My husband and I decided to hire a doula a little bit reluctantly, not really knowing what we needed or how beneficial it would be. When I met Vonda, I immediately got this sense that she was caring and compassionate but yet also very competent and confident in her work as a Doula. This gave me so much comfort, and regardless of whether our goal was to deliver at home, a birth center, or hospital, she was willing to support us and our choices and not try to impose opinions on us unless we asked for them (which was huge since opinions can run very strong and extreme on opposite spectrums in the birth world). What I loved most about the idea of hiring her, beyond being able to trust her and know she was for us, was that she would be the consistency in my care from prenatal to delivery to postpartum.
This birth was going to be with my second child but I was hoping to have a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) birth, so everything about labor and birth would be a new experience for me. She met with us twice during my 3rd trimester. Those meetings were incredibly informative and brought us so much peace leading up to what was foreign territory to us. She talked with us about our birth plan and let us know what our options were, taught my husband and I physical comfort techniques that could be helpful during labor, and also educated us on the birth process and what would happen to my body and with the baby during the process. Having the ability to contact her anytime after we hired her to get her input and feedback was so helpful. My husband wanted to be as involved and helpful to me as he could but he also didn't know what to expect and I didn't know what I would need, He really appreciated everything Vonda taught us beforehand, but then also having her with us during the birth to help him help me and to be our voice at the hospital since she knew our wishes and could speak for us while my mind was focused on having a baby and my husband was focused on me. Aspects of everything she prepared us for came into play when labor started, and I can't imagine going through labor and birth without having been as prepared as I felt, even when I still didn't know what to expect.
Hiring Vonda as our Doula was worth every penny! I would highly recommend her to any mama AND her support person. She was there for me AND my husband, and if we did it again, we'd definitely have Vonda with us!
- Sarah S.
