Gina Slattery

9/30/2022

I am so glad I hired Doula Aileen! She was instrumental in helping me achieve the unmedicated birth of my dreams! Like so many of us, I'd had a difficult first birth and I was determined to have a better experience the second time around. The first time, I thought I'd be bothered by an additional person present, so I didn't get a doula. But this time I knew I would want that comforting presence and words of encouragement. My bf isn't the nurturing type, so he was happy to feel a little less pressure and have a teammate in supporting me in the birthing experience rather than having it be all on him. I really appreciated how down to earth Doula Aileen was. The crunchy world can take itself too seriously, and I adored Aileen's lighthearted spirit and willingness to support whatever birth preferences I decided on. I had interviewed a few different doulas, and I was happy to find such a natural fit. I couldn't have asked for more. She arrived at the hospital in time for me to be admitted to delivery and to take over for my bf so he could go move his car since he had double-parked in the rush to get me there because I was about to have a car baby! I was delivering on all fours, and feeling uncomfortably warm from the mask and hot room. Aileen pulled the hair tie I needed out of thin air! She held for me the coconut water I had packed. She then produced some lavender essential oil and a cool washcloth! Those things were little and yet such a tremendous relief to me, which I didn't even think to ask for! The doctor told me to flip over onto my back which I was not about to do, and I felt like I had an ally for my autonomy if staff were to get pushy. Baby was born just 2 hours after I arrived. Aileen's soothing, cheerful voice, almost mindreading caretaking gestures, and jovial demeanor were a major source of strength for me and I will forever be grateful.

Molly Braun

7/25/2020

I can't recommend Aileen enough! It was my first birth and I had a goal of a natural, unmedicated birth. I went into labor 40+5, at the start of the pandemic. Hospitals said they were limiting people in the room, luckily I was able to get Aileen and my husband in the room and all went as planned. I told my husband after that I loved him and all, but if it had come down to it, I probably would have had Aileen in there if push came to shove. She also handled a placenta encapsulation for me which I felt really helped with my milk production and energy levels in the first weeks postpartum. Aileen is amazing at what she does and I will certainly have her there at the birth of my next child - this one will likely be a home birth, I know Aileen will be able to point me in the right direction to make that happen. Thanks for everything Aileen!

Maggie Garborg

2/25/2020

I  can't say enough about the care and support my family received from Aileen.  We had planned a homebirth and hired Aileen to be our hypno-doula (we prepared for this birth with the Hypnobabies childbirth education course).  We met with her twice before our birthing time, both times in our home.  She asked thoughtful questions about our birth plans and took the time to understand our preferences.  During our birth rehearsal, she carefully explained what we could expect during our birthing time and spent some extra time going over the birth partner manual with my husband.  Unfortunately we experienced a change of plan during our birthing time, but Aileen was there with us every step of the way.  We labored at home for nearly three days before transferring to the hospital and ultimately having an unplanned repeat C-section.  Aileen traveled back and forth to our home several times during labor.  There, she did everything from provide comfort measures to preparing food and assisting me with  various measures to speed up labor.  I always had a rested person with me to help with comfort measures because Aileen and my husband were able to spell one another.  When the time came to transfer to the hospital, Aileen accompanied us and even slept on the floor of our hospital room.  She provided support and guidance as we attempted a vaginal birth.  When we ultimately opted for a repeat C-section, she helped us cope with the change in plans so that we could be emotionally prepared to meet our baby.  She remained with us in the operating room, continuting to provide support and encouragement and sending updates to our family members.  After our daughter was born, she stayed with us until we were moved from the recovery room to our postpartum room.  Finally, she visited us in our home a few days after we were discharged.  I would highly recommend Aileen to any birthing family.

Amanda

1/20/2020

Aileen is a wonderful, knowledgable doula.  With the sudden onset of preeclampsia and the transition from a low-intervention birth center to a prolonged induction and urgent Cesarean in a very short period of time, I had the support and advocacy I needed during a time I struggled to advocate for myself.  Aileen was my reassurance as decisions were made quickly, was with me during the anesthesia and surgery, and stayed throughout the hours of recovery, checking in on my husband and myself during my prolonged hospitalization and 10 days in the NICU for our son.  I recommend her with my whole heart.

