About Us

Birth Partner was founded by Nicole Ronay Sundin following the birth of her second child. A trained birth support doula, Nicole has seen first hand just how much pain management options like TENS machines can help women to achieve their goal of a drug-free, natural birth.

But Nicole also understands the fear that many women experience about giving birth. This is her story:

“When I was pregnant with my first child, like many expectant mums I was quite apprehensive about giving birth and the expected pain. But I thought, giving birth is a life experience that as a woman I should experience at least once, and if we want more children, then we can adopt! During my pregnancy, my fear led me to take four different pre-natal classes to try to be as informed and prepared as possible. Seeing an epidural needle at one of those classes scared me even more and so I was determined to do everything I could to have a drug-free, natural birth with no intervention.

“When I went into labour early, I hadn’t even finished packing my bag yet and my partner had to leave me in labour to pick up the camera from his office. I knew from my classes that it was best to labour at home for as long as possible to avoid interventions. I arrived at hospital nine and a half centimetres dilated and went on to have a beautiful water birth. I felt so empowered, and turned to my husband and said, ‘How many more can we have?’”

Following her first birth, Nicole went on to train as a birth support doula. Her goal was to support other women and help them to get past their fear of birth, as a way of giving back for the support she was given by midwives and other mothers during her pregnancy and the birth of her first child.

It was while practising as a doula that Nicole discovered the use of TENS machines to provide pain relief during labour, with about half of her clients using them. “I could see how much a TENS machine was helping these women to manage their pain and the relief they were experiencing. When I fell pregnant with my second child, I knew that I wanted to use a TENS machine also.”

Finding the TENS machine very beneficial, Nicole decided to start hiring out TENS machines, as she had experienced difficulty sourcing one. Birth Partner has grown from this base to now offering pregnant women and new parents a wide range of products that can help them to achieve a natural birth after a healthy pregnancy, breastfeed more easily, sleep (! – the bane of new parents!), and bond with their babies.

Products available for sale and hire from Birth Partner include TENS machines, co-sleepers, breastfeeding pillows, perineal cold packs, bassinets, breastpumps, baby carriers and baby wraps. Nicole is passionate about helping women and their partners to have the birth and parenting experience that matches their vision and is happy to discuss what options will suit you best. To talk about what meet your needs, email Nicole or call her on 0402 405 889.

To make life easier for expectant mums and new parents, Birth Partner offers flexible payment plans and longer-than-standard hire periods. We understand that babies have their own timeframes and those early weeks are all about survival, not getting to the post office.