Heather K

7/17/2023

I hired Chaney for my second pregnancy/birth after a traumatic first birth and transition into motherhood. My main goals were to go unmedicated in labor and set myself up for a better experience postpartum.

Given the circumstances surrounding my first birth, I had a lot to process the final weeks of my pregnancy, and Chaney was available and supportive in all of that. Through setbacks with an extremely unsupportive provider, frustrating late test results (I was GBS+ and concerned about what that might mean for my labor plan!), and prodormal labor, I had an additional person to lean on in those final months and weeks. I was so thankful for that, because not all doulas are (understandably!) so available and supportive before labor.

The night I went into labor actually started with my water breaking (darn it! I didn't want to head in yet!). Only a few short hours later, I was powering through powerful contractions. By the time Chaney arrived at our house, it was clear it was time to head to the hospital. Somehow my provider didn't save my birth plan, so Chaney took care of that, protecting my birth space for my husband and I to continue the laboring we had established. I wasn't long at the hospital before baby made their entrance, and was put right on me. Chaney took some pictures I still like to look back at today and am thankful to have, especially as I was not about to hire a birth photographer (nor was there space in that tiny room!). Chaney supported me in my birth preferences, even when I started begging for an epidural or c-section, and overall helped me and my partner come together as a team in this birth, facing the hardest and (second!) scariest thing we've done together in such a way that brough us so much joy, love, and gratitude. I'm still on a birth high almost a year later! I recommend Chaney for anyone who needs that extra emotional support and reminder of their own power. It was instrumental in our positive experience.

Ellie McEachern-Kilcoyne

2/11/2022

We could not have asked for a better doula or friend. We initally sought doula care because of the isolation of the pandemic. We wanted assistance preparing for labor and postpartum and navigating the birth of our first child in an uncertain world. Chaney's calming, wise presence was a godsend. We thought we were pretty informed on birth before meeting with Chaney but the difference she made not only in our knowledge base but in our ability to trust birth was incredible. Any questions we faced along the way, Chaney was there not to judge or give answers but to provide a wealth or resources so that we could build on our own knowledge and come to trust our own judgement-- something that was vital in the delivery room. She also helped us to consider labor not only as a series of boxes to check off but as a unifying, spiritual experience. When it came time to deliver, Chaney was an expert at keeping the energy of the room conducive to labor. When we needed space to think, Chaney provided it. When we needed rest, pain relief, laughter, music, she was able to provide all of that without pulling focus from birth. Our beautiful, 9 pound 7 oz baby was born exactly the way we'd envisioned and we still talk to this day about how perfect and beautiful labor was. That is so much thanks to Chaney.