Caleb & Susy Johnston

10/14/2024

Leigh was our doula for the birth of our first child and we couldn't have asked for a better doula!! Leigh has an incredible range of experience to draw from and does an excellent job of understanding the parents' goals and desires and building a plan for that. She met with us before and after the pregnancy to help understand our needs and answer questions, and she stayed with us through the entire labor process which was 24+ hours long! Leigh was an incredible help to us in navigating the medical team's input, and suggestions, and allowing us the space we needed. We strongly believe she helped us avoid a C-section and also feel very positive about the interventions we did chose to use. 10/10 would highly recommend to anyone looking for a doula. Thanks, Leigh!! 

Blair Javidan

10/7/2024

Having Leigh as part of my team during labor was a great decision. She is extremely knowledgable and went above and beyond to help me manage the discomforts of labor, i had a very long labor and she was tirelessly there for me every step of the way, she is also very personable, making it enjoyable to spend time with her during the many many hours at the hospital. I am a first time mom and had a lot of questions and Leigh was there to ease my concerns at any time of day (or night) and quickly responded to me on text or phone to put my mind at ease. When my labor was not progressing for multiple days, she came to my house and gave me exercises and advice to help me, and was also a great emotional support for me. She also recently became a mom, and shared a lot of her learnings with me post partum which was great since she recently went through the same experience. I highly recommend Leigh for anyone looking for a doula that is knowledgable, dedicated, and also personable.

Katie & Pablo

5/13/2024

Leigh was fantastic to work with, and I would highly recommend adding her to your birth team! She made herself availble for any questions we had leading up to the birth, and after the birth, and was always so quick and knowledgeable in her response.  Her relaxed, calm, comforting and personable personality was a great fit for my husband and I.  During my son's birth I felt very supported and well coached.  She advocated for my original birth preferences when I was too tired to do so - and I'm so thankful for this in the end!  

Shannon

4/23/2024

Leigh was my doula for the birth of both of my daughters. She accompanied me at the hospital and I couldn't have done it without her. She was an excellent advocate and made me feel so much less anxiety with her support. 

Brad Walker

3/22/2024

Wow! My wife and I are SO pleased with Leigh – we just can't imagine our birth experience without her. She was so supportive, personable, compassionate, and knowledgeable! She stuck with us through a long induction process; she was a pleasure to hang out with for hours on end. She was very responsive via text, and she helped us talk through every option along the way so we could make the best decisions for our family. We would highly recommend Leigh to ANYONE who is looking for a doula!

Michelle Rock

6/29/2023

My husband and I chose Leigh through a recommendation from our Midwives and found it to be one of the most important decisions we made during our pregnancy. Leigh was incredibly helpful when it came to getting a second opinion on concerns that popped up towards the end of my pregnancy. She was very thoughtful, caring and supportive in her responses, providing lots of evidence based information to go along.  I had planned on a natural birth, which she coached my husband and I through for many hours and when things took a turn and interventions were discussed and eventually became necessary, she pivoted and supported us both through that. I can't imagine doing pregnancy and labor without Leigh's support. She was such a crucial part of our experience :-) 

Ken Kuhn

4/7/2023

Leigh McBride is incredible! We interviewed a few doulas before choosing her and she clearly stood out to us as a good fit because she was well-prepared, confident, empathetic, and direct.

As a birth partner who had done a ton of research once we found out that we were pregnant, no amount of reading prepares you to navigate the hospital system, interpret unknown concepts presented by nurses and doctors, or come up with another idea of how to comfort your partner when they've been laboring for twelve hours and have worked through everything that you two had "planned."

This is where a good doula comes in and Leigh was everything we hoped for and more. Leigh is a fount of knowledge on all things pregnancy. Have a breech baby that needs to turn head down in order to avoid a c-section? Leigh came over and walked us through Spinning Babies positions that naturally helped the baby reposition in the womb. Need someone to interpret a late pregnancy diagnosis and talk through the pros and cons of getting induced? Leigh was able to talk us through the risks and give us confidence in the decisions we needed to make to navigate our induction well. Need someone to stay with, comfort, and care for the birthing parent when the birth partner needed to follow the baby who needed to be check out by the NICU nurses? Leigh was there at that moment too.

You can see how these needs are obviously specific to our situation, but the key takeaway is that Leigh was able to advocate for and guide us through every up and down that we experienced during our pregnancy. We are so thankful that we had her around and will definitely be calling her when our family grows once again.

