Hannah

7/19/2023

When IU Health stopped allowing midwives to deliver babies at the hospital, my whole birth plan fell apart. Sarah was so helpful keeping me informed and pointing out options available to me. Ultimately, I ended up going with a birth center and she continued to support me in my decision. She was readily available via text during pregnancy. And so kind to answer all my questions! When it was go time, she arrived quickly (even when it was an hour away!). She brought her whole bag of goodies to help me relax and progress through labor. My favorite was the lavender cream she rubbed on my back and legs! It was clear this wasn't Sarah's first rodeo. She was aware of my positioning and tried to keep me moving by suggesting ideas like sitting on the ball, getting in shower and tub, toilet (dialation station!) and more. Her hands were always on me with massages, holding my hand, hugs, anything that seemed to help in the moment. Her constant presence and touch was calming. She also kept telling me I could do it and was capable! Sarah is amazing at making women feel empowered. She also made 100% sure I had the water birth I wanted by literally picking me up and placing me in the tub at the very end! If it wasn't for her, I probably would have had my baby on the toilet when I really wanted him to be born in water. She stayed until I was settled and nursed. Sarah was so, so helpful during postpartum and breastfeeding. It's so worrying not knowing if you are feeding your baby enough. Sarah texted me encouraging words, often offering tips and tricks to get my son to latch better. She even came to my house and watched me nurse to help me further AND let me borrow a scale to have a peace of mind for his weight. And thanks to her, I know how to baby wear like the best of them. From all her knowledge and expertise to her passion and kindness...you really can't go wrong with Sarah on your birth team. In fact, I argue your experience will be FAR BETTER if she's there. 

Jacquie Handley

2/22/2023

Working with Sarah was such a beautiful and encouraging experience. I am so grateful to have had her in my pregnancy and postpartum journies. Most notably, I so appreciated Sarah's supportively agnostic approach to doula work - she was supportive of any choice (e.g., breastfeeding or not, pain medication during birth or not). Before giving birth, Sarah spent several sessions with me preparing for birth, diapering, baby-wearing, and breastfeeding. During my labor, she was on call and served as the calmest "stage manager" that I could have asked for. She helped negotiate the experience in the hospital (particularly, for me, a long induction) without taking away from the experience with my partner. Instead, she helped me move through my labor. Postpartum, she was INCREDIBLY helpful in my first 6 weeks with my continuous questions about feeding and sleeping. Having a doula who is also a lactation consultant was such a help. I highly recommend her services!

Angelica Powers

2/28/2022

Sarah was a saving grace for me! The minute I decided to hire her she has been a blessing to me. Throughout my pregnancy she answered all the questions I had in a promptly manner. She provided me with all the resources I needed and more! Thanks to Sarah I had a non-medicated natural birth in the hospital. She knew how and where to massage me while I was having my contractions. She followed my birth plan to a T! Thanks to her assistance I was able to labor in the shower and in the tub in the hospital room which made the contractions more tolerable. She cheered me on and reinforced me that I can do it when I felt alot of pressure and discomfort which helped me keep going! 

Sarah came to visit me at home as well to educate me about breastfeeding which was really helpful because I was clueless. I would recommend Sarah to everyone, and I plan on using her for all of my births! She's very professional, sweet, and kind!

Rachael

11/14/2021

I recently had the experience of having Sarah as my birth doula and she was fantastic. She was with me for like 27 hours. She was always encouraging when I was getting discouraged and frustrated. She was great conversation during the easy part. She was focused and attentive through all of the hard parts. She always had a new suggestion for moving around or positioning. She was a master with hips squeezes with every contraction before I got an epidural. Just before pushing I was feeling really nauseous and she whipped out a FAN! Through the entire time of pushing, she held one of my legs with one hand and and the fan in my face with the other! She was also very helpful in figuring out the first breastfeed. She was very prepared and had thought of everything a mom might need.

Stacia Streeter

9/15/2021

Sarah has been by my side for my last two births. She made all the difference in making my birth dreams come true. She empowered and guided me through TWO med free VBACs! (2019 and 2021) She's truly there for you as a person the entire pregnancy. She was there for me to vent/talk out how I was feeling, and my options about my medical decisions with gestational diabetes during pregnancy. 

Once labor started for me, she became my rock. She is truly meant for this life! I remember in both of my labors just being so grateful to her. She knew what I needed before I did. Whether it was a change in position, a hand to squeeze, a towel on my neck, a fan to cool me, the perfect counter pressure on my hips, reminding me how to breathe baby down... All of it. She just knew! This took so much stress off my husband, he was able to focus on being my cheerleader and being another hand to squeeze.

