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TERMS & CONDITIONS - Birth Doula Services

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How support is provided during pregnancy

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From week 20 of pregnancy until 40 days postpartum, I am available for support via message or voicenote. Some clients use this frequently, others occasionally. You are welcome to reach out whenever you need to.

You may contact me via WhatsApp, text, email, or voicenote. I aim to respond within 24 hours (Monday - Thursday outside of emergencies and, nof course, the 'come to the birth' call)

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You and your partner are offered four antenatal sessions of up to two hours each, tailored entirely to your needs. These sessions may include, but are not limited to:

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Hypnobirthing preparation Biomechanics for birth
Birth and postpartum planning Meditation or relaxation Pregnancy massage

3 Step Rewind - birth trauma resolution

The content and focus of these sessions are flexible and led by you.

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Booking your antenatal sessions

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Upon booking, you will be sent a link to my online diary system to arrange your antenatal sessions. It is your responsibility to book these sessions in advance, at times that suit you.

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Where possible, all antenatal sessions should be taken before the start of your on call period. This helps ensure you feel fully prepared ahead of labour and allows me to protect availability during the on call window.

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Antenatal sessions that are not used are non refundable and cannot be transferred to postnatal care or other services. Session locations will be discussed and agreed in advance to ensure clarity for both of us.

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Support during labour and birth

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Please contact me as soon as you feel labour may be beginning, at any time of day or night. We will remain in contact as labour unfolds and decide together when it feels appropriate for me to join you.

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Once you request me to attend in person, I may need up to 90-120 minutes to arrive (location dependent)

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It is often beneficial for early labour to unfold privately with your partner, using the tools we have practised. I usually join once labour feels more established.

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During labour, I may support you with comfort measures such as massage, positioning, rebozo, relaxation, hypnobirthing techniques, aromatherapy, and emotional reassurance.

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I am a non medical professional and cannot clinically assess labour, perform checks, or make medical judgements at any point.

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If you transfer locations during labour, I will make every effort to remain with you throughout, unless I have been supporting you for an extended period without rest and it would be unsafe for me to continue.

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Long labours and rest

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My ability to support you safely relies on rest & sensible ‘working hours’

I will ensure that I manage my own working breaks and encourage your partner to rest, too whenever appropriate.

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After approximately 12 hours of in person support, I will need a rest period - this may mean I need to leave you to go and get some sleep & refresh, before re-joining you. This is also why I recommend waiting until labour is established before me joining you.

This is always handled with everyone’s wellbeing and safety in mind.

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Fast labours & missed birth attendance

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It is essential that you contact me early when labour begins and again when you feel ready for me to join you.

If I am unable to reach you after 120 minutes of your request for me to attend, and your baby is born before I arrive, if it feels

appropriate you may choose to claim:

One month of additional postnatal care (four x 1.5 hour visits)

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If your baby is born before 120 minutes of contacting me to come out (not of alerting me of early labour), no refund or additional care applies.

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If I am unable to attend your birth due to unseen personal circumstances, medical emergencies/ illness then you may claim either a partial refund or 1 month of postpartum care (4 x 1.5 hour sessions)

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Changes to birth plans and cesarean birth

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If your plans change, including transfer to hospital, induction, or caesarean birth, I will continue to support you throughout your journey. My support is not dependant on location.

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If a caesarean birth is planned or becomes necessary, I will support you for as long as physically possible. If only one birth partner is permitted in theatre, I will rejoin you as soon as I am able.

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Changes to birth plans do not qualify for refunds or service reductions.

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If you choose an elective caesarean or decide you no longer require my services within 6 weeks of your due date, full payment remains due.

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Pregnancy loss

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In the event of early miscarriage before any antenatal support has taken place, and if you do not wish for continued support, your non refundable retaining fee will be returned.

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In cases of later baby loss, I will continue to offer support. I am here for you. No further payments will be due, but no refunds will be issued for care already provided, including the reservation of your on call period.

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Cancellation and termination of service

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Client cancellation

You may cancel this agreement at any time by providing written notice. Payments already made are non refundable. Where a payment plan is in place, outstanding payments may still be due to cover care already provided.

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Doula termination

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I reserve the right to terminate this agreement if I am unable to continue support due to unforeseen circumstances, including medical emergencies, illness, or where the working relationship becomes unsafe, unsustainable, or falls outside the legal scope of a doula.

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If I terminate the agreement, payments already made are not refundable where care has been provided in the form of antenatal sessions and virtual support over whatsapp. No further payments will be due unless payments made do not yet cover care already provided.

