Janelle Raykin

1/18/2024

My husband and I hired Shannon both as a birth and postpartum doula, and we are so thankful we did! We had our first baby in October 2023 and Shannon guided us through what to expect in the birth process and helped us decide our preferences without any judgement or persuasion. When the actual day came, Shannon was quick to be available and made it to the hospital faster than I thought possible. She provided encouragement to me and reassurance to my husband. When things didn’t go as planned she also helped us understand the decisions that needed to be made and benefits/risks of the different options. Shannon stayed at the hospital until we were settled with baby and headed to our room.

For postpartum care, I am forever grateful to Shannon arriving at our home shortly after us on the day of discharge to give us some relief (a long nap!) after a few sleepless nights in the hospital. She taught us everything in those early days: the first bath, managing dry skin, the umbilical cord, breastfeeding, bottle feeding, baby wearing, winter layers, soothing, etc. We don’t have family nearby so Shannon’s support was invaluable. We gained such trust in Shannon’s care and expertise! Each time she arrived to our door we immediately relaxed and could take a deep breath.

Jess Heneghan

1/16/2024

We connected with Shannon and had an initial meeting via Zoom to learn more about her style, services, and see if the personalities + goals were a good match. My husband was initially on the fence about hiring a doula but as this was our first baby, he was on board with supporting my decision to pursue a doula this go. After the call, he agreed she was lovely and down to earth, knowledgeable and encouraging, has her best practices but kept bringing the focus back to our preferences and desires. During our two at-home meetings before birth, she had tons of great materials to teach us and discuss different options to create an experience that we wanted. When it came time for labor, she was prompt to get to the hospital with her 'Mary Poppins bag' of everything, and stayed flexible throughout. My husband wanted to be sure we still felt it was an intimidate moment for our little family unit, and she did a great job balancing being present and supportive and engaged, while giving us space when the time was right for us. Her birth plan document was also the talk of all the nurses - so beautiful and clear! The planner in me loved her attitude, accountability, and gentle reminders throughout the pregnancy. Now that baby is here, I plan on staying in touch be it for the next baby or just to get a drink and catch up; she's that wonderful ?? We highly recommend you work with her! 

M. Dartnell

12/10/2023

I can't imagine having experienced pregnancy, labor, delivery, or postpartum without the incredible support that Shannon provided for our family. During pregnancy, she provided us with evidence-based resources that were tailored to the challenges that we were facing in pregnancy and to the birthing experience that we were planning. She coached us in areas of pregnancy and birth that we were unfamiliar with, and served as a kind and caring sounding board when we just needed to talk through things. She offered an unbiased perspective to support with decision-making, and was always supportive of the decisions that we landed on. 

During labor and delivery, she was an absolute godsend. She anticipated our every need, whether physical or emotional or otherwise. Her gentle, unobtrusive support empowered me to make the decisions that were right for me on my own timeline - without feeling pressure from my team of healthcare providers. When I reflect on my labor and delivery, I feel a warm, happy glow that I totally attribute to the care and support that Shannon provided. 

Her postpartum support has been consistent with the rest of our experience with her - comforting, empowering, supportive, and just what we need, when we need it. I can't recommend her enough. 

Katharina Lowe

12/5/2023

We have known Shannon for quite a while now and the moment we found out that I was pregnant, we immediately thought of Shannon. We wouldn't consider a doula unless it was Shannon. She is a nourturing person by nature and a passionate doula. I had a very good pregnancy and delivery thanks to Shannon!

Alyson Owens

11/27/2023

We had a really wonderful experience with Shannon. She is very organized and knowledgeable which was a huge reason for me to consider hiring her, and then once I met her I was certain she was the doula for us. She's very calming, relaxed, and kind, with also being straightforward and full of resources.  We hired Shannon for the birth of my third. My first two pregnancies went fine but I wanted the peace of mind of having someone else to advocate for me and her wealth of knowledge was just what we wanted in assisting us. Baby came fast but her presence and guidance in the labor room helped both of us navigate the chaos of a quick delivery. I am happy to say that with her help I had my first delivery without an epidural and a bunch of pitocin. Shannon was also so great postpartum, helping us out with tried and true references and hanging with our sons so we could have a less crazy morning acclimating to life with 3 kiddos. And our sons also loved her!
Thank you, Shannon! We would definitely hire you again (maybe if Matt gets his wish of having 4)! 

Alex U

11/6/2023

We ended up having a placenta previa pregnancy, which meant that our journey deviated pretty significantly from what we had initially hoped and planned for. Despite that, Shannon helped us significantly to advocate for as much of our delivery preferences as possible, leading to an incredible experience that we felt like was on our terms.

