Caroline Knisley Birth Doula in Essex, MD

Caroline was instrumental in preventing me from falling into depression during the first three months of postpartum. We hired her as a postpartum night doula to come help out once a week and it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made for our family and marriage! Highly recommend.

— Amelia P.

We were blessed by Caroline’s presence during the labor and postpartum of our firstborn, and I honestly don’t know what we would’ve done without her! My husband and I don’t have a very large “village” and we were so full of anxiety and fear before Caroline. During our prenatal meetings she gave us so much knowledge and info, worked me through exercises to help manage the pregnancy aches and pains and help baby get into position. We had a bit of a long almost scary labor, and even our doctor said Caroline is the reason I didn’t need a C Section! Labor was not progressing, until she swooped in and had me up on my knees (even with an epidural!!) and in the zone in no time. She was also with us for the first 9 weeks of our son’s life, and she never left our home without making sure mama (and even dad when he was on leave!) was fed and watered, dishes done and cats loved on too! Her sourdough bread is to die for!!! She is the kindest, warmest soul and I strongly believe the universe guided us together. A simple review can’t fully acknowledge what she meant and means to our family! All our gratitude and love!

— Sarah J.

What an amazing doula experience! Caroline was such an absolute delight to have as our doula. From the start of working with her she was very communicative and provided tons of exercises for me to prepare for the labor that she had produced herself. I had a very long labor and her presence was extremely comforting, calm and helpful throughout that time. She went above and beyond providing us with helpful lists and charts for labor and breastfeeding. Both my husband and I appreciated all the kind gestures she provided us which even included the yummiest homemade sour dough bread and specialized other treats to meet my vegan diet. As a first time Mom I feel extremely lucky that we had Caroline on our team. I would highly recommend her if you are on the fence on whether or not to hire a doula, don’t just hire any doula, hire Caroline!

— Anna H.

I can’t help but write a book’s worth of a review because Caroline is just that important to our family! We had Caroline as our doula through Mobtown for our first birth experience in 2021, and she helped me beyond measure then. I was induced in the hospital and without Caroline, I wouldn’t have gone without the epidural, as I wanted, or been able to naturally break my water. She encouraged my husband so much, too! For us, it wasn’t a second thought to ask her to join us again for our second birth experience in March of this year, 2023. This time a home birth! She walked us through options that worked for our budget, and helped me with moves to relieve back pain through late pregnancy. Her connections with other pre and post natal providers put me in touch with Kristie for placenta encapsulation for postpartum care! I had a long labor - 46 hours total. In the first stint, Caroline helped with the rebozo and moves to adjust our little one in the proper position (he was engaged with his head transverse). After a second night of laboring, Caroline’s peaceful presence and encouragement were the only things both my husband and I wanted. We were so discouraged by how long the labor had been. She came in that morning and by the afternoon, I had my baby in my arms! Forever apart of our lives and family, Caroline has given me more than I could have paid 100 doulas to offer me.

— Roberta S.

Sharing this intimate moment with Caroline, she quickly became part of our family. She went out of her way to put these first time parents’ minds at ease. She listened to our hopes and preferences, was available at all hours, helped me pick research and pick a breast pump, made house visits, checked in on us, and, on top of it, she’s an amazing cook and baker! When our labor took some unexpected turns, Caroline was right there ready to guide us through it and continue advocating for our preferences. She is such a gentle, caring, strong, and comforting spirit. Caroline will forever be a part of our family!

— Melisda H.

We are so blessed to have Caroline helped us as the overnight doula. We did not find her, but our day time doula recommended her to us as the night time doula - how lucky we were! Caroline is very professional yet personal. She is never late or miss any session (very important for the desperate 1st time parents!) and she helped us on all the aspects, from laundry to look after the baby. She also taught us so much from milk production to tricks of putting the baby to sleep. We’ve learned and grown so much as parents because of her help! Caroline is also very gentle and tender. She never jumps to the conclusion or suggestion, but always listen (a lot of time, you really just need someone to listen). But whenever she made any comments, they are always to the point and helpful, either technically or mentally. Also, one could soon tell her passion to her job and love to the babies. On top of those, she is very respectful to our family. She always asks to make sure not creating extra pressure on us. And she’s so nice to make us bread and cakes a couple times (with her grandma’s secret recipe) - so we do not have to prepare the breakfast ourselves! The list goes on and on. Overall, we really enjoy our experience with Caroline and are sad to the sessions with her come to an end…All the best Caroline. And for those who seeks night doula, seek no further.

— Myra H.

Caroline is the absolute best! We had the opportunity of having her as our doula for the birth of our first (and only) child and the experience couldn't have been any better. She surpassed all of our expectations. She was always so present, caring and loving. She has a calm personality and is open and non-judgemental. We always looked forward to our lovely meetings we had with her before labor. She talked through all different birth scenarios and we felt ready for it! She guided me through exercises and breathing techniques to prepare for delivery. Caroline gave us loads of reading material, lent us books, and gave us so many meaningful gifts. She was always there for us for whatever questions we had, since the first time we connected, till preparation and after delivery. I had the most incredible natural and unmedicated birth and I don't think this whole experience would have been the same without her. We were really blessed to have her kind spirit with us and will be forever grateful. No doubt we'd hire her again for a next baby. Thank you thank you thank you!

— Barbara O.

We chose to work with Caroline for her postpartum overnight doula services. I can't say enough how wonderful it has been having her for overnight support. She has helped my husband and I sleep comfortably for several nights knowing our baby is in good hands and has helped me keep my mental health in a good place with the extra rest. This is our second baby and I wish we would have known about her with our first! Not only does she take excellent care of our baby overnight, but she brings yummy snacks for us, helps with our dishes and checks in frequently to make sure our needs are met. Would highly recommend her to anyone looking :)

— Rebekah A.

Caroline was such a huge help! I honestly don't know how we would have survived twins, with a 3 and 5 year old also, without her help. Every other night was the perfect frequency for us because if we had a really rough night, we knew at least we would get some sleep the next night! Also, unlike our well meaning grandparents, Caroline knew when to actually feed the baby(ies) and when to rock them, shush them, and a variety of other techniques and I always knew I wasn't going to have to pay for my sleep the next day because my babies had just spent 8 hours sleeping in someone's arms and wanted only that again. She definitely moved them towards sleeping on their own with healthy sleep habits. And by some miracle, she also got the twins laundry and bottle dishes done! My favorite part was how she just freshened up the main floor of my house. in a way that only her and my mother in law know how to do within 15 minutes of walking into my house and made it not seem like such a train wreck. I will tell anybody that hiring Caroline was hands down the best money I have ever spent and in retrospect, I would have paid twice as much because it is just invaluable. It saved us so much stress and arguments. Even though this post partum period was the hardest of my 3 by far, my husband and my relationship was the best. I know that getting proper sleep every other night was directly responsible for that because things were even tougher when we went on vacation and had 4 nights of not so great sleep. Having sleep just made it easier to tackle the day. Caroline also had lots of little tips and tricks she taught me that made life for even this seasoned mom easier. We love Caroline!!

— Sarah W.

I had the absolute BEST experience with Caroline ❤️ She is one of the most heart warming, friendly people I have ever met and I am so blessed to have had her with me during my whole labor/delivery journey. She made me feel amazing and had great solutions to all pain. Not only was she there during my labor/delivery but afterwards too, she is constantly checking up on me and my family and I can tell she genuinely cares for us! She was not only there for me but for my partner as well and it was the sweetest thing, with moments we will never forget. I cannot thank her enough for all she has done for us but she is definitely one of a kind and I could not go through another labor without her lol 🥰

— Jalyn R.