About Birth Mama
Hi! Welcome, I’m Lisa Hamilton.
Shellharbour mama, certified Doula, Birth Educator and Midwifery student. Birth Mama is my ‘fourth baby’ :)
I am an experienced and certified Doula having attended close to 100 births. I have never seen one birth the same! However this level of experience is something that assists me in my demeanor and behaviour throughout your birth experience and is something that cannot be faked.
As well as this, I am a student midwife in our local hospitals. This gives me incredible, rare insight into the inner workings of your chosen place of birth as well as allows me to create lasting relationships with midwives and obstetricians in these locations so that you are best supported during your experience.
As a young girl growing up in Wollongong, it was common place for me to spend my weekends babysitting the neighborhood babies. I became a godmother at 12 years of age and relished in every nappy change, bath and snuggle her mama would allow. I have always been “that” girl that stole the babies for cuddles at BBQ’s, however it wasn’t until I was a little older and less naïve that I understood the immense power behind bringing these babies into the world.
I support women to birth at hospital or at home with a private midwife. At present I am unable to support freebirths due to my student registration with the midwifery board.
I have previously taught birth classes, held womens circles and run online forums during covid. My experience is diverse and unique! So how did this come about?!
Fast forward to me at 19 and my sister delivered her first baby with the help of the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) model of care at RPA. I arrived immediately and was both in awe and fascination at the incredible vibe I had come upon. My sister although exhausted was in a state of euphoria and couldn’t believe she had just made and delivered a human being from her body! This was my first taste of what birth could be all about and I was hooked…
My Birth Experiences
Many years later…
… when I was pregnant with my first son, I had paid for years for pregnancy private health insurance so I naturally proceeded down the obstetric route. I was hungry for information and consumed all the extra courses and books I could find in my quest for the natural birth I desired. During this time, I began to feel uncomfortable with the attitude that a medicalized birth with intervention was the ‘safest’ option for me. The stories I heard from other women about birth were tails of horror and it truly did not sit well with me that such an incredible rite of passage was being so feared and women were coming out of it so damaged and unable to care for their babies.
I resented the implication that the pain of childbirth would be ‘too much’ for me, and the view expressed by many that birth was something best managed as an illness not a very normal event and a beautiful, transformative part of life. To me i could think of nothing more important and sacred.
This sparked my fire and my husband quickly tired of the facts and figures I was throwing at him daily! I read and researched widely on the theories and evidence supporting successful, low intervention birthing for healthy women with low-risk pregnancies. I believed I could do it, I educated and prepared myself and in the end, with the support of my birth team (hubby and Mama)… I did.
From then on I made it my mission to find my niche in the Maternity Services sector. I wanted other women to have access to the level of information and support they deserved. I enrolled in Doula College, as well as a Bachelor of Midwifery, was accepted into both and basically haven’t looked back!
When I was pregnant with my second son, I decided on a home birth through. I knew the figures, I knew the stats and I was lucky enough to be supported by two wonderful midwifes from the Wollongong MGP program.
This time I also knew the power of birthing with supportive, like-minded women around me that I trusted and so I also had my mum, my sister and of course my husband present. The dynamic was incredible and that part of my labour was dare I say it - enjoyable! I spontaneously laboured from early morning in the comfort of my home until mid afternoon. Unfortunately my son was stuck and I was transferred to hospital incase i needed to recieve emergency care (which is the role of hospital in a homebirth situation by the way) where he magically turned and was born two pushes after arriving.
After my second birth, I suffered PTSD and struggled to bond with my son. This was thankfully picked up early and I was able to seek help thanks to my loved one’s gentle prodding and encouragement.
This birth further pushed me down the Doula avenue and was the birth i needed to have at the time to fully understand the impact an experienced birth worker can have on your birth space as well as the understanding around normal birth that our society holds.
In 2022 when I told my husband I was ready to have another baby and i wanted to do it with a private midwife at home, he was hesitant! The experience for him birthing my second son was traumatic and it took alot of conversations with our private midwife and myself to help him feel comfortable with my decision.
In July 2023 I had my final baby at home. Meaning that I not only have worked in all birthing options within the illawarra but that i have also birthed through them which is an added layer to my experience. My daughter was born after a long posterior labour, into the pool, into my arms! It wasn’t the quiet, easy birth you see on a lot of home birthing documentaries and thats ok! I never felt unsafe or that anything was wrong. My team made me feel supported and empowered and it was all just very… normal!
After this, I realized that not everyone has access to or is educated on the importance of finding the right care and having the right support around them during this period.
I realised how essential it is to have people I trusted enough and who were experienced with birth to help not only me but my husband as well through some of life’s defining moments before, during and after birth. If we look back to cave man times, aunties, mums and elders would have been there with women to support them and this sense of community is something I hope to reignite and bring to my women through my work as a birth worker.
I now return to my passion with a 5 year old, 3 year old and 8 month old. It isn’t easy but when you do what you love and you have found your “thing,” they say you’ll never work a day in your life.
Hand on heart I can say that for me, it’s true.
My Mission.
At Birth Mama, through experience and evidence-based knowledge, I will give you the tools to have the birth YOU want. That simple!
The wellbeing of mama’s, babies and families are at the core of what I do, because I know that becoming a mum is about the pre-natal, birth AND post-partum period and everything that comes along with it.
Birth Mama is all about woman-centred care, continuity and empowering advice to help you take back your power and sit in your confidence.
All this so you can uncover the truth that I already know - that you CAN birth, mama!