Having her there made all the difference in the world. I knew she wouldn't let the staff pressure me into another c-section. I knew if it came to that then she would talk TO me and not AT me. She gave me the confidence to trust my body and the entire birthing process. I will forever be grateful for her! I honestly believe I couldn't have done it without her! 

**She also offers other services as well, such as, lactation consulting, baby wearing help, and cloth diapering. 

Molly

8/30/2021

I cannot imagine going through the labor and delivery for Baby 2 without Sarah. Like with my first, my water broke before labor started. Sarah met us at the hospital and stayed the night with us. The next morning, when labor still hadn’t started, the doctor recommended I start on Pitocin. For context, I was on pitocin for about 30 hours with my 2018 baby. This time around, things went much more quickly. 

Within 2 hours of being on pitocin, the contractions were intense, and I was 6cm dilated. At that point, I asked for an epidural. The nurse put in the call, but mentioned the doctor was with another patient. In the end, the anesthesiologist was delayed for over an hour. I knew I was in transition and was starting the panic that I wouldn’t get the epidural in time. Reader, I did not get the epidural in time. Sarah kept reminding me that it would be over soon, because either the doctor or the baby would arrive! 

In my 2018 delivery, Sarah’s support was mostly emotional. She empowered me to hold out for the vaginal delivery that I wanted. This time, she still provided emotional support, telling me I could do it when I doubted myself. I really didn’t think I could do it, but Sarah kept reminding me that I *was* doing it. On top of the emotional support, she gave such amazing physical support. Those hip squeezes were crucial this time around as I labored without an epidural. And Sarah’s expertise as a lactation consultant also came in handy when we initiated breastfeeding after the baby was born. 

Sarah is super conscientious about COVID-19 protocols. We felt very safe having her in the hospital with us and our newborn. She is accessible both before and after the delivery and answered any and all questions via text. Our consultations prior to delivery were very helpful and reassuring, and our visits afterward were similarly useful. I cannot recommend Sarah’s doula services highly enough!!

Karissa Mooney

8/29/2021

Sarah went above and beyond for us! I had a successful 10lb vbac with her. She helped me through a GD diagnosis and a change of care. There were several decisions I had to make during my pregnancy and many times I had to advocate for myself. Sarah's guidance and words of encouragement were so helpful. She truly listened to me. Labor and delivery was great. I had some fears from my prior birth and attempting a vbac. She and my husband made a fabulous team. She worked well with my doctors and nurses. I truly believe I would not have gotten my vbac without my care team being who they were and Sarah was key. My first birth I went no pain meds until csection time, this time I expressed my concerns to Sarah and she helped me to discuss and weigh my options never pushing me one way or another simply supporting me. Postpartum she was so helpful as well. Even though I had breastfed before I learned from her and appreciated having someone I trusted to discuss breastfeeding concerns with. I highly recommend her. We could not have asked for better care than what Sarah provided. 

Kyle Puetz

10/9/2020

Very glad to have hired Sarah. She provided a wealth of knowledge (always based on research) before, during, and after birth. She also stayed by my side for a VERY long labor even though she had a bad ankle injury! Her being present to help with decision making while I had a foggy brain due to exhaustion was very much appreciated by husband and myself. Would 100% hire Sarah again!!

Barrie Harvey

6/27/2019

I am so grateful to have had Sarah as my doula. When my son was born, we did not use a doula. The birth was traumatic and nothing like what I hoped for. So, when I became pregnant with my second, I knew we wanted a doula by our side who could help us navigage all the unexpected moments. Sarah fulfilled that need and so much more. Talking through my first birth experience with her really helped me to find peace and it helped me to feel empowered going into this birth. Sarah was there every step of the way. Throughout my pregnancy, I was able to reach out to her when the unexpected came up. When we found out my daughter was breach, she knew who I should see and what I could do to flip her (and we did!). When my water broke four weeks early, she was there to walk me through everything and make sure I didn't experience any unwanted interventions. When it came time for birth, when I needed her to be my strongest advocate, she was. When I needed her to make me feel comfortable about unexpected decisions I made in the moment, she was. And when I needed the world's most amazing massage to deal with contraction pain, she provided it. Not to mention, in addition to bringing mood lighting, essential oils, and so many tricks for pain management, she was even thoughtful enough to bring baked goods for the nursing staff. And, after it was all over, when I needed her support at home because I was just feeling overwhelmed, she was there.

I could go on and on about what Sarah meant to me and my husband throughout this expereince. But, I'll try and sum it up. When I needed a friend, she was my friend. When I needed a cheerleader, she was my cheerleader. When I needed a resource, she was that resource. She helped me to be brave, she helped me to be gentle with myself, and she helped me to have not just the birth experience I wanted, but the birth experience that I needed. Thank you, Sarah! Truly, you will always have a special place in our hearts!

