About Maternal Connection

A mother-centred approach to postpartum care.

My passion is to work with new mothers and help you navigate your way through one of the most redefining moments of your life — motherhood. My goal is to relieve some of the daily pressures for your family during the postnatal period by providing services so that you can focus on the other challenges new additions to your family bring:

Perhaps you are also tending to older siblings at home and supporting their adjustment to life with a new baby. I am simply here to help make life a little easier so you can focus on what is truly important at this time. I want to surround you, so you feel supported and heard through this massive transition into motherhood. I will help guide you to tap into your new mother’s intuition and gain confidence in your choices to mother your unique baby.

"We don't have to do it alone. We were never meant to."

- Brene Brown -

What is a doula?

As our community and culture has changed, the needs of a woman during pregnancy and in the postpartum period have been somewhat forgotten. Once, a community would form around an expectant mother, providing her nurturing and loving support. Now that we live in nuclear families, and the demands on our time are greater than ever, it can be easy for a new mother to feel lost, isolated, overwhelmed and exhausted.

For many women, it can be years or decades later that they realise they are still traumatised from their birth and postpartum period.

Postpartum doulas are non-medical professionals designed to fill this gap with emotional and physical support during the life-changing transition to motherhood. Postpartum doulas help women step into their roles as mothers with confidence and satisfaction.

My Qualifications & Accreditations

Registered Nurse (Div 1)

Australian Catholic University

Bachelor Of Nursing.

Graduated 2013. Completed my graduate year and subsequent years at St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Fitzroy. And currently at Bass Coast and Gippsland Southern health hospital.

Accredited Member

Doula Network Australia

Doula Network Australia Inc. is the national association for doulas and student doulas in Australia. They provide peer support, professional development and advocacy for our members.

‘Newborn Mothers Postpartum Professional’ Graduate

Newborn Mothers Collective (NMC)

NMC is endorsed by the Australian College of Midwives, DONA International and the Australian Natural Therapists Association.

Mental Health First Aid Training

MindfullAus

Course content is derived from a number of consensus studies incorporating the expertise of hundreds of researchers, clinicians, mental health consumer advocates and carer advocates.

My Story

I am a postpartum doula and Registered Nurse living in Inverloch, Victoria

I live with my husband, daughter and son and we love exploring Gippsland, hiking up local mountains, growing vegetables in our garden and discovering new playgrounds in our neighbourhood. I’m a coffee lover and enjoy eating modern food at our local cafe in town and sunny days relaxing at the beach with our kids running amuck in the water.

I created Maternal Connection after the birth of my second child. I was drawn to work with mothers because of my own challenging journey into motherhood. I was totally blindsided when I had my first baby, had little support (plus didn’t feel comfortable asking for help), was isolated, exhausted and overwhelmed by so many opinions about parenthood. My husband and I quickly unravelled emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Over the following years I did the hard work to build myself back together with professional help. I felt a desire to help other mothers through their early stages of motherhood so they could avoid the struggles I, and so many, faced.

I want to guide and connect with mothers to help them feel empowered and be confident to follow their intuition. You have all the answers within you even when the anxiety and self-doubt come flowing from sleep deprivation; I’m here to help you hear that voice within.

My breastfeeding journey

I can offer help and guidance with your breast-feeding journey.

I breastfed both of my children and came across many challenges throughout the journey, including:

My training with Amberley at Maternal Instincts has been an amazing opportunity to build my skills and resources to manage most issues that arise in the early weeks of breastfeeding your beautiful newborn. If you present with an issue outside my scope of knowledge, I can help you access support from a lactation expert or GP.

If breastfeeding is just not the right fit for you and your baby, your mental health is absolute priority. I am able to help guide you through breastfeeding alternatives with care and empathy.

caring for my clients

At Maternal Connection, the health and well-being of my clients and family members are my number one priority.

For your wellbeing, I:

COVID-19 Safe Plan

I continue to uphold high hygiene and infection control standards, policies, and procedures and are taking every precaution to reduce the risk for my clients and my family.

"Marissa brought me some beautiful flowers and gifts which really made me feel special, as everyone tends to shower the baby with gifts and forget about the mother (who has done all the hard work). The recipe planning process was quite easy. And the meals and snacks were delicious. I highly recommend Marissa’s support for Mum’s post birth. Thank you again. "

JAYNE