Britney Privett

5/15/2023

Working with Kathy was a pleasure. After my initial consultation with Kathy I knew she was going to be a good fit because of her evidence based approach as well as her mix of warmth and assertiveness. I wasn't sure what I wanted at first, but after some time and doing some research I had a rough idea. Kathy took a good amount of time having a conversation with me about what I wanted and approaches that I could take during my birthing time. Our pre-natal in person meetings were incredibly helpful. She came to my house and showed my husband and I different positions and approaches we could take to move the baby into position and provide me some relief during labor. She also spent a lot of time explaining labor and the birthing process, what we'd experience (in general), and how we could bring labor along. Prior to the second visit I found out that I had high blood pressure. She spent this visit talking about what would happen if I needed to be induced, ways to naturally induce induction (dates and tea!), and accupressure points to promote induction. When the birthing time did come, we called Kathy and she joined us at the hospital promptly. She supported me and my decisions and promoted my asking of questions during the process. I had a few situations where we thought I would end up needing a C-section. Kathy continued to support my taking of time and making decisions that resulted in the vaginal birth of my son. She made sure I understood all options that were presented to me, talked with me through each approach, and made it clear that all things were options. One of my favorite memories of this experience was at the end of pushing when I was told I would need an episiotemy - the doctor held up scissors - Kathy asked me if I understood what was going on and that it was a choice. I was able to bring my son out with one more push and did not need the intervention! I highly recommend Kathy to anyone looking for a supportive and thourough doula. 

Amanda

5/30/2022

We had a wonderful experience with Kathy as our birth doula and wholeheartedly recommend her. Leading up to the birth, Kathy was very responsive and helpful, checking in with us and sending useful resources as needed. Kathy joined us at the hospital when I was transitioning to active labor and worked tirelessly by my side from around 6pm until our daughter was born at 4:45am, including over an hour with her pants rolled up in the shower with me. She used her expertise in spinning babies techniques to help me continue to get into active labor which helped me to avoid labor augmentation (pitocin). With her help, I was able to have the unmedicated birth I wanted. Kathy worked well with my partner and the hospital staff and helped to create a calm environment. Kathy always had what was needed: a helpful mantra, a snack, combs to help manage the pain, acupressure techniques, etc. Though we didn't have a chance to meet in person before the birth (we we fortunate she was available last-minute), Kathy instantly made us feel comfortable and cared for. If I get pregnant again, Kathy will be the first doula I call!

Amber James

11/2/2021

Let me start this off by simply saying Kathy is absolutely wonderful. The birth of my son was horrible and traumatic to say the least. So for the birth of my daughter, I knew I wanted a better experience. And part of what was going to make that experience better was hiring a doula.   Kathy was so supportive of my birth preferences and how I wanted my birth to go. She made myself and my husband feel validated and heard when it came to our feelings about the birth of our son and how we wanted this birth to be different. During the birth, Kathy was such an amazing support for not only me, but my husband too. Not only was she a great support person, but she also made sure that we understood what was happening when things took a little bit of a scary turn. Even though the birth didn't go exactly as I had planned, I still felt incredibly empowered by it and it was a very healing experience. Kathy is a large part of why I'm so happy with how my overall birth went. Having her as part of my birth team was one of the best decisions I've made. She truly is wonderful. 

Erin McCabe

8/12/2021

Kathy was our back up doula and we could not be happier with her support. The change came in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and while we had met Kathy once in person, she was so reassuring and supportive as she stepped into primary role for us. I was 9 days late and Kathy was checked in at just the right times, offering the simplest advice that meant so much. 

During our labor, Kathy provided so much both at our house and at the birth center. She offered hands on work while I was having pain with contractions, she provided releases with a rebozo scarf, she gave words of support and visualization when I was distracted by pain, she had essential oils for use later in labor, and she was extremely supportive for my husband throughout as well giving him advice, trading off hands on support, reminding him to eat, and so much more. Most importantly, Kathy gave us space and reminded my husband and I of the intimacy of this time which meant so much to us.

After 12 hours, we did transfer to the hospital and Kathy was unable to stay with us there, but before she left she offered the hospital staff key information in my progression of labor thus far. Finally after our labor and delivery, she followed up with a printed version of her notes with time points which was so amazing to review and piece together my labor afterwards with more detail than I had in the moment.

We highly recommend Kathy's services and had a wonderful experience working with her.

Emily

11/17/2020

We are so grateful to have had Kathy as our doula!  She gave us a variety of techniques, food wisdom about dates, and accupressure points all of which I think helped our confidence in the delivery of our firstborn... just 45 minutes after we reached the hospital!  She has lots of great information to share and was a steadfast presence and sounding board throughout my pregnancy!

