About Laura
When I was pregnant, I had an overwhelming instinct that I wanted to be in the UK to give birth so that I could be close to my Mum. Alongside my husband’s incredible support, she really was my doula before, during and after giving birth. I learned to trust my instincts and experienced what it felt like to have unconditional love and support during this powerful, vulnerable time.
We returned to the US after our son was born, but soon Covid hit. My return to dance was further delayed by the pandemic. I had a long time to reflect on the transformational physical experiences of pregnancy and labour, and the realities of just how much support a new family needs. In the middle of the pandemic, we decided to move to the UK permanently to be close to my family.
Hello!
I’m a birth and postpartum doula and a professional dancer (under my birth name Laura Careless), based in rural East Sussex. As a doula, I serve families in most parts of East Sussex, and many areas of West Sussex and Kent. Basically, anywhere I can get to when you need me!
I’m an in-person person. Learning about the body, and experiencing life in an embodied way, has always been my passion and purpose. I was drawn to dance at an early age and began full-time pre-professional ballet training at age 11. But by the time I finished high school, I was told I was a square peg in a round hole and would need to conform in order to continue in ballet. I have spent my life trying to do the opposite!
Dance took me across the Atlantic and back again. I continued my training at The Juilliard School in New York, and performed professionally in New York City throughout my 20s. I met my husband when we were both performing in an opera, and we got married in my mother’s garden a few years later.
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I still wanted to be able to take up a few special dance projects a year, but my daily dance teaching hours made me less available for my family after school. One day, while chatting to a friend about my work and schedule, the idea of becoming a doula popped into my head and wouldn’t leave. I went through the certification process with the gorgeous community at Nurturing Birth, a Doula UK-approved programme. As I learned more about the role, it felt like a job that in some way I had been doing all my life.
And so I now find myself with a patchwork quilt of a life. No two days or weeks are the same! There are some short periods where I am unavailable for doula work so I can pursue occasional dance projects (more on that here if you’re curious! Or check out my local movement classes in a barn for children and their grown-ups here!). I then take long breaks from dance to fill my cup in community with my family, friends and clients. There is no greater honour than being invited to support a family in the cocoon of pregnancy, birth or the postnatal period. Combining my understanding and belief in the power of the body with my love of people and community is the joy of my life.
