Positive birth stories

I cannot reccommend Rachel enough! I needed a doula who could be both assertive as an advocate but soft and nurturing as a support. Rachel was BOTH!! What a dream combination! I loved pre-natal meetings with Rachel because she asked so many questions and made me feel so heard and seen. I had a confidence going into birth that my desires and hopes were understood and that she would fight for them with me! I was fighting for a VBAC with my second child and I am CONFIDENT that my goals would not have been reached without Rachel's support. (YAY SUCCESSFUL VBAC IN THE HOSPITAL!!!!!) She always knew how to step in and support whether that meant reading my birth affirmations with me, coaching me through different positions, letting Ryan sit with me alone, helping me with breathing, advocating for me with the hospital staff, and SO MUCH MORE. Rachel was the peaceful strength I needed in my birth and you would be so so lucky to have her there at yours! Rachel felt like so much more than a doula....it felt like having my sister and a warrior advocate at the same time. SUCH a gift! I cannot say enough good things! 

As someone who had given birth 3 times previously without a doula, I took the leap to have Rachel at my fourth birth and it was the best decision I ever made. I knew I needed someone at my birth who had confidence, competence and calm when it came to our first home birth. I had persistent prodromal labor that left me mentally and physically drained. Rachel checked in with me, encouraged me and gave me practical tools to survive it. In my actual birth I don’t know how I could’ve given birth without her. She stood by my side and offered me things I never knew I needed. Rachel is/was one of the biggest blessings of my birth experience and I’m eternally grateful for her expertise, empathy, joy, and grace she brought to my birth.

Rachel played a pivotal role in the unmedicated birth of our baby. Her warm, relatable, and thorough demeanor comforted us at our first meeting. She’s incredibly knowledgeable about a mother’s anatomy and fetal positioning. Given such, she helped labor progress smoothly with moving my body accordingly. Also, Rachel’s voice is so soothing which helped me maintain a meditative space for the duration of labor. I’m so grateful for her affirmations, too. I couldn’t have done it naturally without her support. We will absolutely rehire for all future pregnancies!

Rachel met with me (or me and my husband) multiple times before our baby arrived. She is knowledgable and professional but also friendly and easy to talk to. She had easy-to-follow materials that we looked through together and took home to keep with us, and she had recommendations of extra resources related to my specific questions or desires. Online classes and searches had been helpful, but there's nothing like sitting down with someone to talk about YOU, YOUR baby, YOUR family, and YOUR birth. It gave us an increased sense of confidence, safety, and excitement.

Labor was long, but she was there for it! I appreciated that she was as involved as we wanted her to be, but also happy to fade into the background had we wanted more space. Rachel helped us understand our options, advocated for taking a break when I needed it, and showed my husband how to participate. We're so grateful!