Galia and Eric Mann-Hielscher

2/3/2024

Our experience with Sandra as our doula was wonderful. She is knowledgeable and professional but more importantly, she's a lovely person. She's warm, kind, caring, and generous. She taught us useful "tricks" to make the birth easier, gave us advice, and answered our many questions patiently but what made the strongest impression on us was that she truly cares.

Holly

1/25/2024

We had an incredible experience with Sandra as our doula. She was our instructor for the Evidence Based Birth childbirth class and provided doula support throughout the prenatal, labor, and postpartum periods. Sandra is compassionate, patient, nurturing, open-minded and kind. She is a thoughtful listener, and has a way of being profoundly present without feeling overbearing (this was crucial when I was feeling raw and vulnerable in the depths of labor). Her steady hands-on support during labor provided so much comfort. She made me feel held and supported in every struggle and difficult decision throughout these periods, including during the rocky first weeks postpartum. 

The most important thing when I found out I was pregnant was that I wanted to feel empowered and connected to my baby and birth. Sandra helped to facilitate this and make my labor the most transformative experience I have ever had. Her presence and support continues to be invaluable to our family. Selecting her to be our doula was the best decision we made to support our transition into parenthood. 

Karen Walters

12/16/2023

Sandra was an essential member of of our care team for the birth of our first child.  She was so supportive, non-judgemental, and she gives advice and insight to help make important decisions throughout pregnancy and labor.  Her classes were very helpful as well in preparing us for the birth and afterwards.  We were so glad to have her support, even remotely, through our difficult labor.  We recommend her as a doula to anyone.  

Hai Yan

11/16/2023

My husband and I wanted a doula to help guide us through my first pregnancy and the labor process. Sandra fulfilled this role and more. She was patient in answering all our questions and concerns leading up to labor. During labor she provided amazing support and an informed perspective that helped us through the difficult decisions we had to make as everything deviated from our original birth plan. She also came to the hospital as soon as we asked her to even though it was in the middle of the night and our plans for her to join us changed with my increasing pain. After we went home, she came for two postpartum visits and both were incredibly helpful. It was nice to process the laboring experience afterwards and it was helpful to talk about the challenges and changes that comes with being a parent. Overall, we had a great experience with Sandra. She was knowledgeable and resourceful.

Amanda

8/23/2023

Sandra was an amazing support during pregnancy and labor! We had a long labor—in the neighborhood of 48 hours—and Sandra stayed with us the entire time. I was so glad she was there throughout the process as a calm and reassuring presence. She is both well-informed and highly experienced, and she provided hands-on support and guidance throughout our labor while also leaving us space when we desired it. I wouldn’t want to do a second pregnancy without her! As a first-time mom, I can’t recommend doula support enough and Sandra in particular.

I would also recommend Sandra’s Evidence Based Birth class, which we took in the last trimester of pregnancy. It helped prepare us for possible hospital scenarios and how to advocate for ourselves within the hospital setting. Despite the long labor, we were able to still have a vaginal delivery, which I credit to our preparation with Sandra in this course and her support as we responded to our care team. Sandra has provided invaluable resources throughout pregnancy, labor, and early postpartum, and she is so responsive and kind to all those she interacts with. I am so grateful that we got to share these experiences with her!

Amanda

7/6/2023

Sandra was an amazing support during pregnancy and labor! We had a long labor—in the neighborhood of 48 hours—and Sandra stayed with us the entire time. I was so glad she was there throughout the process as a calm and reassuring presence. She is both well-informed and highly experienced, and she provided hands-on support and guidance throughout our labor while also leaving us space when we desired it. I wouldn’t want to do a second pregnancy without her! As a first-time mom, I can’t recommend doula support enough and Sandra in particular.

I would also recommend Sandra’s Evidence Based Birth class, which we took in the last trimester of pregnancy. It helped prepare us for possible hospital scenarios and how to advocate for ourselves within the hospital setting. Despite the long labor, we were able to still have a vaginal delivery, which I credit to our preparation with Sandra in this course and her support as we responded to our care team. Sandra has provided invaluable resources throughout pregnancy, labor, and early postpartum, and she is so responsive and kind to all those she interacts with. I am so grateful that we got to share these experiences with her!

