Hello, my name is Amanda Jurrens, and I am incredibly honored and excited to walk alongside you on one of the most transformative days of your life, the day you welcome your child into the world. My journey into birth work has been shaped by nearly a decade of experience in the assisted reproductive technology industry, both professionally and personally, as a three-time gestational carrier. These experiences have ignited a deep passion for supporting families during this beautiful chapter of their lives. I am committed to education, advocacy, and ensuring that every individual feels truly seen, heard, and supported. My goal is to bring a calming, nurturing presence to your labor and delivery, providing continuous physical and emotional support. Together, we will create the birth experience you have envisioned, making this day as empowering and memorable as possible. Outside of my work, I live in Shakopee with my husband, our two middle wonderful middle school age daughters, and our dog, Loki. In my free time, I love cooking, traveling, reading, and working on projects around our 118-year-old home. I would be truly honored to be part of your birth journey and to help make this milestone everything you have dreamed it could be.
Amanda was wonderful to work with! In addition to supporting us during labor, we had an initial consultation with her, two meetings before the birth and one meeting postpartum. She is knowledgeable about labor and the postpartum experience. We are first time parents, and she was able to answer our questions as well as offer extra resources and helpful tips.
She is very supportive of mothers’ birthing preferences. We opted for a natural labor experience at a birth center, and she was very familiar with that environment. It was also important to us to have a doula who shares our Christian faith and could believe with us for an uncomplicated, beautiful birth (which we had)!
I didn’t get a worship playlist put together ahead of time, but Amanda had one ready to go. She offered to braid my hair during labor which ended up being wonderful for labor and the first 48 hours postpartum! She has a calm, nurturing presence. Some other things she did to support us during labor were apply cold washcloths, provide pressure through hip squeezes, and give verbal encouragement. She also picked up our lunch for us post-delivery and thoughtfully brought us home-made treats at our postpartum visit.
We are so glad that we went with Amanda as our doula and highly recommend her! Thanks, Amanda!
- Abby M.