Beth Parsons Blackburn Doula Profile

We used Beth for the birth of our first child. Throughout my pregnancy she was there for us. We were having some difficultly finding a care provider that we were happy with and she offered us support and suggestions. She is a down to earth wonderful person. When I was in labour she came over to our house, she has some excellent tips to help me deal with my contractions, she also tracked them for us so we didn't have to. If it wasn't for her we would have went to the hospital way too early. Once we were at the hospital she was a huge help. Her strategies and medical background came in handy, I don't think I would have been able to stick to our planned natural birth without her support. She sent regular text messages to my mother who was stuck in the waiting room, she really appreciated this (She did this on her own for us, we didn't even have to ask her). She took pictures for us throughout the entire process. When I was nearing transition and having a really hard time she convinced me to get back in the shower and turned off all the lights and has little electric tea lights, it made it so much more peaceful in the hospital bathroom. She was never intrusive and helped Clay to support me. After Orion was born she helped latch him on and stayed with me until I was ready for her to leave. Again I say Beth is a wonderful person and gifted at what she does.

Beth was the doula for the birth of our son, Jacob. I had quite a lengthy labour and Beth was there whenever we needed her. She was able to answer questions for me (before and during labour) and reassured me when I needed it. I was 5 days overdue when I went into labour and Beth offered to come to my doctor's appointments with me so that I wouldn't be pressured into being induced (which neither myself or my husband wanted), unless of course it was medically necessary. This is something that I am very greatful for as it took a lot of stress off of me.

Throughout the labour Beth was very encouraging and helpful. She kept track of the contractions so that my husband could focus on helping me through them. She also brought a variety of different mechanisims to help with the contractions. These came in quite handy when things started to get tough. When we thought that the contractions were close enough, we went to the hospital. Beth was wonderful while I laboured in the hospital. The heart monitoring machine that was attached to me kept malfuntioning so I was required to labour on the bed, which was very painful. Beth helped tremendously while this was happening, suggesting that when a contraction hit, I roll onto my side and she held the top leg up so that I would have a little relief.

As planned, we did not have any medication, except gas, and Beth was a huge reason why this happened. She was encouraging, while not being fake, kept me and my husband in the loop as to what was happening and took some amazing pictures of the births and afterwards.

Although not required, after I was home and was having trouble breastfeeding, Beth came by to help me out. The advice and encouragement that she gave me during this tough time was a huge factor in how I overcame the pain and finally got the baby to latch properly.

Thank you Beth from the bottom of our hearts,

Bonnie and Brad Elliott

We had Beth as our doula for the birth of our third child. Knowing that I was likely to have a long labour, I wanted someone who could support not only myself, but my husband as well. Beth was awesome. She always had ideas for us to try when I was having trouble coping with labour. We had a few scary moments and Beth was a rock. It really helped to have someone who kept their cool (and knew their way around a hospital room!) when things weren't going so well. Also, her nursing background allowed her to translate the medical-ese for us. The labour notes we got from her were excellent and we really appreciated having that record of our baby's birth. I wouldn't hesistate to recommend her to a friend!

We used Beth as support for the birth of our second child. We had a doula for our first, and while I felt like I knew enough to get through this with just my husband, having her there was the extra bit of metal & emotional support I needed to be comfortable through pregnancy, labour, birth and early post-partum weeks. Her experience is invaluable, and she's simply a wonderful person to be around. I couldn't imagine a more caring, thorough and involved doula, and we will certainly be returning to her should we have another child. As soon as a local friend tells me they're expecting, my first thought is to refer them to her!

"We are grateful that Beth accompanied us during the birth of our daughter. I felt very comfortable around her and her flexibility was encouraging. She provided my husband and I reinforcement wherever she could. Her massage techniques assisted me tremendously during labour. We were first apprehensive about giving birth at the hospital, but Beth's presence provided us with reassurance. Her knowledge gave us confidence and her humour made us laugh. Beth's collaborative effort with hospital staff offered a supportive environment. She captured the memories of this extraordinary event by taking pictures and by writing a birth story. She followed up with us to see how our new family was adjusting. We are very glad that we could share this special moment with her."

Beth is positive, knowledgeable, caring and confident and this made her an integral part of our birthing 'team'.  We discussed the role we wanted her to fill and she honored our requests beautifully, stepping in when she saw a need to, and back when we had things on our own.  She went above and beyond the role of a Doula... keeping detailed notes as the events unfolded, photographing special moments and offering thoughtful advice and care throughout the 14+ hours she spent with us.  Our birthing experience was complete with Beth's involvement. We would gladly recommend her to anyone.

I cannot say enough good things about my experience with Beth. She helped both myself and my husband through the birth of our first daughter.  It was a long labour (40 hrs) and she stayed with us the whole time and provide emotional, physical and mental support for the two of us.  Although I had only met with her a couple times before the birth, within only a few hours I felt very comfortable with her and was leaning on her for physical support (literally).  She also supported my husband and provided backup for when he needed to rest.  She was an integral part of the birthing process without interfering with the special and personal time it was for me and my husband.