Katie

2/15/2024

Leading up to the birth of baby #2, I set a personal goal to go unmedicated after experiencing a difficult birth of baby #1. I can honestly say that without Beth's help, I may not have been able to accomplish my goal. Beth was incredibly supportive leading up to hospitilization, meeting with me and frequently reaching out to provide her knowledge and resources, and most importantly, her support. She ticked every box in what you would want from a birth doula: compassionate, knowledgeable, and skilled in evidence-based approaches to pursuing an unmedicated birth. During the birth, Beth remained by my side providing a calm and supportive advocate, as we worked through multiple positions that lead to the healthy birth of baby #2. Our family can't think Beth enough for her support during this amazing experience. 

Ally

11/1/2023

Beth was hired as our doula during my pregnancy of our first baby. During my pregnancy, Beth went above and beyond to answer all of our questions, judgement free, and help guide my husband and I as we navigated this uncharted  territory. Although Beth was always there for us, we really began to connect and see her true character the closer we got to my due date. Beth would regularly check in leading up to my due date. At about 2 weeks before my due date, she would check in regularly, very frequently. And at 10 days before my due date, she nearly saved my baby's life. I was leaking fluid (and had been for a few days, not thinking anything of it). I mentioned it to Beth and she calmly suggested I go to the hospital. As she thought, my water had broken more than 36+ hours ago. At this point there was an urgency to get my baby out, and with Beth there to help guide, and speak through everything for my husband and I, she helped us navigate a very difficult situation, one we would not have known how to face or interpret. If you are looking for a calming, comforting, educated, and overall good person for a doula, look no farther than Beth marks. My birth story was not how I planned it, however what I know is that life seldom happens as you plan. And the result is the only thing that matters: we are beyond blessed and grateful to have a happy,  healthy, and beautiful baby boy. Beth marks is a part of our birth story and I couldn't be happier and more grateful for her. 

Kathleen M

10/15/2023

If you are reading these testimonials, then you have been researching whether a doula is right for you. You will be most fortunate if Beth is available for your birth and postpartum support! Beth was the perfect match for us. She helped us with getting ready for baby, the birth experience, and postpartum. I honestly believe that I would have had a c-section if not for Beth's assistance during my induction. She showed my husband different counterpressure techniques, and they worked together to keep me relatively active. If not for them, I would have just sat around in misery (with my non-stop nausea/vomiting) and been headed to the OR. The last few hours of induction when the OB told me I would have a C-section after the next check...we started doing some additional movements that finally caused my baby to drop and I was in labor within an hour and the baby was out. It was a whirlwind! The doctors and nurses were highly complementary of Beth's presence in the birthing suite. They even pulled her aside and said how wonderful it was to work with her. They told me she was the best doula they have ever worked with. Beth also took photos during induction, labor, and delivery that I will forever cherish. My husband and I were too busy to have our phones out ;-) Beth was also an essential part of our postpartum journey. She helped us for 8 weeks. It was wonderful having time to nap and shower, she helped show us some activities to do with a newborn, and helped with lactation issues. It was comforting having a knowledgable person just a text away whenever something came up. As first time parents, there was no way to be ready for everything no matter how many classes we attended or books we read. Beth is like an additional family member to our baby. We still keep in touch often and her support has not ended. We will definitely reach out for her help in the future if we decide to have another child, even if we are a bit 'seasoned' now!

Emily Nyaz

10/9/2023

Beth is incredible!! She supported us through the birth of our third child and we couldn't have been more grateful. This was our third unmedicated hospital birth and our first birth with Beth by our sides. She was patient, kind, extremely knowledgable and somehow anticipated all of our needs and wants when I was no longer able to communicate them myself. Not only was she prepared to answer all of our questions and worries with well documented and researched answers, but she was armed with various techniques and tactics to face all the twists and turns of the laboring process. We immediately felt comfortable with her from the moment we met her. She was truly the best guide we could have asked for in this process and we trusted her implicitly. I will forever be grateful that she was by my side during this birth as I'm not sure I would have made it through without her steady, calming presence.

My husband has yet to stop talking about the support she provided us and how helpful it was having her as our doula. She took the stress and worry from him so that he could focus on supporting me in the ways I needed him most while handling the logistics of two other kids at home. 

We would hire Beth again a hundred times over! She truly is the best of the best.

Jenna K

7/11/2023

Beth is an amazing doula and I would highly recommend her. I wanted to highlight the top three reasons she is exceptional among doulas:

- She is kind, yet assertive.  Doulas, particularly in hospital settings, have to navigate the wishes of the family with medical policy. This is such a critical skill and Beth is exceptional at it. She was able to gently but firmly negotiate with medical professionals when procedures weren't necessary and communicate to me when they were.  She was a team leader among the nurses and other hospital staff- they seemed to like and trust her.  This made it feel like I had a team of people supporting my labor.