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On call period

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Your on call period will have been pre-agreed, please refer to your bespoke Doula Agreement documents. 

If labour begins before the on call period, I will make every effort to attend but cannot guarantee availability.

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If labour occurs beyond the on call period, we may discuss trusted back up support or extending the on call period at the additional charge of £150 per week) Additional fees may apply if a back up doula is required.

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Payment plans

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Clients who choose to pay for doula services via a 6 month payment plan agree to the following terms:

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The payment plan is a commitment to pay the full agreed fee for the doula package selected. It is not a pay-as-you-go arrangement and does not relate to specific stages of care or the timing of the birth. Payments are made in instalments for convenience only.

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Where the baby is born before all instalments have been paid, all remaining payments remain fully due and payable.

The birth of the baby, completion of doula support, or conclusion of the contractual care period does not cancel, reduce, or alter the total amount owed.

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If a client cancels the payment plan, stops payments, or fails to maintain scheduled instalments at any point before or after the birth of the baby, the full remaining balance becomes immediately due.

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If payment is not received within 3 days of a missed instalment or cancelled payment arrangement, the following actions will be taken:

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• The full outstanding balance will be formally invoiced for immediate payment
• A reasonable late payment administration fee may be applied
• The debt may be referred to a third party debt recovery service
• Any associated recovery or legal costs may be added to the amount owed where permitted by law

Clients remain legally responsible for the full contract value regardless of birth outcome, timing of services, or changes in personal circumstances, except where otherwise required by law.

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By selecting the payment plan, clients confirm they understand that this is a legally binding agreement to pay the full fee in full, even where instalments extend beyond the baby’s birth.

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TERMS & CONDITIONS - Private Hypnobirthing and antenatal Doula support 

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How support is provided to you

 

Essentials package:

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• 3x 1.5 hour private hypnobirthing sessions with Jessica at her antenatal studio in North Northumberland (NE665RA) - sessions are tailored to your needs, fears and hopes for your birth. Biomechanics for birth education is not included in this package. 

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• Welcome bag​

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• 10 hypnobirthing Mp3s 

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This package does not include ongoing support over whatsapp, birth or postpartum support. 

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Antenatal Doula support package: 

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• 4x 2 hour private hypnobirthing sessions with Jessica at her antenatal studio (NE665RA), or at your home (location dependent)

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• Doula support via Voice notes & messages during your pregnancy. This does not include support during your labour/ birth​

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• Welcome gift box​​

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• Complimentary access to the Born at Home™ Online course

 

Support over whatsapp for Doula support package: 

 

I am available for support via message or voicenote. You may contact me via WhatsApp, text, email, or voicenote on 07795560180. I aim to respond within 24 hours, Monday - Thursday. This support does not include phone calls or video calls. Whatsapp support is not included for labour or birth support (ie virtual birth support). Any messages sent over the weekend or during the evening will be responded to on the next working day. 

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Your right to cancel

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Because you're booking with us online, you have a legal right to cancel your booking within 14 days of making it, without giving a reason, and receive a full refund.

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If you'd like your sessions to begin within that 14-day period, we'll ask you to confirm you're happy for us to start before the 14 days are up. If you then cancel during the 14-day period after sessions have started, you'll only be charged for the session(s) already delivered - not the full package price.

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After the 14-day period has passed, the cancellation terms below apply.

Payment Terms

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You can choose to pay in full or via our instalment plan. The instalment plan is a payment convenience - it spreads the cost of the package you've booked, it isn't a separate pay-as-you-go arrangement tied to individual sessions, and by choosing it you're committing to pay the full package price across your agreed instalments.

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Why full payment is expected regardless of when in your journey you cancel: I work with one couple per due month, and your booking blocks out the full [8] hours of your package in our diary from the moment you book. This means I turn away other clients and other services for that time and that due month, on the understanding that your sessions will go ahead. This is the basis for the payment terms below.

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If a payment fails or isn't made (e.g. a card decline on the instalment plan), we'll contact you and pause any further sessions until it's resolved. No further sessions will take place until payment is up to date. If a missed payment isn't resolved within 3 days of us contacting you, we'll treat this as you choosing to end the agreement, and the cancellation terms below apply.

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If you cancel, or a missed payment goes unresolved (as above): the full remaining balance is owed.

