ABOUT

Rachael Flack visiting a postpartum package client
ABOUT

hi, i'm rachael flack

Accredited Social Worker

I am an accredited social worker, a postpartum doula, and I’ve been blessed to welcome 3 amazing children earthside.

I truly believe that when a baby is conceived and birthed, so is a mother. The Mother is born, she is transformed both physically and mentally, and will never return to her maiden self.

My passion is mothercare. For me that begins with trying to become a mother, and progresses through all the seasons of motherhood. 

social worker
postpartum doula
SERVICES

supporting your motherhood journey

MATRESCENCE

from maiden to mother

“Matrescence. Just as adolescence describes the natural but all-encompassing transition from child to adult, and affects every part of your life, matrescence describes the natural but all-encompassing transition from women to mother, And it affects every part of your life.” – Amy Taylor-Kabbaz.

Matrescence is what all mothers go through and helps us understand the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual changes that occur on this motherhood journey.

Woman with child and newborn relaxing in Warragul
Single mother receiving postpartum support
Twins dressed in pink spending their first night at home
Same sex couple with child receiving postpartum support
MOTHER CARE

honouring your transition

After I became a mama, I felt the shift to wanting to support those during their motherhood journeys. I felt how difficult it was to navigate the system, find the supports I needed, and to build myself a village. I figured if I, a social worker, found this tricky, I imagine other mothers do as well.

I also began to learn about how other cultures revere and honour and care for mothers during their pregnancy and postpartum. It was absolutely flabbergasted to see how little support we get here compared to many other cultures around the world.

I have a strong desire to support women through these major life transitions as I know how essential it is that if women are supported through out this early period, it will set them up to have a fulfilling and enjoyable motherhood.  

Rachael Flack at a mama blessing postpartum service
MY APPROACH

caring for mothers

While I LOVE babies and kids, my work and support focuses on the mother (or mama in the making). They are my core to what I do.

My approach is to open you up to your own inner knowing, your mama intuition. I will validate and affirm your experience, your opinion and your knowing. I will also gently and with permission, offer you guidance when you feel stuck or unsure which path to take.

I am a big believer in the village. We are not meant to raise children in isolation. So part of my work will be to help you be brave and to build such a strong and supportive village, that I hopefully do myself out of a job!

Woman with smiling newborn in Frankston
Woman cuddling newborn in Seaford
Woman with newborn in Carrum Downs
Woman with newborn at home in Warragul
MY JOURNEY

from mother to mothecare practitioner

Throughout my trying to conceive journey I experienced 4 years of pregnancy losses and assisted conception/IVF to finally get my rainbow in 2014. To our surprise and relief we went on to have another boy, 18 months later naturally, followed by our girl 2 years after that. So I had 3 kids under 3.5 years old! (eepp…)

Prior to mumlife I worked as a social worker in a major public hospital for over 5 years. Before that I had worked in Adoption in the UK, homelessness case management and youth work in foster care in Melbourne. These experiences taught me the importance of focusing on the needs of the individual and how to best support them within the system so they can lead their best life.

Throughout my own journey to parenthood, I learned personally the importance of surrounding myself with caring, non-judgmental support. Even though I had this support from my family and friends when my son arrived, motherhood was still a huge transition. There is a lot to navigate and its all done while you are trying to physically recover and are hideously sleep deprived.

I felt a slow drifting away from the previous work I had done as a social worker and a stronger pull to work with mothers and families. After a lot of researching options I finally made the decision to return to study in 2019 and I completed my postpartum doula training with Julia Jones from the Newborn Mothers Collective.

I began my own private mothercare business A Mama is Born at the beginning of 2020. Of course I had no idea we were about to live through 2 years of pandemic restrictions here in Melbourne. So my ability to work with face to face clients was severely hampered. But in-between the remote learning, providing online support to clients,  mum life and isolation, I spent my time doing even further training and study.

In 2021, I completed all the required hours to become an accredited social worker, so I could provide medicare rebated counselling with mothers. I also began the neuroprotective developmental (NDC or ‘The Possums Programs’) accreditation pathway. In 2022 I completed Dr. Sophie Brocks Motherhood studies practitioner certification.

Every mother deserves to have the opportunity to have a fullfilling, supported and enjoyable postpartum and motherhood journey. Mothers need to be cared for just as much as their newborn babies do, because when a baby is born, so is a mother. It is my passion to provide mothers and their families with one-on-one support while they make this transition to parenthood.  

