Vanessa was our doula for all 5 of our children. My husband wasn’t convinced we needed a doula, but after our first was born, he said, “We could not have done that without her!” So she was considered a necessity for the subsequent births. Before birth day, she met with us to discuss our birth plan and goals and how she could help us with that. She taught us what to do for pain management. She involved my husband as much as he wanted/could handle, but she did a significant amount of the pain relief techniques for me. She made sure I was drinking water and always had my cup filled up. She fed me. She reminded me to breathe correctly. She reminded me to “push from your bottom”. She held my hand. She put a cold cloth on my forehead. She knew what I needed when I didn’t. Her presence is calm and kind. For my last birth, my only home birth, she asked in our initial meeting if I had considered catching the baby myself. I told her no, but we decided to discuss what that would look like anyway. The midwife missed that birth. Vanessa made it just in time. I didn’t even know I was pushing, but she knew! She said to my husband,“She’s pushing - we need to get her undressed and in the tub.” She helped me undress and get in the birthing tub and - who knew - I caught my own baby and she was right there with me guiding the process by telling me exactly what to do like we had practiced weeks before. She helped to handle discussing the birth and updates to my midwife on the phone, communicating to us what the midwife needed us to know. She was definitely a source of comfort for all my births, but especially that one! She also does a postpartum visit to check on us and comes full of ideas, contacts, and resources for any postpartum help we need. I cannot recommend her enough. She is such a blessing to our family.
— Maggie S.
