Amanda Clarke-Ray

1/12/2021

Katie has been my doula for all three of my children and it is so hard for me to convey through words what her support meant to my husband and I. I had my first two children in a hospital, one medicated and the other unmedicated. We recently had our third baby in a birth center with midwives. For my first birth, we found our greatest needs were around educational support. We were first time parents and had no idea what the birth experience looked like. Katie helped lessen my anxieties by normalizing the process and ensuring my husband didn't feel like he had to be the expert in the room by remember everything from our classes. For my second birth, I was induced and Katie helped me through an intense, unmedicated labor. There were some moments near the end of my labor that were stressful for my husband and I, but I remember hearing her reasuring words right next to me and she brought a calmness to that moment for me. You would think for our third birth that we were old pros, but I could not have acheived my birth center birth without the support Katie provided. I had a precipitous, three hour labor with very intense contractions during labor and postpartum. I tear up writing about this because Katie's precense in the room helped me feel confident, safe and so incredibly powerful. Holding her hand and hugging her during contractions helped me achieve the most special birth of my life. I will forever be grateful to Katie and the gift she has given to my family.

Denise Leiby

7/2/2020

Because I delivered during a pandemic, there is no way I could adequately communicate how much of a gift it was to be to have Katie with me on my journey. I was more afraid of going to the hospital, but she was able to keep me calm in the days leading up to my scheduled induction (and also when labor started early!). She helped me and my husband through the labor process with calm and good humor, even though it was a little scarier than usual with everyone in masks and no visitors allowed, and then when the baby had some problems our first night home, she stayed up all night texting and talking with me. I can't imagine how I would have gotten through this process in such a crazy time without Katie, and I will be grateful to her forever. 

Katie Callahan

6/27/2016

My experience with Katie was fantastic.  I met her through a childbirth education class and she said something in that class that resonated with me throughout my pregnancy and I'm now frequently reminded of it as a mother--that you will never be more judged in life than you will be as a parent.  This seems like a straightforward statement but it spoke volumes to me in that there is no right or wrong way to parent, to be pregnant, or to have a baby.

I asked her to be my doula after this class and due to some scheduling availability, she ended up "sharing" me with another doula.  The other doula (who was also fantastic!) ended up being my doula during my labor and birth, but Katie's pre and post partum support was amazing.  She is warm, compassionate, kind and funny.  She is thorough and calm, her demeanor makes you feel instantly at ease and you can tell she loves what she does.  We had multiple pre birth visits where we discussed my birth plan, my visits with my healthcare provider, and what sort of role my partner would play in the day.  She made sure that my husband, who was my primary birth coach, was comfortable in his role as a support person.  She checked in via phone, text and email and also provided post partum visits to debrief with us about the birth experience and was seemingly unflappable when she heard about all of the different curveballs that labor can throw at you.

Hopefully, timing will work out in our favor next time and when I am ready to have another baby, she will be on the front lines as my doula.  If you have the opportunity to meet with her--take it!!  She is very well connected in the Seattle birth community so if for whatever reason she is unable to be your doula, I am confident in her ability to give quality recommendations for other doulas in the area.  I wholeheartedly recommend Katie.

Jessica Pelkey

3/15/2015

I had an uncommonly complicated 56-hour labor with my son. It was the kinda labor that left us with no doubt about the wisdom of our choice to hire Katie.

When I first met with her in our consultation it was very clear to me that she has left no stone unturned in her study of chilbirth. She knows her stuff backwards and forwards. In addition to being a doula, she's a mother of twins, a childbirth educator, and she has attended a laundry list of additional childbirth-related trainings... seriously, there's an actual list on her website and it's very long.:) She was the only doula I met with and I knew she was right for me and my partner. In our prenatal visits she was warm, friendly, and asked all the right questions. She took notes and was judicious about getting to the heart of what kind of experience I was hoping to have with my birth.

Honestly, I can't imagine what my birth would have been like without Katie because there's no way to extricate her from how things went down. When I was pushing, (for four hours) the doctor even took one of her suggestions. Doulas are, of course, not medical practitioners, but Katie is someone who knows her birth research up and down, so much so that she had the respect of my doctors.

My son was born with the help of forceps, with his cord wrapped twice around his neck, facing my right thigh, (yes, that's a thing), and needed the help of the pediatrics team to get going, but after all that Katie made sure that I had "my moment" with my son, which was my greatest wish for the birth. My partner and I were exhausted from the ordeal and Katie helped us communicate with the hospital staff to ensure our requests for the care of our son were observed.

Katie has all the right skills for her job--she's done (all) the research, she's whip smart, she knows how to talk to medical personel respectfully, and most importantly, she's kind, loving, very understanding, and full of empathy for parents.

N and S

11/18/2013

Beth Caldwell

8/28/2013

I don't even know where to begin with my gushing about the positive experience we had with Katie as our doula. She really listened to me about the kind of birth I wanted to have, without any kind of judgment, and did her best to make my birth experience the way I wanted it to be. She didn't make assumptions--she LISTENED. I'd had a rough time with my first born (he was a 27-weeker and spent 9 weeks in the NICU) and had a lot of anxiety throughout this pregnancy, and Katie was able to help aleviate some of that anxiety by helping me talk through my fears. She was also helpful in suggesting things, such as bringing our own receiving blankets, to help us avoid some PTSD triggers for my husband and I.

Katie was with us both through a false-alarm hospital trip at 37 weeks, and the real deal at 40+. She came to our house to meet up with us before heading out to the hospital, and stayed with us at the hospital until we were ready to transfer up to a recovery room. We had Katie take pictures during the birth, and honeslty, I can't figure out how she did such a great job capturing those memories on film AND being so supportive during the pushing. After we came home from the hospital, Katie came to check on us and of course have a snuggle with our new baby.

