Tess Morford

1/21/2026

Karen was my doula for the birth of my daughter in August of 2024. It was my first time being pregnant and Karen was a great resource when it came to taking care of myself and my growing baby. She is very knowledgeable about diet and exercise to prepare for labor.

When I went into labor, Karen came right over and helped me get comfortable. She breathed with me through the hard parts. She showed my husband where to apply pressure during contractions and kept us both calm until it was time to go to the hospital. 

My birthing plan didn't go as planned, the birthing center was understaffed and we had to instead wait in the ER until a nurse could bring us up to the delivery department. Karen held my hand the whole time and although everything felt out of control and scary, I knew I could trust her and that she was with us.

I delivered my baby maybe 10 minutes after we got upstairs. A few pushes and my daughter was in my arms. Karen helped advocate for us and stuck to our birth plan as much as we could. She made sure we had what we needed from the nurses: extra blankets and pillows, water, and other essentials. After spending many hours with us, into the early morning, she brought my placenta home and put it in our freezer for later burial in our garden.

Karen has continued to be a part of our lives and will be my doula for our next baby as well. She brings a calm and nurturing presence to the chaos of labor and delivery and I think she really helped make it a positive experience for me and my husband. When we discuss our labor experience with those of our friends, none of whom had a doula, it's so often a very different and more negative story. I know we would have been much more uncertain and would have gone to the hospital much earlier if Karen hadn't been with us. Instead of laboring on my comfortable bed with my cat purring next to me. 

Bess Nuland

9/10/2025

Karen supported our postpartum journey after the birth of our first son and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made! Karen was the first person to meet our son in the hospital, she supported us by caring for the baby so that we could take a break and also caring for me in my recovery. Once we brought our son home, Karen brought over delicious and notorious food to help my recovery and promote healthy breast milk. She helped clean, supported breast feeding, diapering, and watched the baby so that we could shower and rest. She was particularly helpful when my husband has to return to work and I had my first day with the baby at home by myself. She spent 6 hours with me and helped me feel comfortable being home alone with him. 

Karen is particularly skilled in championing new parents in following their vision for birth/postpartum and also in supporting parents if things don't work out as planned. I had planned to have an unmedicated birth in the Birthing Center, but ended needing an induction and a C-section because my baby was huge (11 lbs. 6 ounces!) Our son also had a tongue tie which made our breast-feeding journey difficult. Karen was incredibly reassuring through these pivots and bumps in our early days of parenting. I believe her reassurance contributed greatly to the fact that I feel very positive about my birth and postpartum experiences. I cannot recommend Karen enough!