crystal steele Doula Profile

 I thought doulas were just an extra person in the room, but having been through the birth of a child with a doula I would highly recommend one to everyone. I think it is of the utmost importance when you are having your first baby. Crystal is a wealth of knowledge and truly knows how to help people on an individual basis. I would also recommend her for any birth, not just your first, cause as a man we can be worthless at times to our spouses. She knows how to help men through the tough, confusing times.

We used Crystal as our doula for our son. He is our first child and since I am not very close to my mother and hadn't really been around many expectant mothers I was completely clueless on the entire process. I didn't know what I wanted nor did I even know that there were actually things in labor that my opinion and preference would apply. Crystal helped me figure out my voice in deciding what was best for me and my husband in approaching the L&D process and answered all of my questions. She helped us create a birth plan and even offered information on all of the different philosophies with various parts of labor. When I went into labor at 2 AM, she met us at the hospital within minutes. Without her there, I would not have been able to follow through with my birth plan. She was so supportive of my husband and I and was there to explain everything that was happening along the way. She even stayed after to help me with breastfeeding. My husband and I both said repeatedly how grateful we were to have had Crystal and how lost we would have been on our own. It was like having a mom and big sister rolled into one. I would strongly recommend any expectant mother use Crystal s their doula.

I thought Doulas were an underutilized resource when I decided to hire one for the birth of my first child. Now having been through the experience with Crystal, I think they are a MUST HAVE. Being in nursing school allowed me to see a hospital childbirth from an observant perspective , and from that experience, I realized what I did not want to happen with my own delivery. Crystal was born to be a doula. She was informative but never opinionated. That impressed me, because pregnancy invites a lot of unsolicited opinions. I was less anxious during my pregnancy knowing she would be there through delivery. There was also less of a role strain on my husband due to Crystal. I cannot imagine the day of delivery without her there. My child did not follow my plan, and I didn't get to labor at home like I wanted. Crystal came to the hospital on short notice and provided just the support I needed. My labor was relatively mild until I hit 8 cm. When it hit, it hit very hard. At that point my baby was delivered within 40 minutes and only 4 pushes. I will never forget how quickly I felt overcome by the pain. There were so many people in the room, but I only remember holding my husbands hand and focusing on Crystal's face. Her direction at that point felt like the only thing getting me through each contraction. When I felt like fighting through each push and tigthening every muscle in my body, Crystal was able to help me relax and push effectively. I know I moaned like a cow, but it helped so much! Crystal was even able to help me make this more effective. I can't even imagine the unsupportive nurse assigned to me helping me through this. I believe my delivery was so quick and my pushing was impressively effective because I was able to do it without pain meds and because Crystals direction helped me focus the force of each push. It takes an amazing person to do Crystal's job and I'm grateful to her.

        I would not want to have a baby without Crystal.  My wife had a natural delivery, and I would hate to imagine how it would have went without Crystal.  She knew exactly what was going to happen and what to do when it did happen.  She effectivly helped my wife manage the pain of contractions.  In between the contractions she helped my wife relax using several techniques.  My wife delivered her first child in fourty minutes and I believe much of the credit is due to Crystals help and also my wife's awesomeness.  I would reccomend Crystal's services to anybody that is pregnant, but I would say she is an absolute necessity to you if you want to have any control over how your child is born.  The most suprising thing I learned during our stay at the hospital is that your comfort is probably less important to the nurses than their own, and Crystal is a great advocate to help you have the kind of delivery you want.

Having Crystal Steele as our doula for the birth of our second child was one of the best things I have ever done.  I simply can't imagine that the birth would have gone the way that it did without her there.  My wife and I were able to have the all natural birth that we always wanted, and I believe that to be a direct result of having Crystal there.  After having a doula present at this birth I don't want to do it any other way ever again.  If you feel lost as a father during the birthing process, Crystal will give you direction and make sure that you are being a valued member of the birthing team.  She is not there to take your place as a birthing partner, but having the extra help there really makes a big difference.  I will most certainly use Crystal as a doula for any other children I have in the future.

Labor and delivery usually does not go exactly as planned. That is why having someone who has knowledge and experience there to help is essential. With my first pregnancy resulted in pitocin augmentation, epidural anesthesia and a forceps-assisted delivery which lead to a much longer recovery time. Therefore when Crystal offered her services as a doula during my second pregnancy I was very eager to accept.
I was 37 weeks along when my water broke and we went to the hospital. Once we got there and the doctors confirmed that my water had indeed broken we called Crystal to let her know. She was on her way to the hospital within minutes of us calling her. Despite my water having been broken for more than 30 hours I was still not having contractions so once again I needed Pitocin to augment labor. I was nervous about that, but still planned to forego epidural due to the problems it caused with my first pregnancy. I think Crystal being there as a doula played a big part in the nurses allowing me to do what I wished during labor. Without her I am pretty sure I would have been confined to the bed, mostly because I didn’t know any better. Being able to walk around and change positions really helped to get through the contractions, and make me more comfortable.  Natalie was born anesthesia free on her sister’s second birthday four hours after Pitocin was started. I think that regardless of whether you have no experience with childbirth and this is your first baby, or you are pregnant with your 4th child and you feel confident that you know what will happen, everyone can benefit from using a doula. They are able to keep a clear head and think calmly in a way that family members may not be able to, and they can help make sure that your wishes for childbirth are carried out as closely as circumstances allow. I am very grateful for Crystal and delighted that she was able to participate in the birth of our daughter.

Having Crystal as our doula for the birth of our third child was a fantastic decision! We did not have a doula for our first two children, so now I know how much it helped to have Crystal there. First of all, Crystal gave me a legitimate excuse to be lazy during pre-labor. Let me explain. She was able to help my wife during those first stages of labor when I thought that nothing really could be done. But Crystal also made me feel helpful during the more difficult stages of labor, showing me how I could assist in ways I never knew I could during the births of our first two children. Crystal is a fun person to have around, too, so I cannot think of a good reason not to hire Crystal to be your doula for the birth of your child.

Crystal was amazing.  Having a baby was a really stressful experience and she helped my wife and I get through it.  She came over several times before the birth to talk through the birth plan, ask questions, and help us find the answers we were looking for.  During the actual delievery she was really helpful, and I know for my wife there were times when she needed another woman's coaching who had been through the process.  Crystal was great.  After the baby came she helped clean up and cooked us breakfast.  I'd hate to think of having another baby without her there helping us.