Elizabeth

3/29/2023

We are so glad that we had Sandra with us during the birth of our first child and for the weeks before and after as well.  She has a very calming and easygoing presence and yet will speak out on your behalf when needed.  She is very experienced and knowledgeable about birth, so we learned a lot through her and felt well prepared for both the labor/delivery and the postpartum period.  Sandra was always very responsive, checking in on us many times and making sure that our birth preferences were understood and heard.  We can't recommend Sandra enough!

Bridget

2/24/2023

We had such a wonderful experience with Sandra as our birth doula. My husband and I credit her hard work as the reason we were able to have such a smooth induction process and ultimately un-medicated delivery. She provided a calm, steadfast presence in our delivery room and provided the hands-on interventions and tools needed for managing contractions. We would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a birth doula!

Katherine Brandt

12/9/2022

I cannot put into words how incredible Sandra is. She was our doula for the births of both of our children and each time I feel like I couldn't have done it without her. Her calming presence got me through the unexpected twists and turns that sometimes happen with pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She made sure that I had the knowledge and courage to advocate for myself with my care team. She ensured that we were thinking and planning ahead for our own needs as well as the needs of our new baby and family. It felt like a dear friend looking out for me. 

Mary

10/27/2022

We were so happy to have found Sandra when we started getting overwhelmed with all of the conflicting information and endless opinions about labor, birth, and postpartum out there. Sandra was an excellent mentor in helping us navigate our options and figure out a plan that would suit us best. She was incredibly informative without being at all judgmental. As a first-time mom, she helped give me the confidence I needed going into this huge new chapter of life. I am so grateful to have found her and would recommend her to anyone looking for support through pregnancy and postpartum!

Annalee Armstrong

10/14/2022

We were lucky to have Sandra for the birth of both of our sons. When we became pregnant for the second time, there was no doubt that we were going to have her attend. We had two fairly different birth experiences but in both cases, Sandra's steady, calm demeanor helped us through the toughest moments. Her visits before and after were so helpful. She was so knowledgeable and helped us prepare for all kinds of birth situations. Sandra is a wonderful doula and I can't recommend her enough! 

David B.

6/8/2022

Words cannot fully express how much Sandra Crawford means to our family. We took advantage of her Evidence Based Birth class and her full birth doula services. Both had a meaningful influence on our birth experience, preparing my wife and me for all the decisions and emotions we faced from pregnancy to birth and early parenthood. At every step — prenatal home visits, labor, and birth support, postpartum visits, and countless phone calls and texts — she was a trusted confidant, the voice of reason, and an overall one-woman support system. Now, we consider her something even more, a dear friend. Having her present for the birth of our son was an unexpected gift and something our family will cherish forever. One day, we cannot wait to introduce her to our dear son. Thank you, Sandra!

Taylor

4/6/2022

We can't say enough good things about our experience with Sandra! My husband and I have always been uncomfortable in medical environments, so we wanted a doula that would be comforting, as well as knowledgeable and supportive. Sandra was exactly that! We learned so much from the Evidence Based Birth class she lead and the prenatal consultations helped us feel so much more confident leading up to the birth. Her presence at the birth was also very comforting and she provided us with information and support to help us make the decisions that were best for us. She was also very professional and kind in her interactions with all of the hospital staff. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for an informed and compassionate doula!s

Sandra Cerni Dembinski

10/27/2021

We were extremely lucky to have Sandra follow and support us through our pregnancy and be part of our journey. Sandra is such a caring, calming, sweet soul and was an exceptional source of information, support and comfort throughout our pregnancy.

She was always readily available, and responded quickly and knowleagebly to all our messages. We also found her EBB (Evidence Based Birth) class very enjoyable and informative, and highly recommend it to any first-time parents.

Sandra is truly the best, professionally and personally. Book her and see for yourself!

