Emily Pelton, CD(DONA), ICCE, CLC Doula Profile

Emily was great. My husband and I were looking for a doula who would be a cheerleader but also someone who would support (and defend, if necessary) our birth plan and help us make any on-the-spot decisions. An advocate. She was great support for me pre-natally -- answering all of my questions and suggesting things that might help me prepare for a delivery without medical intervention. When the time came, she provided excellent hands-on support and direction. When things went other than planned (which they sometimes do), she helped us make the difficult decision to have an epidural -- with compassion and without judgement. Afterward, she offered thoughtful, encouraging advice on breastfeeding and general baby-care, and she helped me sort through a birth experience that wasn't what I had hoped so that I might let go any regret or blame and enjoy our beautiful, healthy baby boy. If there's a round two, I would absolutely have her there again.

Hiring Emily as our doula was the best decision we’ve ever made. The second best was taking her childbirth preparation class! She is incredibly knowledgeable and takes the time to answer all of your questions… and help you identify the questions you should be asking! Leading up the birth, Emily helped me feel not only prepared for labor and delivery but also excited and looking forward to it. The support I received from her while in labor was invaluable. I ended up dealing with a very difficult and long labor and Emily was at my side the entire time both physically and emotionally. I (and my husband) could not have done it without her. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but also the most amazing. Emily helped me focus on this and not get bogged down. Nothing seems to faze her and she puts 100% into every moment she is with you, even if she has already been up for 24 hours! She is also familiar with area hospitals and knows the staff, hospital procedures, and where the birth balls/ice/extra towels are. I highly, highly recommend her services (check out her website – in addition to being a doula she teaches childbirth classes along with other focused classes like breastfeeding, infant CPR, infant care, coping measures, etc.)

Emily was a perfect fit for the needs of our family.  She assisted us during my pregnancy with planning for my birth and was a much needed listening ear for all of my fears and frustrations.  She was extrememly valuable to us during my labor as well being a consistant advocate of our birth choices to the hospital staff and myself.   My husband valued her presence greatly.  Emily strikes a balance of advocacy and gentleness that is extremely rare.  We recommend her highly! 

My husband I met Emily during childbirth class at Mercy when we were expecting our first child.  We had already hired a doula for that birth, but when I became pregnant again I knew that I would like Emily to assist me.  She was always available to answer questions during my pregnancy and especially towards the final weeks when I had a few false starts.  She was incredibly helpful during my labor, supporting me and encouraging my husband without stepping on his toes.  She did everything I asked-from using the rebozo to massaging my feet!  I couldn't have made it through the labor and delivery naturally without her! 

Emily was a great resource for our family! This was our first baby, and we were full of questions, and Emily was full of answers! She has a calm, yet confident spirit that helped us through a 37 hour labor. We highly recommend Emily to anyone having a child. The experience was completely positive!

I am glad that I choose Emily to be our doula. During my pregnancy, she was always there to answer any questions or concerns I had. I experienced a couple of weeks of "false labor" contractions and Emily provided me with excellent information about what was happening and it made me feel so much better to know what was happening. During my labor, Emily knew the right techniques to use to help me through my contractions. Her support really helped me to cope and helped my husband as well. I appreciated the postpartum visit as well because I had many questions about breast feeding. I can't imagine not having Emily's support during this journey and I would recommend her to anyone interested in hiring a doula. I appreciated all of her knowledge, experince and calm approach to the entire experience.

 I was referred to Emily by a friend. I interviewed one other doula and felt that Emily's calm and unflappable demeanor would best suit me.  I was having a VBAC and using a local midwife practice, and Emily was very knowledgeable about the various issues that arose during the pregnancy, including having the baby in a less optimal position at 37 weeks.  My labor was very fast and intense- Emily got to my house right away after my husband called her, and she was the force that propelled us actually out the door to the hospital. She helped me in so many ways during the labor and pushing, especially in dealing with hip pain and figuring out how to push.  Afterwards, when I had to get an intrauterine exam, Emily was a great advocate for pain management during that procedure. I am so grateful to her for all her help.  I think the birth could have been a negative experience without her; she helped keep me relatively calm and reassured.  

