Ann Lipofsky, RN, BSN, CLD (CAPPA) -

 When we interviewed Ann for being a doula for birth of our third child, we noticed extremely nurturing nature of her personality. She tried to get a grasp of both my and my husband's needs in the order of preparing for the big event. Our birth was planned in a hospital, and we were excited that Ann is RN and has extensive experience in previous work as Labor and Delivery nurse. My previous two births were very traumatic experiences and Ann was making sure to provide us a service which will make a difference.
When big day came for us, we realized how lucky we were by hiring Ann for the assistance. She stayed with us all hours long, all the way through and even extra hours after actual birth. On every stage of the process, I felt Ann's help with every little thing I needed at the moment: massaging, holding monitors of baby's heartbeat and contractions, rolling the IV poll when I needed to move around, adjusting pillows numerous times when I had to stay in bed etc. She not only did what i asked her for, but also she suggested several things that helped me to easy the discomforts of the labor. Also Ann communicated my needs to the medical personnel of the hospital making me feeling that all my needs were addressed timely and in the best possible for me way.
Even though it was not my first baby and we got ourselves through an extensive preparation, during Ann's prenatal and postpartum visits, I still learned lots of new things about birth, my personal and baby care etc. Ann was eager to provide an answer to any possible question we had. All her work made difference in my labor for both myself and my husband. After I finally got baby in my arms, we both exclaimed - thanks God Ann was there for us!!
I had her nurturing and caring presence made my labor and immediate postpartum as great as it could possibly be. Thanks again, Ann!

Posted 3/29/2012

Ann is an incredible doula and I highly recommend her. We met several times before labor at my house, where we got to know each other and became comfortable together. She used many techniques to help me prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the journey of giving birth.  She also was like a my personal pregnancy and birth librarian, emailing me information I had requested or even things she thought I'd find interesting and inspiring; her medical background was also very helpful, as she really knows what's going on physically with pregnant and birthing women.

When it came time for birthing Ann was indispensible. She met me at home, went to the birth center with me and then never left my side when I was transferred to the hospital. I had a difficult time, laboring for a total of 58 hours before my beautiful daughter was born.  Through it all Ann was there doing everything she could for me- really listening to me and respecting my needs (even if I couldn't vocalize them, she figured out what I needed). She massaged me, fed me, made sure my husband was taken care of and gave me pep talks.  One thing I was especially thankful for was her music- she brought a packed iPod to the birth and had me covered for all the changing moods of labor- from instrumental Indian music to old school hip hop to meditation tones to upbeat dance beats, she always put on exactly what I needed to get me through.   

Ann has also been incredibly supportive in the post-birth phase, answering all the random questions that come up about breastfeeding and caring for an infant.  I could not be more pleased in my choice of doula.  Ann is awesome.

Posted 1/10/2012

We interviewed two doula’s. What we liked about Ann was how organized she was. She had her “Mary Poppins” bag of tools, specifically crafted for the labor and delivery process. Which she showed us in the interview process, everything from massage tools to hair bands and lip gloss. What I liked most about Ann, other than her attention to detail, was her background experience. Not only was she a former massage therapist, which she applied at just the right moments during L/D, but her role as a former L/D Nurse was invaluable. A doula can only provide non-medical support during L/D. But due to her experience, we didn’t get lost in the medical mumbo jumbo, also she knew how the Hospital staff would “guide” the L/D process. Lastly, she also knew the resources that were available to us from the hospital. She balanced our, Mom and Dad, needs and desires with those of hospital staff and our baby. After we hired Ann, she went through a very detailed interview to craft a clear birth plan for L/D. I was impressed with the fact that she took our birth plan and filtered it for the Hospital, to just cover only what they “needed” to know. Ann was patient, caring and flexible. She met with us twice, excluding the interview, before we got to the hospital and then twice after being released from the hospital. She catered to our schedule to most effectively offer support either through her wealth of knowledge or connecting us with information or individuals for our family’s needs. For us, from water breaking to Delivery was approximately 36 hours. We were only in L/D for a little over 24 hours and in early/active labor for around 13 hours. Ann was “on-call” for us two weeks prior to our due date. Her concern for “Dad” was visible, by trying to give me a break for food and rest. The whole birthing process is a team effort, and am I glad that we had a coach like Ann it made the Labor and Delivery process flow better than if we had done it on our own.

Posted 12/26/2011

Ann was AMAZING!! She was actually our back up Doula when our original Doula went out of town. From the moment we met with her she made us feel like we had been her clients all along. I would have never made it through the last week of my pregnancy if it wasn't for her. During delivery I felt like she was perfectly in tune with my needs both physically and emotionally. I would recommend Ann in a heartbeat to anyone wanting unconditional support and encouragement. She is a remarkable person and was meant to be a doula…..Thank you Ann!!!

Posted 11/3/2011

My wife and I interviewed four doulas and decided that Ann's thoroughness and philosophy of personal development and transformation through the birth process matched our personality. Her wide range of experience was yet another sign that she was the right doula for us. It turned out we were right. My wife's labor was very difficult and Ann gave us tremendous help and support. She gave my wife massages and much needed guidance. Thankfully our baby was born healthy and my wife was able to deliver vaginal as she was hoping. I credit a lot of this success to the comfort, support and love that Ann gave us. My wife and I highly recommend Ann to anyone preparing to go through miracles process of child birth.

Posted 7/10/2011