Odile Penet - My Birth Companion

Odile was the right choice for our birthing experience. I attempted a VBac after twins. Odile was with me every step of the way. 

She helped me labor at home much longer than I imagined I was capable of doing. She helped me through each contraction comfortable. Most importantly she helped my husband and I connect in a way that we were not able to do during the birth of our twins.

Odile stayed with me through my labor, c-section, and recovery. I have no regrets. She helped me stay calm and enjoy the experience.

In addition, she was the only member of my team that understood how important it was to breastfeed my baby after delivery. I was so out of it, but she held my baby to my breast when I didn't have the strength. This was the most wonderful gift she could have given me. I am still exclusively breastfeeding my son 11 weeks after his birth. 

Odile came to visit me post delivery and was supportive to my recovery and understanding of my needs and emotions. I can't thank her enough for giving me a great experience and helping me welcome my son into my life.

 

 

 

 

Posted 5/12/2013

My husband and I decided to hire Odile, because, without external family help in town and my husband having to go back to work immediately after the birth, we thought it would help us recover! And it did! Odile is awesome: she has a French diploma and American certifications for taking care of newborn and infants. She is soft, well-educated, reliable (always on time or early) and has a magical touch to put babies to sleep. She helped us for a couple of weeks (from midnight to 6am) by taking care of the baby all night and just waking me up for breast feedings. She also did the baby's laundry and helped with keeping the baby's room organized. The additional great advantage to hire Odile was that by having a newborn expert with me, I was able to address a lot of worries and questions. Odile was great at putting to rest some of these nagging questions that we, new moms, all worry about. As an example, Odile was great at removing the fears of giving the first bath to our son. I smile now thinking back, but it was stressful when we did it for the first time. I recommend Odile completely, especially if you don't plan on having anyone to help you at home after birth.

Posted 12/1/2012

 My birth experience was everything I had hoped it would be, thanks entirely to the wonderful guidance of Odile. I gave birth in a hospital, which is not always the easiest place to have a natural birth. At almost 42 weeks, I was given pitocin to induce labor. With Odile's help, I was able to make it through the painful Pitocin contractions. Luckily they were able to turn off the Pitocin, and my labor progressed on its own without any other medical intervention. 

From the moment that I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I knew that I wanted to bring my baby in to the world with minimal interventions or medications. I wanted to feel in control of the process, and to be mentally and physically present the first time that I held my baby. 

Thanks to Odile, I was able to have the birth experience that I had hoped for. She was so calm and reassuring, and I never felt scared or overwhelmed. She helped guide me through a number of pain management techniques, all while making sure that my husband felt like he was part of the team. We were both so grateful to have her!

Giving birth to my son was the most important moment of my life, and I was so fortunate to have Odile with me that day. My birth experience gave me more confidence than I have ever had, and the "I can do anything" feeling is still with me 5 months later! 

I can never thank Odile enough for giving me the gift of a natural, peaceful and loving birth experience. I hope that I will be lucky enough to have her by my side for future birtths!

 

 

 

 

Posted 8/22/2012

We were lucky enough to find Odile for the birth of our third baby. It was my first experience with a doula and honestly I felt a little silly about seeking one out for my thrid. But oh my goodness it made all the difference. I had to rush in for an emergency c-section for my second, a birth story I most definitely had not planned on. I wanted to make sure that for my thrid and final baby I got as close as I could to the birth experience I really wished for her. I could not have done it without Odile. Thanks to her and her ever present calmness and clairty, her utter nowness, her connection to me and the birth of my baby was easy and so very genuine. I wanted a natural birth and I did have a  successful v-bac at 41 weeks and 6 days all because of the support and encouragement from Odile in the weeks before the birth and in the long hours of labor. I got the birth story I have always wanted. It was so very perfect. I would be honored to have her by my side at 100 more births and I'm positive she would bring something new and inspirational every single time. She is a treasure. 

Posted 1/18/2012

We were extremely lucky to have Odile with us for the birth of our son. We were well prepared after attending a Bradley Class, but we found that Odile's support was necessary to apply the skills we had acquired. We would never have been able to have a fully natural birth without her ideas, experience and encouragements. We will always be thankful for her dedication and friendliness through the tough experience of a particularly long labor...

Posted 10/2/2011

We hired Odlie to help us with our second son.  Odile came when we got home from the hospital and worked 3-5 nights for us weekly until our son was about 4 months old.   Having Odile's support at nighttime was so important to my recovery (cesarean) and to the overall wellbeing of my entire family (husband and 4-year-old son.)  She would bring me my son to nurse through the night.  It was fantastic!  Odile has a ton of very useful wisdom about breastfeeding, schedules and sleep routines.  She also listened and empathized at some very emotionally trying and challenging times.  I would hire her again and again.  My son is sleeping through the night now but I still miss Odile and her wonderfully nurting and caring presence in my home.  Odile is like a great mix of Mom, sister, best friend, nurse, healer and psychologist!  We love her! 

