Now that I am six months postpartum I am able to step back and write this objectively. As a single first time mom I sought postpartum doula services knowing that the extra support would be really crucial for me and my baby. Unfortunately Marlo did not prioritize my care despite agreeing to and also accepting my hefty deposit up front. Her daughter was also pregnant at the time which she did inform me of, however assured me that there should be no conflict even given our proximity of due dates. I trusted her judgement as a professional. As most births go, her daughter ended up going into labor late and I ended up being induced early; so unfortunately we ended up giving birth within the same week. I was understanding and allowed her to find a replacement doula for me (who I hadn’t met) for my first night home from the hospital. (Not ideal but I really didn’t have any other option as the first night home I desperately needed help). I was again understanding in her being unavailable the first week for me so she could be home with her daughter and new granddaughter. So here I was, a first time, new mom, alone. I tend to try and look on the bright side and in this situation, in order to protect my mental health, I did my best to be as positive and optimistic about the circumstances as possible. I found a rhythm on my own, I took care of my baby and myself on my own, and I cherished the time we had together just figuring out new little newborn life together. I allowed Marlo to continue to be unavailable without making the situation more difficult and told her I did not want to use replacements who I had not yet met (as that was her solution to try and offer me random other doulas she knew - Not what I was comfortable with nor what I paid for). So after about a month without having been able to utilize any of the hours I had paid upfront for with her (other than the first night with the replacement she gave me), I asked about cancelling the contract since the majority of the time I was anticipating using her services was for the beginning of my postpartum and that had not happened due to her unavailability. After a month doing everything on my own, it made zero sense for me to all of a sudden have her come in and start taking over once I had already figured out my way with things. Sorry but I didn’t want to just hand my baby over all of a sudden when he was used to having me with him 24/7. The whole purpose of hiring a postpartum doula was to be there to help me when I was recovering and had a brand new newborn not after I had recovered and was able to do everything on my own. She informed me that I could cancel the remainder of the contract but not only would she not be able to refund the hours I had prepaid for that weren’t utilized, she also had no availability for me to use the rest of those hours either. She said that she had to seek alternative work upon me cancelling the remainder of my contract so was no longer available. Even with this response I could be understanding as I know things arise and of course I wouldn’t want her to have to go without work, however her decision to keep my $600 in hours that was paid for and not provided to me seemed pretty awful given the fact that the entire reason I had to cancel my contract was because of her unavailability. (Which I will also add, for someone who is a doula and accustomed to births, she should know better than to schedule herself so close in conjunction with her own personal life events. It would’ve behooved her to just not have been available at all during those months she knew her daughter was due and I would’ve been able to find a proper doula who could’ve actually been there as promised). As a mom now, the way I look at money has really changed. Every dollar I have means money for my baby. $600 for a new, single mother, is a lot of money to have lost for essentially a “contract” which clearly doesn’t protect the needs of the mother but solely the selfish business of the doula. My advice for any mothers/parents seeking doula services. Read the contract thoroughly and make sure you are also considered in it. That was my mistake. I simply believed that by being understanding and trusting her false gestures of care that she would not be someone who cared more about her own selfish greed. I was wrong.
— Amy M.
Marlo's response
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I’m sorry that the experience left you feeling this way. I do want to clarify several points regarding what happened.
Before you contracted with me, I was very open with you about the fact that my daughter was due to have her baby the same month as you. We discussed this before you made the decision to hire me, and I assured you that I would honor my commitment to you. At the time, neither of us could have known that your baby would arrive approximately two weeks early while my daughter would go into labor approximately two weeks after her due date. The births unexpectedly occurred within the same week. This was not a scheduling conflict I knowingly created or concealed from you.
I had intended to return to work immediately after my daughter gave birth. Shortly afterward, however, I became ill with bronchitis and was sick for approximately three weeks. Because my work involves close, hands-on care of newborns and postpartum families, I did not work at all while I was ill. I had to reschedule shifts with my other clients as well and was not physically able to provide care, even to my own daughter and new granddaughter. My absence was not a decision to stop working in order to remain with my daughter; I was unable to work because I was sick.
During that time, I continued to communicate with you and make efforts to arrange care. I offered backup doulas and offered for you to meet them beforehand. You declined those options and told me that you were enjoying your time at home with your baby and did not feel comfortable having someone come in.
At the time, you also told me in a text message, “It had actually been a bit of a blessing in disguise because it has given me the opportunity to see what I can manage on my own.” I mention this simply to provide context, as it reflects how you described the situation to me at the time.
