About
Amelie Cresswell
South West London birth and postpartum doula
Pregnancy and postnatal yoga teacher in Richmond & Kew
Baby massage and baby yoga teacher & trainer
Thank you for taking the time to come visit this page. I’m so glad you’re curious about how specifically-tailored pregnancy and postnatal yoga, or birth and postpartum doula support might make a positive difference to you right now.
Pregnancy, birth, early motherhood and the journey ‘beyond’ are all such unique times in a woman’s life. Times that are not always (or even often) honoured and acknowledged in our modern life for what they truly are. Nor truly well supported.
A real rollercoaster, physically, emotionally, and in a very pragmatic way too! From the sickness, tiredness and anxiety of the first trimester, to the heaviness and impatience of the third. The big, daunting unknown of giving birth. The change, chaos, exhaustion and endless questioning of early postpartum… The moving forward, with our new bodies and growing babies.
I get it. Because I’ve been there myself. Every step of the way.
- My story -
It’s through my own journey of motherhood that I came to this path.
After dabbling with yoga in my 20s (which didn’t really ‘click’ with me!), I truly discovered and connected with this practice in 2012 when expecting my first baby. When everything about pregnancy, my changing body and what lay ahead felt new and a bit (a lot!) daunting, attending pregnancy yoga classes completely transformed my experience.
Week after week, I discovered how to support my changing body, address these aches and pains, calm my anxieties (which I had never managed to tame before) and connect deeply with my baby… It enabled me to truly enjoy my pregnancy right up and past my ‘due date’, and feeling completely serene and empowered about my ability to give birth too!
However, despite doing the 'classic’ antenatal course and thinking I was truly prepared for what was to come, I realised this hadn’t equipped me to understand and navigate birth in the current maternity care system nor early postpartum. I came to experience a very tough, traumatic first birth and a ‘crash landing’ in motherhood.
At this very vulnerable time, it was postnatal yoga, and early mum & baby nurture practices that helped me heal my changed body, feel more rested when sleep was so scarce, connect with my little girl and trust my fragile mother’s instincts, and ultimately, gradually, feel like myself again.
And it was also when a seed was planted in my mind, to provide better support for other women through this earth-shattering, transformational experience. First as a pregnancy and postnatal yoga teacher and antenatal education, and then later as a birth & postpartum doula (once my own children were a little less dependent on me).
To make this my one and only work, my purpose.
To hold this very special space for you (and your baby), may it be in my yoga classes or as a doula in your birth space or in postpartum, and help you find calm, ease, deep understanding and trust in your body, baby, birth and yourself, throughout pregnancy, birth, early motherhood, and beyond.
What’s different about my approach?
Yoga, maybe not as you know it
All my yoga classes are carefully crafted to be of the greatest benefit to you (and your baby) at the specific stage of life you’re at, and always taught in a mindful, accessible and trauma-informed yet fun way.
Expect a unique blend of classic and adapted yoga poses, together with fluid somatic movement, breathwork, therapeutic exercises, restorative poses and guided relaxation, as well as integrated baby practices in all mum & baby classes.
You don’t need to have any yoga experience, be flexible, or to wear fancy yoga pants (unless it makes you feel good!).
… in an informative and empowering way…
It’s not right you should know your phone better than your own body, body processes, pelvis, pelvic floor, or baby. And for me, this requires both knowledge (i.e information that we process with our mind), and embodied knowing (understanding with /through your body).
All my classes, birth preparation and doula support aim to equip you this crucial knowledge & knowing in an accessible & practical way, designed to leave you feeling confident & empowered about your body, birth and baby.
… always with some personal attention
To me, you will never be just a body on a mat. Or a person fitting in a fixed category box in the maternity system (the ‘older’ mum, the ivf mum, the diabetes mum, the big baby mum etc),
Whether in my classes or doula support, I deeply care that you feel seen and heard as an individual, and receive the information and guidance you need so the practice, or your birth prep and journey best supports YOU and YOUR needs.
This is what makes a huge difference to your experience.
“Amelie's warmth, expertise and humour
make her classes informative, grounding and, above all, relaxing and enjoyable at a time when everything is in flux. My only regret is not having started sooner! ”
— Komal Parekh
Trainings, qualifications & specialisms
Birth & Postnatal Doula training with Developing Doulas, accredited by DoulaUK
200hrs trauma-informed somatics yoga teacher training with Barefoot Body, certified by Yoga Alliance
Birthlight Yoga for Pregnancy & birth with Dr Francoise Freedman
Birthlight Early Postpartum Recovery & Postnatal Yoga
Birthlight Baby Yoga Practitioner & Teacher Trainer
Birthlight Baby Massage & Nurture Practitioner & Teacher Trainer
Birthlight Yoga for Fertility and Early Pregnancy
Fertility Yoga training with Cherie Lathey & Diane King, Yogamama
IAIM UK Certified Instructor in Infant Massage
Birthlight Yoga to support breastfeeding
Birthlight Yoga for Diastasis Recti
Yoga for Digestive Health - Charlotte Watts
Somatics for Yoga Teachers - Charlotte Watts
Mindful strength for access & variety - Barefoot Body
Finally Pregnant Yoga Class Leader (Yoga after infertility & baby loss / Yoga for long awaited pregnancies)- Co-created with Cath Strawbridge & Simone Douglas-Martin