If you would like one-on-one support so you can have a pregnancy, postpartum or parenting experience that is restful, enjoyable and nourishing then please don’t hesitate to contact me today, I really would love for you to have this experience.

 

MY EXPERIENCE

qualifications and accreditations

I have combined my own fertility, loss and motherhood experiences with an evidenced based education focused on all aspects of mothercare.

Julia Jones was my teacher and opened me up to the world of postpartum care. Julia has trained in Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine, has studied many postpartum doula courses and has worked as a postpartum doula since she was 24. Julia is a wonderful supportive teacher and mentor to postpartum professionals worldwide. Check out her amazing offerings and courses here.

I am an Accredited Social Worker and Member of the Australian Association of Social Workers.

I am a current member of the Doula Network Australia Inc. which is the national association for doulas and student doulas in Australia.

COPE is a not-for-profit organisation devoted to reducing the impacts of emotional and mental health problems in the pre and postnatal periods. They are a wonderful resource for both parents and professionals. I competed their basic skills in perinatal mental health in 2019. If you would like to also do this course click here.

For expectant parents sign up to the free Ready to Cope newsletter here.

  • Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), Monash University
  • Bachelor of Social Work, Monash University
  • Accredited Social Worker and Member of the Australian Association of Social Workers 
  • Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Trained Practitioner, Centre for Perinatal Psychology
  • Perinatal Loss Trained Practitioner, Centre for Perinatal Psychology
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Practitioner
  • Trained Peer Support Volunteer (Pink Elephants Support Network)
  • Sanctum Women’s Circle Facilitator (with Julie Tenner)
  • Accredited Neuroprotective Developmental Care (NDC) Practitioner (underway)
  • Motherhood Studies Certified Practitioner (underway)
  • Together Women’s Circle Facilitator Training with Rachael Rose (underway)

Newborn Mothers Accreditation Logo
As an affiliate of Newborn Mothers Collective, I am eligible for a small commission if you purchase the course using this link.
TESTIMONIALS

contented clients

I really liked the postpartum planning session as it helped settle my mind by having a few things in place for when bub arrived and opened up conversations with my husband about how we would parent, and what our needs were.

Julie

Rachael is an absolute gem. The effort she went to in supporting me was above and beyond. She crammed a lot of assistance into her 3-hour visits and was so easy to have around, making me feel very comfortable during what is a very vulnerable time in a woman’s life. Her background as a social worker showed, with follow-up emails filled with valuable info and resources relevant to what we discussed. She would always respond rapidly to me contacting her and would check-in with me regularly between sessions. I would highly recommend Rach to any other first time mother transitioning to motherhood.

Michelle

It was an absolute lifesaver having you visit and look after me. As, as usually happens, the focus is so much on the baby, everyone forgets to look after the mother.

Lydia

The Mama’s Gathering Circle is worth taking the leap and joing in on. To be honest I was a little nervous the first time, and I put it off a couple of sessions before taking the step to connect with others. Being an adult and doing things outside our comfort zone is hard. Putting ourselves out there and making new friends can be even harder. Rachael makes this easy. There is no pressure to open up and share things. You really can just sit back and enjoy the circle in a safe environment. If you’re a mum, or mum to be, allow yourself the time to join, guilt free! You and your family will benefit from taking the time out. I sure have.

Steph

I really loved the home visits and was amazed at how much we crammed in each time. With lockdown it was nice to have access to a professional but also a mum who could share their own experiences and advice. The book library, Voxer and the breastfeeding drop-ins were such useful resources as well.

Julie

While it was logistically helpful to have the visits, the biggest positive outcome was that I was reminded that I'm worth being looked after and looking after myself. That it's totally OK and a good thing to ask for help rather than try to do it all on your own. As it's easy to forget all that when the immediate environment (and our wacky Western culture) is mostly telling you otherwise.

Lydia
Rachael flack is an accredited social worker and postpartum doula
Rachael Flack smiling at the beach in Seaford, where A Mama is Born is based
NEXT STEP

book a service or package

There are a range of ways to access my services. Counselling and mentoring can be booked online, or you can complete my online form to learn more about booking or purchasing postpartum, assisted conception and loss services.  

Join Our Village

and get my free 4th trimester planner

Having a baby and want to build your village and plan for a peaceful postpartum? Join the ‘A Mama is Born’ village and receive a free Fourth Trimester Planner.

Don’t worry, I am not spammy and you will only hear form me maybe 1-2 times a month.