Molly Scudder

1/14/2019

I cannot imagine going through labor and delivery without Sarah. Hiring her as my doula was the best decision I made. Sarah was always available to text in the months leading up to my baby's birth. This was extremely helpful. She was such an informed and calming resource to have before, during, and after the birth.

In the end, my baby was born 2 weeks early. I was in the hospital for 42 hours before our baby arrived (perfect and healthy). My water broke in the middle of the night and Sarah was ready to respond to my needs. She met us at the hospital as soon as we asked her to. Sarah had me up and walking around the hospital. My labor did not start on it's own, despite our best efforts. Even after inducing, it was very slow going. Sarah spent the night at the hospital with us. She even left to pick up food for my husband. If we wanted alone time, she was happy to give it to us.

Without Sarah, we wouldn't have known what to do. Not only did she help with the pain (massaging my back and helping my husband to distract me), but Sarah also brought a wealth of knowledge on how to augment labor naturally and how to help move the baby into a better position. After about 24 hours of labor with little progress, I had to consider having a c-section. Sarah was so supportive and not judgemental at all. I was also super impressed by how well she worked with the medical team. Sarah and my nurses were dedicated to trying to move my labor along naturally. And after I had an epidural and could no longer walk around, Sarah used various sizes and shapes of exercise balls to change my position in bed.

I felt so comfortable with her. And I know for certain that she improved the outcome of my labor and delivery. Thanks in large part to Sarah's efforts and support, I was able to deliver vaginally. Despite having a long labor, it was a joyful and positive experience. I could not have done it without Sarah.

alison murphy

9/8/2017

Having Sarah as our Doula was very helpful for both me and my husband.  We felt prepared about the possibilities of labor and our preferences.  We felt less stress because we knew we had Sarah's support.  During Labor the physical and emotional support was phenomenal.  The lower back massage and counterpressure was nearly constant during the 26 hours of labor and helped immensely - that alone was worth it to have a Doula.  Suggestions and assistance getting in/out of various positions during labor was  helpful.  We are very glad that we had Sarah as our Doula as we welcomed our son into this world via natural childbirth.

Chelsea Best

8/6/2017

When my husband and I found out we were expecting baby #2 we knew immediately we would love to have a doula as part of this journey. Our first child was born breech and had to be delivered via C-section. It was our goal to have a healthy, happy pregnancy with a v-bac after cesearean. We met with Sarah early on and immediately I knew it was going to be a great match. Sarah is friendly, down to earth and really cares about the individual needs of each of her clients. She doesn't have an agenda to push down your throat of having a baby "the natural" way but insteads helps you to achieve the delivery you want. Unfortunately due to a health condition my second child was breech as well and then an anterior placenta our OB was not able to successfully flip the baby and we ended up with another c-section. However, Sarah was still there the whole time. With the health condition I had she was able to get us more information that helped us better understand what our options were and if we wanted to try for a breech v-bac at home. We ultimately decided to go with a c-section but that didnt stop Sarah from being amazing and just what we needed! The morning of the c-section Sarah met us at the hospital and provided us with the support we needed. She was not able to be in the delivery room with us but my husband and new baby went back to the room before I returned from recovery. She took pictures of the special moments happening between father and baby for me to have once I was back. Once I returned to our room she helped with breast  feeding which was one of the biggest helps we could have as 26 babies were born that weekend at the hospital and only 2 lactation consultants were available to help moms with nursing. I would highly recommend Sarah's Doula services no matter the delivery route your family intends to take. The information and support she provides through out the entire pregnancy is something every expecting mother and even father should have!

Rebecca Hoekstra

6/14/2017

I chose Sarah to be my doula for the birth of my 7th child. I'm not sure what took me so long to finally hire a doula but it was the best thing I've ever done (apart from making seven beautiful children). Sarah helped me immensly throughout my last trimester of pregnancy and encouraged me to seek chiropractic care. When labor began Sarah came to my house and sat with me for hours timing my contractions. She affirmed my desire to go to the hospitalwhen labor became more intense and was instrumental in communication the details of my labor with the hospital staff. Sarah was amazing during labor at the hospital. She rubbed my back, gave me water and chapstick, talked to me all night while my husband slept on the other side of the room, laughed at my jokes, was compassionate when I was scared and teary, non judgmental about my desire for epidural pain medication, helped the nurses roll my giant numb body over in the bed, and held my leg when I pushed. All while being my biggest supporter and cheerleader. She stayed around afterward while we figured out nursing and held the baby for an hour so I could get a nap. I can't even imagine what this birth would have been like without Sarah there. Sarah believed that I could do it and I did it.