Doula UK Doula of the Year Award, presented by Ricki Lake!

Kicki Hansard, nominated by Alison Sarah, was chosen from over ninety entries submitted to Pregnancy & Birth magazine, to be our first Doula of the Year.

Award judge, Ellie Hughes, Editor of Pregnancy & Birth Magazine said ‘It was a moving experience reading all the entries, underlining the importance of the work Doulas do’ and also how hard it had been to choose a winner.

Alison, who nominated Kicki for the award was asked to join her on stage for her acceptance.  She gave a moving speech on what an asset Kicki had been before, during and after her birth. 

Kicki was thrilled and surprised and said that she now needed a Doula to help her breathe!

We were entertained by speakers, Dianne Garland - Water Birth guru, Patrick Houser – Fathers-to-Be, Janey Lee Grace of Radio 2 and our MC Jane Garvey of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, before watching the film ‘A Doula for Everyone’, about our Hardship Fund.

After a delicious Brunch, James McQuillan from the BBC’s The Apprentice gave a very male and thoroughly entertaining account of his brushes with birth and then dealt with the Raffle and an Auction – raising £1500 for the Fund!

A highlight for all was hearing Ricki Lake talk about her experiences of birth and filming The Business of Being Born, her own exploration of childbirth and her advocacy for a woman’s right to choice.