With Jade… photographer, doula, TENs hire & post partum meal service

Jade, tell us about yourself, your family and your business...

First and foremost, I'm Mum to my two beautiful daughters, Mila (4) and Remi (18 months), dog mum to our lovable fur baby Doug, and wife to one of my oldest school friends, Matt (who will happily tell you I friend-zoned him all through school)!

I was born and raised in England before moving to Australia when I was 12. I'm one of four siblings, and family has always been at the heart of who I am. We've lived on Sydney's Northern Beaches ever since arriving in Australia, and it's now where my little family calls home. I absolutely love the lifestyle that comes with living by the water, and I feel incredibly grateful that our girls get to grow up here. Add good food (especially dessert), salty swims, beach picnics, and the occasional snowboarding trip, and I'm in my happy place.

I'm also a Registered Nurse with over 14 years of experience working within the hospital system. Throughout my nursing career I've worked across several specialties, including a surgical ward where I cared for many women recovering from gynaecological procedures, anaesthetic nursing where I spent countless days supporting women through caesarean births, and Intensive Care. Today, I work in a busy Infusion Centre caring for patients across a range of specialties, while also working at the University of Sydney in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trial Unit.

My business, With Jade, brings together everything I'm passionate about. I'm a birth and postpartum doula, birth and family photographer, and I also hire TENS machines and birth toolkits, as well as providing a nourishing postpartum meal service. Every part of my work centres around supporting families as they transition into parenthood - helping them feel informed, cared for, and truly supported during one of life's biggest transformations.

Needless to say, life is wonderfully full and keeps me very busy but I genuinely wouldn't have it any other way.

How was your business born? 

Looking back, With Jade came together quite organically. It started with photography, then my own experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum led me to doula work, and over time it all naturally found its place under one business.

I've always loved photography. Long before I ever considered starting a business, I took my little Yashica point-and-shoot film camera everywhere with me. There's something so special about shooting film - the intention behind every frame, the excitement of sending your rolls away and waiting to see what comes back, the imperfections, the grain, the colours. Film has a way of making ordinary moments feel beautifully nostalgic, and I think that's where my love for storytelling through images really began.

My dad had an amazing Sony camera collecting dust, so I asked if I could borrow it and teach myself how to shoot in manual. That one decision turned into a little photography side hustle in 2023 under the name Gracious Lens Photography. Fun fact - Mila means "gracious," and if I'm completely honest, I also wanted a business name that wasn't my own because I was slightly embarrassed in case the whole thing flopped!

Once I started, I threw myself into learning. I attended workshops and shoot-alongs, completed online courses with incredible photographers, connected with local creatives, and spent countless hours practising and refining my style. Photography quickly became more than just a creative outlet - it became something I felt deeply passionate about.

What I love most is documenting seasons of life that pass by far too quickly. I especially love getting mums in front of the camera instead of always being the one behind it. So often, mums become the family historians, capturing everyone else's memories while barely appearing in them themselves (cue the eye roll at our husbands!). I also know how common it is for women to put off having photos taken because they're waiting to lose weight, feel more confident, or simply look "better." But our children don't see any of that - they just see their mum. Helping women feel beautiful, comfortable, and worthy of being in the frame, exactly as they are, is something that means so much to me.

Then, during my maternity leave in 2025, another piece of the puzzle fell into place.

After having a doula for the birth of my second daughter, I experienced firsthand how valuable continuous support during pregnancy and birth could be. While I had a really positive birth experience, my postpartum journey was incredibly challenging. It opened my eyes to just how much families need care, education, and support - not just during labour, but in the weeks and months that follow. That experience lit a fire in me, and I knew I wanted to be able to offer that support to other families.

I enrolled to study as a birth and postpartum doula while on maternity leave. It wasn't glamorous - I spent the best part of nine months studying during nap times, after bedtime, and in any spare moment I could find but I loved every minute of it. The more I learned, the more I realised that doula work combines all the parts of nursing that have always filled my cup: building genuine relationships, educating families, providing emotional support, and caring for people during one of the biggest transitions of their lives.

As I became a doula, birth photography felt like such a natural extension. It allows me to quietly document one of the most powerful days in a family's life while also being there to support them through it. Bringing together my love of photography with the privilege of caring for families during birth feels like the perfect combination.

