Jade

1/21/2024

We were originally a couple that was not looking to hire a doula. As a young, healthy pregnancy who was under the supervision of a midwife i was not sure the service would benefit us and the cost was something we were aware of so close to welcoming a baby. After hearing a friend's positive experience and weighing out our options we proceeded with hiring Sarah at her recommendation. I am so glad that we had her! She has a wonderful calm demeanor, and I found an even mix between holistic and medical based care. I never felt judged for wanting an epidural or hospital birth, and her ability to be able to explain things in an easy to digest way was comforting. She showed me how to hand express properly and collect colostrum, which was very helpful. Going in to labour can feel very scary and to have her in my home through the early stages with my husband and I creating a very calm environment, showing us ways to cope through contractions and new ways to relieve pain was something we were both so thankful for. If not for her we would have gone to the hospital 4-5 hours sooner and certainly been sent home. She was present through the birth and helped create a calm environment in the hospital as well. She had great rapport with my mideife. She offered support to myself and my husband - having someone there who's entire job is to support you is so comforting. After the baby came she stayed with us until we were settled in the next ward. We have seen her once so far postpartum - she helped us through our first bath, how to properly babywear, and making sure I was doing well emotionally and talking through the birth experience, which wasn't something I had realized I needed but felt much lighter afterwards. I am so glad we decided to go with Sarah in the end and would recommend her services to anyone asking. If it is something you can manage financially it is 100% worth investing in your comfort and feeling safe for what can be a scary and totally unknown experience.

Kim and Jarrett Penny

9/25/2023

My wife and I were looking for a doula who was attentive but not overbearing and Sarah was the perfect fit. She had the amazing ability to be there when we needed her but knew our boundaries without us having to tell her. We had done plenty of reading and preparation for the birth of our daughter so we were mostly looking for emotional support, advice, and for someone to answer questions when they came up. Sarah was capable, knowledgeable and willing to give us these things without lecturing us on stuff we already knew. She let us lead the conversation and ask questions so we didn’t feel like we were being talked at instead of listened to. We wanted a more laid back approach and Sarah was perfect.

When it came to the big day Sarah was extremely helpful in getting us through the final stages of labouring at home (shout out to the TENS machine) and getting to the hospital. She was with us throughout the birth and gave great advice on all the issues that came up. She also took great notes and photos which we greatly appreciated after the fact as it was not something we had put much thought into.

Through postpartum, Sarah was able to help us with early breastfeeding issues and was available if we needed her for minor things around the house, to catch up on sleep, or for helping with guest visits.

All in all, our experience with Sarah was superb and exactly what we were looking for.

Kaitlin

9/7/2023

We hired Sarah as our doula for our first birth after interviewing quite a few different people - She was up-to date and knowledgeable with the latest research in obstetrics but was also open-minded to a more holistic approach and came across as extremely competent and caring. 

This she was, in spades!  We didn't have much of a birth plan but we had plenty of questions about different types of births, and she was able to walk us through each one and answer our seemingly millions of questions with patience and care. 

On the day of, she was supportive of both my partner and myself, she took care and time to talk us through each and every decision we had to make, and she didn't leave my side. She provided my partner with tips and ideas of how to support me and made recommendations for positions without feeling pushy. She was the perfect mix of gentle but firm, advocated for me when I wasn't sure of myself, and held the space beautifully.  

This being my first birth, I wasn't entirely sure what kind of support I would need throughout. Sarah went above and beyond to make myself and my partner comfortable before, during, and after with support, knowledge, and genuine care for ourselves and the beautiful babe we brought into the world. 

Joy

5/26/2022

Sarah is an absolute angel. 

We hired Sarah in January-March 2022 for postpartum overnight help with our third child and she started a few days after the birth. She was incredible. She would put him down for the night and manage any wake ups, bringing him to me to feed, helping me with meds, water, snacks, you name it. I slept better knowing that she was taking care of the newborn. Her vibe is exactly what you want in the post birth, sleep deprived haze of early motherhood. 

This was a game changer. I wish I'd found her earlier and hired her for help with my first two babies!

Sarah and Travis

4/20/2022

We had a wonderful experience with Sarah McCabe as our childbirth educator this past week! We completed private virtual classes with Sarah over two evenings, and she went above and beyond to ensure we covered all of our personalized requirements. Sarah provided us with both birth and newborn care education, in addition to local knowledge about the birthing context and community here on the Lower South Island. 

