Elizabeth

12/6/2022

I am so grateful to have worked with Mikki! We considered working with a doula for our first birth, but because I’m a physician and my husband is trained as a doula, we thought we wouldn’t need one. We knew better for our second child, and Mikki was literally a dream come true. She is experienced, down-to-earth, warm, and supportive. She knows the data but also empowers you to trust your baby and your body. She advocates for you and takes care of you! She also went above and beyond helping us get to the hospital. I cannot recommend her highly enough, she made our dream birth a reality!

Scott Krug

9/4/2022

Mikki was a fantastic doula!

As the supporting partner in our home birth, I was originally reluctant if we needed a doula.  I am so glad that I was able to see past my own reluctance that was based purely on my own lack of education with home births, because having Mikki at our home birth was incredible. She was such an integral part of our team and her ability to jump in and fill in the gaps was such an asset.  Her calm, nurturing and attentive nature shaped our birth into an experience that we will never forget.   Mikki not only supported my wife during this process, but she also was there to support me... in turn, I was able to be more present and better support my wife which were the greatest gifts.

I HIGHLY recommend having a conversation with Mikki!

Caitie M

7/25/2022

My husband and I are first time parents, and so our experience doing a planned home birth was a first for us. My husband is naturally a very supportive person who has been pro-active in learning with me about unmedicated birth. For this reason, coupled with the fact that we'd be at home, I wasn't sure at first if we needed a doula but Reader, I was wrong on that! So very wrong. Despite the fact that my husband and I are experts at being with each other, we are NOT experts at labor. Some things are intuitive, but many things are easier when there is a guiding expert presence. Mikki's presence served as a reassurance that everything happening in my early labor, before our midwife arrived, was normal. Without Mikki there, I think my husband would have been frantically googling, which would have distracted him from being present as my support. In turn, I was able to put aside any fears, which I believe contributed to a very smooth labor and delivery.

When portions of my labor got intense, Mikki was there to apply pressure on my back which was such a relief. I never even needed to say that a contraction was peaking, she was right there to support without me having to ask. 

I am not great at creating ambience, so to be honest I didn't think much about what I wanted the birth room to be like. Luckily Mikki brought twinkle lights to set up around my birth tub just in time for pushing. I was so glad she did. 

Mikki brings a lot of heart and a good sense of humor to what she does. Throughout my labor, she was the presence I needed before I even had to think of what I needed, which I believe allowed me to stay in the zone and have a very peaceful labor and nearly pain free birth.

Hasan Karakuz

3/9/2022

Mikki was amazing! I’m so happy we had her on our side giving a natural birth. I wouldn’t have been able to support my wife during labor the way we did without her. We worked together hand in hand as a great team. I felt useful, confident and safe the whole labor time. It is a exiting journey as well as scary. I kinda freaked out when my wife’s contractions started and haven’t been able to put the car seat in anymore after doing it 20 times :) But ones Mikki showed up she was able to calm me down. I would and will totally recommend Mikki to everyone! She’s just awesome!!!

Verena

2/27/2022

Mikki is an amazing doula and I will definitely recommend her to family and friends. My goal was to have a vaginal birth without any pain medication. Thanks to her expertise, confidence and strong emotional support, we achieved it!

The prenatal visits were super helpful to get to know and trust each other, which was easy due to her outgoing and kind personality. I also gained a good understanding of the birth process and different stages.

Once the contractions started, Mikki was already providing strong support via text messages and phone calls, before arriving at my place.

At the hospital Mikki created a nice atmosphere by e.g. dimming the lights and she ensured that I felt comfortable without worrying about any organizational topics. She worked very well together with nurses and doctors so I never had the feeling to be stuck between different opinions.

After birth she stayed a few hours with us and we reviewed already the birth.

Overall I’m super happy with her support and I can’t imagine being able to deliver without her!

Diana B

12/28/2021

Mikki was fantastic! She is so caring, gentle, encouraging, calm, knowledgeable and reliable. We couldn't have done it without her. I gave birth in Oct during covid, she was very understanding of our request to be masked whenever indoors even though we were all fully vaccinated. My husband and I wanted to hypnobirth and Mikki was very flexible, synthesizing the hypnobirthing techniques we learned with her methods and approach. I had an unmedicated birth as planned in a hospital, which would not have been possible if Mikki weren't there! It was so reassuring and calming to have her there with us, when the medical staff kept encouraging medication to speed things along. Mikki is the kind of person you want when you're an amateur going through childbirth for the first time, she had all these little tips and tricks of things to do regardless of what came up. If I choose to have another child, I can only hope Mikki will be by our side again! During the actual birth Mikki took incredible photos and videos while also helping me cope with the pain-incredible multitasking on her part. It is so special to have these photos & videos now and look back on the whole experience. Thank you Mikki!!  

