Jenn Whitaker Doula Profile

I couldn't have had a natural birth without Jenn Whitaker. I was induced with Cervadil due to low amniotic fluid and issues with the baby's heartbeat. Jenn hung in with us overnight during a long labor and used a variety of different methods to help me do what felt impossible--avoid the use of further drugs despite very strong contractions no more than 3 minutes apart for 18 hours, very little sleep (four hours in two nights) and the complicating factor of fibromyalgia.  Many times I wanted to give up and get the epidural, but with her homeopathics, massage techniques, TENS unit, encouragement to breathe, and reassurances that I could do this, she helped get me through the very difficult labor.

She is also extremely knowledgeable--I always felt like I was in good hands because she knew so much about so many topics related to labor and delivery and babies.

Jenn goes above and beyond not only in labor but in all her client relations. For instance, she gives every client a wonderfully soothing lavender flax massage bag, she brought my husband coffee and a pastry in the hospital, on the postpartum visit she gave us a bath bomb and baby onesie, etc.

Jenn is worth three times her fee. Highly recommend.

When I first met Jenn I knew we were a match. Her years as a business professional resonated with me and also her background having a c-section then a vaginal birth meant she knew the situation I faced. Jenn has really great listening skills and immediately made me feel comfortable as well as having the resources available such as a lending library, hyno-birthing scripts and CD's as well as playing out different scenarios. I was able to call her about my fear of giving birth vaginally and she never tired of answering my questions via phone calls and emails with back-up in facts, books and other examples of successful births.

When Jenn arrived at the hospital she brought her bag of "goodies" which included aromatherapy oils, the peanut (A ball to sit on to ease laboring) and her cheery and focused attitude. I immediately felt as though I was with a close friend/famiily member having Jenn in the room. All throughout the labor process Jenn was focused, calm and poised which was a great energy in the room during the stressful labor. She never tired of giving me the facts and reminding me of my birth plan. Jenn has amazing stamina and never tired of holding my hand and helping me feel comfortable the whole time. 

Our 3 a.m. chat about life and giving birth is a special quiet memory that really did prepare me for the next stage...HARD LABORING!

With Jenn's help I was able to have a successful VBAC and I would use her again and reccomend her highly!

 Jenn was wonderful. During our prenatal appointments she discussed with us our plans for the birth and helped us prepare. Because I was doing the Hypnobabies home study course, she took the initiative to learn Hypnobabies. She was so positive throughout my pregnancy and her attitude helped me have confidence that everything was going to go well. When she came to my house during labor, I felt relaxed and at ease by her presence. She was very professional and talked to our midwife over the phone during labor before we went to the hosptial to help communicate how things were going. At the hospital she had great repoire with our midwife and the nurses. She was calm, gentle, and supportive throughout the labor and even grabbed our camera and took pictures for us when our son was born, so we have wonderful memories that we would not have had otherwise. She is a fellow VBAC mom and truly understands the emotions that go with VBAC. I highly recommend Jenn and think that she would be wonderful for both home births and hospital births. While I had a hospital birth, I spent most of labor at home and was only at the hospital for 1.5 hours before our son was born and she helped make the hospital environment calm and quiet and as close to a homebirth in a hospital as possible. I truly believe she is one of the reasons I had such a fast, relaxed, and beautiful birth. After the birth, she stayed with me for several hours until I was settled in a postpartum room. While my husband had to go with the baby to the nursery for the standard baby assessment, she stayed by my side and it was like having a close friend with me. Since the birth, she has checked in with me several times and has come to our house to see how we are doing and talk about the birth and any postpartum questions we have. We are so glad she was our doula!