Isaac

12/13/2019

My wife and I decided to have our first child at home. Consequently, we interviewed a couple doulas. Our first interview was fine, but we decided to keep looking. After about 30 seconds talking with Aileen, we were both sure that she was going to be a great fit. Aileen was very open to hearing all our questions and concerns, and she treated them all with respect, even though we were (and still are) very new parents.

During the home birth, which happened quite quickly, Aileen was very supportive, helping my wife maintain and utilize her Hypnobabies hypnosis techniques and she also helped ensure that her other needs were being met during the birth experience. As a new dad at my first birth, Aileen's presence was very reassuring.

After the birth, my wife very much appreciated the placenta encapsulation, and I appreciated the post-partem visit, which allowed us to reflect on the birth, share our experience with the new baby, and consult Aileen about any particular questions. Again, even though they may have been questions that seasoned parents would not have, they were treated with respect.

Carla

11/15/2019

We hired Aileen as our doula and hypnobabies instructor for our first baby born at Methodist Hospital with the midwives.  From our first interview through her post baby visit, I loved her compassion, evidence-based information, her strength (teaching you to advocate for yourself and explaining info), organization, and passion for her work and familes she helps!

We loved:

-when it came time to labor, she was the calm but strong angel in my ear, keeping me synced into hypnosis and sticking to the birth plan I wanted.  I was able to give birth with a great team of medical professionals, my husband, and Aileen circled around holding my legs for physical and emotional support. She works really well as a supporter, coach. My midwife also mentioned several times how much they like working with AIileen.

-when our birth plans changed and prior a fall happened to me while pregnant, she was calm and providing hypnobabies tracks to listen to that calmed my anxiety.  She's super responsive via text.

-her listening ear, and her advice for how to set boundaries with family and ask for help after the baby comes! She's also very up to date on what is normal practice in all the typical MN birthing locations.

-at our prenatal visits she got on the floor to demo breastfeeding positions, and has strong connections to Twin Cities birthing experts and organizations from babywearing to breastfeeding and beyond. 

-her resilience and her back-up team is great too.  With a long birth she attended overlapped, her back-up doula attended with us a few hours.  Aileen stepped in gracefullly into our birth when it came tim.  We feel lucky to have had the knowledge, support, and care of 2 outstanding doulas, and are so happy she carried us all the way through to making sure we ordered our first meal with our baby.  Aileen is an amazing doula.

Anna

10/10/2019

We hired Aileen as a doula for my first birth which was a planned home birth.  I am lucky to have had the birth that I envisioned and Aileen was a part of making that happen. Here are some of the wonderful things she brought to our pregnancy and birth experience:

- At our interview, she encouraged us to consider HypnoBabies as our child birth class - we did and credit HypnoBabies for helping me have a fast and relatively easy first birth at home.
- At our prenatal appointments, we loved talking with her, learning about childbirth and parenting, and hearing her evidence based perspective on birthing choices. She helped us understand what choices we had and, based on our values, helped us determine what was most likely to be in line with our beliefs.
- At my birth, it was wonderful having Aileen there to help with my Hypnosis and to help my husband and to keep us all calm and present for the birth.
- After the birth, we also hired her for placenta encapsulation, which I think helped me maintain my positive mood that I had gained during my pregnancy and kept me level headed during those first challenging days of being a new parent.
- I don’t think we could have had a long enough post partum appointment with Aileen to just celebrate my birth, talk about being the parents of a new born, or get her advice and perspective on parenting.

Aileen is an amazing birth professional and her experience, both personal and professional, is invaluable. Beyond just the depth and breadth of knowledge, her perspective and wisdom on childbirth and parenting and how to stay focused on what you and your family want is exactly the kind of support every family needs.

Andrea Rogers

9/29/2019

Aileen was my doula, my childbirth educator, and she encapsulated my placenta! From the start, my husband and I, first time parents, felt like we were in excellent hands. Aileen has a calm and measured approach to all that she does - the love she feels for her work flows into the families she seves (and I would know, because we used all of her services!). My baby came into this world in his own unique way, on his own timeline - at 42.6 weeks, to be clear. While we planned a homebirth and prepared carefully with Hypnobabies tracks and scripts, biophysical profiles toward the end, yoga, endless stairs, and working to get ourselves as close to homebirth as we could (8cm and water broken before my birthing time took a long break), we needed to transfer to the hospital for a "whiff of pitocin." If Aileen was comforting to us at home (and she was), she really took the lead and ushered us to parenthood during that delicate transition. She helped guide me through position after position, and she made sure my poor sleepless partner had a break - she helped to guide our decisions and avoid a surgical birth that certainly would have been our fate without her. She even caught the most beautiful images of us throughout. After leaving the hospital, Aileen encapsulated my placenta and had it back to me in a matter of days. I was so happy to have taken this journey with such  wise and loving mama teacher.

