Certifications for Martha Lanphear

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Client Testimonials for Martha Lanphear

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Krista Cameron

3/14/2024

Martha was referred to me by my midwives and she was an absolute god -send <3. Was my second pregnancy and I knew the benefit of having a doula from our first birth however our same doula was not available and I didn't have half the amount of time to find a new one. Martha was so amazing I can not even stress it enough. The emotional support before, near the time of birth and postpartum helped me in ways I did even know I needed. I felt so grounded and centred at my time of birth from all her support, which led for such a positive birth experience. She just knew exactly what to say and is such an intuitive, empathic, and supportive listener. Her timing with everything in our pre visits, at the time of birth, and after visits was perfect with offering and knowing what needed to be done. Too, her level of knowledge and care imparting information was exceptional and so helpful. I felt so cared for and seen in Martha care and something I could only hope for all mothers and mothers to be on such beautiful journey into motherhood.

Sarah

2/26/2024

So very very thankful that we hired Martha as our doula. My only regret is not having hired her for my first pregnancy!

 


We met early in my second pregnancy & from day one she was supportive & helped me educate myself, partner & 3 year old about home births. She help me heal & process my traumatic previous birth, which to this day I believe if I had hired Martha & had her support we would of had a home birth, unfortunately it ended up with complications, mainly due to us being scared & going to hospital when we should & could have stayed at home!

 


But this time around with Martha on our team we honestly had the most magical birth experience. She was kind, wise & generous with her time for myself, partner & son & fully helped me believe me that I could have an undisturbed home birth at 43 years old. Which I did!

 


The set up & clean up of birth was seamless and all on her shoulders. She was my guide & reassured me when things got real & tough. She also took some beautiful photos for us which I will treasure forever.

 


THANK YOU, THANK YOU MARTHA!

Jess

1/16/2024

Words really cannot describe how valuable and imperative Martha was to my pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum experience. Martha has a genuine warmth and empathy that makes others feel at home. Throughout my time with Martha I felt cared for as if by a close friend.

During pregnancy, I got to know Martha through our meetings, plus I learned so much from her knowledge - this helped me feel very prepared for labour. Martha was a strong advocate for me when my planned homebirth relocated to the hospital and I was inundated with medical intervention options. She reminded both me AND the hospital staff that it was my decision and I could take my time to make it as there were no emergencies. I heavily credit Martha with the reason I didn't have an episiotomy, forcep delivery or c section. (Though if I said that she would tell me that it was all me, because she's so encouraging and empowering!).

Postpartum, Martha continued to support me for 6 weeks with visits and check in texts. At times when I struggled with breast feeding or my confidence, Martha reminded me to trust my intuition and gave concrete tips as well.

I really cannot say enough good things about Martha. If you are on the fence about hiring a doula, I can say with confidence that hiring Martha was the most impactful investment in my transition to motherhood. THANK YOU MARTHA!

Rob A

8/14/2023

Martha has an incredibly warmth to her, and was the perfect support person for my wife and I during the birth of our only child. My wife can't say enough about how she helped her through a marathon labour. But I'll stick to speaking for my own experience as the birth partner. Martha did a fantastic job of making me feel heard and supported emotionally in the meetings and calls we had with her during pregnancy. She continued this support in labour and also helped me to know when to step away and eat, and get what sleep I could during the lengthy labour without missing a moment. She stayed by our side at all the right moments and gave space when it was appropriate. She was also invaluable for her familiarity with the entire hospital setting and ability to advocate cannily on our behalf at a few key moments. Hire her, skip the snoo!

Emily

12/1/2022

It's a year today that our sweet babe was born and Martha helped us bring her into the world. Twelve whole months later and I still find myself in moments of gratitude for the support, care, knowledge, skill, and patience Martha had for us during my pregnancy, home birth, and postpartum period. From the day we met her I felt a calmness in her presence (a true gift for someone who struggled with pregnancy anxiety!) and I knew I wanted her at the birth. The pre-birth support calls she offered were really helpful and she shared SO many resources with us, each one tailored to our specific interests and concerns. My first labour was relatively quick, so when I called Martha to tell her baby #2 was on the way, she was at our place within 20 minutes. Her voice is the one I heard as I gave birth, and I will always remember her caring, reassuring words. The photos she took are stunning and will be cherished in our home forever. I cannot say enough good things about Martha as a doula (and a human!) and highly, highly recommend her. She was absolutely wonderful and we are endlessly grateful. Thank you!!

