Julie Sprague Doula Profile

I had the same experience as one of the previous posts; we had a good feeling about Julie instantly and even though it was her who suggested we "shop around," we knew she was the doula we wanted to hire. I had been hesitant to hire a doula in the fiirst place, as I was nervous that I might be judged if my course of natural birth became too challenging and required the need for medical intervention. However, although Julie's goal was to help us birth naturally, she made it clear that she would support any course of action we took. Sure enough, I had a very difficult labour and had to take a completely different route in order to meet my son:  20 hours of natural labour, epidural and induction, and finally an unplanned but medically necessary C-section - 30 hours total never dilating past 5 cm!  Julie was there every step of the way - by phone during my very first contraction to the surgery recovery room with my newborn son - and was such an amazing support both to myself and my partner. I would highly recommend Julie's services to anyone planning a birth, particularly if its your first time around.

Right from the moment we meet Julie, when we were interviewing potentials doulas, we knew she would be the right person for us. Her warm personality, passion for being a doula and comforting presence made working with Julie a great experience. We had our first appointment with Julie and she was able to thoroughly answer all our questions about the birthign process. We also looked forward to working with a doula that was trained in the style of brithing we planned on having using the Hypnobabies method. She was supportive and knowledgable about this method of birthing and worked with us to create our birthing preferences. We scheduled a second appointment but our daughter had other plans and arrived before we could meet again! On the morning of the birth we called Julie early to say that the contractions had started and it was time for her to come out. Due to the fact my wife progressed very quicky, Julie arrived at our home to find out we had decided to not go to the hospital and have a home birth with our midwife. Julie was very excited by this change of plans and quickly helped me (the father) set up towels and extra sheets in the bedroom. Throughout the entire birthing experience she was a tremendous comfort to both my wife and me, knowing when to offer a helping hand, an encouraging word or a nice rub on the back to relieve pressure for my wife! Throughout this all Julie took pictures so that we would have memories of this day. On our follow up postpartum visit Julie presented us with a wonderful photo album and birthing story about the day. We feel very fortunate to have had Julie share this special day with us and we highly recommend her services!! Thanks for everythin Julie!

We chose Julie because of the warmth she exuded and the passion she expressed about the process of child birthing. She is also a discreet, respectful professional.
One of our fears prior to hiring a doula was that she might take over my husband's responsibilities, but that would not be the case at all. During my labouring process, my husband was impressed with how she subtly let him know how he could help me, always allowing him to assume whatever responsibility suited him. She would then take on another responsibility. She was quite perceptive as to what my needs were. Julie was an excellent communicator and planner. Things that we neglected to pack, she had already thought to bring along just in case. We also really appreciated how she took the time to learn about our fears, our wishes, and personalities, so that during my labour, she could better anticipate how to help us in each new scenario.
While Julie made it very clear that she was there to support our birth wishes, she was also very supportive every time we decided or discovered we needed to deviate from our plan. She supported us first, then our plans. She never appeared to judge us. We've heard of lots of people who have had regrets, and even guilt about how their labour went. While my actual labour deviated significantly from the plan, Julie really helped both of us to be proud of ourselves. We will both remember our son's birth as a very positive day in our lives. And we will always remember that there was a competent and caring person in the background who allowed us to relax and allow the process evolve the way it was meant to.
We would like to have more children in the future, and will definitely be calling Julie again when the time comes. You should too if what we've said resonates with you.