When we met Shannon, we knew it would be a good fit as she empowered us and very helpfully went over all the questions we had as well as many more we didn't even know to ask. She even met with us in person with a backup doula - Magin - who she preemptively reached out to in order to make sure we'd have support on our delivery date. Spoiler alert - on delivery day, they both came to the hospital and supported us in so many ways - including taking the feet off of a mini-TV we bought to be able to watch Netflix and play games on what ended up being a multi-week hospital stay with previa.

While the birth went amazing, just after, a previously unknown medication allergy caused mom to have a medical incident that required her to head to the ICU for a day. This is where Shannon really went above and beyond. Her and Magin immediately comforted me (dad) who was grappling with the mixed feelings of caring for my newborn daughter while being worried sick about my wife. Shannon not only provided a ton of moral support and comfort to myself and my wife once she was able to get out of the ICU, but she pivoted quickly to helping me provide the type of care to our daughter that I expected me and my wife to do together.

In the end, through the ups and downs of a very unusual and at times difficult birth experience, Shannon was there for us helping us to be informed, comfortable, and in charge of our experience. If you are considering getting a doula, we HIGHLY recommend Shannon, you absolutely will not regret it!

Marie Stewart

10/9/2023

Shannon was our doula during our VBAC experience and was instrumental in helping us have a successful VBAC!

Before the birth, Shannon met with us at home to get to know what our hopes were for the upcoming birth. She walked through different scenarios with us to get a deep understanding of what we wanted and helped us think through the different directions the birth could go. She also showed us different strategies for laboring that could help us be successful during our upcoming birth like positioning, birth balls, affirmations and more. This all helped us to feel very prepared for labor when it came and helped us feel in control of our birth experience.

During labor, Shannon was such a calm and positive presence in our birth. She was one step ahead about knowing what I needed and worked seamlessly with the hospital staff to get us all the tools and set the environment we wanted. She offered both hands on support during the birth as well as emotional support, encouragement, positive affirmations, and most importantly wonderful support and guidance for my husband. She helped prop him up, allowing him to be the most wonderfully support person. Ultimately, she was a necessary part of our team and I don’t believe we could have had a successful VBAC without her. I also believe, because of her support and guidance, we would have had a positive birth experience regardless of delivery method because she helped us feel in control and completely supported.

Jessica Downey

9/28/2023

I’m very glad I hired Shannon as my doula. She was readily available as a resource as I prepared for labor. She helped me work through what turned out to be a very lengthy and challenging induction. She was particularly helpful with positioning, coping tactics, and helping me maintain a calm positive attitude. With her help I was still able to have a beautiful vaginal birth and an overall positive experience. Would highly recommend her. 

Christine Y

9/6/2023

We are so grateful for Shannon and could not recommend her enough. Shannon came to help us during a very scary time. Our son (born 6 weeks premature) had very bad reflux and at 3 months, he refluxed in the middle of the night and stopped breathing. Needless to say, it was incredibly hard for us to sleep after that. Shannon came in and stayed up with our son twice a week and gave us a chance to sleep! We wish we would have started with her sooner. Shannon communicates very promptly and professionally. She was always early on the nights she was there. She was always receptive to our requests (and was very patient with some finicky technology that we had trying to monitor oxygen levels) but also offered up valuable suggestions and thoughts on how to address the reflux, fussiness, etc. On a personal note, Shannon is just a lovely person too. I really enjoyed getting to know her and her passion for being a doula on the nights she came and we went through our son's nighttime routine together. She's calm and measured but engaged and fun to talk to. Her energy brought a lightness to our house. She was incredibly sweet with our son, rocking him to sleep and picking him up when he fussed. We laughed a lot together at the sometime absurdness of parenthood. Finally, she gave us an incredibly sweet gift at the end of our time together, which just showed how much she observed and took in of the family she works with. We cannot recommend her enough--she saved our sanity and was such a gift to us and our son! 

Jonathan

6/19/2023

Shannon was a major support during the process of preparing for labor.  We were grateful that she was able to come to our home to discuss how to prepare and practice for labor.  She has a positive personality which made us feel more at ease about the process.  During our time in the hospital, she thought of numerous little things that really added up to making my wife feel more comfortable and supported.  As the dad, I felt a sense of relief that I could take a short break while Shannon stayed with my wife.  We are glad that we hired her services!

Nicole Staley

2/19/2023

I hired Shannon when I was around 10-11 weeks postpartum and I wish I would have had her help sooner! Shannon is amazing and helped me and my family adjust to having a new baby as well as made me feel extremely cared for. She is very knowledgable and up to date on all things newborn care and had a ton of valuable recommendations for many different situations that came up. Shannon has such a calming demeanor and I instantly felt reassured and comforted in her presence. She made herself accesible to me and texted me often to check in, even after our time together was done and I went back to work. I highly recommend Shannon to any family at any stage of their postpartum journey!