Jessica Fuss Doula Profile

I met with Jess very early on during my pregnancy, so we had a lot of time to meet and get to know each other.  From the first moment I met her, I knew she was for me!  She was so relaxed, knowledgeable and most of all, caring! I immediately felt supported and less afraid of all the unknowns of pregnancy and labor.  Jonah, my baby boy,  decided breech was the best position for him, so we ended up with a cesarean birth (thanks Jess for the term reminder!).  

Jess reminded me that even though we weren't having the vaginal labor I'd imagined, that it wasn't a "section" or a "surgery".  It was the birth of my gorgeous son!  Jess was there for us as soon as I called (my water broke unexpectedly!)  and stayed with us until I had to go into the OR.  She met us right afterward to greet my husband and me with our baby boy.  She was such a support before the birth, calming me, letting us know everything I was experiencing was normal and expected.  Afterward, she was there to help with our first moments of bonding and breastfeeding.   We absolutely loved having Jess there - her warmth and love for women and birthing was so overwhelming, all we felt was support and love! Yay! 

My husband was an excellent support person in labor, but I valued having Jessica's knowledge and skills present .  She provided excellent, useful refferals during my pregnancy.

We had a wonderful pregnancy/birth experience and were SO glad we hired Jessica to be a part of our team.  She was a wonderful, encouraging, calming presence.  We are fully confident in her knowledge of natural birth and her ablility to understand our personal needs/desires with respect to the pregnancy and birth.  We felt that we could rely on her reccomendations to be what was best for us and our son.  Thank you Jess!

I first met Jessica after conducting email correspondence with a few local doulas.  We chose to meet with her because she was the only doula I contacted who had experience working at our hospital (Kent County Memorial Hospital).  I felt that it was important to have a doula present for my labor, as I was a first time mother hoping to have a natural childbirth.  As soon as I met Jessica, I knew I had made the right choice.  She has a relaxed, supportive way about her that made me feel totally at ease.  She engaged both me and my husband and talked to us about the type of childbirth experience we hoped to have and how my husband would be involved.  Throughout my pregnancy, Jessica kept in touch and offered support.  When I found out I was in labor, she was willing to meet me at my home to provide support in early labor.  It turned out that I had a stange labor, where my water broke and contractions did not start for a few hours.  When contractions did start, they were long and irregular.  We decided to have Jessica meet us at the hospital once the contractions intensified.  She was a source of quiet support, and I relied on her to be aware of the progress of my labor and to help us consider our options and make decisions that were right for us.  When the L&D nurses brushed off my discomfort, Jessica was empathetic and helped me to deal with my frustration with the lack of progress of my labor.  In the end I had to be induced and opted for an epidural after about 26 hours of labor.  I thought that having a doula wouldn't be necessary if I had an epidural, but to my surprise I still had discomfort to cope with, and Jessica was helpful in suggesting pushing techniques.  When my baby was born, she took amazing pictures just seconds after birth.   Jessica and I still keep in touch, and I can't wait to call her with news of my next pregnancy!

Jess was amazing!  I couldn't have done it without her.  She was there for me when I needed her and was one step ahead with my every need!  I can't express how much her help made the birth of my second son a wonderful experience.  I would highly recommend her.  She's not only a wonderful doula, but a great person as well.  Love you Jess!!

 I ended up using Jess through a recommendation from my midwife. I had planned a home birth, and my midwife suggested we also hire her two doulas/assistants to attend the birth. We didn't have a chance to meet Jess until I was actually in labor. She came over to my house in the middle of the night to be there for the birth of my second daughter. I'd never met her before, but was completely at ease with her. She was a calming, gentle, kind presence. She was there for me but was also careful to give me my space and let me do my own thing. After my daughter was born, Jess jumped into action with blankets, towels, and helping hands. It was such a celebration, and Jess felt like an old family friend there to help us celebrate. It was so wonderful to meet someone I felt like I'd known forever! Jess helped us get settled in bed, talked and laughed with our family, cleaned up everything from the birth, and then disappeared into the night. I can't say enough good things about Jess--she was truly a wonderful doula and friend on the night of my daughter's birth, and we were so lucky to have her there!

