Nicole

10/31/2023

I was beyond blessed to have Karissa as a support person during every stage of my first pregnancy. Her expertise on women's health helped set us up to have a labor experience that we wanted. In early pregnancy she helped by educating me on the importance of building strength & mobility. She sat down with us & went through what we could expect during the stages of labor & how to navigate through them. She listened to our preferences & educated us on the different interventions that could be available to us. With each doctor appointment, I updated her & we adjusted my birth plan as needed. My due date came and went. She remained supportive by clearly explaining what we could expect if we decided to deviate from our birth plan. She also provided natural induction techniques. I went into labor on my own at 41 weeks. I was able to reference the guides provided by her, to help navigate through early labor. Once things started to progress she came over to the house. She was able to help guide us through the contraction with her soft spoken coaching & bag of tools. She then went to the hospital with us, where she continued to support me & to advocate for our preferences. Once our baby was born, she made sure we were all well before leaving us to enjoy our first moments as a family of 3. After we left the hospital, she continued to ensure we were doing well & provided any further guidance that she could. She did a post partum visit a few weeks later. No matter how hard things got, Karissa always kept our preference in the forefront & continued to remind us of the possibility of having our preferred labor experience while keeping in mind the health of me and the baby. She went above and beyond what I would have ever expected a doula to do. I always felt comfortable with her. As we plan to grow our family in the future I will definitely look to Karissa for support in our future birth plants.

Nikki

10/18/2023

Karissa was the perfect person to have on my team while I was pregnant, prepping to have a baby, and also leading up to and through active labor. She's able to bring together her expertise on human body functions, birth experiences as a doula, and positive and supportive energy to make her the most well-rounded person that could have joined me on my journey. The whole experience feels like a blur now, but Karissa was there every step encouraging me to take a childbirth course, taught me how to focus my breathing, gave me workouts and breathing exercises to do through my 2nd and 3rd trimester, and was there for me when it came time to create a birth plan while also preparing for any and all scenarios that could be out of our control. Although my birth did not go as "planned", I felt prepared and still feel like it was a positive experience because Karissa was there to guide us through difficulty, hold my hand, support my husband, and validate our feelings when we encountered disappointment. We're so thankful for her and all she provided us with during this experience of becoming first time parents!

Courtney Masiado

12/26/2022

I am forever grateful to have been introduced to Karissa Bollinger at the start of my 3rd trimester. I was never familiar with the role of a doula nor have I had any previous knowledge or idea on what to expect for the end stages of my pregnancy/preparing for delivery. Other than the monthly/biweekly appointments with my OB where I learned the HR of my baby and my blood pressure, being informed or educated never occurred. 

However, this is why Karissa was A LIFE SAVER! At our first meeting she sat down with my husband and myself answering any and all questions thoroughly, putting our minds at ease and helping us understand the process from the 3rd trimester through arriving home from the hospital. As we continued weekly meetings, I learned multiple different breathing techniques, exercises on my birth ball, ways my husband can help me when the labor process has begun, be my voice at the hospital when talking was nearly impossible, etc. 

Most importantly, Karissa always made herself available for us 24/7! Through her expertise and guidance I know we would have made so many mistakes, specifically make our way to the hospital far earlier than we needed to, which I am so grateful didn’t occur. I know I’ll never be able to thank her enough for everything she has done for us, but what I can do is HIGHLY recommend her to anyone who needs services and advice like we did!! 

Lindsay B

11/30/2022

After two births that were low intervention but still not what I wanted, having Karissa as a doula for our third was exactly what I needed. We were able to meet ahead of time to discuss preferences and options to set up a plan for my birthing time. In the early part of it, she kept in touch with encouragement and recommendations for helping maintain progress. Once it was hospital time her and my husband worked together to help me stay comfortable and have a perfect birth! With Karissa as my doula I finally was able to have the birth that I’ve always wanted! I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!