Miriah Barry

3/9/2023

Look no further! I highly recommend Leigh and we hope to work with her again when we have our next child! I would describe Leigh as personable, informative, and comforting and these qualities really elevated our birth experience. We had to pivot and change the birth plan while in labor and in this critical moment Leigh was able to explain all of our options to help us make the best decision possible. We do not feel we would have had such a great birth experience without Leigh. Not all people can be great in this role--but Leigh truly is.

Michelle

2/3/2023

We are so thankful to have had Leigh as part of our birth journey! She made me feel so supported in my decisions and was so knowledgeable in all things birth. Having her insights  and positive presence made a huge difference for us, even when we needed to make last minute decisions that weren't originally in our birth plan. Because of her, I have been able to reflect on our birth story in a positive way and feel confident in all the decisions that were made. Thank you Leigh!!

Franny

11/23/2022

We loved working with Leigh! She stood out from the other doulas we interviewed for her deep experience and knowledge and upbeat/cheerful style that made us immediately comfortable. We felt totally supported and much more prepared going into the birth experience thanks to Leigh. She asked thoughtful questions and helped us craft a birth plan that felt right for us, was very responsive to all of our questions in the lead up to the birth, and then was a huge support through actual labor. Would wholeheartedly recommend her and hope to work with her again if we have more children!

Aubrey Chavez

11/22/2022

We just had our first baby and we are so thankful we chose Leigh to be our doula! She exceeded our expectations when it came to her knowledge, communication, and presence, especially on the day our daughter was born. Particularly, we were impressed with Leigh's ability to take charge in certain scenarios, such as setting pre labor expectations, and through her ability to help comfort us during the birthing experience. Leigh was 100% committed as she was always available to answer our call, day and night, and would check in with us regularly to ensure we had the best experience possible!

We are so glad to have had you in our corner Leigh!

Aubrey + Dave

Lexy & Chris

11/22/2022

Hiring Leigh was the best decision I made my entire pregnancy! It truly would not have been the same experience without her. Leigh was supportive and sensative to my needs all while advocating for us with hopsital staff. Having her there allowed my husband to be very hands-on & supportive throughout labor and made it an amazing experience for us both. She stayed with us for 19 hours of active labor and was absolutely steadfast the entire time. Her knowledge pre & post birth has been invaluable and we are so thankful for everything she has shared with us throughout our journey. We are both so thankful for Leigh & never want to birth a baby without her!

Nicole and Drew

9/27/2022

We had the BEST experience working with Leigh. This was our first child and Leigh did a fantastic job preparing us for the birthing process. She was incredibly knowledgeable, personable, and always available. Together, we created a unique birth plan tailored to our birth preferences which made us feel empowered heading into labor. During the delivery process she integrated seamlessly with our medical team and took the lead with suggesting laboring positions and coping techniques. We had an amazing team of doctors and nurses but I truely think Leigh was the key factor in my positive birth experience. We cannot say enough positive things about working with Leigh. She is simply the best. 

Summer Cooke

9/14/2022

We were lucky enough to find Leigh and hire her as our Doula to bring our baby boy into the world on August 29th 2022. From our initial interview, the prenatal visits, our birth, postnatal visit and placenta encapsulation, Leigh felt like family and offered the exact support and strength that we needed through our journey. Her energy was always gentle yet assertive and confident which made us feel so much more comfortable through the whole process knowing that she was there as our support and our advocate. She is excellent at what she does, and we would highly recommend her to anyone in search of a professional, caring, and experienced Doula! THANK YOU LEIGH!!!

-Summer, Chris, & Cooper

Caitlin Gilman

7/29/2022

Leigh is incredible! As a first-time single mom planning an unmedicated birth I knew I wanted to work with a doula, and I'm so grateful I found Leigh. She is very practical and knowledgeable, while also being incredibly caring, calm, and grounded. I felt supported through the whole process: from the prep work of early meetings, to phone and text conversations during my induction where she helped me work through decisions and questions to ask, to her showing up in the middle of the night when I finally went into active labor.  Whether it was providing laboring positions, distraction techniques, or just straightforward acknowledgement of how I was feeling, having her with me was invaluable. 

