Jillian B

3/23/2022

I absolutely loved Lana as our doula!  She was timely and responsive, understanding and considerate!  I am someone who knows what she wants and is a big time planner, and she was on board with all of my plans & decisions.  The photography, both maternity and birth, were my favorite parts of the process.  To have a video too to look back upon with my daughter is truly priceless.  If I were to do it all again, I really wouldn't change a thing! During Covid it was a no brainer that I didn't want many people in the room, so having Lana as our doula, my husband and my midwife was the perfect support for our birth.  I would reccomend Lana to anyone that wants to have an advocate to help remind you and your care team of what is important and someone who will gently offer suggestions and techniques and alternatives to be sure you are the focus and honored during your labor. 

Nicole Weldon

9/14/2021

It is a rare pleasure in life to work with someone who is truly and deeply gifted at what they do. Working with Lana was one of those rare times for me. From her skilled help processing a past birth and current birth preferences, to her incredible intuition during birth, I am so thankful.

We had several prenatal conversations to work through my prior experience, to understand what I hoped for this time, and what I hoped her role would be in achieving that. She asked questions that I never would have thought of, got right to the heart of important topics, and helped focus my husband's limited time on key conversations.

My birth was fast and intense, Lana arrived right at the moment I thought I couldn't go on and went straight to work bolstering my strength. Baby was working fast and she kept up, teaming up with my husband in a way that let his strengths shine as she filled in the rest. She has knowledge of many different comfort measures for labor, and intuits quickly which ones are appropriate to try. 

All evening, Lana made sure that I understood what was happening and had all my questions asked and answered, supporting my desire for full informed consent.

I loved Lana's Hypnobirthing course, too. I ended up not using those tools in the way I expected during labor, but it turned out to be key during my stitches after labor. Lana guided me into a hypnotic state for the entire lengthy repair, allowing me to be relaxed, without pain, and able to converse. My husband and midwives have all remarked on how incredible it was, especially given my traumatic prior repair.

Somehow, Lana simultaneously captured the most beautiful pictures. I didn't even know if I wanted birth photos at first, or how she could do both things at once, but both jobs were done with excellence and I treasure my images of that day!

I would wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend Lana, whether it's your first birth or your 10th!

Jesica

9/4/2021

Hiring Lana was the best decision ever, she has been incredibly valuable. Me and my husband also attended the hypnosis course that she teaches and we learnt a lot of different strategies. The course makes you realize that there are a lot of things you can apply in other areas of your life, it made me be more grateful of the good things that were happening to me and be thankful of my body for creating a new life. I was initially very scared of giving birth and by talking to Lana and attending her course that fear faded away. I was instead looking forward to the day I was going to meet my baby.Things didn’t go as expected and I ended up having a scheduled c-section. Unfortunately, due to Covid Lana wasn’t able to be in the operation room but she always made sure that I knew she was there for me. She checked on me several times prior to the day I had the surgery to see how I was feeling and if I needed anything. She also met us at the hospital when the caesarean was done and I was moved to my room.Even though Lana wasn’t really present at the time of delivery I do not regret hiring her at all! I knew she was always at the end of the phone and she did check on me to make sure I was ok. What I love about Lana is that she makes you feel like if you have known her for ages. She is a funny person but very professional. She is a very good listener and if you have questions or doubts about anything she will give you all the options so that you can make an informed decision. Most importantly she will never judge you, she is there to fully support you no matter what.I was so happy with Lana that I even asked her to do an in-home newborn photo session and she made us all feel very comfortable. She is also a great photographer, we are in love with all the photos! I am so happy to have captured the moments with my tiny baby.Thank you so much Lana for everything you have done for our family! If I have another baby I am going to hire you with no hesitation.

Lauren

7/27/2021

I will do my best to try to give words to the wonderful birth experience Lana helped us with.

Lana was our backup doula, the doula that I had initially hired was at another birth. The phrase that comes to mind is "divine intervention", Lana was meant to be our doula. I had my eyes closed for almost all of my labor, I didn't actually see her face until after my daughter was born, so it was truly like she was an angel. Lana knew exactly what we needed mentally and physically. There were moments when I was seriously doubting myself and she was able to help pull me out of that spiral.

As I mentioned before my eyes were closed for the majority of labor. I am so grateful Lana was able to photograph my labor and birth. I look at the photos often because I still have a hard time believing I had a successful home birth. Because of her photography, I am able to see and remember the strength, love, and support I felt.

Alix Lee-Tigner

7/7/2021

I cannot say enough good things about Lana and our experience working with her. If you are looking for a Doula and/or birth photographer, I highly recommend Instinctive Birth and Beyond.

