Danaka Williams

8/9/2024

Shante was tremendously supportive leading up to my labor and delivery! I appreciated that she was well organized -- organizing an in-person meeting to develop a birth plan and demo labor positions, making herself available for a call or text if we had any questions, scheduling a post-partum visit, and even baking a yummy postpartum lasagna that made it super easy for our family of four.

This was my second pregnancy, but first experience with a doula. With the labor techniques that we discussed and demoed, I was able to labor at home and receive an epidural around 7/8 cms, according to my birth plan and wishes. Without her techniques, tips and guidance, I'm confident that the labor portion would have felt more painful, been very anxiety inducing and created a stressful environment for delivery.

I also really appreciated how she gave practical advice to my husband on how he could support me during labor and delivery. For comparison, with my first pregnancy, I received an epidural around 2 cms (because of the potential for an emergency c-section). Although we took a birthing class, my husband did not have to provide comfort for a long time. With this pregnancy and the birth plan I wanted, I'm confident that without Shante, my husband would have been very stressed with trying to balance seeing me in pain while also helping support me through labor. For me, this was the biggest and unexpected benefit of Shante as our doula. I felt very well supported and that I had a true care team with Shante's expertise and my husband's care (at the support of Shante guiding him). 

I highly recommend Shante for anyone looking for a doula!