Kate Triggiano

3/7/2015

Jill. Every little thing she does is magic. She must have the same bag as Mary Poppins because she had every tool possible to help! Aromatherapy sounds so simple but it was a profound tool. The combs! I can't believe how much clutching combs during contractions helped! countless little tricks being unveiled in a rhythmic way. This was so helpful. Jill was my "No BS it's show time" person and that was huge. "Stop wasting all that energy screaming outward and direct the energy downward". Well, once I started using that advice I reached down and my baby's head was there. Jill was exactly what me and my birth team needed-She came prepared mentally, with every tool in her arsenal, focused on the prize.

Jessica Zagami

12/4/2013

I highly recommend Kelly! I wanted a doula because I wanted as few interventions as possible during my daughter’s birth. Kelly helped me achieve that. When my fiance and I interviewed Kelly and Jill, we immediately felt comfortable with them. They were very warm and candid, confident and knowledgable. During my pregnancy, they were always available to answer questions and provide support. When my labor began, Kelly checked in often and recognized early, based on my labor pattern, that my baby was positioned Occiput Posterior. She gave instructions over the phone so that we could, hopefully, turn the baby. When she joined us in our home, she helped me with positioning and gently directed my fiance. Through the long night of stop-and-go laboring, Kelly was always right there, usually massaging. We went to the hospital in the morning. I was forced into bed for fetal monitoring more often than we would have liked. Kelly eased what otherwise would have been a very stressful experience with calm, reassuring words and touch. Kelly helped me try every position in her repertoire to get the baby to turn around and descend, but it wasn’t happening. Despite the urgency of the situation, Kelly remained steadfast and kept the atmosphere as relaxed as possible. I pushed for hours while Kelly and my fiance pushed on either side of my pelvis with all of their might. After laboring for so long with little sleep, I was ready to give up. Kelly got in my face and gave me the courage to keep going when I thought I had nothing left. Eventually, I did require assistance from the vacuum. Once my baby was pulled into the birth canal, I was finally able to push her out on my own. She was still OP when she arrived. By the time Kelly left, she had been with us for 21 HOURS. My fiance and I now realize how close I came to a cesarean section, and we believe that I probably would have had one if Kelly had not been there. We can never thank her enough for her invaluable support.

Amanda Brockwell

9/9/2013

I highly recommend Jill & Kelly.  My baby came so quickly that Jill ended up delivering her in the bathrub of my home.  Having Jill at the birth was probably one of the best decisions I could have made since if she weren't there I don't even know what would have happened.  I could go on forever, but I'm going to give you the following list about my experience.

Jill & Kelly are the best for the following reasons: ( This is mosty geared towards Jill since she attended my birth, Kelly is awesome too)

• funny, positive, confidant personalities
• extremely experienced!  I felt like I was in very good hands!
• Jill's calm, funny and composed personality puts you at ease and the fear is forgotten or decreased
• Jill has a natural sixth sense about what you need and what is about to happen (seriously, her timing is amazing)
• They really get you prepared for the birth beforehand.  If you take their advice your birth WILL be easier.  Plus she got my husband to rub my feet every night by telling him it was part of the birth preparation.
• I highly recommend getting the herbal package.  The tea really prepared my body for birth and dramaticlly reduced the amount of blood I lost during and after the birth (this was my second birth & I bled dramaticlly less than the first time).  The sitz bath herbs also helped me heal very quickly.
• They check up on you post partum and Jill even made us a lasagna...enough said.
• Very responsive to texts, phone calls & emails
• Very professional and upfront with contracts, money, etc.
• Good at getting along with cranky husbands, mothers & toddlers

kristy lauricella

5/10/2013

Emili Nardolilo

12/6/2012

Sheila Roth

11/10/2011

 I searched far and wide for a doula who I felt would provide the support I needed as a VBAC client.  Jill immediately and honestly gave my husband and me the benefit of her experience with certain practices and hospitals, but at the same time respected where we were coming from in wanting to remain at a hospital close to home so we would not be far from our older sons when delivering.  We knew as soon as we met her that she was the perfect match for us.  We appreciated how she was so willing to work with us, which included talking through decisions about finding a new OB and evaluating where I'd have the best chance for a VBAC, as well as compassionately being there for some other ups and downs along the way.

Jill was very patient with my many questions and concerns throughout my pregnancy.  Having someone with her knowledge in my corner made me feel so confident and comfortable as my pregnancy progressed and as I approached labor.  Jill has a great sense of humor and can make you laugh, but she also has an amazingly calm presence which was so helpful when in labor.  I know that if it had just been my husband and me, we would not have felt so relaxed and secure laboring at home for as long as I did.   

