It is with pleasure that my husband, Shawn, and I recommend the services of Jo Ann Bishop as a birth doula. Because of some stressful past experiences inside the medical care wheelhouse, we knew that we wanted someone to help us navigate the process of being a pregnant person in and outside the hospital setting. From the beginning of our time together Jo Ann was extremely supportive, validating, and resourceful. She attended to our questions with care and consideration and never had a personal agenda for our birthing journey. The prenatal education sessions she conducted were informative and straightforward, and the library of pre and postpartum resources she gave us access to was invaluable. I still reference the library for information that will aid me as a new parent. In my 37th week of pregnancy we found out that our baby was in the breech position. We decided to schedule an ECV procedure in my 38th week in hopes of flipping the baby. During the whole week leading up to the procedure at the instruction of Jo Ann, Shawn and I facilitated a regimen of maneuvers to help our baby get in a good position to turn. Because of Jo Ann’s guidance and suggestions, all of the work we did to help loosen up my hips and align the baby paid off and the ECV was successful. For any parents out there wondering if an ECV is right for them I will share some of what our experience was like in hopes that it helps inform your decisions. Shawn and I knew we wanted our baby to decide when they wanted to be born, and so the thought of an unsuccessful ECV was daunting. Whether it was going to be a scheduled cesarian or immediate induction of labor the day of the procedure, we were hesitant to go along with the procedure because of these potential outcomes. Ultimately because of our great want for me to give birth vaginally, and because the doctors thought there was still enough room and fluid inside me to move the baby successfully, we decided to give it a try. Our experience was much less scary and intimidating because of the encouragement and support from Jo Ann, and we are so thankful that our baby got to decide when they wanted to spontaneously be born. If you are curious if having a doula is right for you, just know that the support you’ll receive from Jo Ann surpassed any trepidations we had about inviting “a stranger” into our birthing journey. Having a third party was so helpful. Despite the well-meaning suggestions from family and friends, it was a relief to have someone who was outside our personal bubble give objective advice.

We had the immense pleasure of having Jo Ann as our birth doula. We are first time parents and knew we wanted someone who had been through the birth process before to help guide us. We felt prepared knowing all of our options for delivery and informed from our meetings with Jo Ann. We felt we had so many more tools to help with pain management during laboring. During delivery, the guidance and reassurance Jo Ann provided helped us to have a smooth and healthy delivery of our baby. We felt supported and informed every step of our delivery and helped make it such a special event for both of us. We can’t thank Jo Ann enough for everything she helped us with and would highly recommend her services!

Having Jo Ann as our Doula was such an amazing experience, we definitely plan to work with her again in the future! Around 20 weeks my anxiety about giving birth started to set in and a friend recommended her to us. Having her support and guidance helped both my husband and I go from feeling unsure and uniformed about the birth process to feeling empowered and confident! The One Strong Mama course she recommended was a huge help in alleviating the aches and pains of pregnancy and also lended itself to a smoother recovery after a very long and tiring birth process. Her knowledge and information not only helped us to have better conversations with our medical providers, but also better conversations with each other about what we wanted. When things got hard and took unexpected turns, we could easily get ahold of Jo Ann and she was instrumental in helping us navigate the challenges we faced. Her support was invaluable to us and I can't say enough great things about our experience. Not to mention all the postpartum resources she provided to help with any follow up care we were interested in getting. Thank you Jo Ann for all that you do!!

Jo Ann was nothing short of AMAZING. I decided to hire a doula late in my pregnancy (34ish weeks) and I looked into over a dozen doula's and interviewed several. I hadn't felt like I found the 'right fit' until I spoke with Jo Ann. I loved her calm demeanor, constant encouragement and best of all, how empowered she made me feel. She offered an enormous amount of resources, meetings with one another to prepare for my VBAC delivery and everything in between. I felt like I was in control of our birth plan. I never once felt like I was being judged for choosing to do things a certain way. One of my favorite things that Jo Ann told me early on is "it's great to have a birth plan in place but with new information, that plan may change and THAT IS OKAY." This was huge in our personal story because so many 'unexpected's' came up and we just pivoted and kept pressing forward. Coming off a c-section with our first child just 15 months prior, I was determined to have a VBAC delivery with our second child. Jo Ann encouraged the One Strong Mama program, which I think was detrimental to our success. At 36 weeks gestation, we learned baby was breech. Two days later, Jo Ann was at my house with my husband and I working on alignment and positioning to help make room for baby to turn on it's own. I am certain that without Jo Ann and her plethora of knowledge, our birth story would have been very different. At 37 weeks gestation, baby had successfully flipped on it's own- hallelujah! We kept pressing forward. At 39 weeks gestation, I tested positive for covid (another devastating road block that Jo Ann was there to help us navigate through). At 39w5d, my OB team felt it was best to induce due to significant decreased fetal movement. Thankfully, I had begun laboring that very same day. Due to hospital restrictions, Jo Ann was unable to be there however, was still able to offer support via phone and FaceTime if desired. I delivered a very healthy baby boy weighing in at 8lb 13oz with just 5 minutes of pushing and 4 contractions! I want to make a note that the OB who delivered my first child had told me that my pelvis was just too small to deliver my first vaginally... she weighed just 7lb 1oz. I have absolutely no doubt that this was thanks to Jo Ann and the program/s she had me following to prepare for the birth. We are forever grateful that we had Jo Ann on our team for the delivery of our sweet babe. Like I said earlier, I am confident that this would not have been the same birth story without her. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Jo Ann for being there for us and helping us and supporting us through our pregnancy and delivery. You will forever have a special place in our hearts. ❤️

Jo Ann is truly one of a kind! I knew I wanted to work with a doula before I was pregnant, I could have never imagined the difference this would make throughout my pregnancy, labor/delivery and postpartum. She was such a gift in this special time in our lives! She has such a kind, compassionate and loving spirit coupled with extensive knowledge based in science and experience. We don’t know what we don’t know and having a professional there to equip me, empower me and care for me was priceless in my journey to becoming a mother. In addition to her knowledge and expertise, she also recommended multiple resources that helped in various capacities. I wish all women could have access to such quality support. It has made such a difference for me. She is amazing!

I am so grateful to have had Jo Ann’s guidance and support throughout my first pregnancy. I knew I wanted to supplement the guidance and knowledge I’d get from my ob/gyn with that of a doula and Jo Ann was a perfect match for my husband and me. She introduced me to the Spinning Babies movement series which I greatly credit in helping me stay active during my pregnancy and for helping prepare my body for the type of birth I wanted to have. Knowing that my husband and I had Jo Ann just a phone call away throughout my pregnancy and childbirth and in the post partum period gave us both a great sense of relief. She helped us bring our son into the world in an informed, confident manner and I am forever grateful to her.