Natalie Renfro

6/7/2022

This was my first pregnancy and I'm so glad we hired Leigh to be there for the birth. She helped so much during my labor giving me back massages and words of encouragement to keep me going. She also has other techniques and tricks to help someone through labor. I'd love to hire her again for my next pregnancy.

Laurel H.

5/20/2022

We had a wonderful experience with Leigh as our doula. When we first started researching doulas, we weren’t necessarily sure if we needed one, but now after experiencing childbirth, we would absolutely recommend it to everyone.

From our first interactions with Leigh, we knew she was someone we could trust and we felt that she truly listened to our wishes without judgement. Leigh was always open and receptive to our questions. She was thorough in her explanations and we felt informed of risks and benefits associated with our different labor and birthing options.

She was prompt in her initial correspondence all the way through the day I went into labor. Leigh was instrumental during my labor, not only guiding and reassuring me, but also ensuring my partner felt comfortable and informed along the way. In addition to being a true professional, Leigh is just an all-around awesome human. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for a doula!

Kim Lichttenegger

5/3/2022

This was our first birth, and as first-timers, we weren't initially sure if we wanted to hire a Doula or not. Long story short, we are so glad we did, and that we hired Leigh specifically!

Long story long: We actually had interviewed a few other Doulas before meeting Leigh, and none of them felt like the right fit. We wanted someone confident and knowledgeable, who could not only help us advocate day of, but also someone who had lots of tricks up their "birthing sleeve" to help us through the big event. Leigh was exactly that! She offered lots of advice and techniques for us to try to encourage labor—even early on before she came over. Once arriving at our house, she provided lots of support (and distraction!) allowing us to labor longer at home before going to the hospital. At the hospital, she helped us communicate with the nurses and weigh the pros and cons of interventions/drugs/etc.  I felt extremely supported, as did my husband, throughout the entire event.

Overall, having Leigh as our Doula was amazing and I would 100% recommend her to anyone looking!

Thank you so much Leigh!

Kim

Shilpi Dixit

3/30/2022

We hired Leigh as our birth doula and we are thankful for the decision. She was great help!

We decided to have a doula with me during the birth in hospital so that my husband can be with our son at home.

The package we took included two online sessions, one at home visit before delivery and one postpartum visit.

Leigh made sure that she understands why we need doula support so that she can support us in best possible way. She helped us prepare the birth plan and shared many options with us for natural and medicated birth.

As we all know each pregnancy is different so with my this pregnancy I had prodromal labor for around 3 days. Leigh was available all the time for oncall support and she really helped me go through that phase of my labor. She suggested me to get morphine shot so that I can sleep through my pain.

In hospital after epidural she helped me to try different positions before actually pushing the baby, this significantly reduced the pushing time.

Leigh is very friendly and having her by my side during labor and delivery was the best decision we ever made.

I highly recommend her service.

Julie Breeden

2/24/2022

Leigh was amazing! My husband and I wanted a doula to support us with the birth of our first baby, and we loved Leigh so much we're already planning to have her help out with our next one.

For us, having Leigh meant that my husband didn't feel the pressure of being my only support person while we were going through labor and delivery for the first time. 

In her prenatal sessions, Leigh taught us hands-on techniques for the different stages of labor.  

During labor, the counter pressure that she and, with her guidance, my husband provided helped dramatically prior to the epidural. She guided me in positioning to help labor progess. She also helped me advocate for breathing during pushing when my medical staff was telling me to hold my breath. I honestly think that was a big part of why I came out with no lacerations. 

Leigh's experience, kindness, and support was uplifted our whole birth experience. I cannot recommend her enough!

Sarah

7/30/2021

Leigh brought so much to my birth experience! She is a fountain of information and is great to have as a resource leading up to and after the birth. She helped prepare my partner and I for the what to expect, and she provided that key component of confidence and reassurance during the most intense hours of labor and delivery. With her by my side I felt my birthing event was supported in every way that I had hoped it would be. Even at my most vulnerable, I was never worried that things were out of my control because she was there as my advocate. My partner was very happy to have someone help him help me as well.  My family and I are so grateful for her contribution. Thank you Leigh!

