and is known for her skill in helping doulas find and grow a client base.
Lorna is also a pregnancy, birth and parenting coach, with specialist training in Holistic Fertility Therapy. Over more than a decade, she has provided culturally attuned fertility support to Black and mixed-heritage women, and has guided many towards successful pregnancies.
Her mentoring style suits doulas who are committed, have a heart for people, can back up the talk with action, and are open to being challenged.
Tricia is a birth and postnatal doula based in Hertfordshire, just outside of St Albans. She has been a mentor for five years and enjoys supporting newer doulas along the journey, as well as providing established doulas a space to check in whenever the need arises. Tricia believes mentoring has benefits for everyone! As well as celebrating your wins, and troubleshooting any problems, Tricia won’t hesitate to bring critical friend energy where it is needed, challenging you when you might need to consider things from a new perspective. Tricia offers one-off sessions or ongoing support.
Tricia specialises in infant feeding, birth trauma, postnatal rest & recovery, and mental health.
Tricia can support mentees through the process of getting their business established, preparing for meeting new clients, debriefing their own experiences of births and postpartum, or after a difficult visit or interaction with a client.
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Abuela Doulas recognises that as well as doing the work, they need to support the work of others. With that in mind, here are some links to support not only us, but other organisations that we are involved in.