Posted 9/27/2011

Odile is wonderful!! She was a huge support to my family, and me, and helped me to have the birth that I wanted. I would not have been able to have a natural childbirth with out Odile assisting me through the process. She assisted me both physically and mentally. She would massage my back, help me to get into more comfortable positions, and had me lean her during my contractions. Additionally, she provided constant encouragement and helped me to maintain my breathing. I had my birth at a hospital and she worked well with the hospital staff and OB and helped me to voice my desires to them. I hope to have Odile with me at the birth of my second child.

Posted 9/1/2011

Odile was an incredible source of support and encouragement during my pregnancy, especially during labor and delivery. She is a great listener and every question or concern I had was greeted with care and compassion. She never pushed her own opinions or judgements about my pregnancy and the decisions I had to make. She offered advice when I asked and just listened when I needed her to. I wanted a doula that was objective and 100% on my side during labor and delivery and she was. I delivered naturally because she was a great coach and I trusted her completely. Odile is gentle and open-minded. She is also very knowledgeable about pregnancy and babies and turned out to be a great resource for other services, such as chiropractors and acupuncture. I almost want to have another baby so she can be there again. She truly cared about me and my family and for that I am so happy I chose Odile to help me deliver my baby.

Posted 7/13/2011

Odile was absolutely amazing and we highly, highly recommend her!

My husband and I decided to use a doula since both of our families are several states away and because this was our first child so we really wanted someone there who knew what they were doing! It was important to us that our doula be kind, encouraging, supportive and understanding to both my husband and I. We didn't want it to be just about me. Odile absolutely provided this - from the first meeting it was clear that she would be an awesome support for the whole family.

Ultimately we had a somewhat complicated birth and I know that we wouldn't have made it through with smiles on our faces had it not been for Odile. Throughout Odile was a calming, confident presence. The doctor, nurses and my husband were all reassuring but I knew the medical staff had a vested interest in telling me everything was ok and my husband, bless his heart, had no idea if things were really ok or not! So I kept turning to Odile for the reassurance and information I needed. 

When our daughter was finally born it was clear that Odile was as overjoyed as my husband and I. It sounds weird but Odile really ended up feeling like family! We would be more than happy to provide greater detail on our experience with Odile if it would be helpful. She's amazing and we're so, so grateful to have had her be a part of our daughter's arrival.

Posted 2/3/2011

We loved working with Odile! She was an invaluable support to both my husband and I during my labor, making sure we were working as a team and always offering guidance and encouragement. We would recommend her as a birth doula to anyone.

Posted 1/16/2011

 Odile supported me in my birth in exactly the way I needed. Things went differently than I expected, but she was able to adapt to my changing needs beautifully. I had a wonderful birth experience, in large part because of Odile, and I couldn't recommend her more. She's a fabulous doula.

Posted 9/27/2010

I knew I wanted a doula at my child's birth, even though I had a midwife (they perform separate services - midwife delivers the baby and does medical things; doula supports the mom). When I spoke with Odile I felt immediately comfortable with her and her birth philosophy  - essentially, you never know until you get to the birth what you will feel like or what you will need, at which point parents and support people should be open to different options. She was supportive of the things my husband and I wanted (minimal medical intervention if possible, but the potential for epidural or other medical comfort measures if necessary). She was supportive and reassuring in the weeks as we prepared for the birth, checking in with emails every so often and offering to talk by phone or in person if I wanted to. After the birth she kept in contact and came by for a visit to help with breastfeeding and check on my recovery. The day of my son's birth my husband and I were already at the hospital when I knew I was in labor (we had a previously scheduled appointment). Odile came right down when we called, arriving at 1 pm and staying right by my side until after the birth and all the procedures after (about 6 pm - yes, it was a fast labor. No epidural - there wasn't time!). She was so supportive and helpful, encouraging me when I needed encouragement, suggesting different comfort measures, and offering my husband suggestions for what he could do to help me. She was especially supportive while I was being stiched up afteward, which was more painful and took longer than I had expected. I think going through labor and delivery and the aftermath would have been much scarier and much more difficult without her.  I felt like she truly cared about me, my husband, and my baby.  I would highly recommend Odile to anyone looking for caring support through the final stages of pregnancy, labor, delivery and post partum.

Posted 9/8/2010

 I am normally a very private person and was not interested in having anyone other than my husband in the delivery room, but after meeting with Odile just to 'test the waters' I was 100% on board for having her there on our big day. Odile is such a sweet, kindhearted person and fully supported every decision we made along the way. Her son was due to graduate from high school the day our little girl was born, and she missed it because she promised she would be by our side to help us! She listened very well to everything we wanted, even to those things we didn't vocalize. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone and everyone looking for a doula.

Posted 8/30/2010