After moving during my 8th month of pregnancy, we were on the fence about hiring a doula. I am so glad that we did. We had planned a birth center delivery but I was transferred to the hospital and induced at 38 weeks because of high blood pressure - on the day we were supposed to have our first prenatal appointment with Lana. Instead she supported us through those first 24hrs at the hospital via phone and text, then arrived at the perfect time when my contractions started in earnest. She walked into the room with such confidence, even though we'd never even met in person, and got right to work.

Lana supported me and my partner through it all, physically and emotionally. This being our first child, we had no idea what to expect or how to manage labor and she coached us through it all, providing incredible relief to us both. She also helped me make informed decisions when it came to pain management and helped me avoid an epidural. I credit her with having such a wonderful birth experience despite it being different from our original plan.

On top of her incredible work as a doula, Lana captured everything with the most beautiful photos. I am in awe of the whole experience.

Esther Razumovich

4/9/2021

I found Lana’s presentation card at my birth center, during my 36 weeks of pregnancy with my second Child.

I wanted someone that give me peace, could guide me through breathing techniques, could respect my ideas and feelings but at the same time could add something unique during my labor. Lana Stewart was the angel that I was hoping for, I knew since we had our first talk over the phone.

After we talked and we texted she told me about her knowledge of hypnobirthing, my husband and I took the hypnobirthing classes with her. Those classes allowed us to feel ready. She not only gave us preparation as a birthing class, but she also gave us tools that we can use to release fears and give us confidence, she made us visualize what we wanted to happen during that day, gave us homework to prevent things that I was worried about like tearing etc.

The day of my labor was amazing, it was exactly how I visualized it. Lana was constantly in communication until we both arrived at the Birth Center.

She is very detail oriented which it was a need for us, she is very knowledgeable, she was guiding me with things that I needed to remember all the time, breathing, using low tone of voice, positions, she also was very communicative about when she was going to touch me or do something, which is very well appreciated during labor time.

She is supportive, communicative, helpful, knowledgeable. She reminded me to be mindful during my labor. Her voice calmed me down all the time. She visited me after the delivery two times.

I can say Lana is a super Doula because she is also a photographer.  She  took amazing pictures and videos during my pregnancy, my water birth, and baby pictures.

I am so thankful that we found Lana, I can’t speak highly enough about her, she is my perfect Doula, she is amazing.

Stephanie De Luna

2/21/2021

I have no words to describe how much Lana helped us during and after delivery, she was always very supportive and available for us.

Despite being in the middle of a pandemic, we felt very calm. She helped us with emotional and physical comfort through different techniques that made labor pain more tolerable.

I would highly recommend her to anyone. Thank you so much for all your help Lana!

Stephanie and Vic / Parents to Christian.

Emily Hunt

1/12/2021

I cannot recommend Lana highly enough as a doula. My daughter's birth turned out to be an unplanned home birth - a scenario that never crossed my mind as a reasonable possibility - and I was completely prepared. I was unable to access any of the techniques that I had been practicing to manage my pain. Lana was able to adapt to the new situation and give me strategies. She helped me remain calm and feel empowered. Thanks to Lana I look back on my daughter's birth with an incredible sense of pride and amazement. 

Throughout my pregnancy and post-partum period Lana has been accessible and quick to respond. Her excitement over my new family fueled my joy as a mother and made me feel comfortable reaching out to ask her any questions I had. Our transition into new parenthood has definitely been smoother because we had her in our lives.

Lana has been an amazing resource as my partner and I became parents for the first time. If you are looking for someone empathetic, knowledgeable, and responsive, Lana is it!

Cynthia Contreras

8/6/2020

My whole life I wanted to be a mom. When I found out I was pregnant I was beside myself. I started saving for a doula immediately. I was lucky enough to meet Lana through a local moms community page. I'm so glad I did. Lana is easy to talk to. She seems to listen with out judgement and never talked down to me. She put alternate ideas in the air with out any pressure. I like the way she felt like a friend when I didnt know her yet. For me personally, a friend is what I needed. I didnt really feel supported by people in my life. Besides hubby. It was nice to know Lana had my back. She answered questions and only gave advice if I asked. I was looking into birth positions and meditations and it was nice to have someone show me personally some things I could do at home. I liked having someone to talk about my birth with. The after visit was nice too because it was someone other then family checkin in on you. Asking questions about myself and not the baby. Not that she didnt care but she was there for me. To me I felt having Lana there silently on the sidelines just waiting to help helped me emotionally as well. Her bringing to light feelings I may or may not have made me more aware. I think she reduced some of the after delivery struggle. I would recommend a doula, especially Lana because it's nice to have some one in your corner. During birth you and your partner have so much going on. Having someone there to be eyes and ears and just to be there that isnt a dr. If that makes sense.  I also felt like Lana was there to remind me that "I got this" and helped me feel powerful enough to birth my daughter. She has inspired me to look into a field of helping women. I hope I can be a friend like she was to me?