Hannah

12/17/2024

My birth didn’t go as planned—and I’m so incredibly thankful for that.

Bonnie was actually my backup doula. Impossibly, another one of my original doula’s clients gave birth early, while I gave birth late, and… Well, it became the perfect storm. Between downpouring rain, flooding tunnels and crazy traffic, Bonnie still volunteered and made it to us in the hospital.

At first, I was nervous. I’d never met Bonnie before, and here she was attending one of the most vulnerable, sacred experiences of my life. However, I was instantly put at ease the moment she walked in the room. Besides having coached my husband for hours over the phone while battling her way through impossible Boston traffic, she jumped right into action. I was stunned by her professionalism, comforted by her calmness, and so incredibly grateful for her expertise. Even though I gave birth in the hospital, it never became an “us versus them” situation. Bonnie instantly clicked with all the hospital staff in her caring, friendly way, and I really appreciated how she brought everyone together in the delivery room as one team.

Besides being an instinctual leader and a calm, steadying presence, Bonnie also demonstrated unparalleled expertise. Whether it was using Spinning Babies techniques to help Baby descend or that crazy Jedi acupressure technique to instantly relieve a derailing headache during the push phase, she also knew what to do at just the right time. She respected me and my baby’s divine timing, and her strength and encouragement ended up being my rock when I nearly gave up from exhaustion.

If you’re thinking about hiring Bonnie, don’t hesitate. There is so much about birth you can’t predict or control, but with an incredible doula like her as your bedrock, it’s going to be a beautiful experience.

Olivia Easterbrooks-Dick

12/5/2024

Bonnie was our doula for the hospital birth of our first child. Going through this process for the first time, Bonnie helped us prepare for what we hoped for during the birth process, learn how to advocate for our needs, and practice exercises for the big day. When the time arrived, Bonnie joined us at our home to work through earlier labor more comfortably and then stayed overnight with us in the hospital as labor progressed. Our birth story was different than expected and I don’t know what my husband and I would have done without Bonnie’s constant reassurance, empathy, support and incredible bag of tools to help us get through the experience. She knew multiple midwives on staff who we were working with and they clearly valued and trusted her thoughts and experience as much as we did. We are so thankful to have found Bonnie and look forward to working with her now that I’m postpartum.

Karissa Katsiaunis

11/13/2024

Bonnie and Karen are absolutely amazing and you won’t regret hiring them as your doula team! They are so supportive through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. They are the sweetest women and truly give you everything you need! I hired them for both my children and would absolutely hire them again!

Maddie Freeman

9/7/2024

I hired Bonnie as my doula for a hospital birth, and I’m so glad I did. She balanced out the medical / high-intervention vibes with her grounded, unaffected, badass doula energy and knowledge. My birth was not all as hoped (whose is?!), but Bonnie arrived to the hospital with bags of tools, including a big support pillow that she blew up and helped me use, to find some relief and comfort. Also, she communicated well with the rest of my support team, making sure everyone was replenished and taken care of. She is the real deal!

Kevin

3/14/2023

Outstanding! My wife went into premature labor unexpectedly and had to go to the hospital where there was lots of commotion and energy in the labor room. Bonnie arrived like a night in shining armor and completely shifted the energy in the room and my wife's state. She set a calming, supportive environment through lights, music, massage and gentle but confident coaching. My wife had the natural birth she had hoped for and I truly don't think this could have happened without Bonnie's wisdom and calm, guiding presence. She worked wonderfully with the medical staff at the hospital to advocate for my wife's wishes while balancing safety and inputs from the medical team. Several of the nurses remarked on how easy she was to work with as a Doula and how much everyone enjoyed the way everything evolved. 5 stars and really don't know what we would have done without her. Bonnie is GREAT at what she does and I can't recommend her highly enough!

Nicole

1/13/2023

We had a wonderful experience with Bonnie as our doula and are incredibly grateful for her support. From our first call, it was clear that Bonnie was genuinely passionate about her work and shared in our commitment to having a positive birth experience. Despite hiring Bonnie late in pregnancy, she was super helpful in fitting in all of our pre-birth prep classes and worked hard to ensure that we were armed with as much info/education materials as possible. Leading up to birth, Bonnie was always a phone call or text away and assisted us in navigating some of the hospital politics we experienced - she was always a voice of reason and helped us slow things down in order to achieve our goals and keep to what was important to us. During labor, Bonnie was right there with us with her encouraging words, empowering approach and bank of skills to help labor progress - her knowledge of Spinning Babies and relaxation/massage techniques was invaluable and ultimately what we credit with the timely labor progression and positive experience we hoped for. We are so happy to have worked with Bonnie and would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a doula.

