Supporting you through pregnancy, birth and beyond
I am a doula mentor and an experienced birth and postnatal doula. I have been an active doula for 15 years, supporting 100s of families over the years in many different ways.
My practice as doula is known to be rooted in my understanding and experience of the benefits that can be gained from undisturbed and appropriately supported physiological birth. I have a strong belief in the wisdom of the body and the power of letting things unfold in their own time. I am also realistic and deeply respectful of the nature of birth and the skills that are offered by medical practitioners when needed. Every birth is unique and every woman makes decisions from their own place of strength and limitations and with a deep love for their unborn child. I will support you and your family however your plans for birth unfold and wherever your decisions take you.
I offer a range of services including birth preparation and hypnobirthing classes, mother blessing ceremonies, birth and postnatal support and trauma debrief and support.
I offer my services primarily to people living in Peterborough, Stamford, Oakham, Oundle, Corby, Kettering and across North Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire. If you live further afield than this, I am happy to talk to you and to help you to find someone who can support you closer to home if needed.
My passion is to support others to become truly empowered and to support other women to become doulas and role models within their own communities.
DRB Checked. Fully Insured.
Verina Henchy Doula, Birth Doula, Antenatal Support, Hypnobirthing Practitioner 20 Google reviewsPosted on Amy Fox BondTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Verina supported me through the most challenging time of my life, in every way. I have a disability and was Consultant-led while pregnant. She advocated for choice for me and this allowed me to give birth to my daughter in the Midwife-led unit of the hospital as this was the only area with a birthing pool. She offered constant emotional support during the ending of my marriage while pregnant, and kept me sane(ish) through this. She is a formidable lady who is amazingly knowledgeable and she enabled me to have a wonderful, completely natural birth in the water while taking the stress of managing my family away from me. She advocated, while giving me the confidence to advocate for myself, which I have pulled forward into my everyday life I cannot recommend this beautiful lady enough.Posted on Litty BabuTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We attended the hypnobirthing sessions with Verina. There were 4sessions across 4weeks, felt the price was worth it for the content and resources. Verina has so much knowledge and experience supporting delivering babies, the sessions were engaging, inclusive of mother and father, at a good pace, answered all our questions. Verina’s advice was based on research and she would forward the research e.g. effect of complications on mother/child. It was a pleasure and we are very glad that we could attend Verina’s hypnobirthing sessions. We were recommended c-section in the end and she was also very helpful with this. Would happily recommend to expecting parents. Thank you.Posted on Sarah ShawTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Where do I start… this lady is a legend. I was absolutely petrified of labour. I decided to meet Verina based on her incredible reviews and WOW I was not disappointed. As soon as I met her I knew I needed her involved in my pregnancy. She made my whole experience such a joy and a positive calm labour which I didn’t think existed. I was so impressed, not only by her positive calm ora but her knowledge is second to none. I cannot thank this lovely lady enough. Sarah and David xxPosted on Deborah WatsonTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. When we were expecting our first baby, I felt having a doula would be beneficial, for me and my partner. At the time, we felt it was a worthwhile investment, as it was our first baby and we didn’t know what to expect. We said to ourselves, “We can spend the money this time and then if we have any more children, we won’t need to.” Roll forward nearly three years to child number two and we immediately agreed we needed Verina on board again! The first time we met Verina we knew that we wanted to have her as part of our birth team. She has such a calming, reassuring demeanour that I knew would be essential to both me and my partner. When it was time to have our second baby, she was also great with our daughter, helping her also to prepare for the arrival of her sibling. We also opted to do hypnobirthing with Verina and this was especially useful as she was then able to refer to the techniques during my labour, helping to keep me focused. I cannot recommend Verina enough. Throughout my labour she made me feel completely safe and respected. She helped me tune into my own body and encouraged my partner and I the whole way through the process.Posted on Stefan MaczkowskiTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This is a hard review to write, as it's for someone who has now become a part of our new family, and we will never be able to thank enough for just how much they supported and guided us through the arrival of our son. We spoke to several Doulas, who were all amazing, before choosing Verina. Verina stood out for being extremely knowledgeable, intuitive, humorous, compassionate, as well as showing a genuine curiousity about us, why we wanted to use a Doula, and choose a home birth. Looking back, I think Verina chose us as much as we chose her, and she certainly sealed the deal with Nell by saying she would be with us until we were in bed with baby next to us, and either a cup of tea or glass of champagne! We