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Doulas have provided support for families throughout history, gaining popularity throughout the 1960s and 1980s.

Megan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is said to have had one at the births of her two children Archie and Lilibet.

Aimee Felus, a doula from Petworth, explained: “Doulas provide help and support to families with life transitions, such as becoming new parents or increasing your family.

“We are non-judgmental as give evidence based information to help families.

“We don’t replace midwives as we aren’t medically trained, and while some doulas aren’t trained I have undertaken training and CPD, there is also a mentoring programme to help expand our knowledge we can impart to families.”

There are different types of doula - pregnancy, birthing and postnatal, some do all of it, others parts and each usually has a specialty be it hypnobirthing, breast feeding support or massage.

Aimee is a mum of two and a postnatal doula. It first started when she supported her sister when she was in labour 15 years ago at home and the midwife commented that Aimee should consider becoming one.

She said: “I just didn’t think about it and then when I had my first child six years ago I had family close by and a good support network but it was still hard and I just thought ‘it shouldn’t be like this.’

“As a species we aren’t meant to be bringing up children at home alone, throughout history children have been brought up in a group with different generations imparting their knowledge and skills. The idea just grew from there.”

The World Health Organisation recommended in 2019 that every birthing woman should have a doula.

Shirley Stump has been a birth doula since 2014 and prior to that was a hypnobirth teacher.

Doulas - helping to support families with life transitions