Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners

30/09/2026

Hello everyone! People compare birth to running a marathon all the time….well Paul took this rather seriously….

Paul has very kindly offered to raise money for us by running (wouldn’t be us, but to each their own)! He has already ran Edinburgh 10k, as you can see here, he did an excellent job, next weekend he is running the Glasgow Half Marathon and two more early next year!

As ever your support would be appreciated, and anything that anyone could give us would be going towards paying for our volunteers expenses.

We never ever want our volunteers to be out of pocket, or restricted by travel to the women and families whose births they are attending. Driving or having uninhibited access to a vehicle is not a mandatory requirement to train with us.

Our aim is to make sure the volunteers promising us their time, can do this as easily as possible, the less barriers we have in place means the more accessible we are to train with and to work with. We know that attending a birth is a huge emotional ask. And if anyone has anything to spare to support us, so we can support them it would be gratefully received.

We can’t operate without volunteers. It simply doesn’t happen. And as much as the service is there to support women giving birth, we have to support the people providing the service too! They make this wee charities world go round!
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https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paulrunsforgrampianandtaysidebirthpartners?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=WA

doula

The link is in our bio if you are seeing this on insta!

15/09/2026

Ninewells Community Gardens.

Tayside are lucky enough to have access to an tiny pocket of magic in their grounds. Nothing is going to reset your nervous system like being outside in nature. And this wee place delivers.

We usually let our volunteers know that this is a great option to get women up and about for a walk. The benefits of walking and moving during labour are well documented. It’s even down several flights of stairs……and if you’ve heard of the Miles Circuit it’s something we can incorporate into stalled labours, or even just to get things moving as part of that. Don’t worry you don’t have to do all the stairs, lifts are available on every floor. Makes the walk back up to the ward easier too!

Being outside and walking helps women giving birth relax, take a moment to reconnect with themselves and their bodies. A second to tune back into their own rhythm, a rhythm that’s so easily disturbed by giving birth in an unfamiliar place.

Even nicer is that all the plants have been grouped by which bit of the body they help medicinally. Which we thought was a pretty lovely nod to the idea that plants are medicine! The calendula and the pink(!) yarrow both being wonderful for supporting postpartum. They grow vegetables and herbs, it’s wheelchair accessible. So even if you don’t feel up to walking it’s a beautiful change of scenery and a wee moment of calm. They even have an orchard.

Follow the signs in the main concourse to the Arboretum.

Have you spent any time in Ninewells Community Garden? Tell us about it in the comments!

14/09/2026

She had no idea what this was about to become. I’m Cassie and I’m one half of the two humans who started Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners.

Almost 5 years since I started on this path. I trained in 2020. By 2021 I was attending my first birth. Started in the trenches. At a birth at the last trust in Scotland still restricting birth partners to one, an induction that ended in a caesarean section, which by a miracle I ended up getting to go into to watch it happen. I hit the ground advocating and I’ve not stopped since.

In terms of births attended the only kind I’ve not been at has been a home birth, which really disproves the notion that doulas are only women barefoot at home births brandishing clary sage. We come in all shapes and sizes. All capabilities, skill sets and natures you could imagine. We are people. But called to a job.

One of my proudest moments has to be attending highly medicalised third birth, getting to use my skillset to advocate with her while she birthed her third baby.

My people find me and they are usually people having complicated births, or people who have been touched by trauma, birth or otherwise before. The women, birthers and families that need the advocacy and help to navigate their way through the NHS maternity system. The people I was meeting before this couldn’t afford me. That’s no brag, because it didn’t stop me doing the work. I just did it for free.

What a breath of fresh air it was to meet my co pilot Arleen | Doula | Aberdeen a few years ago and find out that I wasn’t alone. We always wanted to make this a reality and I am beyond grateful for all the help and support we’ve received. The people who have worked on this project have supported us, they have trusted us, even when we’ve both been low key bricking it, and they have never ever said that this idea, although huge, was too much. That sort of support came in many forms but nicola mahdiyyah goodall has cheered for us since the start, and it is a true comfort to have her on our team.

Birth bonds people. You can’t ever get away from that. I have been lucky to attend to many many amazing women and birthers in their pregnancy and to be able to hold their hands as their their lives changed forever, shout out to the one that recently came on as a trustee and is holding my hand now!

Basically, I’m very very lucky that this wild wee lock down decision after two catastrophic births of my own reshaped my entire life. And I’m very excited for what’s next for Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners.

10/08/2026

Who are we?

We are Arleen and Cassie!

We’ve been doulaing for about 6 years, not together but apart; wishing we could be doing it together! We are both hypnobirthing practitoners, three step rewind for trauma resolution trained and breast feeding peer supporters, Cassie also runs baby massage, women’s circles and closing ceremonies. We wear many hats.

We met like all good pairings do, though our mutual love for additional training! Arleen had voiced the idea that we should be working together, and we ran with it. Arleen had been running a CIC, which Cassie laterally joined, together we ran successful antenatal classes together, fully funded in Aberdeen.

The CIC winding down made room for us to start something we’ve both been talking about for, well the entire time we’ve been doulaing. A charity.

We’ve found over the years, that frankly doula support is a very elite thing. It comes with a heavy price tag. And most of the people who found us couldn’t afford us. So, you guessed it, we worked pro bono more often than not. The charity has been needed for years and we finally got it together to make it happen in the spring of 2025.

Not that it was that simple, or that it didn’t take a year of us building it slowly, getting funding as a constituted organisation first and running our first training week with nothing but a tiny budget and pure faith that we would get there in the end.