Kendall Matthews

7/21/2021

Leigh was the best decision we made for our pregnancy journey! She was extremely knowledgeable, always prepared and kinda beyond words. She made our labor experience so much less stressful and looking back I can't imagine having done it without her there with us! If you choose her for your labor experience you will not be disappointed! :) 

Amanda C

6/30/2021

Leigh was a great fit as I attempted a VBAC for our second little one. From pre-natal visits all the way through labor, birth and the post partum visit I felt so supported and heard. Leigh understood my wishes and knew when I needed encouragement. Birth never quite goes as one expects but having Leigh as our doula was such a great choice for us and we would highly recommend Leigh to any of our friends and family.

Mariana Grala

2/21/2021

Having Leigh at my birth was one of the best decisions I made during this whole process. She is kind, informative, supportive, and a really good listener. 

At first I thought I didn’t want to have any Doula, but now after everything is done I'm so glad that I did.

So I started looking around for doula considering price and quality. After talking to several different people, I ended up choosing Leigh.

She has been helpful before the birth, during, and with postpartum support.

Before:
While making the birth plan she was able to hear all of my jumbled wants and needs, & turn it into a perfect and easy to read document for my midwife and nurses.

During:
During the birth she listened to all of my wants and needs and was there. I had a calm birth, which is exactly what I wanted. She was able to help advocate for me, and help me understand everything things when I felt overwhelmed.

After:
After birth I had ongoing questions. She was able to help me with some initial breast-feeding questions. Also she encapsulated my placenta - which has so far gone really great and I’ve been feeling better.

Overall I am so happy that I decided to have Leigh as part of my birth experience and something that I will never forget. 

Michelle and Dan Greenheck

10/3/2020

We had the pleasure of having Leigh as our doula for the birth of our first baby. Leigh was professional, personable, and supportive before, during, and after the birth. She is extremely knowledgeable and did an exceptional job at walking us through the whole process of labor, birth, and the post partum period. She was an amazing resource when anything unexpected came up- she was able to walk us through our options and helped reassure us when we needed it. She has a genuine passion for being a doula and this is so evident. We were amazed at her ability to help with recommending different positions during labor and how effective this was in progressing things along. She was such a strong advocate for both my husband and I and we couldn't have done it without her. We would both highly recommend Leigh to anyone! 

Brian and Felicia

9/15/2020

We hired Leigh for our first child due in September, 2020. As first time parents we really appreciated her foresight and confidence. She's a great listener and her suggestions were always empathetic to our wants and needs. She taught us several ways to manage contractions and labor pains, and guided us through writing a birth plan. Leigh helped us understand various options when it came to a birth plan, and how our preferences fit in with them. When the big day came we felt prepared, even when we had not taken any child birth classes.

Leigh was a great advocate for us at the hospital. Leigh helped prepare a bath with lavender oil and faerie lights. The bath helped a lot with labor pains, and it helped mom have an unmedicated delivery that she had hoped for. Leigh helped mom find the right position for delivery and coached by counting out loud. We were overwhelmed by the moment, so we really appreciated her direction, positivity, focus, and support for us.

Leigh also made sure that dad felt involved throughout the process. She found labor positions and excercises for us that involve a helper, and even found ways for him to help during delivery, such as holding moms leg while pushing.

We had an overwhelmingly positive experience becoming new parents with Leigh as our Doula. We will recommend her to any of our friends that are seeking help, and would love to have her as our doula again.

Sianita N

9/14/2020

Leigh was awesome!

We interviewed 3 doulas and decided to go with Leigh since we felt that she was very communicative and attentive to our questions and needs. We're so excited we made the right choice. Being first time parents, we were so glad that Leigh was always available to answer any questions during labor. She even suggested few techniques which helped induce labor! At the hospital, Leigh was very helpful and supportive and also made sure that we were always informed about our options. I would highly recommend Leigh.

Briana Alcala

5/6/2020

My husband and I feel so lucky to have found Leigh as our Doula! I’m confident my birth experience wouldn’t have been nearly as positive without her support. We interviewed 3 doulas total and felt that Leigh genuinely understood what our wishes were and was more than happy and capable to help. She was very knowledgeable in an array of topics including spinning babies, lactation, calming methods (her back rubs are magic), progression tactics, and many other important tools. I loved her presence and will be calling her for baby #2. I highly recommend her services!!

Kathleen H

4/11/2020

Having Leigh as our doula brought my partner and I incredible peace of mind. We were happy to have her calm, warm, and lively presence throughout my pregnancy and labor and delivery. She was at home with us while my labor was quickly progressing and it made it so much easier for my husband to be on the phone with the hospital and for him to make sure we had what we needed in the car because he knew I was I great hands. My labor progressed quickly and having Leigh helped us have the confidence to get to the hospital when we did. We are so grateful that she was there to help us for the birth of our daughter. 