When it came time to rebrand, I wanted a business name that reflected everything I offer and, more importantly, how I want people to feel. That's how With Jade came to life. I wanted a name that could grow with my business and reflect the way I care for families - offering support through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond. Whether I'm your doula, photographing your family, cooking meals for your freezer, or hiring you a TENS machine, it's all part of the same goal: providing thoughtful, continuous support during one of life's biggest transitions.

An offering you have is TENs machine hire for birth. A TENs machine can be an amazing tool for birth, are you able to share how it works? And also how your service works? 

Ahhh, the humble little TENS machine! I absolutely love these things. I used one during both of my labours, and I genuinely found it to be one of the most effective tools I packed in my birth bag. In my opinion, every woman should have one available as an option during labour.

Like so many comfort measures in birth, you won't know whether it's going to be your favourite tool until you're in labour but I'd much rather have it and not need it than wish I had packed one.

A TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) machine is a small, handheld device that sends gentle electrical pulses through four sticky electrode pads placed on your mid and lower back. Those pulses work in two ways: they help interrupt some of the pain signals travelling to your brain (often referred to as the "gate control" theory of pain), and they encourage your body to release endorphins - your own natural pain-relieving hormones.

One of the things I love most about a TENS machine is that you're in control. You can adjust the intensity to suit what feels comfortable for you and use the "boost" button during contractions for extra relief. While it won't take away labour pain completely, many women find it helps them cope with contractions, stay mobile, and feel more confident and in control during early labour. It tends to be most effective when started early, before contractions become intense, so I always encourage families to have it ready to go rather than waiting until labour is well established.

I offer a 4-week hire period, which I generally recommend booking from 38–42 weeks, giving you plenty of time for those babies who like to keep us guessing! You're welcome to collect your TENS machine from my home, or if you're within around a 15-minute drive, I'm more than happy to drop it off. If you're further away, I can also post it to you. Once your baby has arrived, simply return it by dropping it back or posting it to me.

I also offer a Birth Toolkit for families who love feeling organised and prepared. It's filled with carefully chosen labour comfort measures and practical tools that can be used throughout labour, all in one convenient kit. The toolkit was created from both my personal birth experiences and my work supporting families as a doula, and includes many of the items I recommend time and time again. My aim is to make preparing for birth feel simple, giving you access to evidence-informed comfort measures without needing to source everything yourself.

You are an amazing cook and you offer postpartum meal services. What are some of your speciality meals? 

I absolutely love cooking - almost as much as I love eating! I'm a huge foodie, and one of the ways I love supporting families is through my postpartum meal service.

In those early days after birth, having nourishing meals ready in the fridge or freezer can make such a difference. It takes one more thing off a family's mental load, allowing parents to focus on resting, recovering, and getting to know their new baby. If I can help lighten that load with delicious, home-cooked meals, I am here for it!

My goal is to create meals that are not only comforting and flavourful but also deeply nourishing to support a mother's recovery after birth. I use postpartum-specific cookbooks and recipes that focus on warm, soft, easy-to-digest meals rich in protein, healthy fats, minerals, and collagen-supporting ingredients. Across many traditional postpartum cultures, these types of foods are valued for helping replenish nutrient stores, support tissue healing, aid digestion, and provide the sustained energy needed during the fourth trimester.

Think hearty soups, slow-cooked stews, nourishing broths, baked dishes, and wholesome snacks - all designed to help rebuild strength, support recovery, and make those first weeks with a new baby just a little bit easier

How have your experiences in pregnancy, birth and motherhood shaped your work and offerings?

My own experiences with pregnancy, birth and motherhood have shaped every part of the way I support families.

Both of my pregnancies were challenging, but in very different ways. During my first pregnancy, I experienced hyperemesis gravidarum that wasn't well managed. It took a huge toll on both my physical and mental health, particularly during the first trimester. I felt incredibly disconnected from my pregnancy and carried a deep fear that I wouldn't bond with my baby because I was spending every day simply trying to survive. Looking back, I can see just how important compassionate, evidence-based care is - not only for physical symptoms, but for a mother's emotional wellbeing too.

My second pregnancy was thankfully much better from a sickness perspective, largely because it was recognised and managed very differently. But physically, it came with its own challenges. I was working full-time as a nurse while chasing a toddler, and debilitating back pain meant I had to finish work much earlier than I'd planned. Those experiences reinforced something I now talk to my own clients about often - that every pregnancy is different, and every woman deserves to feel supported rather than expected to simply push through.