I think what I like best about Katie is how filled with love she is. She turned what could have easily been another traumatic birth experience, into a really positive one, where I felt surrounded by comfort and support. I have recommended Katie to everyone I know who is having a baby because I can't imagine a better doula than Katie.

Susan Yoo-Kern

8/27/2013

This is a very difficult testimonial for me to write.  As I write this, my baby is about to turn 4 months next week, so I feel like I have had some time to process my experience with Katie and her absence at our critical time of my labor and even post delivery. Katie is warm, encouraging and proactive listener.  We selected Katie, signed a contract & from there, we met twice at our house to discuss a birth plan. Our plan was flexible - "go as far as we can without medical intervention, but know we have the epidural as back up." When my water broke late Sunday night, Katie was available and quick to respond to our texts. Time passes and by early Monday evening (7pm), my doctor said the contractions were slowing down and needed assistance as we were coming up to 24 hour since my water broke. My husband called Katie @ 9pm that pitocin was going to be administered. The contractions were coming on fast and I knew that I wasn't able to bear the pain very much.   At 11pm, Katie was no where to be found and even the hospital staff asked repeatedly, "Where is your doula?!"  The pain was too much and the epidural was administered the exact same time Katie walked in my hospital room. She was there for the pushing at 2am and took pictures on her ipad/iphone (which I was ok with). My baby arrived early hours of Tuesday morning.  We were overjoyed!  She did stay in our room for a few hours and advised us on some things that would be beneficial for our bonding time. She followed up with us a few days after the birth and as contracted, stopped by our home to visit. We gave her a check for the remaining balance.  Since then, I have been waiting for our 2nd post pardum visit and the pictures I have repeatedly requested.  This is not a great feeling on my side; as I feel she did not hold up her end of the agreement, not present when it mattered and my numerous requests for pictures she said she would email me.

Melissa Crane

6/11/2012

Lisa Wasikowski

5/14/2012

Michael and Suzanne

9/22/2011

Katie was a great source of support in the birth of our daughter.  My wife had a completely natural birth and undoubtedly Katie's presence eased the both of us through the process.  Katie met with us near our home and offered books and videos for us to borrow.  As Suzanne went into early labor, Katie was available over the phone and via text messages to follow up, answer questions, and offer encouragement.  When it was time for us to transition to the University of Washington (Midwifery Center), Katie met us promptly.  

During the labor process, Katie was a warm presence who offered helpful suggestions for various birthing positions.  More importantly she provided constant support with every wet towel she handed to me (which I placed on my wife's neck and forehead) reassuring the both of us that each contraction we were one step closer to meeting our baby.  When our first child was born Katie even grabbed my camera and took photos for us!

After the birth of our daughter, Katie met with us twice and provided a chronology of our daughter's birth.  I highly recommend Katie as she was a thoughtful and generous presence as we began a new chapter of our life.

Laura R.

5/27/2011

Kelli Dhatt

5/8/2011

I am writing in praise of Katie as a birth doula! She attended the birth of my daughter, and was a tremendous support to both myself and my husband. Although it was my second birth, it was longer than my first (40.25 hours). Anticipating a natural birth, Katie helped me stay focused and coached me through contractions. When the midwife began suggesting medical interventions, Katie helped me find my voice for my wishes and supported me in making the decisions that were best for my birth experience.

Following the birth of both of my children, Katie was one of my primary sources of knowledge, advice and reassurance in all aspects of newborn care. Have her teach you how to swaddle! I highly recommend her as a birth doula!

Heather

5/3/2011

While my husband and I waffled a bit throughout my pregnancy about whether we wanted a doula to help us through our birthing experience, we ultimately decided that Katie was the perfect person with whom to share in our experience.  We were right!

Katie helped both my husband and I stay centered on our goals, helped allieviate my fears and with her questions, gave me the perspective that I needed to stick with our plan of staying at home until my contractions were steady and strong.  Once we arrived at the hospital, Katie reminded us of the many different positions we could try during labor and coached us through the very long process of labor and delivery. However, she knew when my husband and I needed some time to ourselves and gave us space we did not know we needed as well.

Thanks, in part, to Katie's wonderful support, I delivered our son without any medication.  She was my epi-doula! ;)  

Chris Roberts

4/21/2011

Katie was amazing at the birth of our son. Without her thoughtful and valuable advise, I am not sure that the birth would have been as smooth as it was. My wife had a completely natural birth.

She offered helpful suggestions to our birth preferences and provided a DVD of birthing positions when she met with us before the day of delivery. On the day of my son's birth, Katie was giving us advice on what we needed to be talking to the doctors. Later, she came over to our house and comforted my wife as she was undergoing the early stages of active labor. At the hospital, she gave us good advice with comfort positions (and ways to speed up contractions), and as labor progressed, was right by my wife's side, providing comfort. She knew our birth preferences and ensured that we got what we wanted.

I cannot imagine how much more difficult labor would have been without Katie. She is awesome!!!

John and Tiffany Kirkpatrick

4/17/2011

Katie was a HUGE support through our family's birthing experience. She was there every step of the way, and was so strong. She not only gave great direct support to Tiffany during her 42 HOUR labor, but was also there me as I struggled with how much pain my wife in during labor. Her confidence and calm approach when things get stressful in the labor room are infectious to whoever is in the room. Especially during a long labor such as ours, you need several strong pillars to help keep your bridge from crashing down. Our bridge would have crashed without Katie to help hold it up.

We couldn't give stronger praise to what Katie did for us during our birthing process, and we STRONGLY recommend her anybody searching for top-notch doula.

John and Tiffany