WELCOME TO SEASIDE DOULA COLLECTIVE

WELCOME! 
We are pleased to announce the new Seaside Doula Collective, serving Greater Victoria, the Western Communities, Sooke, North Saanich, Sidney and surrounding areas.  Please check us out and get in touch for more information. 

MEET OUR FOUNDERS

Lorna Carrigan is a birth & postpartum doula and a co-founder of Seaside Doula Collective.

I offer labour and delivery support, as well as post-partum support in Victoria and the Western Communities. Lorna is a proud mom of 3 and ecstatic grandma of 2. 

Monique Bandet is a birth & postpartum doula and a co-founder of Seaside Doula Collective. Monique is a HypnoBirthing advocate and plans on furthering her training by taking the Childbirth Educator course.  She is a Le Leche League and DONA (Doulas of North America) member.

Monique is proud mom to 6 children, 5 step-children and step-grandma to 7.


Nicole LaForge is a birth doula and a Co-founder of Seaside Doula Collective.

Nicole is a wonderful mom to two young children.


Thank you for considering one of our doula's, should  you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us any time. 

 We welcome your questions by email, phone or text any time.

Lorna Carrigan (250) 216 - 6783     l_carrigan@hotmail.com

Monique Bandet (250) 588 - 7074     doulalabouroflove@gmail.com 
Nicole LaForge (250) 882 - 5190     nicole.l.laforge@gmail.com 

ABOUT US

The Seaside Doula Collective is a group of experienced doulas dedicated to our collective mission— to support, educate, empower and advocate for pregnant and parenting women in Victoria and the surrounding areas. They also participate in continuing education program for doulas, completing yearly in/out services to expand their knowledge and skills.

Prospective clients are welcome to schedule a consultation with one or more of our doulas until they find a good match (watch for a local Speed Meeting Doula Date coming soon). Since we are a collective, all Seaside clients are supported by our TEAM of doulas with diverse experiences and expertise. Every client has the support of the primary doula, their backup doula, and other doulas that may be pulled in if the client has specific needs. Our goal is that all of our doula clients experience the same quality of care regardless of which doulas they work with.

For a detailed description of services and fees, please refer to our individual doula website links.  All our doulas set their own fees for services.

MEET OUR FOUNDERS

Lorna Carrigan Birth and Postpartum Doula
Member of Coastal Roots Health 

Lorna is a co-founder of Seaside Doula Collective.  She was trained by DONA international. Lorna is a proud mom of three and ecstatic grandma of two.




 


 




Monique Bandet Birth and Post Partum Doula
Owner-Operator of Labour Of Love Doula Services 

Monique is committed to supporting women during pregnancy, birth and new motherhood. She has done volunteer work in community health through the QA, Glenwarren and Glendale Hospitals. Monique began her work with pregnant and parenting women as a Pre and Postnatal Support Caregiver with the "Mom's and Mentors Program" for pregnant teens. She was a Licensed Childcare Operator for over 16 years and Specialized Foster Parent to infants born addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. Monique ran a baby talk parenting and playgroup in the Western Community and managed a local Medical Clinic, eventually jumping into the Doula world full time.

Monique is a co-founder of Seaside Doula Collective. She is a La Leche Leaque member and DONA (Doulas of North America) member.  She plans on furthering her education by becoming a HypnoBirth Practitioner and taking the Childbirth Educator Course.

Monique is a proud mom to 6 children, 5 step-children and grandma to 5 (soon to be 7 step-grandchildren).


Nicole LaForge (CD)DONA
Owner-Operator of Nurture by Nicole Perinatal Services

Nicole is a founding member of Seaside Doula Collective. She is a birth doula trained and certified through DONA (Doulas of North America - the oldest and largest doula organization in the world).  She felt called to become a doula because she found that having hired doulas to support her own births was so wonderfully helpful to her family's start in life that she wanted to be able to pay it forward and help other families benefit from that type of support too. Her philosophy is to facilitate expecting parents to make informed decisions for their pregnancy, birth and postpartum by helping them access the information they need to be aware of all their options. She strives to help her clients have the most positive experience they can in the context of their own unique circumstances so that they will always be at peace with their memories of their child's birth. She is a mother of two children and aspires to become a midwife someday.

We welcome your questions by email, phone or text any time.  

Lorna Carrigan (250) 216 - 6783     l_carrigan@hotmail.com

Monique Bandet (250) 588 - 7074     doulalabouroflove@gmail.com

Nicole LaForge (250) 882 - 5190     nicole.l.laforge@gmail.com

WHAT IS A DOULA

A doula, or birth attendant, is a trained woman offering non medical support and information to parents through pregnancy, birth and the post natal period.
'Doula' is a Greek word that means "womans servant".
A doula mothers the mother!
She believes in the process of birth and the impact it  have can on parenting:

• She is a great listener
• She is respectful
• She doesn't impose her own thoughts and beliefs
• She trusts the woman's instincts
• She acknowledges the power of birth
• She believes the birthing woman's partner is the most important team member if that is right for that couple. 
• She recognises birth as a non medical event
• She understands that the fewer people interrupting the woman and the process, the quicker the birth
• She knows that dim lighting always makes a difference
• She offers continuous support to the woman and her birth team

Overall, she believes it is a woman's rite of passage to birth her baby where, with whom, and how she wishes.

The doula is knowledgeable in comfort measures such as relaxation breathing, massage and positioning, managing labour sensations using water, hot packs and aromas.
Doulas specialize in non-medical skills and do not perform clinical tasks, such as vaginal exams or fetal heart rate monitoring. Doulas do not diagnose medical conditions, offer second opinions, or give medical advice.

A doula is skilled in supporting the birthing woman and her partner to meet the challenge of labour one contraction at a time. 

Many studies in the USA have been conducted and highlighted the huge difference a doula can make to a labour and birth. In Canada, doulas are a recognized part of the birthing team and post natal services. The doula services fill an important gap for women and their caregivers and has been developed over the years to respond to the ever increasing requests from women to have more support and continuity of care before,during and after the birth of their children.

There are a variety of situations in which people choose to give birth: for example in the home or birth centre with Certified and Licensed midwives or hospital. A doula can support you anywhere you choose to have your baby.