Who is The Balanced Doula, Katie Hickey?

Hi, I am Katie Hickey, I am a vet, doula, mother and podcaster.

You’ll find me talking to people about their lives, their health & their happiness.

My Passion

My passion is connecting with people and communication. I have lived all over the world and worked in a huge variety of roles. My background is in science and medicine as a vet and I joined the world of birth work after the birth of my first daughter. Throughout my business and brand is the theme of balance. Initially, balance in terms of my role as a birth doula reflected my medical background and also my belief in birth, both human and animal, as being a natural process that only occasionally requires medical intervention. This view seems at odds with the way the medical system is designed to support women and people giving birth where the majority of births will be augmented or medically intervened in some way. You may be fooled into thinking that only a very small percentage of people can give birth without intervention, but I firmly believe it is our current maternity system that is to blame.

My Births

My first daughter was born by unplanned caesarean and that experience left me reeling. I wanted to know why my birth had seemingly derailed so far from what I had expected and planned. From this thirst for knowledge, The Balanced Doula was born. I used my learnings and my skill for connecting with people and building relationships to support other families preparing to birth their babies. I was always drawn to supporting those who had previously had a traumatic birth and were looking to have a more positive experience in subsequent pregnancies. Having experienced feelings of birth trauma myself I can really relate to others who feel like that and have shared similar fears and concerns when preparing for another birth. My second baby was born at home and I got the healing birth I so desperately craved. It was hard and I had a lot of doubts but she was born eventually in the pool at home.