Juliet C

7/2/2021

Sandra is just wonderful! We were expecting twins-- our first children--and ended up having a C-section. Sandra had helped us prepare for all of what happened. After the twins arrived, she helped us process and adjust to our new life, she provided caring and gentle night care for the twins, and she was available for all of our (silly and not-so-silly) questions via text as we were learning how to take care of babies for the first time. We would highly recommend her to anyone!

Lucy Midelfort

7/1/2021

Sandra was the most perfect doula for us. Throughout the uncertainties of the pandemic, she found ways to educate us and calm our myriad anxieties about being first time parents. She taught us how to advocate for ourselves during the birth experience, gave us so many tips for comfort during labor, and was on call for virtual support when the hospital rules weren’t going to allow doulas to attend births in person. In the end, the regulations lifted right before my due date and Sandra was able to be there in person in the end! She brought such a calming presence. After our daughter came, her postpartum checkups really allowed my husband and me to talk through settling into our new roles. It was all enormously helpful. Sandra, I can’t recommend you enough! Hope we get to stay in touch.

Caitlin

4/27/2021

Sandra was our doula for the recent birth of our daughter in March 2021. It was a great experience, and I would highly recommend her. She was extremely helpful in the pre-natal visits in helping us to think about decisions we'd need to make during the delivery process, as well as bringing up helpful hints for managing life after the baby's arrival. One important thing for me was that I always felt she supported me in whatever decisions we thought were best for us, especially around the delivery. She was also with us on the delivery day for the majority of my labor and was extremely helpful during that process as well. Continuous coaching as well as an additional support person was a huge help for me, and I believe helped lead to a more satisfying delivery experience. She was a peaceful and reassuring presence during the entire experience, and we would definitely enlist her help again in the future. 

Maya

7/29/2020

Sandra was a kind and helpful presence in our lives both before and after the birth of our twins. She was always available to listen and provide direction to well-reasoned and researched information about pregnancy and childbirth. I never felt that Sandra was telling me what to do, but rather supporting my husband and I to make the right decision for us and our babies. She went above and beyond in coaching us in Spinning Babies to try to turn our breech little one and to provide me some relief from the lower back pain at the end of pregnancy. Her assistance in advance planning for postpartum also really made things run smoothly for us. Due to COVID and other circumstances, Sandra was not able to be there at the birth of our twins, but we felt her positive presence and influence still. Sandra provided us with postpartum doula services and I looked forward to every time she came to our home. She calmed me both through her words and attitude in that early period of sleep deprivation and wondering how my husband and I were ever going to take care of two tiny children during a global pandemic. I would unreservedly recommend hiring Sandra; she combines total professionalism and pre/postnatal knowledge with a steady and kind presence in even the most stressful times.

Lauren Duncan

1/23/2019

I Originally decided to hire a doula because I was nervous to to give birth to my son and my husband was scared he wouldn't know how to help me. I am so happy my husband convinced me that it was the right move. When I first e-mailed Sandra was very easy to communicate with. When meeting her in person I immediately felt comfortable with her . She has an extremely calm and comforting energy and was very professional. The day of my birth we called Sandra in the middle of the night and she came quickly. Sandra helped me with pain management, hitting pressure points she knew just how to comfort me with out annoying me at my most vulnerable and hormonal time. I never once felt judged by Sandra and she knew just what to say to get through my long labor. There are not many people in this world who are doing exactly what their life mission is, I truly believe this is what Sandra is ment to do. She helped and comforted me and encouraged me in so many ways that I didn't even know I needed. I always tell new mom's now you don't know what you don't know until you are there. I feel do blessed to have had her there.  I feel hiring Sandra helped me avoid having a C-section and gave me the strength I needed at that time . I am forever thankful for her and feel it was money well spent. I highly recommend hiring a doula and meeting Sandra because she is amazing !