- She is extremely empathetic and excellent at anticipating needs.  Without me needing to explicitly communicate how things were feeling, she would take note of how different positions/movements did or did not feel good.  This is important because each birth is different and positions I thought I would want to labor in were not always the ones that felt the best in the moment.  She also empowered my partner to provide support.

- She provides her expertise, but ultimately embodies the wishes of her clients. In my experience, some doulas can be very dogmatic with little flexibility.  Through our discussions, Beth learned what my priorities were and then made it her goal to ensure my wishes were met. I felt incredibly centered in the process- that my wishes and beliefs were most important.

If you are looking for doula that is experienced, calm and effective under pressure, and overwhelmingly kind, hire Beth!

Kelsey Villarreal

7/7/2023

My husband and I are so thankful to have had Beth at our side during the birth of our baby. It was my first birth, and I was extremely uncertain and scared about the process. Beth was so caring throughout the whole day, offering me comfort measures I didn't even know I wanted, and often holding my hand or touching my forehead to help calm me. She advocated for me with the hospital staff and especially helped me during pushing with positioning me in various ways. I don't know if I would have been able to give birth vaginally if she hadn't helped me into various positions, as my baby seemed pretty lodged in place. She was also so kind and caring during our postpartum visit and followed up multiple times via text and phone to see how our baby's eating was going. I will 100% reach out to her in the future if we have another baby! 

Margot Kitonis

6/21/2023

Beth is exactly the type of postpartum doula you'd want after coming home from the hospital and even though we didn't use her services as a birth doula, we certainly would in the future! As for getting to know her during postpartum support, Beth is extremely professional (proactive, flexible) but also very, very caring which is a hard balance to come by. She is not a "clock in/clock out" type of person and was always thinking of helpful tips/products to help our newborn. The first time we interviewed Beth on a Zoom call my husband and I both joked, "phew! someone to take care of all of us" and that held true throughout our time together. 

Beth was also able to advise me on lactation issues and corrected some of the bad habits that were formed during our stay at the hospital. For example, she identified that I was an oversupplier by looking at my son's stool/how he was feeding. She gave me straightforward advice on how to correct the issue and I'm not kidding it resolved it almost instantly. 

Alex Kuchera

1/11/2023

Beth is an angel of a human being who made my birth experience amazing and one I look back on fondly still four months later. My original doula retired so she matched me with Beth and I am forever grateful this happened. She was always reachable and genuinely cares about everyone she works with. I was able to text and call her at any time. We created a good birth plan that we were able to stick to. I started going into labor Thursday at 1am and was in contact with her throughout the day as things went along. I ended up walking into the delivery room at 8cm and she immediately jumped into action. Helped make it clear I NEEDED an epidural. Coached both my husband and I through everything and stayed with us a few hours after birth. Was friendly and loved by all the nurses and doctors we worked with. If we decide to have another, Beth will 100% be there. She was worth every dollar spent and she's an asset to anyone's birth team.

Kacey

12/29/2022

My husband and I had a great experience with Beth. Beth was initially my backup doula, so I had never met or spoken with Beth until a few hours into labor when my original doula had to leave for a family obligation. Beth stayed up with us two nights in a row (I had a long labor!) and provided emotional support and practical advice over the phone. Beth arrived at the hospital right as we did and provided immediate pain relief through counterpressure (I had opted for a natural birth). Beth continued supporting me throughout labor and then stayed after the birth to take a few photos and provide initial breastfeeding support. I really don't think I could have had a natural birth without Beth and am so grateful for her help! My husband and I would love to work with Beth again if we have another child in the NOVA area.

Isabella Boyle

12/8/2022

Beth provided support as both my birth and postpartum doula. She actually was my backup birth doula after our original doula got sick, and how lucky was I! As a nervous first time mom having a hospital birth I couldn't have asked for anyone better. Beth met us at the hospital at about 3:30am with all the tools needed to address my back labor. The rebozo was an absolute godsend. Her calm, warm, kind and patient demeanor was everything I needed during my birth. She also captured beautiful photos that I'll cherish for life. Beth was integral in assisting our baby boy to latch within the first hour of his life, truly kicking off our breastfeeding journey. I'm proud to say that 4 months in, we are still exclusively breastfeeding despite various challenges, thanks to Beth and her troubleshooting and encouragement. Beth came for a visit 2 days postpartum to debrief on the birth and to talk about postpartum support. Just a few weeks later after my husband returned to work, I realized how much I needed that support and immediately reconnected with Beth. Beth supported us for several weeks and I can confidently say that I could not have navigated the newborn stage with confidence (or as much as a FTM could have!) without her. From walks with us, helping with household tasks, groceries, naps, basic baby care, and more, Beth was there are ready to help. I am forever grateful for all the support she provided our little family. I would strongly encourage any mom, and especially new moms, seek Beth's support because she truly provides the comfort, knowledge, resources and honestly, sanity, needed during and after birth.