Shannon Whitlock

Hello and thank you for being here.

I’m Shannon and I live in Cambridgeshire with my husband, our four children and a scruffy terrier. I’ve homeschooled our kids for the entirety of their school lives, they’ve never been to school or nursery. I love rain or stormy weather and as long as it’s not too warm, you’ll find me drinking a hot chocolate over any cold drink. I’m a massive cliche in the sense that I enjoy true crime (I did want to be a criminologist once upon a time!) and I can watch Gilmore Girls on repeat.

My journey to becoming a doula began in 2023 when I was pregnant with my fourth baby. I wanted her to be a vaginal birth after three sections and I quickly realised that I would have to be my own advocate. I want to be the support women need, especially when birthing outside of guidelines or against medical advice. It makes the world of difference to have someone in your corner.

At the beginning of 2024, I was given the opportunity to train as a Breastfeeding Peer Supporter. This training was the first “real learning” that I’d done since leaving college ten years before! While still doing that training, I signed up to become a hypnobirthing facilitator and then the Developing Doulas course. Learning how to support women in pregnancy, during birth and beyond really cemented that this is the path I want to be on. 

In terms of the support I can offer you, that largely depends on the support you want and need. I can be there in person or virtually – I will be entirely led by you. If you need me to attend antenatal appointments, I’ll be there. If you need breastfeeding support after birth, I’ll be there. We can discuss the type of support you want in our initial chat but be assured that I will strive to be what you need.

I’ve experienced almost every type of birth; induction, “emergency” section, semi-elective section, coerced section and physiological birth. I’ve also prepared for a home birth three times and experienced how relaxing water can be during labour. I think this gives me a balanced perspective on all births and it enables me to help you reach an informed conclusion around the type of birth you want.

I’d love to help women who want to achieve a VBAC or HBAC but also CBAC, first time parents or straightforward vaginal births after previous uncomplicated vaginal births.