My births were also incredibly different, and they probably had the biggest influence on the work I do today.

I was fortunate enough to be accepted into Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) for both pregnancies, but when I went into labour with my first daughter, my midwife was off duty. While I wouldn't describe my birth as traumatic, there were aspects of my care that have stayed with me. There were moments where I didn't feel fully informed or involved in decisions, and afterwards I knew that if I ever had another baby, I wanted my experience to feel different.

Going into my second pregnancy, I carried a lot of fear. People often say you forget birth, but that certainly wasn't my experience. I remembered so much of my first labour, and I knew I needed to approach things differently. I hired a doula, invested time into preparing for birth, and experienced firsthand what it felt like to have unwavering, continuous support throughout labour. As a result, I had a hands-off physiological water birth in hospital that completely changed the way I viewed birth.

That experience lit a fire in me. It showed me just how powerful continuity of care can be and inspired me to become the kind of support person I had needed myself.

Postpartum was another chapter that shaped me deeply.

After my second daughter was born, I found the postpartum period incredibly challenging. I had wonderful support from my husband and family, and I'll always be grateful for that, but I also learnt that practical help and emotional support aren't always enough if you're not prioritising your own recovery. Looking back, if I were to have another baby, I would prepare for postpartum just as intentionally as I prepared for birth. That experience is the reason I place such a strong emphasis on recovery, nourishment, rest and realistic expectations with the families I work alongside.

While my personal experiences have undoubtedly shaped me, they are only one part of what I bring to my clients. My background as a Registered Nurse, together with my doula training, has given me a deep understanding of evidence-based care, advocacy, communication and the value of continuity of care. My lived experiences simply allow me to meet families with genuine empathy, because I know what it feels like to navigate uncertainty, fear, joy, exhaustion and the enormous transformation that comes with becoming a parent.

Every family deserves to feel heard, respected and supported - not just clinically, but emotionally too. That's the care I strive to provide.

The same philosophy carries through into my photography. Being invited into such intimate moments - whether that's welcoming a new baby, documenting a birth, or capturing a family's everyday connection - is never something I take for granted. I know these photographs will become part of a family's story for generations to come, and that's an incredible privilege.

Above all, I hope people feel comfortable with me. I'm naturally warm, calm and deeply empathetic, and building genuine relationships with the families I support is one of the most rewarding parts of my work. Whether I'm supporting you through birth, documenting your family's memories, or both, I never take for granted the trust that comes with being invited into these moments. My hope is that you feel genuinely cared for, listened to and supported throughout the process.

If someone was newly pregnant with their first bub, what would some advice you would give them be for this next chapter of life?

Having the right support around you during pregnancy, birth and those early postpartum days can make such a difference. Invest in people who make you feel safe, heard and supported. If hiring a doula is something that feels possible for you, I genuinely believe it is such a valuable investment (and I promise I’m not just saying that because I’m a doula). Having someone in your corner who can provide continuous support and help you navigate the unknown can be incredibly empowering.

Choose your care providers carefully. If you feel like the person supporting you through pregnancy and birth doesn’t align with your values or the kind of experience you hope to have, you are allowed to seek out someone who does. You deserve to feel respected, listened to and involved in your care.

Accept the help that is offered to you. There is no prize for doing this chapter alone. Parenthood is beautiful, but it is also a huge adjustment, and allowing people to support you is one of the best things you can do.

Be kind to yourself. There will be hard days, days where time feels slow and you wonder how you’ll get through - but then suddenly you’ll look back and realise how quickly it all passed. Try to soak in the ordinary moments, even the messy ones.

And lastly, take the photos. Don’t wait until you feel like you look a certain way or until everything feels perfect. Your children won’t notice the things you were critical of - they’ll just see you, and in the future you will be so grateful you captured this season.

Ok, and what I always end on. Favourite spot in the Northern Beaches for 1. a coffee 2. a drink? 

Coffee – Willy’s Deli in Fairlight

Drink – Bucketty’s brewery in Brookvale, great vibes and family friendly!

BUT if we were talking a cute little date night drink – The Cumberland in Manly

Contact:
inquire.withjade@gmail.com

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