Kyle Feldman

3/16/2020

Leigh was amazing!

     Being first time parents, it was comforting to have someone there who had experience & knew what questions to ask and when. Looking back, I know the experience would have been much different without her and my wife and I would have been less of a team and much more stressed. Having to have a C-Section made things even more tricky and I was so thankful to have someone to stay with my wife while I went with our daughter to the NICU. Leigh felt like family and never told us what to do. But she did give us valuable information to make the best informed decision in the moment. I cannot recommend Leigh enough.

-The Feldman Family

Ambar and Thomas Ness

2/1/2020

We cannot speak more highly of our time with Leigh. She joined us around 30 weeks, and helped us get our birth goals organized to present to our midwives. She took our vision into consideration and helped create a plan that really exemplified peace, serenity, and clarity. Our baby was stuck in the breech position, but fortunately Leigh provided numerous resources and helped us practice many techniques from Spinning Babies. Sadly, we were unable to turn the baby; however, Leigh stepped right in and helped us adjust our birth goals to include the new cesarean delivery. She kept our heads up and our hopes high as we went into the operating room, and she stayed with us until our new baby latched for the first time, making sure he had a secure, proper, and healthy start to breastfeeding. We would recommend Leigh to any expecting parents looking for support from an experienced, caring, positive doula. 

Cathy N.

12/21/2019

My husband and I had a very positive experience with another doula for the birth of our first child, who was not available when we were planning the birth of our second. To me, having a doula was a must, and fortunately we were put in touch with Leigh. We are so grateful to have had her support. When we met Leigh, we were impressed with her knowledge and confidence, and she came across as very accepting and nonjudgmental. She felt like a good personality fit with both me and my husband, which was very important to us. Knowing that she would be there during the birth removed a huge stress from the end of my pregnancy. After the initial introductions, we had two meetings where Leigh came to our home to get to know us, our goals and desires for the birth, and to educate us on the birth process and comfort measures. On the day I went into labor, we kept in touch with Leigh over the phone until it was suddenly time to go to the hospital. She met us there and got right to work, and suggested a game plan for the next set of contractions. My baby was born before we had a chance to get into any of the other comfort measures she had come prepared with, but I feel confident that Leigh's knowledge and calming presence would have been invaluable regardless of how long the labor was. Following the delivery, Leigh stayed for a few hours to make sure we had everything we needed, and she checked in with me in the following days. Once we were settled back in at home, she came to visit and let me know she was available at any time should I need her. I believe every woman should have access to the support of an amazing doula, and I wholeheartedly recommend Leigh to anyone who is looking for one!

Ana

10/17/2019

We found Leigh through Expecting Joy Doulas and we could not be happier with our experience. We went into our third trimester not knowing fully about what services doulas provided and whether it was something that was right for us. Leigh was patient, calming, and very knowledgeable that by the end of our first meeting we were convinced that we needed a doula and that we wanted to work with her. During the labor process, she was available at all hours of the day and coached us through early labor and help us navigate when we should go to the hospital. I believe that my birth experience was an overall good experience because she was by our side and helped us through the really tough times of labor. We are so thankful that we found Leigh and that she was a part of our birthing experience.

Amy Tanton

5/13/2019

Working with Leigh was incredible. So thankful we ended up working with her! She knew just how to help us through each contraction. We were so thankful to have her by our side the entire labor. She gave us the best coaching and was so encouraging the entire process. We were able to have a natural and non medicated labor because of her help. We will definitely have her at all our future births! 

allimar77 Richards

12/21/2018

I had a wonderful birthing experience with Leigh. I had plenty of family crisis so my family was not able to be in Seattle to support me so last minute i searched for a Doula and found her. She was the answer to my prayer. Not once did i feel unsupported and i labored for 24 hours. I don't know how she did it but together we were stronger. This was my first child and i really didn't know what to expect or what my labor would be like but i knew i wasn't alone. She went above and beyond and even though i had just met her about two weeks prior she kinda felt like family in that labor room. I have no negative feedback and i would use her again and refer her to other people. She is genuine, kind and super sweet. She listens and is respectful.