Sara

6/10/2021

Michaela was amazing!!!! I had a baby seven months ago and it was terrifying with all of the COVID protocols. She was very knowledgable, super calm and made me feel at ease.  We also loved that she was being incredibly careful COVID-wise.  My first child was out within 6 hours of the first contraction, so I knew this labor had a chance of being faster (but not a guarantee).  It was incredibly helpful that she knew where I was coming from since she also had quick labors (casual walks during laboring were not going to help me!).

When the day came, she came over very quickly (she lived super close!)!  Thank goodness, because it was a QUICK labor.  She helped me with contractions while also getting our toddler to help out (until toddler was picked up by friends) in various ways (get mamma a pillow!  massage her back!).  COVID made it so that I couldn’t have Mikki at the hospital, but she was ready to FaceTime if we needed her (we ended up not having time!).  She went as far as should could with me! She wheeled me in the wheelchair while husband parked and grabbed our bags, she went with me through the front doors, up the elevator and even checked me in!  With stops for contractions along the way.  My husband joined me a few minutes later, and our son was born literally a couple minutes later.  One hour and 45 minutes from my first contraction!

Mikki was SO calm under pressure.  She later told me that she was even ready to deliver the baby in the car.  I’m SO glad that didn’t happen, but I know we would have been in good hands if it did.  We were happy to see her for our postpartum visit and for me, it was nice get a little recap of that fast birth, as it was all a blur to me, and it was therapeutic to hear her version of what happened.  Mikki is an awesome caring person, and I would WHOLE HEARTEDLY recommend her!!!

Erika

2/16/2021

Hiring Mikki was my husband's idea. He knew I was dedicated to attempting an intervention-free delivery and he wanted experienced guidance during delivery for moments we couldn't anticipate. 

When our son continued his stubborn frank breech position, Mikki sent resources for spinning and attended my ECV. Weeks passed and the time came for a scheduled a c-section. Mikki helped me cope with the first big challenge of parenthood -- making peace with things outside my control. She attended the birth and held my family's hand during surgery, helped me through recovery, and checked on us post-partum for breastfeeding and baby-wearing support. 

Knowing I had the most warm, personable, well-vetted mama at my side was an enormous reserve of strength and serenity for the transition to motherhood.

Rebecca Salava

12/5/2020

Michaela was our doula for our son that is now 6 weeks old. We hired her towards the end of my second trimester and she was incredibly supportive and quick to respond to all my questions throughout the 3rd trimester. Her at-home meetings before the birth were very informative and put us at ease. My labor ended up being somewhat traumatic due to unforeseen issues, but Michaela was such a source of strength and calm for both my husband and myself during the entire process. We are so grateful to have found her! I can't imagine having gone through that process without her.

Brooke Kronschnabel

6/8/2020

Mikki made everything so much better. For a nervous, first time parent there are a lot of questions. Thank goodness we had Mikki there to answer them! She was so helpful and always available to answer a text about some random birthing question I had.
During birth is when Mikki shined. I thankfully didn’t have any complications, but having Mikki’s smile there and encouraging words was amazing. She also gave me the courage to speak up for what I wanted during birth, something I probably wouldn’t have done if she wasn’t there.
Also- the photos! She took some photos and videos using my iphone that I would pay thousands for. I can’t believe I thought I didn’t want photos of the experience. They are our favorite photos to this date.
Thank you for everything Mikki!! We appreciate you and your passions.

Sean Greiner

10/31/2018

Michaela was amazing!  Coming from the male partner, don't hesitate in using Michaela as your doula.  It is worth it!   We originally weren't going to hire a doula as we had a midwife and I didn't fully understand why we needed a doula as well.  That would have been a big mistake!  Michaela was extremely helpful, knowledgable and supportive of us through our home birth experience.    I'm so thankful for Michaela and if we do decide to have another baby we would absolultey use her again.

Brieze Lafferty

10/31/2018

From the first interview we knew immediately we wanted to hire Mikki. She was so relaxed, friendly, funny, and easygoing! We were planning a home birth with our midwife, but knew we wanted extra support for both me and my partner, Sean- especially since this was our first baby. I was extra excited to hire Mikki because she was very familiar with home births and had two herself. Mikki was super flexible with our crazy schedules and taught us everything we needed to know in our two prenatal meetings. It was fun to get to know Mikki as well before the birth because whether we liked it or not, things were going to get very personal. :) I ended up having a very long early labor, and Mikki was there every time we called her. She ended up going above and beyond for us- coming to comfort me at all hours of the day and night of my 50+ hour labor. I am so happy we decided to hire Mikki and would hire her again in a heartbeat!