Genny Riva

8/4/2022

It is hard to put into words the role that Martha played in bringing our baby girl into this world but here we go! From the moment we met, Martha put so much time and energy into getting to know both mine and my partner's needs and hopes for our birthing experience. She prepared us emotionally, physically and energetically for what was to come. During labour, Martha came to support us as soon as we asked and stayed with us the entire time. Physically, it was amazing for both myself and my husband to have her there for all of the little things (i.e. reminding him to eat, making sure I was hydrated etc) and all the big things (i.e. pain management). But most importantly to me, energetically, Martha was the most amazing presence to have at our baby's birth. She was calm, connected and advocated on my behalf when needed. When we faced some important decisions during labour, Martha was able to guide us and help us to remember what we had talked about prior to labour. Martha's postpartum support and care has been incredible and so needed. You can really tell and feel that Martha cares deeply for her clients. I cannot recommend Martha enough to anyone going through pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. I truly don't think I could have managed as well as I did without her (even though she reminded me constantly that I could have!). We love Martha and so will you!

Stephanie Ryan

4/18/2022

Martha was our doula and attended our birth in January 2022. She came highly recommended from two of our friends who had hired her for their own births. We enjoyed connecting with Martha and getting to know her through our pregnancy. Martha was very helpful in educating us about our options and choices and answering our questions, especially towards the end of pregnancy when we began to have concerns about covid and how it might affect our birth plans. Martha was hugely helpful on baby's birthday. She came over to support us as soon as we felt we needed it and was an unbelievably calm, reassuring presence during a birth that was progressing more quickly than expected. She helped guide us through the birth and provided wonderful comfort measures, and she took beautiful and very special photos of our birth and our first moments as a new family. After the birth she made sure we were taken care of and fed and we really appreciated her postnatal visits as well. Our birth was an enormously positive, joyful and empowering experience in large part thanks to Martha's support and we are very grateful. We would definitely recommend her services to others!

Diana

4/18/2022

As a first time mama, I cannot rave enough about how absolutely monumental Martha's support was for my birth. I could not have asked for a kinder, more supportive and calm doula to have been part of my dream birth experience. She was there for me through an intense active labour, and kept both myself and my husband feeling so safe and reassured throughout. She had learned and deeply understood all my birth preferences and ensured that they were supported and reaffirmed, and even reassured my husband when I had an unexpected complication and things happened in a quick blur at the end of my birth. Having Martha's support is undoubtedly one of the best decisions I made during my birth journey!

 

Joslynn & Stefan

3/14/2022

A very lovely person, Martha is the genuine example of someone living out their calling. She honours birth as the special and vulnerable season that it is for families. 

We had two prenatal meetings where she provided clear and detailed information about what choices we could make throughout pregnancy and labour?. She? supported my husband and his queries, and listened so carefully ?and with such understanding??.? Martha is very knowledgeable, professional and organized.? With her help we were able to create our ideal birth scenario.?

Martha's calm voice, caring demeano?u?r and ?delicate touch was everything I needed during labour. ?She was always k?ind?, reassuring? and encouraging?, ?I felt very confident and empowered by her presence. The support we received during her postpartum visits was nourishing, emotionally and physically. 

We would highly recommend her to anyone looking for doula support on their birth journey!

Trevor

10/20/2021

When my wife and I were preparing for our first child, we were very intimidated by the upcoming birth. Thankfully, we found and hired Martha as our Doula. Since day 1, Martha has been incredibly helpful with preparing for our birth, providing us resources and helping us be prepared with a birthing plan.

When the day came, the worries we had when contemplating the birth previously were completely absent. Martha was always by our side, suggesting different positions and weighing our options rationally and calmly during an event we had not experienced before. When there were bumps in the road, Martha was quick to respond and provide her extensive knowledge and experience with births to help calm us down and enjoy our birth. In the midst of the birth, she really helped by advocating for us. Her Photography service was also exceptional, we are so glad to have such amazing photos of our birth for us to remember the day our lives changed forever.

I would strongly recommend Martha to anybody who is expecting a baby and in the event that we have another child would absolutely hire Martha to be our doula again!