Given the bespoke, one-to-one nature of this support, and that clients typically reserve their due-month capacity many months in advance, a cancelled booking cannot realistically be filled by another client at short notice - this reflects a genuine loss of income to us, not a penalty.

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In the unlikely event we are able to fill your freed capacity with another client for the same period, we will refund you the amount recovered, minus a reasonable admin/diary-holding fee [e.g. £X or one session's value] to cover the cost of holding and re-marketing that time.

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Payments already made, or amounts confirmed as owed under the above, may be formally invoiced, have a reasonable late payment administration fee applied, and - if unpaid within 3 days of invoicing - be referred to a third-party debt recovery service, with any associated recovery or legal costs added where permitted by law.

Booking your sessions

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Once booked, you'll be sent a link to arrange your session dates. It's your responsibility to book these in good time — ideally with all sessions completed before 35 weeks, so you feel fully prepared ahead of labour.

If you need to reschedule an individual session date, please give us as much notice as possible — we'll always try to accommodate this. Rescheduling a session is different from cancelling your package; the payment terms above cover what happens if you cancel altogether.

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Cancellation

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You may cancel this agreement at any time by providing written notice (email or WhatsApp is fine). What's owed if you cancel is set out in the Payment Terms section above, based on how close to your due date you cancel and whether we're able to fill your reserved slot.

This does not affect your 14-day statutory cancellation right described above.

If we need to end the agreement

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We reserve the right to end this agreement if we're genuinely unable to continue — for example due to a medical emergency, illness, or a breakdown in the working relationship that falls outside what a doula can safely or appropriately provide.

If this happens:

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• You won't be charged for any sessions that haven't yet taken place.

• Where you've already paid for sessions that won't now go ahead, that portion will be refunded to you.

• Payments covering sessions already delivered are not refundable.

We'll always try to give as much notice as possible and, where appropriate, help you find alternative support.

Pregnancy loss

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In the event of early miscarriage before any antenatal support has taken place, and if you do not wish for continued support, your retaining fee will be returned. In cases of later baby loss, I will continue to offer support for as long as you'd like it. No further payments will be due, and any instalments already paid that exceed the value of care already provided will be refunded.

Disclaimer

Hypnobirthing techniques are a complementary aid to help you feel calmer and more prepared for labour. They are not a substitute for the care of a qualified midwife or obstetrician, and are not a guarantee of any particular birth outcome.

If you have any questions about whether hypnobirthing is appropriate for your circumstances, please discuss this with your midwife or medical care provider.

We take care to provide this service with reasonable skill and care, in line with our training and experience. Nothing in these terms is intended to exclude or limit liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for anything else that cannot be excluded or limited under English law.

Who you're contracting with

These sessions are provided by Jessica Ord, trading as Born at Home.

Business address: [your registered/trading address — required even if it's your home/farm address; a PO box or mailbox address is fine if you'd rather not publish your home address] Email: jess@bornathome.co.uk [VAT number, if registered] [Company number, if you trade as a limited company rather than a sole trader]

If you have a concern or complaint, please contact us using the details above in the first instance. We aim to acknowledge complaints within [X] working days and resolve them within [X] working days wherever possible.

How we use your information (GDPR / Privacy)

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We take the information you share with us seriously, particularly given its personal and sometimes sensitive nature.

What we collect: your name, contact details, and address; notes from our sessions together relating to your pregnancy, birth preferences, and any relevant history you choose to share; and, with your consent, a brief summary of your baby's birth.

Why we collect it: to provide your hypnobirthing and doula support, to keep accurate records of the care we've agreed and delivered, and to meet our own professional and insurance record-keeping obligations.

Our lawful basis: we process most of your information on the basis that it's necessary to perform our contract with you. Where we hold details about your pregnancy, birth, or health — which count as "special category data" under UK GDPR — we do so with your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

How long we keep it: we retain client records for [X years — check what your professional insurance/indemnity body recommends; doula and hypnobirthing associations often suggest a minimum period] after our work together ends, in line with professional guidance, after which records are securely destroyed.

How we protect it: handwritten notes are kept in a locked filing system, with the key stored separately. Digital records, including emails and messages, are password protected. We will never share your information with any other organisation or individual without your express consent, except where required by law.

Your rights: you have the right to ask what information we hold about you, to ask us to correct or delete it, and to withdraw consent for us to hold sensitive data at any time. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

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Agreement

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Any booking of a Hypnobirthing class assumes full and informed compliance to and agreement with all of these terms and conditions of sale. In the event of a dispute, English law pertains.

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