Andrea

1/12/2023

Deciding to work with Bonnie was one of the best decisions we could have made to ensure that I achieved a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). Bonnie has loads of experience and helped me feel confident that together we could make it happen. She was available for any questions and support leading up to the birth so I knew that no matter what came up she would calmly know what to do. Once I went into labor Bonnie came over quickly and helped me get through to active labor, then we traveled to the hospital together (I was so relieved to have her help in the car!) and once we arrived at the hospital she helped me and my husband advocate for the birth experience that we wanted. Bonnie knows how to navigate the hospital system very politely but is also insistent on getting the Mother what she needs. I feel so grateful that we were able to work with Bonnie!

Evelyn

7/25/2022

In the months leading up to "the big day" she was great–communicative, informative and supportive. However, she was not these things when I was actually in labor and afterwards. My experience with Bonnie was a mixed bag, but overall I would not recommend her to anyone. 

Bonnie did to me what I feared the medical world would do—dismiss a Black woman who was telling her story. When I was in labor I complained about how long I’d been in labor, but Bonnie shot me down. She scolded me and told me to not make my birth story a traumatic story when it hadn’t been (it ended up being that & more). I was taken aback by how stern and cold she was but I was in so much pain that I didn’t have the energy to address it in the moment.

There was no compassion from Bonnie. Instead, it felt as though she was the overseer of my pain. When I began asking for pain management solutions Bonnie didn’t shift to support me in that decision, but instead only focused on the negative aspects of epidurals. All I remember hearing was “epidurals make labor last longer” which in my mind translated to ‘she has been here a long time and wants to go home.’ But looking back at text messages between her and my husband she was there 12-14 hours max, not the 17 she claims. 

She did not support me and didn't check in on us once the entire weekend (my son was born on a Thursday via c-section). The only time she "checked in" was to indirectly ask us for payment. One of the nurses asked if my doula had been back and I laughed because it felt as though we’d been abandoned. Bonnie didn't reach out to us over the weekend because she "had to be on call for another doula and hosted a doula meetup". I believe a doula’s rate of success should be measured by how supportive they were during and after a (complicated) birth. And well, in this case Bonnie did not thrive at all. 

Colleen

7/18/2022

Bonnie's help made a HUGE difference in my birthing experience.  Her education first approach really resonated with me and empowered me thorughout the "medical" aspects of labor.  Her spinning babies class helped me understand what my body was already prepared to do and helped my husband feel like he could really help me (and he was super helpful in the end!).  My first meeting with Bonnie was for a massage which was amazing and educational - right away she taught me positions to improve my sleep during the last few months of pregnancy.  When I started having contractions three nights before things really got started, she was with me every night; texting with me throughout the night, walking with me during the day, suggesting different techniques to help me rest and to help the baby find her way.  Her guidance helped my labor progress; including talking my husband through how to get our baby to spin out of back labor.  In the delivery room she knew when nitrous would be helfpul, when to move, when to rest, when to scream (more importantly - how to scream productively hahah).  I wouldn't have had the amazing experience I had without Bonnie's help.  I can't recommend her enough.  Thank you Bonnie!!

Sara Tatnall

5/28/2022

I highly recommend Boston Hypnobirth. Bonnie was by my side through the majority of my 42 hour labor, and I don't know how I would have navigated it without her. I wanted a natural, physiological birth but had a number of high risk factors, and Bonnie's experience with hospital advocacy was invaluable. She was committed to helping me achieve the birth I wanted even when things went sideways with my labor. Ultimately I ended up with multiple interventions and having her there to explain made all the difference in understanding and accepting the interventions as necessary - instead of feeling coerced by the hospital staff. She brought peace and confidence to an otherwise difficult birth. I am eternally grateful to her. 