With love,

Trevor, Emily and Jay.

Chris & Dania

10/1/2021

I cannot help but get emotional when I think about how amazing it was to have Martha be apart of our son's birth story. Martha was knowledgeable, genuine, professional, and above all, she was kind. She was the person my wife and I needed her to be during each stage of our pregnancy and up to and beyond the birth of our son. Being there for us during these especially unique times was beneficial beyond words. Her knowledge, expertise, and willingness to help in anyway (and at anytime) possible went beyond what we could've ever expected. We are so grateful for Martha, and I cannot recommend her enough to anyone looking to have support for their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. Regardless of what your preferences are, you are in amazing hands with Martha.

Also, as the partner, I'd like to thank you personally Martha for being a calming presence. You gave me the confidence I needed, to know that I was doing and saying all the right things, and that is priceless. When / if we decided that our son needs a sibling we will be sure to make sure you are apart of that as well!

All the best!

With love,
Chris, Dania and Thomas

Michelle

9/13/2021

Martha's presence before the birth of our first child and during was extremely enriching and important in making both me and my partner feel secure. The visits beforehand provided so much information and gave us confidence to go into labour, delivery and the first weeks. 
My birth did not go as expected but Martha advocated for us and even ensured that my partner was able to announce the sex of our baby during my c-section. It may seem small but this was important to us and wouldn't have happened without her being there. 
She also gave me confidence in our decisions postpartum and was the perfect person to listen to my concerns and share in the joys of the first moments of motherhood. 
Martha is confident and calm in the birth space which is exactly what birthing people and partners need. 
I wholeheartedly recommend her as a birth support to anyone. 

Carlee

8/31/2021

Martha made all the difference in our birthing experience and we will forever be grateful for her presence at this time in our lives. Prenatally, she met with us twice and shared so much information that we never would have known otherwise, whether in prenatal class or online. She helped build my confidence as a Mom-to-be, and helped my husband build his confidence both as my partner and as a Dad-to-be. She encouraged me to trust my instincts and helped me better communicate with my healthcare providers. I was able to contact her as needed - she was genuine in her offer of essentially being on-call for me starting at time of hire.

My birthing time ultimately did not go how I thought it would; rather than the 24+ hour labour I thought I would have as a first-time Mom, I began labour and birthed our daughter in less than 3.5 hours. It was the most intense experience of my life, and I was so terrified. Martha arrived so quickly, guided us in what to do regarding updating our midwives, and her kind and confident words (especially her reminders that I was safe, and that what I was feeling were safe feelings) and her calming physical touch helped me immensely during this time. She helped me utilize our Hypnobabies tools when I needed it, and additionally took the most special photos of our daughter being born.

Postpartum, she was the person I felt I could best express my feelings to when I was tired, frustrated, and having breastfeeding challenges. Even my husband and my mum kept saying "call Martha, you respond so well to her." She was able to provide breastfeeding support, and then emotional support during an appointment with a lactation consultant. While my review here is lengthy, I hope it sheds even a bit of light on how wonderful Martha is as a person and as a doula. We are most hopeful to have her as our doula again in the future.

Sarah G.

7/16/2021

Martha was present at the birth of our first child and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Her care and support through my third trimester and early postpartum period were top notch, and she was very accommodating of our type A personalities and desire to leverage data for decision making around the birth of our daughter. When things didn't quite go to plan at the birth, she was calm and reassuring and I'll never forget joyfully crying with her when my daughter was first placed in my arms.

Maria

6/1/2021

Martha was our doula for the birth of our daughter. As a first time mother having a home birth, my partner and I found Martha's support extremely helpful. She helped give us the courage and confidence we needed to make our home birth such a success. She provided us many resources, answered questions, kept us informed, and helped advocate for our birth plan. We would highly recommend Martha to anyone looking for a  kind, genuine, positive, caring doula. 

Nicole, Alex & Oliver

5/12/2021

Hiring Martha is best decision you can make! We had never considered hiring a doula, but decided to look into it due to Covid restriction how many support people could be present in the hospital. Martha was a wealth of knowledge and we went from having zero opinions or ideas about how we wanted our labour experience to be, to knowing all our options, how much power we had over those options, as well as having informed opinions behind why we wanted what we wanted for the birthing process. Martha provided us with unbiased evidence based resources in formats that worked best for us. 