Shannon Clouse

4/8/2019

I have nothing but postive things to say about Aileen. She obviously has a passion for her work and is well suited to it! Aileen is great to work with, is open to her clients' wishes/plans/beliefs and does everything possible to support her clients, regardless of her own opinions. She is a great hypno-doula, and was a calm and knowledgable presence throughout my long labor as a first-time mom. She is reassuring and also realistic, which makes navigating the end of pregnancy, labor, and beginning the journey as a parent much easier to navigate. Even having had a very supportive husband and a mother from a healthcare background as a part of my support system, Aileen was essential during this huge life transition. Even though as a doula she does not technically do anything "medical", her experience and advice was invaluable. We hired her also as a postpartum doula, which was again fantastically helpful during a time of uncertainty and huge life changes. I would recommend anyone on the fence about getting a doula, or about hiring Aileen, to just do it! My skeptical family was convinced after working with her, and I will definately be hiring her again for subsequent births! 

Greta Veregge

3/6/2019

My husband and I first met Aileen at her Hypnobabies class and we knew right away that we wanted her to be our doula. We instantly felt comfortable with her and that she would be a great fit. During my birthing time she made us both feel safe with her calm demeanor. Not only did she provide support for me but also made my husband feel confident as my support. The emotional support and energy that she brings could light up a room.  We are so thankful that we chose her to be part of such a special day. Aileen did a wonderful job encapsulating my placenta as well. We plan on using her again!

Mary Collier

2/26/2019

I would 100% recommend Aileen. We met her as our Hypnobabies instructor- she impressed us with her birth and human anatomy and physiology knowledge, she always led with compassion and made a point to include partners in a way we hadn’t experienced before. What we loved was her direct and honest communication. These skills and values were just what we needed leading up to and on our son’s birthday. She provided us wonderful guidance in questions to ask in our prenatal appointments and as our pregnancy was taking a different route. She was always so thoughtful and absolutely reassuring, I was grateful she was on my team. Our birthing choices were flipped when our little one showed signs of distress. We called Aileen in - she came into the room and within 10 seconds of her standing in the doorway - she knew just what we needed without having to ask any questions. She jumped in with her winter hat still on and instantly began helping me (and my Husband) - mentally, emotionally and physically. She recognized the stages of my birthing time before I did and was a powerful advocate for me when my care team made suggestions that didn’t align with my goals. I feel so blessed and grateful to have had her as our Doula.

Charlie Braman

1/10/2019

Aileen established trust and rapport from the very first meeting by taking the time to get to know us, our goals for the prganancy and birth, our fears, and our personality types. Aileen tailored the entire experience to make it relevant and personal to us. She was available 24-7 to answer questions and provide incredible advice and encouragement. Aileen is incredibly smart, well-educated in her field, empathetic, caring, trustworthy, engaged...there are literally not enough positive adjectives to describe her and her work with us. Aileen‘s ability to not only act as our doula, but also to teach our Hypnobabies course was amazing. Her Hypnobabies course was the most useful thing we did to become new parents. We were admittedly skeptical of hypnosis at first, but now I couldn’t imagine going through the process without it. During the course we learned everything and more than you would learn at a standard new parenting class. In fact, I think we learned way more! I’m additon to that, we trained in hypnosis and it made the difficult periods of the pregnancy and labor not only manageable, but peaceful and enjoyable. Numerous staff members at the hospital, including doctors, nurses and midwives all commented on how amazing the hypnosis worked and what a beautiful birth it facilitated. i would recommend Aileen to anyone, whether it‘s their first baby or fifth baby. I literally couldn’t imagine having done it without her, and if we ever have another baby, we would definitely beg Aileen to work with us again.  Working with Aileen was hands down the most important thing we did to prepare for, and experience, the birth of our child.

