First of all, I must commend the Doula Project itself as an invaluable advocate. Sometimes the medical establishment views us within categories--especially when we are unusual as a result of identity--while the Doula Project listens to us as individuals in order to advocate for us to have the birth closest to our ideal within the context of medical wisdom. From the start I really appreciated Vicki's encouraging me to ask questions, to determine what the range of choices was, and to understand the benefits and risks of each decision. In my own case, I did decide because of advanced maternal age and medical advice to have an induced labor. Vicki was there to meet me at the hospital when I checked in, and she made sure that between her and her Doula Project partner on my case, I always had a doula to advocate for me from start to finish, through 27 hours of labor and beyond. Indeed, Vicki took the first photo of my baby, within minutes of her birth! From our first pre-birth meeting, Vicki correctly identified me as a physically fit person who would benefit from maintaining a physically active relationship to my labor and delivery. I brought a yoga mat and pilates ring to the hospital, and Vicki advocated for my being able to use them, even though my baby had to be monitored throughout the induced labor: we set up my yoga and pilates equipment right next to the bed, and Vicki advocated for periodic breaks from the monitor, especially in light of the fact that my baby was doing so well throughout. When I delivered my daughter, I surprised a number of the doctors, including one who thought a C-section would be a foregone conclusion, by delivering vaginally, after only about five minutes of pushing. I am very grateful to Vicki for her steadfast advocacy that led to such a positive birth experience for me and my daughter.
— Georgette F.
Vicki was incredible to work with and made our entire birth experience positive, fun, and easy to navigate and understand. Vicki has an excellent command of what to expect from a variety of birth scenarios because she is so experienced and this made us feel well-taken care of and well-supported. The combination of her kind and supportive personality paired with her professionalism and insight was the perfect balance to help us through each step of the process and feel empowered and educated to make the best choices for our birth vision.
Vicki is an excellent and prompt communicator who listens actively and does a wonderful job to collaboratively create a birth plan based on the specific needs of her clients—I think we would have felt so differently about our birth experience if we had not had the support of Vicki before, during, and after. Vicki met with us twice prior to our actual birth and also followed up after with each session being a safe, open forum to ask questions and air concerns or fears as well as explore dreams and hopes of best possible outcomes. Vicki was also readily available by phone and text, which was really helpful because we had a few scenarios where we weren’t quite sure what to do and she was able to quickly and effectively answer questions. Vicki did an amazing job of listening thoughtfully and helping us synthesize our feelings into a strategic plan for our birth. These sessions were really helpful and important for setting the expectations for our experience with Vicki and our other practitioners so that by the time the birth happened we felt very prepared.
I would HIGHLY recommend Vicki to anyone who is seeking the services of a doula for their birth. Vicki is passionate about the work that she does and it comes through so clearly in the patient and thoughtful way that she services her clients. THANK YOU SO MUCH for making our birth the absolute best— looking forward to the next one!!
— Maggie M.
Leading up to and during our birth, Vicki truly supported us in our decisions by both providing us with information and helping us know what to ask our doctors. We always felt like Vicki gave us the space to make decisions without judgement and worked to ensure these decisions were honored in the hospital as much as possible. Vicki also brought a huge amount of knowledge to our birth experience and we genuinely believe that that knowledge played an important role in helping us avoid a c-section. She was always responsive when we needed her leading up to the birth and tirelessly stayed by our side for my 26 hour labor. For these reasons and more, we are truly grateful that Vicki was part of our birth experience.
— Lindsey L.
So this was my second time having Ms. Vicki Bloom involved in my birthing and delivery experience, and it’s always my pleasure. I love the healthy gifts I recieve at the end of the experience with her; a healthy & safe blessed delivery and an even happier healthy babies delivered safely thanks to her and her efficient and supportive ways she used while she coached me while I was in labor. I had a non-complicated labor and delivery, and both times she advocated for me and stood by me while I had 2 natural births to my children my son Noël-Blair who is 4 1/2 years old & My Daughter Nirvana who is 2 months old. Ms. Bloom is very friendly, attentive and experienced at what she does which is being the most hands on self advocate, best doula/mid wife lactation specialist I could ever ask for.
— Doris S.