Her support during labour made it possible for us to labour at home until 7cm dilated! Once we got to the hospital, she advocated hard for us, kept us fed and hydrated, and took incredible photos that we are so grateful to have.

She provided us with even more resources after birth and listened to our challenges as they came up.

We can't imagine ever going through any of this without her and are so grateful for her support every step of the way! 

Jason and Anna

4/20/2021

We were so grateful to work with Martha. Giving birth in the midst of COVID, we felt really anxious about not being able to have family or other friends around to support us at the hospital. We decided to hire a doula, and we're so glad we did. Martha was empathetic and supportive, providing a calm, gentle, affirming presence throughout the whole experience of labour and delivery. If felt so helpful to have a familiar face in the delivery room. She also took some amazing photos of some of our baby's first moments! Thanks for being such a blessing, Martha.

Sarah Jacobs

4/16/2021

I feel so incredibly grateful to have Martha's support. Martha started with me when my daughter was 2 weeks old. I was feeling a alot postpartum anxiety and feeling completely overwhelmed. The first time she came I remember a wave of calm swept over my home, as her warmth and capability brought a sense of grounding to the space. Since then, she has supported me in so many ways, just to name a few - giving me time for self-care knowing that my newborn and toddler are in good hands, providing lactation support with my newborn who was having latching issues and reflux, discussing my emotional experiences in a way that feels healing, helping me prep healthy snacks for my family. Some qualities I appreciate of Martha's is that she is kind-hearted and warm (I feel very comfortable in her company), she is very knowledgeable and has some wonderful insights, she is flexible, she makes a lot of effort to support me in whatever arises. With this support, I feel empowered and now able to celebrate this special time, full of all its ups and downs and everything that motherhood holds.

Catherine Gan

3/30/2021

Martha is an amazing doula, and I felt so lucky to have her at my side throughout the pregnancy journey especially during COVID times. She was very supportive in the months leading up to my son’s birth, customizing her services to fit my needs, providing valuable information and resources, answering my questions at any time of the day. Her presence in the delivery room was incredibly comforting and helpful. She guided me with many empowering techniques for inducing natural labor, and held my hand and spoke encouraging words to help me through each contraction. She is very knowledgeable about birthing in a hospital setting and was with us during the whole labour in the hospital, +20hrs. When my husband was tired and needed to sleep, she was present and gave me massages, held my hand and gave me water. She was a great advocate especially when I didn't want to be in a certain position for pushing, she was able to explain things and help me better understand my options. She had positive energy during the labour and postpartum period as well, when she visited my home to help ease the transition to motherhood and make sure I was doing well with my new little one. As a first time mom, I highly recommend Martha... I can’t imagine having done it without her!

Carly Pettit

2/14/2021

I had a wonderful experience with Martha! My husband and I were very appreciative of Martha’s support, knowledge, and warm demeanour throughout our pregnancy journey. We began working with Martha when I was about 35 weeks pregnant. She was quick and easy to communicate with throughout. Martha held two pre/post-natal education sessions (over Zoom) that were very helpful and allowed us to get to know each other better before the big day. Martha followed-up these sessions with additional reading materials.  In the days leading up to my labour, it was nice to have someone to check in with regarding symptoms and for any support. During my labour, Martha supported me and my husband with ideas on how to progress labour, various comfort measures, TENS machine, help to negotiate the hospital, and lots of kind words of encouragement. She also took some beautiful birth photos for us. In the days and weeks following the birth of our son, Martha regularly checked-in on us via text and came to our place for a nice post-partum visit, where she took some more family photos that we love- thanks, Martha! We would highly recommend Martha’s doula services!  

Sam B

1/25/2021

We are so glad that we decided to have Martha present leading up to and during the birth of our first child. She was readily available and checked in often before the birth, and was quick to offer information and guidance when we wanted it and answer our questions. When we found out our little one would be coming early, she was there right away and helped us get settled and navigate the surprises with her empathetic and caring nature. She was attentive to the little details and we felt supported throughout the entire labour and birth experience.

