THEA ANDERSON IBCLC & DOULA

About

Hello, I'm Thea. A passionate birthworker and breastfeeding specialist, a mum of two, a gardening enthusiast and an advocate for informed choice. I live in a village by the sea and work with families throughout the perinatal period across South-East Kent.

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As a birthworker, my goal is to support families to achieve the outcomes they desire. I strive to do this through both emotional and practical support. I share my knowledge gained through the experience of working with families, as well as signposting to resources and evidence-based information. I provide education around informed consent and offer families continuity of care through pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. My support can include; group antenatal classes, specialist breastfeeding support, hypnobirthing education, birth doula and postnatal doula support.

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I have been involved in supporting families for over a decade, initially training as a breastfeeding peer supporter in 2011, and have never looked back.

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I gave birth to my first child in the summer of 2010 at the age of 23. I was keen to breastfeed, but I hadn't really considered what would happen if it didn't "come naturally" to me. The support I received at that time had a lasting and positive impact on me and my family's life and I was keen to be able to pass that on to other families.

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From this point onwards I have dived deeper and deeper into my role as a birth worker and breastfeeding supporter. I first trained locally as a Peer Supporter, then a Breastfeeding Counsellor with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers. As my desire to learn more and be able to support more families grew, I made the decision to train as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). This involved completing 14 health science-related subjects, 90 hours of lactation education, 1000 clinical hours (supporting parents) before finally being able to sit my exam to qualify in September 2021. I started working in early 2023 as a Doula after completing a course with Developing Doulas. I then trained in Spring 2023 as a Birth Prep in a Box facilitator which led me to running antenatal birth preparation and hypnobirthing antenatal classes in the Dover and Deal area of Kent.

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When I'm not supporting families or reading about the world of pregnancy, birth and lactation, I love to be out in nature, growing vegetables, looking after my chickens and enjoying the wonderful beaches and countryside of East Kent.