About me — Doula Henna | Breastfeeding Counselor | Madrid

About me

You are warmly welcome to my website!

My name is Henna Pisilä-Kettunen. I am a doula and a breastfeeding counselor. I am a 45-year-old Finnish woman and a mother of four children born in France and Spain. I live in Madrid, Spain. I work in English, Spanish, French and Finnish. I practice both in person and online.

I give support to mothers and couples during the pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.

I accompany the different stages of the pregnancy. I support the future parents through the emotions that may appear during the pregnancy. I help making the birth wish list and prepare the mother and the couple for the birth. I inform, answer any questions, and give options. I never make decisions, but I facilitate the choices the couple makes, respecting their decisions without any judgment.

In the preparation for the birth, the objective is that the woman can live the best possible and satisfactory birthing experience. I am specialized in the hypnobirthing method that prepares the woman to face the birth with calmness, curiosity, and confidence. It approaches the birth without fear and minimizes the physical discomfort during the birth. The woman learns to guide her thoughts and control her breathing. In the hypnobirthing the subconscious mind is worked. The techniques might include, for example, positive affirmations, as well as self-hypnosis through meditation and visualizations.

During the birth, I am 100% present for the mother. The aim is that the mother can live a positive, empowering birth experience. I support the mother mentally. My presence gives calm, serenity, and refuge. I encourage the mother to find her inner strength and follow her instincts. I also give the mother physical support, guiding her to take different positions and providing non-medication-based forms of pain relief. I make sure that the wishes the mother may have during the birth are heard.

During the postpartum period, the first few weeks after the birth, I support the mother in breastfeeding. I support the mother emotionally in her new role and new stage of life. I answer questions regarding infant care, and any other questions that may appear during the postpartum period.

Gratitude

I would like to express my gratitude to the following people without whom I wouldn’t be the person I am, and I wouldn’t be a doula.
To all the women and couples that I have accompanied, and will accompany. It is an honor. Thank you for your confidence.
To my four children. Without you my doula instinct may not have been born and I wouldn’t have found my vocation. You are my greatest masters. Thank you for reminding me to live in the moment and for teaching me to be present.
To my partner for supporting me and helping me through his unbelievable intelligence and wisdom in several things related to my doula project. Thank you for encouraging me.
To all my dear relatives. You are my roots. A special thank you to my mother and my father, as well as to my two brothers, their wives, and their three children. Thank you for believing in me. Loving thoughts also to my dearly past grandmothers and grandfathers, as well as to my dearly past two great-aunts who inspire me.
To all my friends, mommy friends, yoga friends, dance friends and soulmates with whom I have crossed paths. Thank you for all the interesting discussions. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you to my two friends in Madrid, Silvia and Diane, for helping me with my website by correcting my Spanish and French translations.
To my doula training teachers and all the other fourteen women with whom I lived the amazing emotional journey towards my profession. To all the teachers during all the other trainings I have attended. To all my doula colleagues that I have in my wonderful doula network. We are connected.
To my two midwives and to my gynecologist in Nice, France. To my two gynecologists in Madrid, Spain. Thank you for the birth preparations. Thank you for taking care of my wellbeing and my babies’ wellbeing throughout the pregnancies and during the births of my babies.
To my teachers of Cuban dances, Hanna Terán in Helsinki and Yanulka O’Farrill in Madrid. Through dance and your teaching I have managed to improve my self-esteem and discover my femininity.
To my Iyengar Yoga teachers: Ben Thomas and Birgit Reimer in California, Christianne Nirvano and Timo Kurvi in Helsinki, Christian Pisano and June Whittaker in Nice, and Susana Méndez in Madrid. Yoga changed my life in 2007. Thank you for guiding me to connect with my inner self and thank you for teaching me body alignment. Thank you for facilitating me to live a healthier life. Yoga helped me during my four childbirths. Giving birth was yoga to me. “Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.” — B.K.S. Iyengar