Amanda Mercado

1/17/2021

I cannot fully express with words what an absolute joy it was to work with Martha. Her professionalism is perfectly matched with evidence-informed practices and information, enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and most of all, support and warmth. I am convinced our birthing experience was only as incredible as it was thanks to her help and amazing support. She helped me to feel empowered and ready to give birth, she created a warm and cozy environment for our home birth, and went above and beyond answering the many questions I had between prenatal visits. She helped my partner to feel confident and comfortable to support me while I labored, and she captured incredible photos of our birth. Would highly recommend Martha to anyone seeking the support of a birth doula!

Yulia Petrova

1/1/2021

Amazing support! Martha is a very kind, helpful, and caring person. During our labor, she was there for me and my husband throughout day and night. She helped us greatly through the entire delivery and we know we could not have done it without her. 

Martha is very informative about the hospital process. During our stay, she always checked on us to see how we were doing or if we needed anything. We highly recommend her to support anyone through their labor and postpartum. We greatly appreciate everything she has done for us. Thank you very much, Martha!

Atousa

12/17/2020

Martha was a truly amazing support for us. My husband and I feel so grateful that we found her and had her as our doula. She prepared me well for delivery on what to expect, educated me on decisions that we had to make on the actual delivery date, and was very calm and supportive during my difficult delivery. She also offers to take pictures moments after delivery and her pictures are now the most precious things I have. She is also amazing for postpartum support. We absolutely recommend her! Do yourself a favor and have Martha as your doula.

Anna Zoria

11/11/2020

Martha was an incredible in her role as a doula. I would recommend her to absolutely anyone and am grateful that she practices this profession. Throughout my pregnancy she had helpful tips, tricks and resources which helped me to navigate a difficult time. During the birth she was present from beginning to end and went through every with me on an intuitive, deeply connected level. It was a joy to work with her and to welcome my daughter into the world together. 

Elyse Austrins

10/27/2020

My husband and I (and our dog), can't say enough good about our experience with Martha. We originally started our Doula search very early in pregnancy, around week 12, and were very discouraged that after several interviews we hadn't found anyone that we "connected" with. We decided to walk away from the idea of hiring a doula and we're content with that. Only later in our 3rd trimester, when my midwives continued to recommend it, did we come back to it. We asked them for recommendations and Martha happened to be on that list. From our very first meeting with her, we knew we had found our support person. She was incredibly easy to get along with and talk to and made us all feel very comfortable about the process in front of us, especially important for us first time parents. She's all the things you expect and need your Doula to be but Martha continued to go above and beyond throughout our time with her. From offering meal drop off when I was first admitted to the hospital for an unplanned induction, to dropping of snacks PP and even indulging some requests of ours - writing our birth story and taking some rather detailed birth photos - she was there whenever needed for whatever we needed and never missed a beat. If you're looking for someone to coach you through this magical but intense process, provide you information and resources, be endless support and even provide jokes and distraction as needed - she's your gal! We can't say enough good about Martha, as a person and as our Doula and hope to stay in touch with her even now that we have welcomed our baby boy into the world.

Katrina

8/31/2020

I highly reccommend Martha's services as she went above and beyond her duties as a doula to provide unwavering support to both myself and my husband for the birth of our first child. She provided a wealth of knowledge and resources to help me prepare for childbirth, navigate the many decisions that I needed to make leading up to delivery, and helped prepare me for postpartum recovery and breastfeeding.

She handled stressful situations in a calm and positive manner and always had a solution to any problem that arose. She maintained a supportive demeanor during the 18+ hours that she attended my labour and never seemed to tire of her duties. She was also flexible, understanding and adaptable to the many unforseen changes to my birth plan. 

Martha is also a very kind, passionate and lovely individual who was a pleasure to work with.

Jacqueline Ilagan

3/23/2020

Martha was our back-up doula and she was amazing throughout my whole experience. From the start of my labor until after giving birth to our daughter. She helped both my husband and I by being so supportive with what we need and how we feel, even with our midwife. She is a very easy going and down to earth person that she worked really well with our midwife instantly. Despite not having our original doula around that day, Martha as our back-up doula, still made us feel comfortable and safe and we wouldn't have wanted any other back-up doula than her. Thank you so much Martha for your hard work and loving personality! 

Birth Availability for Martha Lanphear

= Available. Calendar last updated: 03-27-2024

Postpartum Availability for Martha Lanphear

= Available. Calendar last updated: 03-27-2024