My husband and I had recently asked Jess to be our doula when I went into labor at 33 weeks, and we're so glad we had! Despite not having had the opportunity to have our pre-birth meetings with her, we felt that she knew exactly what we needed. She was at the hospital almost immediately after we contacted her. I was a mess, completely thrown off by the early and unexpected timing of my labor and impending delivery. I will never forget how kindly yet firmly Jess spoke to me in those crucial moments. It was her words and presence that allowed me to transform from sobbing to pronouncing, "I'm going to push this baby out!" She is the reason we have photos of our baby's birth (we were so unprepared, and things happened so quickly that we didn't even have a camera), and I believe she is the reason that I look back on the experience without an ounce of disappointment or feeling that I wish it had gone differently. She was instrumental in getting our baby to be placed on my belly, which was one of the few wishes I had established for the birth up until that time and which took gentle persistence in the "high risk" circumstance. She was also extremely helpful in synthesizing the experience afterwards and supporting me and the role I played in the birth. My husband was exactly the partner I needed, evolving in his role with her guidance and encouragement. Overall, Jess brought a sense of calm and the utmost support to a hectic and scary time, transforming the situation into a focused, exciting, and positive birth.

When my husband and I decided we wanted our third child to be born naturally, I knew I wanted to have a doula to help us through the process, and I am so thankful that Jessica is the doula we hired.  Although we had hoped to use the Alternative Birthing Center at Women & Infants Hospital and avoid any and all medical interventions, I ended up facing an induction as my pregnancy approached 42 weeks. Jessica's knowledge and advice and compassion during those last two weeks of the pregnancy was invaluable, helping us sort through our options and adjust to the new realities we were being faced with. And when it became clear that an induction was going to happen, her support was instrumental in helping us deal with the emotional stress of having to shift our plans so drastically.  In addition to being a highly skilled professional. Jessica is also one of the most kind and compassionate people I've ever met, and is so incredibly passionate about what she does, and was wonderful company to have as we spent hours and hours walking the halls of the hospital waiting for labor to really get going. She always knew exactly what to say to keep us from getting too discouraged, and was so helpful in keeping us positive in the face of some very frustrating twists and turns as things diverged far from our original birth plan. In the end, our son was born naturally, and it was an amazing, beautiful experience, and Jessica is one of the main reasons that was possible. 

I am no stranger to the birthing process. Due to doctor error, the birth of our first child left my son permanently disabled and left us with an unexpected education. Needless to say, we were extremely nervous about the process of birthing our second child. We vowed that we would do things differently and did our homework. We decided that it would be in our best interest to hire a doula to coach my wife through the process.
Jessica was a great help. She is extremely professional, loving and compassionate. She helped us stay calm and relaxed as the peaks and valleys of labor progressed. My wife doesn’t think she could have lasted as long as she did without her help. Thanks to her support, the birth of our second son went from being extremely difficult to a calm & healing experience. Emotionally we could not have handled the process without her. If we are ever blessed with another child, she will be among the first people we call.

-Ron B.
Taunton, MA
 

P.S.
Our second son was born happy and healthy.

Jess is warm, funny, and intelligent as well as compassionate and strong. She has a way of making you feel cared for and supported emotionally while also giving you the feeling she would step up in defense of you and your birth plan if need be, even if that meant she would have to be "tough" with the doctors and nurses. She was incredibly supportive without being intrusive and she has a way of making you feel as if you can trust her without doubt. She was kind and caring but at the same time she never let me give up or feel sorry for myself. I wanted to give up so many times throughout my long (42 hours!) labor and Jess wouldn't let me! She worked hard to make sure I kept going. I went into the hospital wanting a completely natural birth using hypnobirthing, but in the end I had to have a cesarian birth which was very hard for me to come to terms with. Jess was compassionate and empathic with this turn of events while also encouraging me to let go of the expectations I had for myself and my baby's birth and welcome what the universe had in mind. This was such a blessing!  I never once felt as if I was "less than" or that I hadn't tried hard enough because throughout the entire process Jess was there telling me how amazing I was and how lucky my daughter was to have me as a mom. She made me feel SO proud! Jess was my angel throughout a very long, very trying labor and delivery! She was with me for over 30 hours straight through with nothing longer than a bathroom break and she didn't sleep the entire time! I have nothing but praises for Jess. If we have another baby we will definitely ask her to be our doula again. If you decide to hire Jess, you, your partner, and your baby will be blessed to have her!