Your first night home from the hospital was covered by a backup doula, as provided for in our agreement. Finding qualified coverage at the last minute was difficult, and I paid that doula from your non-refundable retainer. You told me afterward that you were happy with the care she provided.
Before services began, we discussed my contract and retainer terms on multiple occasions, and you signed the agreement acknowledging those terms. The agreement states that the $1,200 retainer is non-refundable if the client cancels the engagement. It also states that the remaining $3,600 balance was due before support began if your baby arrived before the scheduled payment date. That balance was never paid.
We also had multiple conversations about the retainer and what would happen if you chose to cancel, including before I provided any care and again on the evening I came to provide a shift after you had decided to cancel. Although the contract allowed me to retain the non-refundable retainer upon cancellation, I provided that additional shift and applied the time toward your retainer because I wanted to be fair to you given the circumstances.
It is also important to clarify that there was never a complaint about the quality of my care or support. In fact, you expressed that you wanted me to return. The disagreement arose around the circumstances of the contract, availability, and cancellation, rather than the care I provided.
After you cancelled the remainder of the engagement, I accepted other work and my availability was no longer open. I could not continue holding that availability after the contract had been cancelled.
I understand that you experienced this situation differently, and I genuinely wish things had unfolded differently for everyone involved.
For anyone considering my services, I hope this provides helpful context about how I approach unexpected circumstances, backup care, and the terms of my agreements.
Marlo was an amazing support! She helped tremendously when we were running low on sleep and needed some rest. She took good care of our baby and my wife postpartum.
— John D.
We loved having Marlo’s help with our second baby! The thought of a postpartum night doula seemed kind of extravagant at first, but I’m so glad that we decided to get some extra help this time around. I was originally nervous about handing our new baby over to a stranger, but once we met Marlo, my husband and I had no problem making the decision. Marlo is easy to talk to, kind, and professional. She also clearly loves babies and has a warm personality. As a bonus, she loves animals and had no issue with our two somewhat obnoxious French bulldogs. The months leading up to my birth, Marlo kept in touch and asked how things were going. I feel like this helped establish a relationship and by the time our new baby arrived she didn’t seem like a stranger. It only took a night or two for us to establish a routine and things went smoothly right away. It was so nice to just nurse the baby every few hours and go right back to sleep while she was here. Marlo did the burping, rocking, swaddling, etc. She also kept a log of all of our baby’s diaper changes, sleep time, and any other information we might need. We were fortunate enough to have Marlo’s help for about 8 weeks and we will definitely hire her again when we have another baby! We miss her already. :)
— Carrie W.
Our experience with Marlo as our doula was fantastic and a huge help with transition from one to two kids. She supported us with night times for about two months and it was a smooth process and allowed us to get much needed rest at night. Marlo is communicative and reliable.
She is a great person to also ask for advice for baby related questions as far as feeding and sleep. Marlo is kind and loves babies and children. :) She is detail oriented and always had notes and information for the hand-off in the mornings. We appreciate Marlo supporting us during this transition with our new baby and would recommend her to anyone looking for doula support. Thank you!
— Gabby G.
We had an wonderful experience working with Marlo as our night doula for our firstborn son! My postpartum experience would have been very different without her. Marlo was able to be in our home the first night when we got back from the hospital, when I was a sleep deprived mess of a first time mom - and I'm sooo grateful to have started my postpartum journey with her support . She is clearly a pro and loves babies - and I'm glad I was able to learn from her in real time. We continued to work with Marlo for 2-3 nights a week for 6 weeks, and always looked forward to her arrival those nights. She cared for our son with so much love, and I always could breathe a sigh of relief knowing he's in safe hands overnight, and I could relax fully and sleep. Toward the end, Marlo helped me introduce a bottle overnight, so I was able to get my first nights of fully uninterrupted sleep! Marlo is an excellent communicator, always prompt/responsible and on time, and great with our very curious beagle dog, who welcomed her with open arms. Would absolutely recommend Marlo.
— Khaki M.
Marlo is a commensurate professional, and a compassionate addition to the household in the delicate weeks after bringing a newborn home. We were so grateful to have Marlo help us twice a week for the first four weeks after the birth of our first child, and she was instrumental in helping us get adjusted and settled into the new phase of our lives.
We'd be delighted to work with Marlo again any time we need support post-partum.
— Art L.
