Jenny Putnam, CD(DONA), CLC Photo

Jenny Putnam, CD(DONA), CLC

Nesting Birth & Beyond

Newburyport, MA Service range 70 miles

https://www.nesting-birthbeyond.com

Birth Fee

$500 to $2000

Birth Fee

$500 to $2000


Birth Doula Experience

5 years and 82 births attended


Birth Doula Certifications

  • DONA International - Certified Birth Doula

Doula Training

  • DONA International-Approved Workshop, April 2018

Type of practice: Solo practice

Clients per month: 1 to 3

Attends hospital births? Some Hospitals
I attend births at most hospitals in eastern MA and southern NH. Exceptions are Winchester Hospital in Winchester MA, Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill MA, and Southern NH Medical Center in Nashua NH.

Attends birth center births? All Birth Centers

Attends home births? Some Home Births
I attend home births only when a licensed midwife is attending.


College Education

BA/BS


Special Services Offered

  • Abortion support
  • Acupressure
  • Antepartum doula support
  • Aromatherapy
  • Belly casting
  • Bereavement doula (pregnancy & infant loss)
  • Cancer patients and survivors
  • First Aid and CPR
  • Lactation consultant/counselor services
  • LGBTQIA+ Support
  • Miscarriage support
  • Photography - Birth
  • Reduced rates for women considering adoption
  • Stillbirth and infant loss support
  • Surrogates and intended parents
  • TENS units rental
  • Virtual and remote doula support

Training Documentation

credential


Relevant volunteer or advocacy work

I offer my doula services on a volunteer basis through the Connecting Young Moms program at Beverly Hospital, serving at-risk teens and young adults.

Fee Details

My fee range reflects the fact that I am a full spectrum doula and offer my services at a lower rate to those experiencing a late prenatal loss, planning to offer their baby for adoption, or seeking an abortion.

Service Area

Newburyport, MA Service range 70 miles

Certifications for Jenny Putnam, CD(DONA), CLC

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Certification

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Client Testimonials for Jenny Putnam, CD(DONA), CLC

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Rebecca

1/14/2024

I am very grateful to have found Jenny before the birth of my second child. I only wish I had realized the importance of involving a Doula before my first born. I have an incredibly supportive husband and family but my first birth experience was still mildly traumatizing. I say mildly because I so fortunately had a beautiful healthy boy that safely entered this world. While everyone I encountered was caring and mostly kind, what was hardest for me was learning about the hospital system and even how little my prenatal care seemed to be about my health. I found it to be overwhelming and my anxiety and stress built as I went through it. My husband and I were often at odds with my caretakers while trying to avoid interventions and hoping to remain unmedicated during labor. I had a 3 day induction leading to an epidural and coached pushing on my back without changing positions for hours (something I knew I wanted to avoid.) It ended in a 3rd degree tear still affecting me 2 1/2 years later.

For my second child I hired Jenny. Her care began early on and she listened (truly listened,) to all my concerns. She was also able to validate my concerns and grievances with the same evidence I'd been seeing and more. She is very knowledgable and this was really important to me in order to trust her advice. I was able to relax and feel less alone and defensive. I was able to let that first birth experience go and hope for a better one. She helped give my husband and I the confidence to avoid another induction and to advocate for ourselves. I ended up with an amazing birth experience. I was able to birth my second child without any interventions, just as I'd hoped, and I felt all the benefits of that. My postpartum experience was night and day. She's also very good at the hip squeeze pain relief technique! I highly recommend Jenny.

Rotzhauer

1/2/2024

We had an excellent experince working with Jenny for the birth of our first child. Jenny provided great resources prior to the birth and having her with us at the hospitial was invaluable. I gave birth at Wentworth Doublas hospitial, located in Dover, NH. Jenny was very familiar with the hospital and made us feel comfortable for our entire stay. During L&D she was critical-  providing support for both me and my husband, acting as a liaison between us and our nurse/ midwife/ doctor. Jenny was a true advocate for me, and helped to make the entire birth expirence calm and as relaxed as possible. 