Having Vicki by my side throughout my entire laboring experience was the best decision I could have ever made in my life. She is a godsend, very compassionate, patient and comforting. I was having my first child and as you can imagine I had no clue what going through labor was going to be like. When I was told that it would be a wise choice to have a doula I didn't think much of it then at the last minute, weeks before my due date, I was fortunate enough to find Vicki. No words can describe how amazing this lady really is. She stayed by my side and stayed awake for hours into the next day without taking a break to make sure I was breathing the pain away, working through my contractions and even taught me how to effectively push when the time came. She maintained an upbeat, positive, jovial attitude even when I was being a little difficult when the pain became too overwhelming. If I had to do it a thousand times over again I would always choose Vicki. This wonderful woman even stayed after my delivery to make sure baby and I were in good hands and was doing okay. She spoke to doctors and kept me out of confusion and minimized my stress. She also had another doula named Luar who was also part of the experience. Luar provided a great amount of information with helpful tips and facts to educate me through the labor process which helped me tremendously as well. I am definitely recommending them to everyone I know, truly greatful to have found Vicki.
— Tamara F.
I gave birth for the first time on Dec 30, 2019 and had the pleasure of working with my exceptional Doula Vicki Bloom. I was introduced to her through the Doula Project in NYC, and from our very first meeting through my postpartum meeting, I could not say one bad thing about her. She was everything I expected and more! She was extremely thourough about pregnancy, labor, birth process, baby questions, hospitals and more. She answered any and all questions I had to ask, was extremely patient and took as much time as needed with her, returned all my phone calls and texts within arms reach, eased all my fears, showed up timely during my labor no matter where she was, and was extremely dedicated and available throughout my 34 hr labor/birth with strategic ways to cope with pain, preparation, and negotiation with hospital staff. I could have not had a better outcome, and 100% happy with her presence and work! Her knowledge in her profession is very extensive, very experienced in all different circumstances, very honest, authentic to her work and has a fine balance of what's best for you as a patient and the rest of the team. She is also very kind, grounded, clear and concise, easy to talk to and the kind of person you can talk to about anything during anytime. She is someone I will always remember and plays a big part of my birth life and my son. I know she will serve and dedicate herself to the fullest every chance she gets! She is a pure gift.
— Michiko S.
I can't say enough nice things about Vickis supportiveness and patience during our time with her.
She elevated the entire birthing experice through her confidence and nuturing manner.
The stretches, conersation, and laughter was so important to us on the day we welcomed our daughter into the world. Even though we wernt able to arrange a time to meet beforehand (our daughter upped the duedate on us) Vicki stepped right into the equasion and immediately established herself as a trusted resource. Our hours with her will be forever entwined into the story of our little girl.
Thank you so much for all the help, we are forever grateful.
— Chris & Angelys C.
Vicki went absolutely above and beyond in her support of our birth experience. We had only just brought her on when I went into labor early, and then had to switch gears from the midwife-attended birthing center plan we'd had to a hospital birth--it was a memorable first meeting!
Vicki was a calm, collected presence that made our first birthing experience an easy, peaceful one, despite the unexpected change of plans. Her support enabled me to have the unmedicated birth I'd hoped for, and she was expert at advocating for me with regard to comfort supplies, positions, and interventions... even going so far as to firmly but kindly tell the nurses I did not need an IV while actively pushing as long as things were progressing well (and they were).
Vicki was absolutely my superhero on my child's birth day, and my partner and I could not be more grateful for her flexibility, dedication, and expertise.
— Audrey M.
Hiring Vicki was the best pregnancy decision we made!
We reached out to Vicki really early on in our pregnancy and so she really helped us figure out what we wanted in a birth (we would have never considered home birth until Vicki explained it to us and I'm so glad we did!). Vicki was especially helpful with educating us on the basics of pregnancy (helping me understand what was happening to my body & what would happen in labor).
It was also amazing to have her at the labor as it took the pressure off of us to figure out when to call the Midwives. She was a great support and fit right in with our midwifery team.
— Nikki M.
Vicki was my doula with both of my children, and even though those births couldn't have been more different (a 38-hour induction ending in a c-section vs a 6-hour, unexpectedly unmedicated VBAC), I can't imagine doing either one without her incredible support. As a nonbinary, disabled, and plus-sized pregnant person, having a doula who didn't need to be educated about queer and disabled identities and could just work with me as a full, embodied person was so important to me -- and Vicki absolutely did that. In preparing for my second birth, she was so supportive in helping me process my induction and c-section experience in order to get into a good headspace to attempt my VBAC, and when my second labor went WAY faster than expected, her guidance made a huge difference in helping me get through that overwhelming experience. I'm so grateful to have had her support and partnership, and I can't recommend her enough!
— Shelly N.