Lillian Dubiel

1/31/2022

My wife and I worked with Bonnie in several of her capacities- she led our Spinning Babies parent course, provided prenatal  and postnatal massage, provided labor and birth education, and acted as our intrapartum doula. Bonnie is warm, friendly, knowledgeable, and very familiar with Boston’s many hospitals. Her Spinning Babies expertise and doula experience definitely helped me to successfully achieve my desired physiologic birth outcome. In fact, our labor and birth happened so quickly that Bonnie barely made it to the delivery! Without a doubt, the pre-labor education Bonnie provided us prepared my wife and I for labor and birth- she taught us the tools and mindset we needed to get us successfully through our short but very intense labor. She is readily available by text/phone at all times and was attentive and responsive to our individual needs. She is also very well-connected in the doula, prenatal, and birth world here in Boston, and was able to make us several great recommendations for other service providers. She is queer-friendly and well-versed in queer family-making- she made us feel very comfortable. We highly recommend her!

Jessica

1/26/2022

I met Bonnie at week 32 of my pregnancy when I discovered that my baby had turned breech. After what had been a completely uneventful pregnancy up to this point I found myself spinning into fear based thinking and seeking wisdom and guidance from the birth community. When I reflect on this time I cannot be anything but grateful that this moment of fear lead me to the amazing, wonderful, empowering Bonnie Rovics.

I knew after our first meeting that not only did I want Bonnie to support me in caring for my body in pregnancy and my baby through massage and spinning babies strategies intended to encourage the baby back to an unbreech position but I wanted more than anything for her to support me, my partner and our baby in our birth experience. Bonnie consistently took the time in our meetings leading up to my birth to ask questions, understand me and my preferences and learn how she could support me in meeting our goals for birth.

When the time came for us to go to the hospital Bonnie was always one text, or call away. She beautifully navigated giving my partner and I space to be together when the time was right and showing up in person to support us when we needed her in person support. Bonnie helped us to advocate for ourselves and our birth preferences in a hospital system that is based around schedules and interventions and ultimately supported our entire family in having a birth that looked nothing like our original “perfect birth” but was ultimately entirely perfect on it’s own.

I can’t recommend Bonnie enough to anyone on the journey of birth. She is an extraordinary massage therapist, supporter of women’s rights and advocacy and grounded and talented doula.

Sarina

11/23/2021

We asked Bonnie to be a part of our birth journey as our Doula after speaking with several different Doulas. After meeting her, we knew she was the right birth partner for us - Bonnie is extremely knowledgeable, thoughtful, and supportive, and we knew that her experience with Hypnobirthing, Spinning Babies, and Shiatsu massage would be invaluable to us as we prepared mentally & physically for a natural birth. 

Throughout the pregnancy and leading up to the labor and birth of our baby, Bonnie was always available to help us, and every time we spoke with her, we were so thankful we had chosen her as our Doula. She always brought recommendations & insights that we wouldn't have been aware of as first-time parents, and when we were recommended a medical induction when an unexpected circumstance came up, she was there with us every step of the way to aid us in our decision-making process; helping us have all of the information we needed to make our decision, and respecting the choices we made.

I recommend Bonnie as a Doula to all expecting parents - we initially thought we didn't need a Doula, but after meeting Bonnie we had changed our minds. I am so thankful we did and that we had her as a birth partner, as I was able to have the birth I always dreamed of having, and Bonnie was such a large part of our story in helping us make that a reality. 

Mila Korobkova

9/30/2021

We used Bonnie as our Doula and we’re lucky enough to connect with her in our 41st week of pregnancy. In those last few days Bonnie provided wonderful guidance and support as we waited for spontaneous labor to start. Bonnie coached us through a number of helpful exercises to help us start labor and keep a positive mindset. Once labor did finally start Bonnie was there the whole way, first on the phone coaching me through contractions , checking in every couple hours, and then at the hospital during an incredibly long active labor and over 4hours of pushing. With Bonnie providing physical and emotional support I was much better prepared to meet the challenges of a difficult 42 hour labor and ultimately the challenge of a last minute c-section. Having Bonnie in the room, and having her in the days leading up to labor, made such a positive impact on my delivery and I would recommend her to anyone considering a doula. Her supportive and guiding nature helped me and my husband stay grounded, focused and ultimately incredibly loved and supported the whole way. Thank you Bonnie ??

Brittany E-J

9/16/2021

Bonnie was the absolute best doula I could have asked for during the birth of my second child. She is a genuine person who is passionate about what she does, and sincerely cares about helping you achieve your best possible birth experience. She put so much time and effort into educating and getting to know me and my husband while I was pregnant, and when I went into labor, she was a true advocate for me in the labor & delivery room. She is well-versed in hypnobirthing and spinning babies techniques, and bonus, she is a massage therapist and gives the best prenatal massages! Bonnie is now a friend for life, and if I end up going for baby #3, Bonnie will 100% be my go-to.