I am so happy to say that I had a successful, natural, normal VBAC with no interventions and with minimal time in the hospital before our healthy baby was born.  That would not have been possible without Jill's counsel and support and we are so deeply grateful that we found her to be our doula.  

Mary Hrywna

11/10/2011

It was my husband's persistence that led us to hiring a birth doula for our first birth. I resisted, thinking that I didn't want another stranger in the room but I agreed to pursue the search for his sake. And I'm so glad I did! One of the reasons I agreed to involve Jill in our birth is because I was comfortable with her. She was funny, straightforward, a good read of people, and responsive to our needs. I had an easy and comfortable pregnancy but was not confident about delivery. After meeting Jill, I thought she could help me & my husband prepare for the birth in a way I didn't think we could do alone. And we'd have at least one constant in a hospital of shift-changing nurses & docs. As it turned it out, I labored for 30+ hrs and we went through 3 shift changes but we always had Jill. I went into labor after a hurricane and Jill had to drove 2+ hrs (normally a 30-min drive) to get to the hospital and then spent hrs helping me with intense back labor using all her tricks. When I finally asked for an epidural after a full day of labor, I felt disappointed and it slowed down my labor. But Jill stayed with us all night - cracking jokes, eating a late dinner, sleeping on a makeshift bed - even when a back up doula could have relieved her. And the next day when the doctor suggested more intervention because my labor was not 'progressing,' we asked for more time and then got down to business. Jill dimmed the lights, massaged me with oils, repositioned the baby for a better exit, and helped me visualize the birth. An hr later I was ready to push! I truely believe that Jill helped us avert further intervention and have a safe vaginal delivery of beautiful healthy baby. After the birth, Jill always answered my questions, never making me feel like a bother. We're so grateful for her support and endurance. I still find it hard to believe there are people like Jill who do this kind of work. It is truely a gift. Everyone deserves a doula.

Jessica Johnston

11/5/2010

I can not praise Jill enough in just a few short words. I will share my experience so that you may paint a picture of the strength, wisdom, and compassion she embodies.
My pregnancy was high risk and I had to be induced. Jill has a big bag of tricks like Santa has a bag of toys on Christmas. She used massage to flip the baby, massages to help me, explained medical jargon, relayed my demands to the medical staff, assisted my husband and guided him to guide me, and had creative positioning. Jill stayed by my side, did not eat nor sleep, was hands on the entire time. It allowed my husband to comfort me and to share in the experience with me.
A long labor took its toll and my baby had signs of distress and would not descend. It put stress on his little system after all those hours (26). In the end, my beautiful baby boy was stuck and I had a c-section.
The moment which cemented all that we knew Jill to be was when Jill walked into the recovery room. I saw her compassion for us was so deep that she felt true pain that we had endured such a hard labor and delivery, after all the medical interventions, and our baby ended up in ICU. We all felt a sense of defeat that night underlying the wondrous event.
Even though months have past, I still think back to that moment. It has taken me a while to come to terms that you can not control how a labor progresses and it will have it’s own individual path. Jill had done more then I had ever imagined or could ask for before, during and after the birth of our baby. It was because of her guidance that I was able to make the best decisions during the birth of my baby, natural or not. It was because of her I was able to cope with the labor and keep my baby from more harm.

A doula is more then having someone there to help with pain management, positioning and massage. It is having unyielding support to balance an emotional event and guidance for the unknown.

 

Stacey Louis

8/9/2010

Jill was our doula during the birth of our son.  I cannot express how wonderful it was to have Jill with us on this journey.  Starting two weeks before my due date, we chatted every day by phone.  It really helped build our rapport and it helped keep me calm during the final weeks.  She is so confident in the birth process and really explains things normally.  If she doesn't know an answer, she jumps right into the research and has articles or contacts for you. 

Her assistance during labor was so amazing.  She really helped me through the contractions and did ease my discomfort with massage and positioning.  She has a great sense of humor and made me laugh at times that I really didn't think I could.  She allowed my husband to spend time with me.  Jill helped guide my husband even more than she did me.  Whenever I got nervous or scared Jill would "suggest"  that Nick give me some lovin'.  He was always right there looking in my eyes.  It made everything easier.

The week that I went into labor, Jill came over to help map the baby and see what position he was in...posterior.  She pulled out her rebozo and got me on all fours while she "baby sifted"  it looked bizzare, but when she finished, the baby had turned around.  It felt so different and the pressure in my back was so much better.  Our son was born naturally and normally with her strength and wisdom.  Jill will always be a special part of our family.  She will always be our birth doula.