Shirley Seki

10/8/2018

My husband and I knew it wasn’t financially feasible for us to have a birthing center birth and we weren’t too sure how I’d be with a home birth. So having a hospital birth with a doula was a happy medium for us. We are so happy we found Mikki! She recommended we take the Bradley Method Classes. We took the class and met up with Mikki a month before our expected due date and we went over all the stages of labor, techniques, emotional sign posts and our birth plan(great refresher and exercise for us to know and explain our birthing plan).

On the day my water broke in the morning(small leak) we read and knew it was not necessary to rush to the hospital. I kept myself hydrated, monitored baby’s movements and went about our day taking it easy. Mikki was the extra affirmation my husband and I needed that were on the right track. She texted us through out the day to check in on us, encouraged us, and came in the knick of time as I transitioned to pushing stage at home and rushed to the hospital shortly upon her arrival. Mikki stayed calm consistent and steadfast throughout the whole laboring process. Just what I needed! When we got to the hospital, she even set up the delivery room with electric candles and made it so intimate and serene for me to continue laboring and have my husband a break a bit to grab a bite to eat. Her emotional support was huge!! And I loved how gracefully she managed the hospital setting. Staying firm yet respectful and supporting our birth plan all at the same time. All the while, managing to snap photos throughout the entire labor process! I was so impressed!! She was super! She is so humble she probably won’t tell you how awesome she is but I hope this review was helpful for whoever reading this that’s considering Mikki as a doula!

Erika Petty

7/31/2018

Our experience with Michaela (Mikki) was in short a truly momentous, amazing life experience.

Why we chose Mikki: She has a very relaxed easy way about her, she was totally relatable and right away felt like someone we would be friends with. I had been worried about doulas being too "granola" or pushing an all-natural-only agenda, but Mikki wasn't like that at all. She was very knowledgeable and didn't push any particular birthing strategy as "better", she was very open to what we wanted for our birth and provided info to help us decide preferences. We also felt like she offered a great value for her fee, including pre and post partum visits.

About our experience: The labor was long and difficult (48 hours total, 3 hours of pushing with a "tired" uterus and ineffective contractions, ending with a hemorrhage / placenta that wouldn't detach but also thankfully a healthy baby boy). Mikki was amazing through every part of it. It was so much longer than any of us could have anticipated, but she was steadfast through all of it. She was great in helping me get through really painful contractions (even after getting an epidural, towards the end they were just so painful). And I'm even more thankful for her coaching us through the pushing - I was so exhausted I was passing out in between each contraction but I couldn't have done it without her, my husband and the nurse all working together to get me to push harder than I thought I could have. She helped me uncover strength I never thought I had in me. She was so thoughtful and came to visit the next day to check on us (even though she had just come from another delivery right after ours!).

More important than the specifics about our particular experience and Mikki's services, our connection with her was so deep and real and the whole experience was truly spiritual and life changing. She felt like a sister to us and we are so thankful for the new friendship forged in such a special experience!

Mark Soulsby

6/23/2018

Michaela was phenomenal. Her skill and knowledge was vital to he success of our birth plan. Because of this, I was able to focus all of my attention on coaching my wife through the labor and not worry about changing positions or applying counterpressure, etc. I do not believe that our birth would have had even a tenth of the success without Michaela there. Her courage to push us and her grace to guide us through the process was a warm welcome in the difficult moments.

Kacie Soulsby

6/19/2018

My experience with Michaela Bell as my doula completely exceeded expectations. To be honest, I did not realize just how critical of a role she would play in the birth of our daughter. Though we took a birthing class, lactation class, and read numerous books, I can tell you that without Michaela there, our birth experience would not have gone according to our plan. Michaela was there to not only encourage me and my husband, but to remind me of what was important to us. She was so strong throughout that entire very long day. She helped me find different positions that helped with my intense back labor and helped relieve some of that pain with counter pressure, and massage. She also reminded both my husband and I to stay hydrated and fed. She took notes for us to look over after our daughter was here which was so special to me. Her experience with not only her own birth experiences, but also as a doula for many others, was evident in the labor and delivery room that day. My husband and I agree that having Michaela as our doula was a priceless and critical addition to our birth team.

Jillian Daignault

3/2/2018

My husband and I hired Mikki to be our doula for the birth of our first child and I can't imagine having gone through childbirth without her guidance and support. We met Mikki about a month before my due date and knew immediately she would be a great fit because of her calm, friendly, and easygoing demeanor. My labor ended up being very long and intense but Mikki managed to keep me grounded and focused the whole time so I could stay relaxed and make informed decisions. I ended up requiring pitocin and an epidural and even though those hadn't been part of my birth plan she helped me feel good about my choice to accept both. I was impressed by her ability to sense what I needed and when without me having to ask and there wasn't a single contraction she didn't help me work through. Despite having been with us at the hospital for almost 30 hours, Mikki stayed with me until I was comfortably settled into my postpartum recovery room and came to visit us a couple weeks later to check in and answer any questions we had. Overall, Mikki is simply a wonderful person who immediately felt like a friend and who I will be recommending to anyone looking for a doula!