One of the best things I have ever done was learn from and get support from Emily during my pregnancy.  We ended up having a planned c-section due to breech position and she was able to comfort both my husband and I before the surgery, accompany us inside OR, help us write our birthplan, provide lactation support and direct us to the best support afterwards. We always felt like we could turn to her to ask anything and she would go above and beyond to get us the correct information and help us come to our own decisions.  I will definitely use her for our next birth and have told everyone I know that she is well worth the costs.  I couldn't imagine going through it without her.  A simply fantastic doula.  

My wife and I were very happy we chose Emily to be our doula for the birth of our first child. She had a unique combination of qualities that made her a wonderful source of support for both of us: her guidance was helpful, but always respectful of our wishes; her presence was reassuring, but never felt invasive; and her manner was calm and compassionate. Even in a hospital setting, she helped us have a birth experience that was deeply personal. As I expected, my wife, as a first time mother, benefitted greatly from having a doula to guide her through the process, and she also found Emily's follow-up visit to be a great help. Perhaps more than I expected, as a birth partner I also benefitted from having a doula. Emily helped me by going through the birth process before we got to the hospital, so that I knew what to expect. On the day our daughter was born, she also helped me navigate the intricacies and options of hospital care, allowing us to make informed decisions and, best of all, allowing me to simply enjoy and be present for this major life event.   

I didn't think I could even HAVE a doula, since i was expecting twins and knew I would have to deliver in an OR.  My partner and I met Emily during her Mercy childbirth education classes.  When my already high-risk pregnancy got even more complicated, with home and then hospital bedrest and pre-ecclampsia, we hired Emily to support us through the many twists and turns we were not expecting.  Our sons arrived at 32.5 weeks gestation via c-section at 6:30 in the morning after my water broke (while I was in the hospital) two hours earlier.  Emily was allowed in the OR with us and was a calming presence throughout the surgery, particularly the lengthy stiching that takes place after the babies are safely out.  She remained with us for several hours post partum and helped me to feel good about my birth experience, even though it was so far from what we had hoped it would be.  She has stayed in consistent touch during the first post-partum months and visited with us and our sons, first in the NICU and then at home.  I am so thankful we found such a supportive friend and ally while we made our way through the end of our twin pregnancy and our first months as parents of preemies.  I now know that a doula can be a support and a help in ANY birth scenario, from unmedicated home birth to emergency c-section pre-term!  I am so glad we worked with her.  

 Testimonial from Rachel and Ben:

Emily was our doula for the births of Silas (7/17/06) and Margaret (4/22/09). Silas was born at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore with a midwife from Kathy Sloane's practice, and Margaret was born at Anne Arundel Medical Center with a midwife from Special Beginnings. Silas' birth was a planned natural birth which turned into a cesarean, and Margaret's birth was a successful VBAC.

Rachel says: "We found Emily to be knowledgeable about birth options in the area, and truly interested in helping us figure out the best situation for us. You can feel that she shares in the joy of the births she attends."

"During both labors she helped me tap into my own strength. There is a calmness and confidence about her that helped guide me through. I'm not so sure I could have done it without her."

Ben says: "With both Silas and Margaret, Emily was clearly an integral part of Rachel's birth experience. I was really impressed with the way she stuck with us through the ups and downs of Silas' birth, and she was a very important part of Rachel's successful VBAC with Margaret. I would recommend her to anyone."

Like many other pregnant women, I looked forward to a certain kind of birth experience; this meant a non-medicated, minimally invasive home birth. I knew that I needed a really good support system to be able to do this. For my first birth, I had only my husband around and he, at the time, was not prepared for the experience and hence was caught off guard. So I definitely needed more than just one person! Emily was well referred by the midwifery practice and so I decided to meet with her. Our first meeting was phenomenal. She listened carefully & non judgmentally to my expectations, fears & prior experience. She asked thoughtful non rushed. From this meeting, I knew that Emily would fulfill my expectations.