Bethany Kacich

11/19/2023

We wanted to hire a doula because we knew that the medical outcomes were better for people who did. We knew we wanted to hire Jenny after getting a sense of her experience, her expertise, her commitment to her work, and her calming personality during the interview. My husband and I both felt comfortable sharing this most intimate experience with her. I am confident I would have chosen to get an epidural at some point in my 19-hour labor if she hadn’t been there providing acupressure and advising positional changes. It was an intense (and very painful) experience, but now that a few weeks have passed and my recovery has been smooth, I can say I'm glad I stuck with it and got the unmedicated birth I wanted. Jenny was present and attentive every step of the way, for both me and my husband. I would recommend her to any person or couple seeking nonjudgmental compassionate support before, during and after giving birth. 

Diana

12/7/2022

Jenny was a compassionate and accommodating doula for the birth of our firstborn back in Dec 2021. From the beginning of our process until post partum, she was a tremendous resource and kind partner to both my husband and I. She walked us through the process, answered all our questions and helped us navigate through our birth plan. I had a somewhat unique experience since I had Vasa previa and had to be admitted to the hospital 2 weeks prior to a scheduled C section.  Jenny made us feel empowered despite our situation and she reminded us that we are making the best decision for ourselves and our baby. Her calm and reassuring energy helped us through the entire day of my C section. Even though she could not join us in the surgery room (due to Covid restrictions), she was there to help us from our waiting room and in our post labor room with our newborn. Her guidance was much appreciated during post partum when we had struggled with sleep and recovery. We are so thankful for everything that she has done to make our birth experience a positive one. 

Aaron Homer

10/25/2022

Jenny's presence during the birth of our child was absolutely essential. My wife experienced significant medical complications while giving birth. Jenny's presence meant I was able to focus on holding, comforting and bonding with our new baby while confident Jenny was providing emotional support and comfort to my wife as she received emergency medical care.

Beyond her support during that intense situation, Jenny provided excellent advice and copious resource leading up to the birth. She also worked with my wife and the on-duty nurse throughout the birth process, working through different pushing positions and maximizing my wife's comfort.

We strongly endorse Jenny's doula services and remain deeply grateful to her.

Ruth Hartman

9/10/2022

Having Jenny as our doula was an absolutely incredible experience. Our labor and delivery of our baby boy was an empowering and amazing experience, mainly because of all the prep we did with Jenny and her support, both physical and emotional, throughout. She was so in tune with me during labor, so supportive and encouraging. She was a critical part of the team that helped bring our healthy baby boy into this world. Cannot say enough positive things about Jenny! She is so good at what she does and any birthing person and their partner would be lucky to work with her! I look back on my experience giving birth and just am so grateful to have had Jenny there. 

Tessa Creatini

3/4/2022

Jenny was a wonderful doula for us - I cannot recommend her highly enough. Our labor and delivery did not go according to plan and we kept having to make difficult decisions, Jenny was with us every step of the way. She went above and beyond for us. She is very knowledgeable and experienced. Jenny was also very communicative throughout the pregnancy and after delivery. 

Raef & Myrka Mikhail

12/30/2021

Father here. To be honest, I was reluctant to hire help but boy I was wrong. From the beginning, Jenny was extremely valuable with troves of excellent information and resources. Most importantly, she was awesome on the delivery day which took ~14 hours. She was on point every minute and contraction. Jenny helped us weigh our options for decisions we had to make and I, particularly, was very grateful she was by our side.

Susanne

12/3/2021

We got to know Jenny as wonderful, devoted, empathetic and very caring doula who supported me and my husband immensly during my last pregnancy in early 2021. My birth was planned as a natural birth and we did all the preparation for it with Jenny.  But during the last week of my pregnancy things changed and a C-section needed to be scheduled. Due to Covid-restriction we decided that my husband would come into the delivery room and then leave back home to take care of our older child. Jenny waited the whole day for us in the hospital (!) until my husband left and then jumped right into duty to take care of me and our newborn in the hospital. I was so happy to have her in the room with me. She stayed with me for four days in a tiny hospital room. Not only would she guide me through the early post partum stage, but we also shared some great conversations and laughter. In additon to her great care giving, Jenny has a broad network of fellow birth counselors, doulas, etc. and can help with EVERY upcoming question. We highly recommend Jenny as doula.