Hayon Thapaliya

4/5/2021

Bonnie was an excellent doula for us. Even though we hired her pretty last minute she very quickly orientated us and helped us prepare for our birth. During the labor she and my husband tag teamed to help me and throughout the entire 14 hour labor she was so on top of it. I don't know what I would've done without her to help manage the pain. She was awesome and we're so grateful to her! 

Monika

12/9/2020

We recently worked with Bonnie as a doula and were very happy with our experience! We took a Hypnobirthing class initially and loved the approach to childbirth, so it was important to us to have a doula who was experienced in/focused on Hypnobirthing techniques. Bonnie has a great deal of experience in hypnosis techniques and many other key elements of natural childbirth. We had a great initial meeting and intake session with Bonnie over Zoom and were also able to have a wonderful prenatal massage/rebozo scarf technique session in her outdoor studio area. When I went into labor, Bonnie came right in to meet us at the hospital. She did a great job of supporting both my husband and I during labor - we really appreciated her suggestions, pain relief techniques, massage, and overall support during the labor. We had a very positive birth experience and Bonnie was an instrumental part of that! We are so happy that we got to work with her during our son’s birth and definitely recommend her as a birth doula.

Ellen and Bradley

12/5/2020

We were very happy to have had Bonnie Rovics as our doula. We are first-time parents, and she enriched our birthing experience with her presence, knowledge, and support. We felt safe and secure in her company, and we are grateful for her help.

Naomi Howard

8/30/2020

My husband and I are so happy to have had the opportunity to have Bonnie by our side for the birth of our second son. Her presence was so calming and there is absolutely no way I would have made it through without her. She knew exactly when and where to massage and apply counter pressure, and provided constant reminders to breathe and relax into contractions. Throughout labor, she suggested different techniques and positions to help me cope with the pain and pressure. Thanks to Bonnie, I was able to stick to my goal of avoiding any form of medical intervention and best of all, my husband was able to remain calm and confident and provide me with the support I needed from him. If I can convince my husband to have a third, first thing I’ll do is call up Bonnie!

Desiree Franjul

8/28/2020

Having Bonnie Rovics as my doula made me feel safe throughout my whole pregnancy. I had a high risk pregnancy, but with the knowledge she provided me I was able to choose the right hospital for me halfway through my pregnancy. When she told me about Hypnobirthing I knew right away that was the way I wanted to experience birthing my daughter. The weekly preganxy massages she gave me where therapy at the same time. She helped me create my birth preffences in a realistic way. By the end of my pregnancy I had no fear, I knew what my body was capable of and that I had the support I needed when the time came to give birth. Luckily after I was out of risk (35 weeks), I was ready to have my baby in the Mount Auburn Birthing Center. It was peaceful, safe, secure and a loving atmosphere as Bonnie made sure all my needs were met. Bonnie and I made it to the hospital at the same time and an hour later my daughter was born. I had the comfort of laboring at home and going to the hospital just to deliver my baby. 

Im 100% sure that without Bonnie Rovics by my side in this journey my experience would not have been the same. I knew exactly what to expect even though it was my first time having a baby. If I have another baby, Bonnie will be birthing my baby in my house now that I have experienced the most natural way to give birth. Im sure everyone who chooses Bonnie as their Doula will have a positive and beautiful experience. She is open, reliable, respectful, mindful, caring and compassionate.

Julia and Daniel

7/11/2020

It’s hard to put down in words for much it meant to have Bonnie by our side through the incredible transformative experience of a first pregnancy and birth. At the end, we got this incredible baby but along the way but there were points of deep emotion, pain, and fear. Bonnie was there from the second trimester with massage, her calming demeanor,  and thoughtful teaching (a particular favorite was when she taught my partner some techniques of prenatal massage).

For the birth itself, it’s hard to imagine how we would have made it without her. Like so many, my birth story was not what I planned. Yet through that unpredictability, Bonnie was a constant. She had firm well placed touch, supportive words, and clear helpful instructions for both me and my partner.  I vividly remember the comfort of the pressure of her hands on my back and hips when everything else felt like a whirl of chaos. 

I recommend Bonnie without hesitation. She was a guide and grounding support in pregnancy, delivery, and for a spectacular post-partum massage. We will certainly work with her again for any future pregnancies.