As a couple experiencing our first pregnancy and anticipating the birth of our first child, we felt childbirth education was a vital part of our preparations for birth and early parenthood. Sarah patiently and compassionately addressed our individual and collective questions and concerns over the course of our classes together. We now truly feel knowledgeable about the many paths our birth experience make take, and empowered to maintain our autonomy and practice informed consent throughout. We feel confident about caring for our newborn and navigating our planned breastfeeding journey with success and support!

We happily and enthusiastically recommend Sarah as a birth educator! We found Sarah to be kind, personable and supportive throughout our time together. Sarah actively practices awareness of intersectionality and is an LGBTQIA2S+ friendly and competent provider. We can't wait to share our birth story with Sarah and hope to work together again in the future.

Lucas Poole

5/20/2021

Where to begin. Sarah was amazing. To be honest I dont know how we would have managed without her. My partner and I were lucky enough to use Sarah as our pre natal educator. Not only was this education extremely useful in preparing us for the big day, but it was fun! We could really tell that Sarah was experienced and passionate about education. Eventually the time came for us to bring our kiddo into the world. As promised, Sarah made herself available at all hours of the day. We called her around 2:30 AM and she was at our door by 3:30 AM. When she arrived their was a collective sigh of relief. As the birth partner, Sarah let me focus 100% of my energy on helping my wife. I now take a great deal of pride in the role that I was able to play in the birth of my child. Thank you for this Sarah. The way that she supported both of us was incredible. When I had to tap out of the hip squeeze, she taped in! When neither of us were feeding ourselves, there she was there with grapes and apples. When my wife needed extra encouragment, there was Sarah, reminding my wife to breath effectivly. I cannot say enough about the role that Sarah played in making the birth of our first child incredibly positive. I will leave you with an anicdote. The time came for us to move from our home to the hospital. We all loaded into our car and headed out. Sarah and my wife were in the back seat while I drove. Once we arrived at the hospital, I stopped in a no parking zone as close to the entrance doors as possible. My wife and I then hopped out of the car and made our way towards the delivery room. For what ever reason I had the car keys in my pocket. From about 20 feet away Sarah politely asked us for the keys. I blindly threw them in her general direction. It was a horrible throw BUT she caught them. Great catch Sarah! She then found us a great parking spot, grabbed what ever we had left in the car, and met us in the delivery room. Thank you so much Sarah!

Sydney McCabe

5/17/2021

Our first impression of Sarah was how warm and easy she was to talk to. She has a beautiful energy about her and her passion in women’s health and the birth is evident.  She listened to every detail and responded with kindness. She took her time and gave you all the time you needed. We never felt judged for the decisions we made.

We were impressed with her level of knowledge and education on labour, the birthing process and postpartum. There were so many things I learned from her that contributed to our beautiful birthing experience. Example, the golden hour. This meant so much to us. We felt like we could really trust her to be apart of such a life changing/huge moment in our lives.

My favorite part about the whole experience was how comfortable my partner was with Sarah. Sarah gently taught my partner how to support me during labour and the birth. We were the most incredible team. The midwives were blown away.

I had the most beautiful birthing experience and I attribute a lot of that to Sarah. She handled the whole experience with such grace. She supported us both without being told what to do. She supported the midwife during the home birth process.

I remember her soft voice helping me through each contraction and her getting my partner a chair and making him drink water. 

Her multitasking was so impressive! She was able to give me water, chap stick, speak soft encouraging words to me, fan me AND capture our daughter first cry ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

During the golden hour, she was a little fly on the wall. She documented important information that she knows I would want to have.

Having Sarah during the postpartum period was crucial.  Sarah’s overnight help allowed us to get some sleep so we could be the parents we needed to be for our newborn. She did our laundry, cleaned, and cared for our daughter with ease. She was our superhero.

Jen

4/5/2019

Sarah is an amazing doula! She brought such a calm and reassuring vibe into the delivery room with us. Sarah knows everyone at the hospital, which made us feel like we were among friends. I laboured most of the night without epidural and could not have done it without Sarah. She always knew exactly what to say and what to do - to calm you down, to relieve pain... She spent time going over our birth plan so that we would be mentally prepared. She has so many resources to support the birthing person and their partner. We had great discussions after the birth which helped us process the experience. I highly recommend Sarah McCabe - she is a super Doula!!!