Sydney Mullen

11/5/2021

My husband and I were expecting our first child in late June 2021 and while we'd done as much research and taken all the virtual courses we could to feel prepared, we decided to choose a doula who could assist us in the process as we were still anxious. We're so glad we chose to go with Jenny and her recommendations! We met with her at our home to discuss our birth plan, concerns and questions and were very at-ease with her approach and manner. We felt respected, supported and encouraged as well as having peace of mind with her on our team. 

In the end, I was induced and gave birth one week after my due date which ended up being July 4th. Jenny had let us know she would be on vacation from July 3rd on and so had previously arranged for a backup doula, Rophe Mason, to meet and work with us ahead of time in case this situation arose. Rophe was a great choice for us and was close by to our hospital for being on-call the morning of the birth; she was a great support to myself and my husband and encouraged him in his coaching and in my labor techniques; and she really took charge in the birthing room making sure we were calm and informed of what was happening as well as speaking up for our wishes and working with the nurses through the entire process (which sped by in only 4 hours of active labor and birth!). 

We could not be more pleased with our choice of Jenny and her recommendation of Rophe and plan to use them again in the future. You'll be in the best hands with these caring and experienced professionals for your birthing needs!

A P

10/28/2021

We welcomed our 4th child into the world and we are so thankful that we had Jenny by our side as we did this! Jenny was so easy to work with and we knew her expereince and care was necessary to accomplish another unmedicated hospital birth. Jenny was always responsive to texts, calls and emails. She arrived quickly to the hospital when we called her and stayed by my side during labor, offering me snacks, water to drink, and refreshed water for the tub. She dimmed the lights and set out LED candles and brought me my favorite essentials oils to smell. She worked alongside the nurses seemlessly. What was truly invaluable was her encouraging and groundinig words durinig transition and pushing. She helped me refocus and direct the surges as we welcomed our child into the world! She knew just when to do this and said exactly what I needed to get thru that last bit. I wasn't expecting to need her hand to grasp tightly, but she offered it to me during some intense moments and that helped so very much! Meeting with Jenny after the birth was also so encouraging and helpful as we talked thru such an amazing birth experience. She also helped with several questions I had for postpartum care and health. Jenny knew we were experienced, since this was our 4th birth, and reinstilled that confidence in us but also brought a lot to the table that we knew we needed! We are so thankful that Jenny was a part of our child's birth story!

Alexandra Toner

7/30/2021

For me and my husband, having our first child during the pandemic was a daunting prospect, especially since the rest of our family lives on the west coast.  So we decided to hire a doula to assist us since we couldn't have either of our mothers support us in the hospital.  It turned out that hiring Jenny was one of the best decisions we could have made as expecting parents!  She was incredibly helpful during the weeks leading up to our daughter's birth and absolutely invaluable while I was in labor.  She soothed me while I was in pain from back labor contractions and she helped me get some much needed sleep before giving birth.  With her support, I managed to dililate to 7cm before having an epidural (which is impressive given my extremely low pain tolerence and speaks to Jenny's ability to help me cope!).  If you're a first-time mom and and you need a calming, soothing, caring person in your in your family's corner, then Jenny is your woman.  You will not regret hiring her!

Tanisha

7/27/2021

My husband and I used Jenny as our doula for our very first child born in May 2021. My main reason for a doula was to ask me with my mental health struggles that I was afraid I would have during labor and would interfere with the labor process itself naturally. Jenny is very knowledgeable and is very responsive whenever you have questions. If she doesn't know the answer, she always finds out from other reputable people she knows to get you the correct answer. She was always professional and headed straight to my delivery as soon as I requested she head to my hospital since my labor was progressing quickly! And she lives about 45min-1hr away from my hospital I gave birth at and she got there as quick as she could! Jenny is also not afraid to help you advocate for yourself and your birth goals during labor and stands behind her patients decisions 100% regardless if it's something she personally doesn't agree with! My husband and I are so grateful to have had her by our side and assistance our labor! 

Anuja S

9/17/2020

The Mary Poppins of Doulas

Choosing a doula is a very personal and important decision. I had a tough time choosing a doula for the birth of my second child as I wanted someone to truly support my birth and choices. I am evidence based and need hard facts for my decision making. From the moment I spoke to Jenny, I felt that she will support my choices and be there for me without judgement.  She embodied the meaning of doula - to support a birthing mother.