Jennifer Brucker

12/27/2018

Sandra was AMAZING. She was beyond helpful throughout the entire pregnancy, always there to answer questions and for support. Being a first time parent and having some complications in the beginning made it an uneasy journey but Sandra was always so positive. She is extremely knowledgeable about pregnancy and the birth experience, her presense is extremely calming and comforting. I had wanted a non-medicated birth but after a long labor I decided for the epidural, I remember when it was time to welcome my daughter into the world her saying, "You did it, you did such a great job." Her optimism and love is something I won't forget and can't thank her enough for everythiing. My husband and I both valued her presence during this very exciting time.

Oz Hatke

11/21/2018

I was very nervous and apprehensive about delivering my first baby, but Sandra helped ease many of my fears and worries. She actively helped my partner and I draft a birth plan that I was confident to share with my OBGYN. She helped set me up for success with so many different coping methods. On the day of delivery it was amazing to have her in the room. Her experience and calm energy was like a warm security blanket. Her soothing voice was there the whole time remindin me constantly that I could do it! While I’m sure she sent to the bathroom and ate a snack at some point during the 12+ hours she was with me, I never felt her absence. With the help of her and my partner I delivered a healthy 8lb. 7oz. baby girl after 21 hours of unmedicated labor! Thank you Sandra for helping me find and see my own stregth with your kindness and judgement feee advice! Also, thank you for visiting a few days after she was born and showing me how to wear her in a wrap!

Lauren Grogan

11/20/2018

I was lucky enough to have Sandra as my doula for my second child. Just hearing her voice over the phone for the first time gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling, let alone actually being in her presence. I had a challenging pregnancy and she was there for me in every capacity in the months leading up to my daughter’s birth. Sandra was sure to get to know me and made it a point to genuinely listen to my wishes/needs for my birth. While birthing my daughter she was fully there for me. Her calm voice and gentle nature brought me such comfort during my birthing process. Her encouraging words empowered me. I feel so fortunate to have had an angel by my side who helped me bring my daughter into this world.

Arpita Mukerjee

11/19/2018

Sandra was my invisible strength during active labor. Invisible because I had shut my eyes due to the slightest light bothering them and focused on Sandra’s voice. She kept encouraging me without a break for herself and even changed pace when I needed it. She was my spokesperson as she understood what I felt. When all I could do was get mad at my husband for holding my hand the ‘wrong’ way, leaving him feeling confused and helpless , Sandra manged to guide him as well and encourage him to support me the way I wanted. She is very knowledgeable and patient and spoke to me at length about what to expect during labor and postpartum. I value her wisdom and am able to look back and realize how right she was about every little detail. If I ever have a second child, I know I’d want Sandra there with me again!

Katherine Maranino

6/12/2018

I first found Sandra here on doulamatch.com and initially chose her based on her proximity to my house. When my husband and I first met her though, we chose her to be our doula for so much more than that! Sandra is caring, knowledgeable, and you can be assured that she will be your advocate every step of the way. Not only did she answer every phone call and text message throughout my pregnancy but she stayed with me and my husband through 30 hours of labor. Sandra also has PLENTY of resources for any questions or concerns you may have from pregnancy weight gain to comfort measures during labor. Shortly after my water broke, I called Sandra and asked her to come to our house and she arrived at 2:30am. She rubbed my back during contractions, she allowed my husband to rest when he needed it, and she encouraged me to eat and drink during my labor. My husband and I truly believe we would not have had such a successful experience if it weren’t for Sandra and she will FOREVER be a part of our lives. Choosing someone to be a part of the biggest day of your life can be overwhelming but choosing Sandra will certainly ensure a positive birthing experience!

Amy Marie

3/10/2018

Sandra was a wonderful supportive partner during my birth experience. At our fist meeting she explained to me what her role could be and was supportive of the ideas I already had for my birth. As time progressed she would check in with me to see how the pregnancy was going and how I felt. As the pregnancy progressed complications came up and Sandra was still extremely supportive of my needs. I ended up being put on bedrest in the hospital and Sandra was right there by my side. She gave me the emotional support I needed to get through a very difficult time. In the end I ended up needing a c-section and Sandra was there with me ever step of the way. This was not the birth I had invisioned for myself. Even though I had planned an all natural birth with Sandra, we had to change the plan of action. Sandra stepped right into the role of a supportive person during an intense birth with complications that ended with the birth of a beautiful, healthy baby girl! I couldn’t have chosen a better person to go through this experience with. There was a lot of fear and tears but through it all Sandra was able to talk me through it and be there for me.

