Building a family is a deeply personal journey, and for many LGBTQ+ parents, the path to parenthood can involve additional emotional, practical, and logistical considerations. Whether through conception, donor conception, surrogacy, adoption, co-parenting, or gender-affirming family-building journeys, LGBTQ+ families often navigate systems that were not originally designed with their experiences in mind. As a doula, I believe every family deserves compassionate, inclusive, an

In conversations about maternity care, doulas are sometimes framed as an “extra,” a private add-on in a system already under pressure. But what if we looked at doulas differently, not as a parallel service and not as a replacement for clinical care, but as collaborators who can support birthing people and help ease some of the strain on midwives and NHS maternity services? With UK maternity services facing staffing shortages, rising intervention rates and increasing complexit