Jessica Kennelly

2/27/2018

As a first time mom, the entire birthing process was foreign to me. Books and “friendly advice” would not have been enough to give me the experience I had. Mikki was beyond anything I could have hoped for. A calming presence the entire 30 hours of labor, an advocate for me when i didn’t know i needed one, and a smiling face when the 2 hours of pushing left me completely exhausted and defeated. In short, Mikki was my family when I most needed the unconditional support and love of a family. I highly recommend Mikki for any birthing experience, you will feel at ease and comfortable during the entire process.

Colton Kennelly

2/26/2018

As a first time father, I did not have a good understanding of pregnancy let along labor. As our pregnancy progressed I was able to find numerous books and online resources that help with pre and post pregnancy, but very little that discussed the actual labor.  This is where Michaela (Micki) came in, she sat down with us before the birth to discuss what to expect, as well as what to consider as we made our birth plan. Not only did this give myself a better understand, but it helped calm a lot of fears that my wife had. Additionally Micki was always there for us via text or phone call to answer any questions we may have.

Leading up to birth there were numerous days where my wife had braxten hicks, Micki was always threre to help us determine if they were real or braxten hick. When the day came, Micki came over to confirm that my wife was in labor and stayed with us until our son, William, was born. My wife did not have an easy labor, she labored for 29 hours, and pushed for 2 hours before having an emergency c-section. Micki was there for it all. She was well prepared at the hospital, bringing iced coffee, snacks, oils, and even a swiss ball. Stuff I did not even think about until we were in the hospital. Throughtout the night Micki was advoacting on our behalf to the nurses and doctors, helping coach my wife through contracts, suggestioning different positions to help relieve pain, and even suggesting questions we should ask the doctors. Overall Micki was a very calming influcen and was a great guiding hand as we navigated labor.

Since my wife and I do not live by family, Micki was like our family during the labor. I honestly do not know how we would of done it without her. My wife loved having her in the delivery room. My wife and I couldn't recommend her more.

Latifah Henry

7/8/2017

I had my heart set on a home birth with my twins, but unfortunately could not have one, due to changed laws in California. So changing my plans from home to a hospital was very scary. Thankfully, I had the best woman on my team, Michaela Bell. She came in towards the second trimester of my pregnancy and was available with any concerns I had. She came over numerous times and always made me feel like a priority! The day I gave birth she came over early in the morning and was on board the entire day. I went into labor at 4 am and the twins were born at 2 in the afternoon.She stayed by my side the entire time. She was my cheerleader, my voice when I needed her to be, and my ultimate saving grace during labor. There were a few pushy nurses and doctors, and i'm very quiet (especially while in labor) but she stood firm for me. I believe that birth went as smooth as it did because she was there, fighting for what I wanted. She knew my birth plan and helped me stay as close to it as possible. I had a dream natural labor with my twins, thanks to my amazing Doula! You would be crazy not to have her on your birth team! I cannot thank her enough for all the love, encouragement and support during the pregnancy and labor!

Becky Beltz

7/8/2017

I wanted Mikki to be my doula from the moment I met her. She was respectful, listened to my hopes, and made me feel confident she could support me in the ways I needed. I had a c-section for my first child. Mikki knew how much I wanted a natural VBAC for my second. Mikki spent tim helping me process my grief from not having the birth I wanted with my first child and listened to me process my fears about having to have a c-section again. Her ability to hold space to allow me to process my feelings allowed for me to move through my pregnancy from a place of hope. Mikki began meeting with my husband and I to talk about labor, what we needed, pain relief techniques, and more-her sense of humor and knowledge made us so comfortable. When we realized my baby was breech, Mikki helped me research ways to encourage my baby to turn. Mikki continued to remind me that my body was carrying a healthy baby and kept me focused on what was going right. My baby did not turn and I had to have another c-sec. Mikki let me grieve but continued to bring joy each time we met that I had a healthy baby. She came to the c-section and during the prep - she kept my husband and me laughing when needed, used oils and massage to relax me, and even gave space when needed. During the delivery, she held my hand when my husband was with our baby, she took pictures in an appropriate way when I didn't need her by my side, and she calmed my fears by checking in with nurses when I was getting worried about something. I did not have a doula for my first c-section and I can say that I am so glad I had her for the second. Having her there meant I did not have to be alone and reduced my fear and anxiety during the c-section greatly. After my son was born, Mikki stuck around to help him latch, make sure we were comfortable, and had what we needed. Mikki is amazing and I whole-heartedly recommend her to any family looking for a knowledgable, capable, kind support person to support their birth.