Emily Engfer Lorenz

1/6/2019

Aileen is such a pleasure to work with. I am a medical professional at a local hospital and I can't say enough how much of a pleasure it is to work with her. She is great with her patients, is a great advocate and also easy to work with from the medical side, which is not always the case. Sometimes there can be significant clashes between hospital staff and support people and this is never an issue with Aileen and she always keep the patients wishes at the forefront. She is well educated and a great asset to laboring mothers.

Hilary Lund

10/24/2018

Aileen is an amazing doula and I would absolutely hire her again. This was our first birth and Aileen was wonderful at preparing us for not only the birth but also pregnancy and postpartum. It was priceless to have someone to call throughout all of the stages. The night my contractions started we called Aileen and she was not only super helpful in directing us at what to do, she was comforting too. I had an extremely fast labor, and Aileen somehow made it to the hospital (our doctor didn't even make it). She told my husband when it was time to see the baby be born (he probably would have missed it since he was comforting me), and she was so valuable after the birth as well. She made sure I was hydrated and fed, gave us a tour of the placenta, and guided our first breast feeding. In the weeks following the birth, she was a great resource for breast feeding - always super responsive and very knowledgable. Aileen was a perfect combination for my husband and me of caring and science-based. We both found great value in having her part of this intense and wonderful experience in our lives!

Jo Lock Kucala

3/21/2018

The trust, support, and warmth I felt from Aileen during my pregnancy, VBAC birth and beyond is invaluable. She met me at the level I needed to be at every step of the way. She has such an amazing healing touch which brought me back to my center of focus during my birthing time. My birth wouldn’t have been the same without her!

Katrina Schleisman

3/20/2018

Aileen was both my doula last year for the birth of my son, and also the instructor for the Hypnobabies classes my husband and I took (we are first-time parents). I wanted to have a natural childbirth but also wasn't sure I would follow through with it in the moment, and Aileen was wonderful in making it clear that my birth could happen how I wanted it to, and there was no pressure to do it a certain way or in alignment with anyone else's philosophy.

I gave birth in a hospital under the care of midwives, and it was extremely comforting to have Aileen there in the room. She made sure I ate and drank, she stayed with me so my husband could take bathroom and food breaks, and she helped advocate for things I wanted in the room like a birthing tub, low lights, music, essential oils, etc.

I ended up having a natural childbirth without any medication, which was an intense and indescribable experience. I was able to move around and be present for the whole experience, and my son was born healthy and happy (albeit with the cord wrapped around his neck, which the midwife took care of as soon as I could push him out). Aileen also took photos of the birth. It was something I didn't think to ask about ahead of time, but I'm so happy to have those photos now and I love to go back and look at them when I want to remind myself of the experience.

She also came to visit us in the hospital the next day to check on how things were going, like breastfeeding. She helped us get our son into his car seat for the first time, which we had no idea how to do :) If we decide to have another child someday I will definitely ask Aileen to be our doula again. She's a great person with a ton of knowledge and experience to share on pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing.

Deborah Runck

3/13/2018

Aileen is an amazing doula: kind, calm, nurturing and knowledgeable.  Aileen was with us for the birth of our third boy and we are so grateful to have had her be part of his birth.  She had a knack for knowing when to comfort me, when to give me space, and when to guide my husband on what he could do to help.  We trusted Aileen and felt very comfortable discussing the pros and cons of any decision we needed to make along the way.  She never judged us or made us feel uncomfortable about any of our decisions.  We were so fortunate to have found Aileen and thankful to her for helping make our little ones birth go as we had hoped.

Nate Seefeldt

3/13/2018

When it came to our birth experience I could not have asked for a better person to be a part of our family journey.  When I first met Aileen I knew immediately that she was going to play a big part in our birth in some way just by the conversation and warm energy she provided during our first meeting.  On the night before our sons birth Aileen was a life saver.  As a partner you want to be there in every way for your spouse however there are some things that need some additional support and attention that only those with a special gift can provide and Aileen is one of these people.  Whenever my Wife needed something tath I was unable to provide she stepped in and provided the care and supoprt that my wife needed.  As I stood back and watched her interact with my wife I could not help but be in awe of how caring, compassionate and understanding she was of what my wife was going through.  When my wife was ready to move to the birth center she was ready to go at the drop of a hat and made sure that I did not forget anything that I was so worried about forgetting in all of the craziness that comes with having a baby.