Caitlin and Alex

12/20/2019

We were absolutely thrilled to have Kathy as our doula. Kathy is a calming and wise presence in the labor and delivery room. She has a lot of experience working at DHMC and she gets along wonderfully with the nurses and midwives there. I really felt that they were all on the same team, which helped Kathy to navigate us through the birth process. One can tell that Kathy is a lifelong learner. She has put a lot of effort into learning about the body mechanics of pregnancy and birth. This was my second pregnancy and labor. With my first, I experienced 22 hours of back labor, which I was desperate not to experience again. Kathy used her knowledge to guide me on how to prepare myself for childbirth so that I would hopefully avoid back labor. During labor, when my contractions started to go to my back, Kathy had techniques that would alleviate the back labor. The relief was so instantaneous, it was like magic! Kathy also has many strategies for natural pain management, my favorite being the metal birth combs. During labor, she was always right there, present, responsive to what I needed, and guiding my husband to help me. She even brings honey (from her own bees!!) to provide energy during labor! After our son was born, she stayed with us to help us process what happened and make sure we were settled, which we liked as she didn't just run off, but helped us process the amazing event that just occured. With Kathy, we were able to have a truly wonderful birth experience. 

Alex and Erin

6/3/2019

Kathy is an amazing, thoughtful, present, kind doula!!!

Erin and I had been living overseas for 10 years so going back to America to have a baby in an unfamiliar medical system was scary to us. We wanted to have someone with us that would help navigate the medical system to enable us to make decision that were best for our situation. Kathy was very accommodating during our initial calls and instantly made us feel confident that we had made the right decision in hiring her to be our support. Our follow up meetings enabled us to get to know each other better and for Kathy to start to teach us some skills. Kathy was up to date on the most recent “tools” such as spinning babies’ and hypnobabies which we were able to practice with her even before the birth.

Kathy was always patient with us and really took the time to tailor our sessions to fit our needs- and even connected us to her network to find us birthing classes and parenting lessons.  During the delivery Kathy worked tirelessly with me (the partner) to go through every single tool in her toolbox to provide comfort to Erin. It was an incredible experience with Kathy and as prepared as I thought I was for Erin’s labor; I was so grateful to have someone with me to try different positions at just the right time.

Kathy helped take the pressure off the unknown and helped keep me focused and energetic, she gave me the confidence to be more involved! I was even able to catch our son and cut the cord! Without Kathy, I don’t think I would have had the courage to do so.

Kathy added her special “touch” to our experience bringing essential oils, snacks and even honey from her own bees! Her kindness, love and warmth made Kathy an incredibly selfless person who made our experience extra special. I’m so happy that Kathy was there to share our experience with us and I can’t imagine it without her!

Jeremy Lambeth

5/15/2019

Preparing for our first birth, we knew requesting Kathy to be our doula was going to be one of the best decisions we could make. From the moment we met, Kathy impressed us with her listening skills, knowledge, and compassion. Her sense of humor was delightful and her ability to advocate for our interests was critical. We had a challenging birth experience, but Kathy was with us, she exceeded our expectations for support, and together we successfully delivered our daughter. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for a dependable, caring friend during their pregnancy.

Alexis Steel

12/18/2018

We hired Kathy for the labor and delivery of our first son, and her companionship was invaluable. I didn't know precisely beforehand exactly what she would be doing - but now, I can't imagine the experience without her. I had a long, enduring induction, and Kathy's expertise in various techniques such as Spinning Babies and other tools eased the many chapters and transitions of my labor. She played a very active role, and seemed to always know how to help at just the right times. She is personable, sets you at ease in a difficult and can-be-scary time of your life, and, most importantly, values you, your decisions, and your knowledge. I was most impressed by Kathy's ability to make sure I felt in control, that I knew what interventions were happening and why, and that I didn't feel like things were being done to me but rather stepped in with a word or question to me to make sure I wasn't overwhelmed at overwhelming times.

I thoroughly recommend Kathy. Hiring a doula took a bit of convincing for my husband, but she is exactly what we both needed.

Esther Walker

5/19/2018

Kathy was a calming and reassuring presence throughout our labor. We talked with Kathy by phone to learn more about her approach a few weeks before delivery - she shared helpful resources with us about preparing for labor, and clearly explained the role that she could play during the process. I had been skeptical about whether a doula might be helpful, but after talking with Kathy I knew that she could add immeasurably to our experience--and she did. Once labor had been induced, she showed me helpful positions, how to use the ball and peanut, provided relaxing massages to help reduce my anxiety, and was a calming presence in the room. My experience was so positive that I wrote to a friend in another state who was also close to delivery to encourage her to consider working with a doula. If my husband and I ever prepare to welcome another child, we will seek out Kathy's services again.

Sara Goldstein

4/29/2018

We are forever grateful that we had Kathy as our doula during our birthing experience!  It absolutely would have been much harder without her.  From the first time we met her and throughout our birthng journey she was incredibly supportive, thoughtful, calming, skillful and informative.  I was able to email her with questions when they came up, and she made sure to answer them thoroughly.  She was also a huge support for my husband, allowing him to rest during my birthing as her focus was purely on me.  I would highly recommend Kathy to anyone- she was amazing!!