Jenny was interested in getting to know us personally, our medical history and choices. She is extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of birth. Jenny does not have an agenda, she heard what I hoped for/feared/worried about and translated it all into the support that I needed.

I met Jenny at the hospital when I had my planned C section. She was my ONLY support person in the hospital. I am forever grateful for her presence. She added to my confidence and joy I experienced. She comforted me and helped me stay calm. She knew when to speak and when to hold back. Having Jenny in the OR made me feel secure, focused, and positive throughout the operation. Thereafter, she stayed with me throughout my stay in the hospital. She was there for me like a family member. She comforted me, helped me nurse my baby, held my baby and  was there for me anytime I needed her. The hospital had graveyard schedule for newborn screening, Jenny would stay up to be with my baby as I did not want to leave my baby alone with the nurse. During my postpartum visit at the Obs office, the nurses mentioned how great she was to have in the room!

Jenny is truly passionate about what she does and being a doula is her calling. She is incredibly caring and compassionate person. My birth story wouldn’t have been the same without her. I don't know how we would have managed without her. I would recommend her to anybody who wants a doula as I am confident that you are in great hands.

Conor and Robin

9/15/2020

We decided to work with Jenny after a great interview, when we could tell right away that she was exactly what we were looking for. We were really looking for someone to suppor us and make us a stronger team, and at the same time be ready and available to address concerns as they came up. Since this was our first child, we were a little bit nervous and Jenny was the perfect match for us, helping to melt away all of our concerns as she prepped us for the birth of our son. 

Beyond, the preparations and serving as a resource, the most importnat thing that Jenny did was serve as an advocate for both of us, allowing us to have a wonderful experience. She was very calm and relaxed during the entire process and kept encouraging each of us to tackle our respective responsibilities, so that as everything was unfolding, we each had the best experience together and were able to focus on each other and the baby!

 

Jenny does a great job of understanding when to be involved and when to let the couple have their space. We felt that Jenny has a really good understanding and feel for a couple's dynamics and helps to highlight their strengths, during a very stressful time - which takes the stress away. We would reccomend Jenny to everyone having a baby, especially if you really want someone that understands how to guide a couple through the process and feel relaxed and closer than ever.

Beth & Marc Smith

7/18/2020

We decided to hire a doula because this was our first child and there was so much we didn't know about the process including the right questions to ask.  Jenny helped us to understand what the process would be like, she helped to design a birth plan, and she provided so many great resources including classes on hypnobirth, spinning babies, and breastfeeding.  All of this became so much more important as the pandemic grew and we had to find online resources due to cancellations of in-person classes.  While we couldn't have Jenny in the delivery room, we were in constant contact with her including a decision to induce labor due to hypertension.  She helped us to make decisions that were difficult and outside our birthplan but she didn't make them for us.  She gave us all the resources and support we needed to make the right decisions for us.  After returning home she continued to provide resources and support and checked in to make sure all was going well.  We never could have felt so confident and had such success had it not been for Jenny.  She was there every step of the way and we are grateful for that!

Rebekah Krieger

5/7/2020

Working with Jenny as our birth and postpartum doula was nothing but a positive experience.  With Jenny’s support and guidance I was able to have the unmedicated birth experience that I wanted. Jenny provided me and my husband with resources and evidence based information that we would not have otherwise had. She was hands on in helping my husband learn comfort measures to use during labor. His knowledge of these tools was so valuable when it came to us laboring at home as long as possible which we were able to do successfully. She introduced us to acupressure as well, which we practiced every night starting at 39 weeks. We think that it helped immensely in getting my labor started. Jenny was always available to me whenever I had questions or needed more information on something. She never pushed anything on me and was super supportive of all of our decisions. She provided a fantastic worksheet to help me write my birth plan and went over the final revisions with me to make sure I had considered all the fine details. During the uncertain times of covid-19, Jenny took all precautionary measures to keep us safe and even reached out to the hospital to make sure her presence would be allowed during my labor and delivery. Jenny reassured me that what I was going through during labor was normal and that I was safe. She held my hand and talked me through effective breathing and pushing. With her help I gave birth to our beautiful baby boy with minimal interventions and time spent at the hospital. She also offered me a ton of postpartum resources and support. Jenny has such a calming presence which really helped me focus on the work that needed to be done to get through labor. Jenny is a naturally kind and caring person. I highly recommend her services to anyone looking for support during their pregnancy, labor and postpartum period. Thank you Jenny!