Jill Howard

1/27/2018

When I was looking to hire a doula to have my third baby and second VBAC, I knew immediately that Sandra was the right choice. Sandra was very personable and genuine. She maintained excellent communication with us througout the process and always showed a genuine  interest in our family. She offered us a lot of resources ans was always offering her advice and support throughout the pregnancy. Sandra has an extremely gentle and supportive approach to everything she does. This past birth I wanted a natural and unmedicated  birth. I truly believe because of Sandra I was able to accomplish this. She was excellent in involving my husband and I feel that made my birth even more special, as i relied on both of them for physical and mental support. She was always there to reassure me that everything I was experiencing was normal and that I was doing a great job. My husband and I really appreciated everything she did and we highly recommend her!!

Jess Somodi

5/10/2017

My husband and I decided to hire a doula in hopes of achieving a drug-free birth. I contacted Sandra and she got back to me immediately. At our first meeting, I knew her calming presence and vast knowledge were just what we were looking for. Sandra met with us two more times, helping us write a birth plan and showing us comfort measures to use throughout the last weeks of my pregnancy. She also checked in with me frequently, especially as I became overdue. She gave me some great suggestions to help me with any discomfort.

At 41 weeks, I ended up being induced for low fluid. Having had a previous induction, I knew the pain that lay ahead. Sandra was there every step of the way. She was able to anticipate my needs better than I could on my own! Thanks to her support, I was to labor without an epidural, which was my ultimate goal. Her coaching and caring got me through every step of the way.

Her support did not end there, however.  Sandra stayed after the birth of our baby to make sure were were comfortable and settled in. She then visited us one more time to see how we were adjusting as a family of four.

Overall, I cannot reccomend her enough. I couldn't have had the birth I wanted wtihout her support.  My recovery has been a breeze. Sandra is a fantastic doula and I would recommend her to anyone!

Despoina Parapagkidou

4/21/2017

When I was pregnant, my husband and I, decided to hire a doula. Our family needed a reliable, calm and knowlegable person to guide me through the pregnancy and labor! And we are so happy we found Sandra! From our first meet we felt very comfortable with her, we talked about what the ideal delivery would be for me and how we can make it happen!

When my labor started, she helped me feel comfortable and she inspired me to trust nature and my body for the process! Sandra was there throught out the whole time of my labor, coached with breathing and made sure I was comfortable and calm. I felt that I didn't have to worry about anything!! Her presence made my delivery more smooth and joyful! I never believed before that labor and delivery could be such a great and powerfull delivery!!

I highly recommend her!

Marlena Huze

8/2/2015

My husband and I never considered using a doula until we took a birthing class.  The class opened our eyes to how beneficial a doula would be for the birth of our first child.  We decided to start looking to hire a doula immediately since we were pressed on time and our baby was due in a few weeks.   We reached out to Sandra and she promptly responded to us.  After we met with a few other doulas, we knew that Sandra was the right choice for us.

From our first meet, Sandra was not only extremely professional and knowledgable, but also very warm and tender.   She was available for me at all times leading up to our labor and delivery and was so informative, allowing us to make the best choices for the birth we wanted.  When I did go into labor, she provided excellent support for myself and my husband.  Through my labor, which lasted over 24 hours, Sandra was right by my side the entire time.   She kept me focused and comfortable.  Sandra brought with her to the hospital a variety of things that helped me through labor, even cooled wash cloths for my forehead!  Even though we had a few unexpected turns during the course of my labor, she worked with us when we needed a change of plan, supporting us and our decisions through the entire process.

Sandra truly helped make our birth a wonderful experience.   We are so thankful to have found her.   I highly recommend her!!