Nurturing doula support to nourish and empower you through the unknowns of postpartum.

Holistic evidence based support curated for new and seasoned mothers/parents of Hobart and surrounds. Feel confident and calm in pregnancy, after birth and beyond.  

You are here because you are ready to honour your after birth journey.

The thought of experiencing postpartum all on your own may have crossed your mind. You may also feel depleted and know you need to look after yourself amongst the busyness of baby and toddler life, not sure how to fit it all in. You may have stumbled, and in your search you found your way yearning for something more.

That something are those easy connections, the knowing helping hands, and the warm safe heart. When traditional postpartum care meets modern life, the nourishing well of support can be immensely profound in shaping your journey into the future. Your postpartum experience and well-being is at the centre of what Held and Wiser revere. I want to see positive ripple effects of well nourished mothers in community.

Hello!

My name is Shaadeh. I experienced an isolated after birth journey in a not-so-far new place away from family and friends. Left me wondering why navigating the early years of motherhood was beyond hard. I knew in my bones that I was not meant to do this alone. No mother or parent journey alone in a nourishing connected village…this is my why for stepping up as a postpartum doula.

Service Offerings

Postpartum
Planning

Planning for postpartum is as essential as planning for birth. The elements we can influence are our homes, the people we surround ourselves around and how we approach the early days after birth for a peaceful postpartum. Together we can turn your after birth vision into a map of actions.

Postpartum Care
Packages

Grounded and warm in home support for the early days, months or years into postpartum can make all the difference to your experience. Rest with ease knowing you will be held and seen through all stages of postpartum including first few years. Explore tailored packages and sessions.

Women’s Circles

Gather and share in a safe and inclusive space with women and mothers pre conception, pregnancy and all types of postpartum with the opportunity to connect in a welcoming and nurturing environment. A place to learn and grow. Connection makes the journey of life all that much more nourishing and enriching.

Postpartum VisionWorkbook

Postpartum Vision Workbook is a great start to thinking about the roadmap of your after birth journey. You will find prompts to plan for food, visitors, lifestyle changes, and ideas for navigating after birth, baby care and identity changes. You will receive complimentary recipes to enjoy.

A word on | 

Rest and warmth

Connecting back to old ways has been a meaningful way for people to connect with knowledge and rituals of postpartum. Here is what I learnt from my mother and our Chinese heritage. Before birth, mothers are filled with Yang (warmth from extra blood flow), and after birth when baby is born Yin (cold and air) enters the womb space leaving mothers vulnerable to being cold and slow to heal. It is also believed it has the potential to contribute to ailments arising in middle age. There are similarities in Indian culture and the Ayurveda Doshas. After birth the ayerveda dosha, pita (fire and water), leaves the body and vata (air and space) enters the body.

Although there are differing languages and rituals...the unanimous chant of rest and warmth is resounding.

Every culture has practices and rituals to ensure mothers are kept warm, are never alone with family and friends always present at the right times, hydrated and with plenty of rest to recover from birth, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. New mothers are set up for a good start to motherhood especially if this is what they seek.

In many eastern cultures it is encouraged to wear warm layers of clothing and slippers inside the home, eating warm food, only drinking warm or hot drinks, minimal bathing to lower chance of getting cold, and staying home as much as possible unless attending the odd community baths or steam rooms with your aunties cleaning you. These rituals have been practiced for many years to avoid getting cold and hampering recovery.

In today's modern homes we have access to a shower/bath plus heating and we have certain appointments we need to attend out of the home like health appointments. I encourage clients to consider creating a period between 2-4 weeks to remain home to ensure stress remains low and mothers are kept warm and fed by community all while learning to feed baby and embrace slowing down or the juggle of older siblings. This is where community play a large role, if you can lean into your connections. Rediscovering your cultural roots in postpartum support can be enriching and keeping knowledge alive in your community.

When a baby is born so is a mother/parent. Caring for new parents like a newborn can bring calm and confidence as they traverse the realms of parenthood.

Pillars of Practice

At the heart of Held and Wiser the foundations are woman and birthing person centred. Warm and nourished parents are nourished families and communities. Weaving aligned teachings and traditions optimises the experience for a supported postpartum in modern life.

I draw inspiration from my ancestral Chinese-Indonesian and Iranian postpartum traditions to nurture my clients and weave in client's desires and preferences. My practice is inspired by the 40 days of laying in, at the heart of it is to create a nest for long rests, learning, staying warm, healing and growing into motherhood and parenthood in the early days with your village support.

  • Be Guided by Intuition or Instinct

  • Nutrient Dense Food and Plants to Nourish and Support

  • Keeping Warm and Staying Home

  • Tradition Meets Modern Life

  • Slow and Simple Living

  • Creating Intentions

  • Practicing Gratitude

  • Creating Ritual in the Small, Everyday and Mundane

  • Be Guided by Nature

  • Curiosity, Play and Experiment

  • All People Can Experience Birth and Postpartum

  • Closing the Gap in Continuity of Care

  • The Sociology of Motherhood/Parenthood

Partners can be Part of the Journey

Held and Wiser services are for mothers or birthing parents. Partners are welcome and encouraged to join sessions including planning and in-home support visits.

“Parents who are held and nourished by their village are empowered to trust themselves and are wiser for it.”
— Shaadeh | Held and Wiser

  • “Neither of us really knew what to expect from the Postpartum Doula experience we had heard of Doula's but were both pretty in the dark about the services they provide. We were gifted the sessions we received and are so thankful as they were amazing! After each session we felt supported and nourished by Shaadeh, who gave us the time to unpack our birthing journey, explore how we were feeling transitioning into our new lives as parents and ask all the big and small questions that we couldn't think of. If you are considering this kind of support for yourself or for friends who are becoming parents, we can't recommend it enough. Even if you were like us and knew little about what a Doula does, you should definitely give it a go it set us up amazingly in our postpartum journey and transition into parenthood.”

    — Ellie S and Chris S | Public Servant and Firefighter

  • “We were lucky enough to have doula support from Shaadeh pre and postpartum. In the weeks leading up to our birth, Shaadeh provided very practical guidance for welcoming our little one in our home in the early days and her calming and kind energy was welcomed during her visits during such a precious time in our lives.”

    — Brooke H | Business Owner

  • “Shaadeh was my postpartum doula after a complex birthing journey. She attended to me at my home and in my space. This was great as I was still recovering and unable to drive anywhere. She made me a delicious meal - confinement chicken (she even brought all the ingredients to make it!). This Chinese recipe is traditionally served to mothers following childbirth. She even taught me how to make this simple recipe since I liked it so much. She then proceeded to clean and straighten my home. During this time, I was able to nurse my baby and get some rest. Post my nap, we sat and talked about my birthing and postpartum experience. It was so nice to talk to someone so kind, warm, understanding and non-judgmental. She did not rush to offer me any solutions but listened and empathized. When I asked for advice, she offered me valuable knowledge - that was evidence based, and also from her personal experience raising a child. We talked about many things that I was anxious about as a new parent. Topics ranged from (but not limited to) emotional and physical recovery from my childbirth, coping skills, simple recipes I can make, time management strategies, infant feeding and sleeping etc. I HIGHLY recommend her services to anyone interested. Also, she gives killer massages! Thank you Shaadeh for your help. You certainly helped me feel more confident and comfortable in those first few weeks post birth!”

    — Logi G | Resident Doctor

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