Because of a prior c-section and some insurance issues, home birth was ruled out. Emily was so supportive of the hospital birth and gave GREAT tips on how to navigate within that system to have the birth I sought. When I went into labor, Emily was at the hospital with her cheerful smile within 20 min. Through the contractions, Emily provided exactly the support I needed. When the midwife complained about me not breathing, Emily remained non judgmental & accepting of however I felt to go through my contractions: she was truly a best friend. My birth went exactly as UNPLANNED & things turned awry. Emily remained non dogmatic & non judgmental about everything. She was simply amazing. I wound up with a c-section, however, I felt so at peace with the process (unlike the first time) precisely because Emily was so very supportive. What I learned about this experience is that although events may not turn out as planned, an excellent support system can make us resilient & accepting of whatever may come our way. Emily is such a support system

I wasn't sure if I needed a doula, since I was expecting my second and had been through it all already (so I thought!), but I ended up being so, so glad we had Emily to help us. My labor lasted from about 2 a.m. until about 3 p.m. the next day, and she was there with us every minute. I barely saw the labor and delivery nurses, and can't imagine what it would have been like to go through labor with only the help of my helpful-yet-freaked out husband or whatever shift nurse who popped in once an hour to stare at the fetal monitor and tell me I'd have to have a c-section if my contractions didn't get closer together soon.

Emily walked with me up and down the halls, she and rubbed my shoulder through horrible contractions (it turned out my baby was almost 10 pounds and couldn't descend, so the contractions were particularly miserable), and when it turned out I had to have a c-section, my worst fear, she was right there helping my husband talk me through the epidural and stayed until it was over. Somehow she even managed to check up on us the next day though I know she hadn't slept more than an hour or two. She is devoted, very knowledgeable, totally unfazed and rock-solid-- you really can't do any better doula-wise.

Emily was our doula for the recent birth of our second son. We had a lot of fear because of the very difficult and negative delivery experience of our first son. We chose Emily because of her knowledge, experience, and calm, confident attitude. We made the right choice! During labor she never left our side. She helped with comfort and was extremely reassuring during moments of duress. She is also a wealth of information and suggested several ideas (such as "laboring down") to the doctor and birth team that ended up working well. I am convinced that she is a major reason why this birth went so well. Besides being a great doua, she is also just a great person. You can't go wrong with Emily!

 My husband and I met Emily in our childbirth classes, then again with infant CPR and again with infant care. We throughly enjoyed all of her classes and loved her down to earth personality and thought she would be the perfect doula for us.  I never expected that my labor would last well over 30 hours along with back labor. I really wanted a natural childbirth and Emily was by my side the entire time offering her support and suggestions of handling the pain. She really was a godsend getting through my tough labor and would recommend her to anyone looking for a doula.

Prior to attending Emily's childbirth education classes I didn't understand doulas or think they were neccessary. But Emily totally changed my mind! My husband and I were impressed with her breadth of knowledge and warm demenaor during the classes and decided to hire her to become our doula. Since then Emily has exceeded our expectations. She was responsive to phone calls and emails prior to and after the birth of our daughter with any number of questions. In addition, Emily has a very calm, reassuring presence that was wonderful during labor and delivery. Most impressive to me was that my birth went exactly opposite of what I had planned, yet Emily was able to go with the flow and, as a result, help me to find peace and joy in the process. I loved the process and would highly recommend working with Emily.

Emily is the kind of doula you can lay your trust in. As I was working through the waves of contractions the night of my son's birth,  I found her presence comforting and reassuring. Her gentle touch alleviated pain. During the weeks prior, her vast knowledge of childbirth had inspired me to do my own research, and I found myself prepared and ready for the ordeal. Her quiet, attentive and non-dominating assistance allowed the midwives to do their work and gave me the reinforcement I needed to deliver my boy in a pool of water in our home. Emily played a large part in making the birth a joyous event to remember.

Zvezdana Stojmirovic, mother of Milutin, born 2009