We’ve since run 2 more in Tayside and Grampian respectively!

Independent birth support shouldn’t be something you get if you can afford it. It’s intrinsically linked to community and better births. We attend with those who need us the most. Women have been tending to each other in labour for much longer than we have been birthing in hospitals, and we are bringing back that companionship in labour.

We truly believe that our volunteer birth partners are out in hospitals, at births changing the landscape of birth. And we couldn’t be prouder of them.

03/08/2026

There have been lots of new followers recently, it’s lovely to have you here, here’s a little about who we are, and what we do!

We are Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners, that’s Cassie and Arleen to our pals, and we are two doulas who decided to go rogue.

We’ve seen nothing but people who need our support, but who could never dream of affording the costs of a doula or professional birth partner. So we decided to take matters into our own hands. And with the support of Nicola at Red Tent, we began the journey of starting this wee charity.

We train volunteer birth partners to walk the journey of pregnancy with someone who genuinely needs the extra support and care, for people who are deemed at risk, people who might otherwise be birthing alone.

We have vast criteria, which we’ve taken from the MBRRACE report, to identify families who are at higher risk of harm during pregnancy.

We realised we can’t hold every woman’s hand in pregnancy and labour (much as we would like to) so we decided change needed to happen, and that we would instead hold the hands of volunteers.

Our volunteers are offered community, ongoing support and guidance, extensive training, social events and additional workshops. The people doing the work deserve to be seen and to be recognised, because without them we wouldn’t even exist.

We are taking applications on an ongoing basis with training dates online to be confirmed once’s all places are filled. If you were thinking about training to become a birth partner, or if you have a keen interest in birth and helping people navigate that transitional time, reach out. We would love to hear from you!

doulatraining

02/08/2026

THIS IS COMMUNITY

Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners first social event was stunning.

A weekend of camping, and beautiful settings that let us forage, taken in the countryside, chat birth, babies, debriefs, cultural competency, supporting families, and protecting our boundaries.

Massive thank you to everyone who made it along and for bringing your beautiful families to hang out with us. We literally cant do this without you. And we appreciate you all, for stepping into your birth partner roles with ease and for trusting us to have your back while you do the very important job of attending births.

Can’t even begin thanking people without saying a big huge thanks to nicola mahdiyyah goodall for coming all the way to us to share her wisdom and give us her coories. It’s easy to build something like this when you surround yourself with the right people. Her foraging masterclass was great, everyone went away with something new learned!

If volunteering with us was something you were thinking about doing, get in touch and let us know. We would love to hear from you.

22/07/2026

15/05/2026

🌿 Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners SCIO is recruiting people to join our board of charity trustees.

🌿 Trustees meet four times a year either online or in person, and have a unique role overseeing policy and strategic direction rather than getting involved with day-to-day operations.

🌿 We need people who share our vision and values, and can look at the big picture.

🌿 It's an important responsibility and one which will really make a difference within Grampian and Tayside Birth Partners.

🌿 Your main duty will be to uphold the legal requirements of the charity in line with OSCR guidance, helping to decide how public funds are allocated, and communicating with our small management team.

🌿 Anyone with enthusiasm for the role will be considered however we're particularly keen to hear from those with experience in accounting, fundraising, HR, psychology or obstetrics. We're also actively seeking representation from people of colour and members of minority ethnic communities.

🌿 Applications should be made in writing either via the link in our bio, email to [email protected] or DM.

18/04/2026

Our next Grampian training starts in ONE WEEK! It has really crept up!

We're so excited for this one and road testing our new training model.

To recap, all of our new volunteers will be required to attend TWO DAYS of training in person at Aberdeen Central Library on the 27th and 28th April.

Volunteer birth partners with no previous birth support experience will also qualify for funded doula training with at a value of £850 per person - all we ask in return is that you commit to volunteering with us for at least a year before taking on any private clients.

Our red tent sessions will take place on Saturday mornings via Zoom throughout May and June.

We've also got a couple of bonus sessions on local plants to forage now and essential oils to use to support people in the childbearing year. 🌿😍

DM us now or email [email protected] for the full list of dates or to arrange a chat and find out more.

We're extending our closing date by an extra day so you've got today and tomorrow to drop us a line before registration closes at midnight on Sunday 19th April.

This training is funded by the wonderful .shire and for that reason, places will be prioritised for volunteers who can support women and families living in Aberdeenshire, who are likely to have their babies at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

06/04/2026

Have you looked into our volunteer doula training? Because it’s had a bit of a glow up!

We wanted to make this training as accessible as humanly possible. We get it - we parent, we work, we volunteer, and we want to make this as easy for you to fit into your life as possible.

Do you have time to dedicate to attending a birth? If you do, then this might be the opportunity for you. Our Grampian birth partner training is taking place on the 27th and 28th April at Aberdeen Central Library. It's followed by six Red Tent Doula Training sessions which are all online. We may also be able to facilitate joining online for the library sessions, though we'd really love you to attend in person if you can!

Our training is fully funded by the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund via Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action, which means it is free for anyone who can support clients in Aberdeenshire.

If you ever felt called to attend a birth, or help someone vulnerable or at risk of birthing alone, we would love to hear from you.

We're not asking you to complete an application form at this stage, though you can if you like. Please just DM us or email [email protected] so we can arrange a chat and get you signed up!

Can't wait to hear from you!

Cassie and Arleen 💖🫶🏼



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