The birth of my first child (son) was very traumatic. Despite being with a great practice, in a good hospital, in a good area, my voice was not heard, my needs were not met, and negligence occured. My son and I ended up being okay, but I required extensive therapy and suffered a great deal. The main issue was not allowing me to labor how I needed, forcing interventions that turned out to not be medically necessary, and having an emergency cesarian without making sure the epidural worked. I essentially had an unmedicated surgical birth, and no one even acknowledged me as I was suffering. It impacted both my son and I, espcially with bonding early on, and we are still healing almost 4 years later. I was scared to ever have another child, but knew we wanted more.

When we became pregnant with our second a few years later, I was excited but terrified. There were issues finding a facility that would allow for a VBAC attempt. After extensive research, we found a facility, and we found Abby. 

I truly mean it when I say she saved us. Our voices were heard. She gave us words when we couldn't find them. She made space for us in places we didn't even know we could take up space. There were still HUGE hiccups with the new practice we were using that altered the trajectory of how the birth could have occured. It still resulted in an emergency cesarian. But I was able to labor my baby. Abby made sure the medical professionals stopped and listened to us. She made it so my husband could support me without having to worry about what was going on around us. She held my hand and helped me be present in bringing our daughter into the world. She kept us safe. She helped heal wounds from our horrible birth experience years before, healing wounds with our son. 

Abby was physically part of our lives for a few months, but will be an integral part of our story for the rest of our lives. I am forever grateful for what she has done for me, for us. 

I wanted a natural childbirth without medication intervention in a hospital setting more than anything, thanks to Tonya, that dream became a reality. Tonya was there for me since the beginning as a natural nuturing mama who took care of me as one of her own. Her presence is very calming. She is a gentle kind-hearted person who is available, methodical, reasonable, and in your corner. She took the time to understand my birth plan thoroughly, helping me develop it, too. Tonya was the advocate I dreamt of throughout the entire process, and especially in the hospital when it counted the most. She did well navigating the medical setting and my overbearring mother's personality. Her experience was on full display throughout my entire strenuous 2-day labor process. You can count on her to show up and be there when it counts. I could not have had a natural labor without her by my side through the active back labor I experienced. She had a good technique to help with pain management. It was really great to have someone there exclusively for me who was knowledgeable about birth. A husband or partner cannot support you in that way unless they're an expert, and the medical staff has other priorities like charting and other patients. Her rate is reasonable for the services she provides. I think if you pay more you are paying for frills that weren't a priority to me. I don't need someone to shower me with treats, etc. I needed someone I could count on and I got more than that. I had someone in my corner who understood my needs and showed up and got the important job done! Tonya was also my post-partum doula. She got everything done I needed and went above and beyond. She was caring throughout, downtoearth, warm, and affectionate. I never felt judged in my home. I was always comfortable around her. She is great with my daughter. I liked how she was interested in staying connected with her in the future with updates, etc. You are lucky if you get to have Tonya as your doula!

Gwen was such a delight to work with! I could never imagine doing it all again without her and I am SO thankful that she was such a key part of the most special day. This was my first birth experience and I was planning on giving birth at a birth center. My son came 36 weeks and 6 days - 1 day shy of being able to deliver at the birth center. We had to pivot and change plans to deliver at a hospital. Although I called Gwen much earlier than she probably expected, she remained so calm and collected and talked me through every step. I was in complete denial that I was going to give birth that day, but Gwen gently reminded me of how it all works (ha!) and helped me totally prepare for what was to come. Since my husband and I had met with Gwen earlier on in my pregnancy we felt prepared for any changes that came our way. We had already discussed every detail imaginable - even what speed we were planning on driving to the hospital!

When we arrived to the hospital she was an incredible advocate for me and reminded me of what I wanted. The hospital staff loved Gwen and neither Gwen nor the staff ever felt pushy. It truly felt like an awesome team - just what you need supporting you on such a big day! Gwen made the cold hospital room so warm with electric candles, affirmations printed on cards placed throughout the room, and essential oils. She reminded me to eat and change positions during contractions. She also worked with my husband that day and taught him how to coach me during contractions and how to best support me. Most of the time I forgot that she was in the room because my husband was so close, doing all the right things, while Gwen chimed in exactly when needed. One of my favorite things was that she took detailed notes of the whole day and even took some pictures. I’ve loved looking back on both of those things months after giving birth! If you choose Gwen as your doula you will be so blessed! And you will probably never want her to leave :)