learned so much through our sessions with Verina, giving us confidence in creating our birth plan, which was built on science and fact (two key things; position and soft cervix!), and enriched with Verina's experience. Verina has a rare ability to guide you through positive enquiry and discussion, allowing you to make informed decisions, without ever overstepping the boundary of whose choice it is. Our baby needed a little extra help to be delivered after a wonderful home birthing experience, which meant a trip to the hospital for the final stage. Thanks to our work with Verina, this eventuality was covered in our birth plan, so we knew exactly what our decision criteria were. Verina stayed with us throughout our hospital journey, intervening at certain points to explain what was going to happen, and what we should expect in plain English, as well as contextualise any risks that were being explained to us very rapidly (for good reason). I can't put into words just how thankful I am for Verina being there during that time, and helping us welcome our son to the world. Verina still continues to support us in the next stage of our parenting journey, including the delivery of some outstanding homemade sourdough and biscuits! In short, if you're looking for a Doula, it's hard to imagine making a better choice than Verina. Thank you again Verina, love, Stef, Nell, and baby xPosted on Muriam RehmanTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Verina is an amazing doula who gave me so much confidence in myself and my body prior to having my first son. I attended her Hypnobirthing classes in 2022 and they were the best thing I could have done to prepare for my birth. She was so wonderful and supportive and made me feel very calm and at ease. I went on to have a home birth with both my children and I really do feel the confidence and reassurance Verina gave me during pregnancy helped me achieve the above outcomes. She really is an amazing Doula and I would highly recommend getting in touch with her if you are pregnant and looking for support!Posted on Stephanie AshyggtonTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Where to even begin? When I first met Verina, it was during my Closing of the Bones ceremony. I could immediately sense her strength, warmth, and the ease with which she stepped into her nurturing role. She didn’t hesitate to connect with my children, playing with them as if she had always been part of our family. Verina became my doula for my next birth, I received a level of love and support that words can hardly capture. She has an incredible ability to take initiative, always noticing what needs to be done, while holding the family as a whole in her care. She naturally filled the spaces where extra attention was needed, supporting us in ways we didn’t even know we needed at the time. Verina will always hold a special place in my heart. She became family to us, and to this day my children still talk about her. I will forever be grateful for her presence, her love, and her support during one of the most vulnerable and transformative times of my life. She gave me the gift of true sisterhood and reminded me what it feels like to be deeply held and supported.Posted on Ajmal RazaTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I don’t think words can do justice to how valuable our time was with Verina. The hypnobirthing classes were fantastic. They helped us prepare for the arrival of our little one. Her experience, wisdom, and compassion shines through. I would whole heartedly recommend her to friends and family.Posted on Danielle MarsdenTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Verina is extremely knowledgeable about birth and beyond, passionate and caring. We found our experience of Hypnobirthing with Verina highly valuable and a part of our pregnancy journey we will never forget. We finished the course feeling so much more informed and cannot recommend it enough! Meeting Verina and learning from her during my pregnancy made us feel so much more prepared and excited for birth which took away the feeling of fear. Thank you Verina! We will forever be grateful to you for the positive mindset we gained. We felt so empowered and confident when making decisions leading up to and during our babies birth. Ultimately, we felt calm and relaxed. Our baby is very content and calm which we think is a result from the positive entrance he had into this world.Posted on Jo ThistlethwaiteTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Verina opened up a whole new world to me of pregnancy and birth and explained very clearly ALL of the options and choices you have that you don't necessarily get told about at your regular midwife appointments. She will support you 100% with whatever choices you make and is friendly and open about everything. The hypnobirthing course she ran was fun, open and great at calming the nerves. I wholeheartedly believe that the beautiful baby boy that I have now is so calm, relaxed and easygoing because of the hypnobirthing sessions that we did when he was in the womb. The techniques really helped when I was in labour at home too. Verina provides excellent aftercare as well, keeping in touch to make sure everything is ok. She helped me with breastfeeding techniques (again ones that they don't always tell you about in hospital) and I'm very pleased to say I'm breastfeeding with ease now and I love it. If you are unsure, scared or just want to know more about birth, I would highly recommend Verina.
Closing the Bones
Closing the Bones is a postpartum healing ceremony, created by a Mexican tradition where the postpartum mother is anointed, massaged and wrapped. It helps to nurture the mother after her birth journey into motherhood. It is a celebration, a setting of sacred space, and a way to nurture mother and baby.