Marlo was an amazing help throughout the entire adjustment period of bringing a newborn home. She helped around the house, answered questions, and provided us with a lot of guidance and extremely useful advice. She gave us a lot of confidence as new parents. Marlo was so kind and nurturing, you can tell she really cares and loves the babies she works with. She also is great with pets in the house. Our family has 3 very hyper dogs and Marlo was wonderful with them too. Marlo is organized, clean, and punctual. She also provided a very detailed little schedule of everything she did during her shift, which was super helpful for us to know "what" and "when" to do things for the baby once she left. I would recommend her services to any new parents. It really was an amazing experience and our family is so grateful for all of her work.
— Dani B.
We are very grateful for Marlo's help during the post partum period. She was always very kind & gentle with our newborn. She was very professional but also personable. It felt like we had a friend watching our baby, which definitely helped us relax and get some rest when she was there. Marlo is very knowledgeable about this point in time both for the newborn and the parents. She took great care of us too:) We would happily work with Marlo again or reccomend her to others with new little ones!
— Laurie L.
We are very grateful for Marlo's help during the post partum period. She is friendly, kind and very gentle with our newborn. As first time parents we really appreciated Marlo's knowledge and experice with little ones. She was also really great with our cats (equally important to us.)!
We appreciated having Marlo's help overnight so that we could get decent rest a few nights a week. It was great to be able to simply wake up, pump and go back to sleep and know that our baby was happy and cared for while we slept.
Marlo is an excellent post partum doula! We we would be happy to work with her again or reccomend her to others with new little ones!
— Laurie
We strongly and warmly recommend Marlo as a postpartum doula. She has been an immense help and support for the past 10 weeks with our second baby.
From Marlo’s very first day with us, it has been obvious not only that she has experience and expertise with newborns, but also that she truly loves her job and cares deeply for the babies she watches over. We trust her entirely to care for baby boy, and we have even learned new methods for soothing and caring for him from Marlo.
Marlo has also done an incredible job integrating herself seamlessly into our home routines, and she truly goes above and beyond to make herself helpful. For example, Marlo has worked closely and collaboratively with Mom so that Mom can continue breastfeeding baby boy but also maximize her sleep on the nights that Marlo is with us. Marlo also often finds ways to be helpful around the house even without being asked. And she has been so warm and friendly throughout our time together that it truly feels like she is another family member who belongs in our home when she is here. Any other family with a newborn would be lucky to work with Marlo.
— Paige W.
Marlo was an incredible support during our newborn’s early weeks. She cared for our baby with warmth and expertise, always arriving on time and offering invaluable advice on sleep and breastfeeding nutrition. Beyond newborn care, she went above and beyond—helping with some household tasks like laundry, making our transition into a family of five much smoother. Her kindness, reliability, and knowledge were truly a gift to our family. Highly recommend!
— Paula V.
Marlo is more than a provider for us, she's family. We first employed Marlo as a doula after unexpected complications with my son's birth made recovery quite difficult. She was so reliable and instantly connect with our son! She eventually helped our family as a nanny and really became an essential part of our care system. We loved working with Marlo and strongly recommend her for anyone looking to bring love and support into your home.
— Bridget L.
In early February 2024, my husband and I brought home our newborn child after an unusually difficult birth and quickly learned that we needed more help than we had available. Through the assistance of a local agency, we engaged postpartum doula services and met Marlo Knight. Although we enjoyed the assistance of a few doulas through this agency, Marlo brought something special. Marlo’s calm and kind disposition brought a sense of ease to us as jittery and anxious new parents. She approached us in a collaborative spirit, bringing her own wisdom and experience while listening and supporting our priorities and needs. She was professional, prompt and thorough. All of this led my husband and I to feel confident in asking Marlo to care for our son full time when I returned to work in the Spring. As a full-time nanny, Marlo really became a part of our family. Her attentiveness to our son Charlie left me feeling confident that he was in safe hands while I was away. Beyond the care she showed for all of us, she was extremely professional and went above and beyond. She communicated early and often whenever there was a schedule change and always found ways to fill in gaps whenever needed. But most importantly, our son adored spending time with Marlo and it really showed! While we would have loved to maintain her in our employ indefinitely, we are extremely proud of Marlo’s efforts to further her education and return to school. We enthusiastically recommend her for every opportunity and I’m personally happy to speak to anyone seeking additional information to that end.
— Bridget Lopez
Marlo was our backup night doula for our newborn daughter. Our daughter was born earlier than due date and our primary doula was unavailable at first. Thanks to Marlo, we were well supported. Marlo is extremely knowledgeable and patience. She not only took great care of the baby throughout the nights, but also taught us with great patience and told us what to expect to avoid unnecessary anxiety. Overall we were very satisfied and will definitely recommend Marlo to new parents!
— Bowei
