Anna Espinoza

3/13/2024

I cannot fully encapsulate our wonderful experience with Megan, as she helped my partner and I usher in the most important chapter of our lives, but I sure will try! We knew we wanted a doula to help support us through my more medicalized pregnancy, labor, and delivery to help us in protecting our hopes for a more natural process (as much as feasible with my Type 1 Diabetes). When we meet with Megan, we knew she was the person we could trust in throughout the very personal and dynamic process.

She was/is extremely approachable, calm, and knowledgeable. Megan is a master at riding that line of remaining professional, yet making you feel very seen and comfortable. She will assist you and your partner(s) in finding the knowledge needed to make informed decisions, yet not try to sway you in any specific direction.

She is an expert advocate throughout the entire pregnancy as well as labor and delivery. We literally cannot imagine having done this without her! Her medical research expertise and skills in tactfully sharing this knowledge were irreplaceable throughout this process and put us at ease countless times.

I will forever be grateful to her and I know my partner feels the same way as she was very much there for him as well. I unquestionably made it through my unmedicated birth because of her empathy, skills, and advocacy.

You would be missing out on a truly wonderful, positively-course-altering addition to your journey by not requesting Megan work with you. Thank you again - forever and for always - for helping us bring our lovely little boy into this world!

Colleen Hanson

11/25/2023

Megan's calming presence and expertise helped get me through pregnancy as I prepared for the birth of my daughter. There are many emotions and decisions surrounding this huge life-changing event, and she helped me process things and helped me formulate questions to ask my provider. When I was in labor, she ensured that the medical staff knew that I had a birth plan. As labor progressed and things were taking longer than anticipated, she helped me make informed decisions that were best for me based on evidence-based practices. Even though we ended up not following everything on my birth plan, I still felt empowered because of her help and support. I also appreciate the way that she was able to support my husband so that he could also be there for me. After the birth, she was able to help me process my birth experience and answer questions/fill in the blanks that were a little fuzzy. It was uniquely my own experience, and as I look back on it, I know it would not have been the experience I wanted without Megan's support. It can be hard to open yourself and your life up during such a raw and intimate time in one's life, but it was easy to let Megan in because of the fantastic human being that she is.

Amber Larson

6/12/2023

Megan was such a calming presence through the birth of our daughter. She knew to ask for things from the nurses that my husband and I didn't even know were options (such as heating packs when I was shivering intensely). Megan was a great advocate to keep adjusting my position to make sure labor kept progressing and she talked my husband and I through everything. We both appreciated her support and her knowledge throughout the birthing process and we were grateful to have someone there who was just focused on us and our experience. After my daughter was born, she was the one who helped me with my daughter's first latch to start our breastfeeding journey (none of the hospital staff had mentioned to me that it was time to start feeding her yet). She also stopped by a few days after we arrived home to bring us an amazing homemade meal and to check in to see how breastfeeding was going. My husband and I both appreciate all the support Megan provided us!

Chelsea M.

3/28/2023

After the birth of my first daughter not going as planned and ending with multiple injuries and a bit of a traumatic experience I knew I wanted to try a doula for the birth of our second daughter. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it when I hired Megan and I know my husband was a bit skeptical too. Long story short, we were both glad that we had Megan there to help us navigate this birth. She gave ideas and information that helped me make the best decisions at the time. And most importantly she never made me feel bad for anything I decided along the way, like an early induction due to a medical issue or that I got the epidural earlier than I wanted to. Her knowledge helped me push more effectively and engage baby into the right position. Instead of a 4 hour pushing session ending with forceps I got my baby out with just 3 pushes! Megan also helped me find donor breastmilk for my newborn and is a great postpartum resource. Thank you so much Megan!

Lauren and Michael

2/14/2023

We are so grateful that Megan was able to be part of our birth! She was an invaluable resource to both me and my partner, and helped us navigate to the unmedicated birth we had hoped for.

Throughout labor, Megan was always one step ahead, jumping in with comfort measures that I didn't even know I wanted! Her calm demeanor and constant presence helped us feel safe and confident in trusting the process. She was comfortable navigating the hospital room and didn't hesitate to go looking for anything we needed. She helped support not only me but also my partner (keeping us both hydrated), and she was instrumental in helping my partner to support me. She worked great with our providers, and jumped in to advocate for our birth preferences when I wasn't able to. She also captured some amazing photos during the birth-- before delivery I hadn't felt very strongly about having photos of the birth, but now we are so so grateful for her documentation of those moments.

We also really appreciated the postpartum visit-- it was wonderful to be able to debrief the haze of birth with someone who thoroughly understood what was actually happening! We were able to ask questions about how things played out, and it was wonderful and empowering and cathartic to be able to round out the narrative of our birth story. We so appreciate everything that Megan did to help us on the journey to meeting our baby!

Lisa Hong

12/2/2022

Takeaway: Megan is an amazing doula and I would not have another delivery without a doula (but I really I hope I can have Megan again!)

Originally, early on in my pregnancy, I did not think we would need a doula at our labor and delivery. But as our due date approached, my husband and I got more anxious about him pissibly not being able to make the delivery if I went into labor during his medical board exams. We wanted to make sure I had support if my husband was not able to make it. I talked to one doula company/organization but decided to look around to compare. I found Megan's page and asked for a consultation. After our video call, I knew I wanted her to support me. She is so chill and calm. She also has a background related to evidence-based research and that made me feel better; she was doing her job based on evidence. She was always a great resource when I was putting together my birth plan. She is very respectful with sensitive topics but still shares all the information and knowledge she has.

During the labor, she just jumped in and supported me. She reminded me of things I forgot (e.g. low-pitched versus high-pitched moans, breathing deep and slow, relaxing my shoulders). She also tried to help relieve the pressure and discomfort and was not offended if I said the current method did not help. She also helped my husband support me. She helped us capture amazing videos and pictures to help us remember our first labor and delivery experience.

She visited us after the delivery and really helped ease my anxiety of entering parenthood. She is forever an important person in our lives and I could never thank her enough. It really was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Thank you, Megan! We are forever grateful!

Aubrey Strehlow

1/20/2022

I was a first time mom looking to have the most natural experience possible while delivering my daughter. I lived in an area where I didn't know any doulas, so I reached out to a friend who suggest Megan. Within 5 minutes of talking with Megan, I knew that she was going to be the best fit for our delivery. Megan is extremely knowledgable & helpful with learning exercises to help reduce pain during the end of my pregnancy & during my labor/delivery. Megan was a calm & soothing voice during those hard contraction moments & she made sure that she knew my birth plan & helped be an voice to the medical team to make sure that it was followed to my wishes. I would choose Megan to be out doula again in a heart beat!