Kate

3/30/2020

We had a great experience working with Jenny! She was extremely responsive throughout pregnancy when any questions came up. Our meeting with her to talk about our birth wishes and to go over strategies for labor was super helpful - it helped us think through our plan and preferences and gave us some great tools for when labor started. Jenny was a wonderful resource during labor itself for both my husband and me. She suggested some more techniques for us when things started to get intense and helped both of us stay calm and know that what was happening was ‘normal.’  This was true at home and at the hospital, where Jenny also helped us advocate for ourselves and communicate with the providers. We are so happy to haven been able to work with her and highly recommend her!

Anne Gutmann

1/15/2020

Jenny’s calm, steady presence and encouragement allowed me to get through labor without painkillers. The fact that she stayed by my side, held my hand, and talked me through each contraction made all the difference. I couldn’t have done it without her. Thank you, Jenny!

Sarah

10/15/2019

Working with Jenny was one of the best decisions my husband and I made. She helped me accomplish a drug free, natural hospital birth and it couldn’t have been a more wonderful experience! Her kind, trusting, & compassionate nature helped me feel at ease and comfort during labor. She was a wonderful addition and I highly recommend her services.

Mira

10/7/2019

I loved Jenny's profile. So, my husband and I asked Jenny to help with the delivery of our first child (a baby girl). Jenny met with us and helped with information regarding breathing techniques, exercises on the birthing ball and other details regarding the birth delivery. She also showed my husband how to help with alleviating the pain during contractions. I was induced in the hospital and my contractions started in the middle of the night. Jenny was checking on me regularly and she came to the hospital after we called her (after midnight). This night is a blur but I don't think I could have done it without Jenny. She was encouraging me and helping me to get through all the contractions. Eventually I gave up and asked for epidural. Thanks to the fact I was walking every free minute and doing the exercises on the birthing ball (shown by Jenny) in the hospital my baby girl was in perfect position and I pushed for 20 minutes. Jenny helped us with the most precious moment of our lives, delivering our daughter. Jenny is a very nice person and very knowledgeable. I felt very supported as Jenny was always available for my questions. I learn a lot from her. We are still in touch. It is amazing when you could find someone as wonderful as Jenny for your doula.
I highly recommend Jenny as a doula!

 

Mark Carlson

5/23/2019

My wife and I hired Jenny to help us through our first birth experience and we are so glad that we did.  After a lot of difficulty conceiving, we wanted to make sure the birth of our first child went as smoothly as possible.  

Jenny met with us several times and made sure we had all of the available resources and support that we needed.  Her advice, gentle encouragement, and caring were greatly appreciated.  

The birth plan that we carefully drew up together quickly went right out the window in our case, and the birth did not go as expected at all, but Jenny was there to guide us through the worst of it.  You just never know what life will bring.  In the end we were blessed with a healthy happy baby boy!

Thank you Jenny for everything.  We will always remember what you did for us.  

Jessica Ortega

4/28/2019

In a few words, Yenny is wonderful and so helpful to me! I had two meetings before my son was born. When I first saw Yenny, she was very polite and informative, she asked me about what was my desired birth experience and what kind of things I wanted to have in my delivery day, then in the second meeting we discussed my birth plan and she gave me a binder with very helpful advice about everything I needed to have an excellent experience in my delivery day (some of these are not available in books that I read). Because I went over the due date by 12 days, she was always in touch with me, and when I was admitted into the  hospital (because I lost amniotic fluid) she came and stayed with me. She was aware of all decisions that nurses and midwifes decided with me and lend me artificial candles, an aromatic diffuser, handouts and little things that made a huge difference during my early and active labor. She wasn't with me all night because my husband helped me at that time, but she always said to me that she was available whatever time I needed her. Her suggestions about changing positions and sweet voice was very helpful to me during my four (nearly five hours) pushing stage that gave me strenght to not give up. Finally my son Daniel was born vaginally with 10 pounds 3 ounces! I was so surprised with his weight and size (23 inches long). I definitively recommend her!

Birth Availability for Jenny Putnam, CD(DONA), CLC

= Available. Calendar last updated: 03-28-2024