Testimonials

references available upon request from moms and dads

Testimonial from Anne who I was honored to be with for all 3 of her birthing experiences:  

What your doulaship has meant to me.........wow. Seriously, where do I begin and how do I put it into words? Having you as my doula has meant so very much to our family. I know that sounds totally cheesy, but let's back up 5 years.

Pregnant with my first child. Excitement was an understatement. I was going to be a mom! This was something I always wanted and dreamed about. I read everything that I could get my hands on. I worried. A lot. I ate organic. I did my yoga. It only made sense that I would have a doula. I barely knew what a doula was, but I read the statistics. Significantly quicker labors, lower interventions and better birth outcomes....count me in! how lucky for me to have my wonderful sister-in-law fully trained and willing to make the drive to MN when it was time! I had no idea how monumental this was. My pregnancy went smoothly for the most part. When things did come up, however it was so nice to have you as just simply a support person for me. When I left the midwife's office bawling because I was in disbelief because I had found out that I had gestational diabetes, I gave you a call and you simply told me I would be fine and my baby would be fine and kept me grounded. That is so huge during pregnancy. I had great support from others (my husband, friends and family), but you just knew so much and always knew what to say to make me feel at ease. When my mom found out that her terminal cancer that had been at bay for a couple of  years had spread, she was out of options, and it was a matter of months, you reassured me. You were there for me and you ended up bringing her to the birth, which you knew would mean the world to both of us when I wasn't so sure.

    When it came time for the birth, I (along with my midwife and nurses) can say confidently that you were probably the sole reason that kept my son from being birthed via cesarean. My labor was long, there were lots of unexpected twists, interventions, blood, sweat and tears, but in the end he was born healthy in the water like I had wanted and pictured. You were instrumental in advocating for me to make this happen when my midwife wasn't even sure about it. There was so much physical support (massaging, helping with positions, holding my emesis bag, holding my head, looking into my eyes and doing chest breathing with me for 2 hours so I didn't push my baby out at 8 cm dilation). Oh yes, I mustn't forget about the scooping my turds out of the water birth tub with a fish net.....there was that. Yes, that might be the stuff that you read about. You may know that doulas will advocate for you and massage you and help you breathe and change positions, but in this case you did that and you kept doing that and you did that and more when no one else knew what to do and you knew what I wanted and you believed in me and my baby like no other. Add all of this together and that is what allowed that beautiful water birth after all of those agonizing hours (and days?). So, when you hear those statistics, "doulas lower cesarean rates by X%, this is what thatreally looks like.

    Fast forward a couple of years. Life is great with our son and we are pregnant again. We are elated to be pregnant and elated that you offered to attend the birth again. Things are going well. Then we have our 20 week ultrasound and to our shock and amazement, Ron sees two heads on the screen at the same time that the ultrasound tech does. Twins!!! We were totally surprised and shocked (although I did have some hunches :) , but it took us about 30 seconds to fall totally in love with the idea of twins. We later found out twin girls. My heart was beaming. Then things got rocky.  We were over the moon with the fact that we were carrying two girls. We went in for the level 2 ultrasounds two weeks later to have our worlds shattered. Our beloved "twin B" was not doing well and had a 10% chance to survive. So many unknowns and questions. We had a week of not knowing if we'd deliver both at 24 weeks, lose one or lose both. None of those were options we wanted. We turned to you as our doula during all of this. You listened and reminded us that although our "twin B-(later to be named Isabelle)" had her days numbered, we could still enjoy the present. We sang to her and played music for her. When she did pass away at 25 weeks, you were so supportive in helping us grieve, be angry and sad, and yet enjoy and look forward to our precious twin A " (later known as our Lynnea). Although we (and probably you as well!) thought this would be a much less involved pregnancy and delivery than last time as far as your doula role, we were already so appreciative of all that you had done for us during those tumultuous times. Although the actual delivery was quick and relatively smooth, it meant so much to us that you trekked over from Wisconsin and were able to be with us during that special time as this was such a bittersweet time for us. We celebrated a beautiful, perfect healthy baby girl and said goodbye to our precious Isabelle before we ever got to say hello. There are no words for what your support meant to us during all of this.

    Fast forward another two years. We are pregnant again. This pregnancy was smooth and relatively uneventful. There was lots of emotional pain that surfaced around the time of Isabelle's death and again, you as a doula were so sensitive to this and so compassionate and understanding about this like no one else really knew how to be. We planned for a homebirth and your knowledge, personal experience and confidence and sense of calm was so valuable in this. You answered a million questions for me about that whole process and put my mind at ease like no one else could. In the end, we ended up birthing at the birth center which all worked out perfectly. Words cannot express how relieved I was to see you walk into that birth center. My husband was great, my secondary doula was great and the midwives as well, but there was something so calming and comforting about having you with me during that labor. I was not where I was planning to birth and things were not unfolding at all how I imagined them (you'd think I would have learned this by the third try :), so you were truly the rock that kept me grounded. Everyone agreed that I needed to "get out of my head", so you helped me to do that as well. We trekked down a bustling Grande Avenue on a Friday night to a café to get a snack and sure enough. Boom....labor started. I know that I made more than a few customers in there nervous. We walked back, got in the shower and Viola was born less than an hour later. I remember your voice being the only thing that could get me through transition. You were saying simple encouraging phrases and I was doting on them like they were defining my existence and our lives depended on it. In the end, Viola was born just as she was meant to be (of course they all are!). You were the only one in the bathroom. I was trying to communicate that she was coming and I needed to get to the tub, but I know nothing near that articulate was coming out of my mouth.....probably not even real words???? I just remember this panicky feeling that she was going to drop on the floor and you literally had her head in your hand and I felt this relief rush over me. You helped me to see that full circle, healing birth as it was. Safe, in the bathroom and beautiful which helped me emotionally to heal from the trauma of Isabelle's birth. Throughout my pregnancy you had told me over and over that this was going to be such a peaceful, healing birth and as usual, you were spot on. That strength and confidence is exactly what I needed during all of that.....from beginning to end and I truly don't think anyone else could have provided that like you did. I am so thankful for everything that you have done and are doing to make my births what they are.

    So, back to that question...."What has having a doula meant to you?" It's hard to put it all into words. Yes, there was all of those things that you read about and maybe even hear about. The breathing, encouraging, and advocating. These are all so monumental and make all of the difference in the world, because birth matters. It might not always be how we want it to be or plan it to be, but it always changes us and shapes us and sticks with us forever. Having you as our doula has gone so much beyond those "talked about" things. This "other stuff" has been such an amazing part of our births and lives and there is not enough gratitude in the world to show you what that has meant and will mean.