For mum of three and doula Jacqueline Harper, the desire to support women through pregnancy, birth and early motherhood grew from her own very different experiences of becoming a mother. From navigating severe colic with her first baby, experiencing postnatal depression after her second, and an unexpected home birth with her youngest son, she came to understand just how powerful it can be to have someone beside you who listens and supports without judgement. Inspired to offer other women the kind of support she knows can make such a difference, she founded Bloom With Jacqueline, providing antenatal, birth and postnatal support to help families feel informed, heard and confident in their choices. Here, Jacqueline talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the experiences that inspired her journey into doula work, finding the confidence to build her own business, and her hopes of helping more women feel supported and less alone.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
My passion for becoming a doula really grew from my own experiences of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. I have three boys, and each of my journeys into motherhood was completely different.
There were times when I felt incredibly supported, but there were also times when I felt very alone. I experienced a baby with severe colic while living overseas, postnatal depression after my second son, and an unexpected home birth with my youngest. Those experiences taught me just how much difference it makes to have somebody beside you who listens, reassures you and supports you without judgement.
As my boys grew older, I realised I wanted to use those experiences to help other women feel less alone. That was really where Bloom With Jacqueline began. I wanted to offer the kind of support I know can make such a difference – not to tell women how they should give birth or parent, but to help them feel informed, heard and confident in their own choices.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I completed my doula training in December 2025, but I didn’t suddenly wake up the next morning with a fully fledged business! I was working full-time as a 1:1 teaching assistant while trying to build Bloom With Jacqueline around work and family life.
A lot of the beginning was simply putting myself out there. I built my website, started writing about pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, connected with other local professionals and gradually began letting people know who I was and what I could offer.
There has definitely been a lot of learning as I go. I think one of the biggest lessons has been accepting that a business doesn’t have to be perfect before you allow it to grow. Sometimes you just have to start!
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
I think my biggest breakthrough was realising that I didn’t need to try to be the same as every other doula.
Initially, it’s very easy to look at established businesses and think you need to replicate what they’re doing. Over time, I’ve realised that the thing that makes Bloom With Jacqueline different is me – my experiences, my personality and the way I support people.
I’ve also expanded my thinking beyond simply attending births. Antenatal and postnatal support can be incredibly valuable in their own right, and remote support means I can support families outside my local area too.
Once I stopped thinking about what a doula business was supposed to look like and started building something that genuinely reflected the support I wanted to provide, everything began to feel much more authentic.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I’m not sure “balance” is something I’ve completely mastered!
I’m a mum to three boys, and being their mum will always be my most important role. At the same time, Bloom With Jacqueline is something I’m incredibly passionate about, so I’ve had to learn to be intentional about where my time and energy go.
Some weeks the business needs more of me, and other weeks my family does. I’m learning that balance doesn’t necessarily mean giving everything equal amounts of time every day.
I’m also getting better at recognising when I need to slow down. That’s probably still a work in progress! Ultimately, I want to build a successful business, but I don’t want to look back and realise I was so busy building it that I missed the life happening around me.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Probably the biggest challenge has been believing that I can actually do it.
I’ve always had a tendency to tell myself I can’t do something before I’ve even tried, so building a business has forced me outside my comfort zone many times.
I’ve also built Bloom With Jacqueline alongside working, raising three boys and managing all the normal chaos that comes with family life. My own experiences of motherhood haven’t always been easy either. I’ve experienced loneliness, postnatal depression and postnatal rage, and I’ve had periods where I’ve had to ask for help myself.
But those experiences have also shaped the doula I am becoming. They’ve taught me that asking for support isn’t weakness and that sometimes having just one person who genuinely sees you can make an enormous difference.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The biggest positive is having the freedom to build something I genuinely believe in. I can decide what Bloom With Jacqueline stands for, how I support families and the kind of business I want it to become.
I also love knowing that the work I’m doing has a purpose. Supporting somebody through pregnancy, preparing them for birth or simply helping a new mum feel a little less overwhelmed is incredibly rewarding.
The downside is that when it’s your business, there is always something you could be doing! Social media, blogs, emails, networking, accounts, website updates – the list never really ends.
Switching off is probably one of my biggest challenges. I’m discovering that apparently my doula brain doesn’t come with an off button!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
My biggest hope is simply to continue growing Bloom With Jacqueline while never losing the reason I started it.
I’d love to support more families across Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, while continuing to develop my remote support so that geography isn’t a barrier for families who feel I might be the right doula for them.
Longer term, I’d love Bloom With Jacqueline to become a trusted source of support and information for parents – somewhere people know they can come without judgement.
I don’t necessarily have one enormous end goal. I want the business to grow organically alongside my family and my life. If I can build something successful while helping women feel more informed, more supported and less alone during one of the biggest transitions of their lives, I’ll be incredibly proud of that.
Visit the Bloom With Jacqueline website to find out more, and connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.