Once we got to the birth center this support only grew as she was doing things that I would not have even thought about for my wife that helped provide her the extra comfor she needed to get through the tough times of our birth.  I cannot say enough about how helpful Aileen was to both me and my partner.  If you are considering her to be a part of your birth I recommend that you just meet one time with her and you will understand where I am coming from.  I respect and appreciate the work she does so much more after what she did for my wife and I and would recommend her to anyone I come across who is even questioning haveing a doula.  The support she provided is unmeasurable and Aileen is someone I am truly grateful to have welcomed her into both my family's life and our birth journey.

Rhiannon Blackdeer

3/9/2018

Aileen was so great at the birth of our daughter. I had decided last minute that I wanted a doula present after I found out that my mother wasn't going to be able to be in the room with me.  I did a google search and there she was! We decided to have Aileen be a part of the birth for number of reasons, 1. She shares the same name as my mother. 2. I wanted to have my placenta encapsulated and 3. She had this warm, caring, and friendly presence when we first met her. She was the whole package!  It was difficut to get my husband to agree as he didn't think it was necessary but after the birth he completely agreed that having her there made a huge difference.  She helped coach me through my contractions and helped make me feel as comfortable as possible without me having to tell her what I needed or I didn't even realize what I needed. She kept my husband and I informed and provided when it came to making medical decisions. I was able to deliver without the use of pain meds which I don't think would have been possible without her support. We are so happy that she was able to be a part of the birthing process! I defintely recommend her to anyone looking for a doula!

Ashley Chambliss

3/8/2018

Aileen has such a warm and compassionate energy and I couldn‘t be happier that I hired her to be my hypno-doula. She was professional and courteous in communicating rates, scheduling and her service offerings. After our initial meeting, I knew she would be supportive, kind and knowledgeable throughout my pregnancy and during my birthing time. Aileen used all the cues I had practiced in my Hypnobabies home study and it was a great comfort to me. Her presence is soft, maternal and unyieldingly caring. You can tell she really loves bringing babies into the world! She also encapsulated the placenta for me and got it to me the next day to help my energy, healing and milk supply. Thank you, Aileen!

Suzanne Zaayer

3/8/2018

My husband and I are so thankful we chose to have Aileen support us for the birth of our first child. We were anxious, excited and there were many steps in the birthing process we did not expect. There were also several stressful points along the birthing process, and Aileen helped me to relax and reminded me of my options. This was extremely helpful in keeping to our birth plan. As a result of Aileens help we went on to have succesfull natural birth(aside from nitrous oxide) and I am sure I could not have done so without Aileen as our doula. My husband and I look forward to having Aileen at our next birth.

Bea Rebecca Penelope Lorinser

3/8/2018

Aileen was my Doula for my birth in September. This pregnancy was a suprise and my partner and I were unsure if we were ready for it. We had just gone through some huge life changes including moving, graduating from college, a major health treatment and the unexpected death of one of my best friends who was like a sister to me. I have worked in reproductive health care since the premature birth of my son 8 years ago. That birth was traumatic for me because it included an emergency birth with a nicu stay. I felt that I was not supported at the time. Imagining doing that again without my sister was scary to me. In choosing a Doula my mind kept returning to Aileens energy. I told my midwives she makes me feel loved and cared for, like I could cuddle in her shawl. One thing I dealt with with this pregnancy was trauma based anxiety. Aileen really helped with that. Her experience with people and hypnobabies was wonderful. We had planned a home birth and our son had different ideas. He was born very quickly in our bathroom with my partner and I. He was blue when he was born and my body went into shock. We quickly did a hospital transfer to care for him and me. My partner stayed home until we could get care for our other child. All of my fears about my previous hospital birth were there. Aileen was by my side updating my partner with what was happening. Having her and my midwives there was the most supportive thing. Once my partner got to the hospital Aileen helped us with the decisions we were faced with. Once we came home she helped with preparing my placenta and guiding me in regards to my own mental health. She was so wonderful with my partner and my whole family. Aileen understands people and is so empathetic and kind, not to mention that her realness is so refreshing. She always makes me laugh. Aileen will always have a place in our family and maybe someday I'll crawl into her shawl. Simon, Joe, me and our older kids are greatful to her.

Elinor Shank

3/7/2018

Aileen was my doula during the birth of my first biological child. She was awesome. What I appreciated most was her being there to tell me to eat and drink during my active labor- that was so important. And also she was such a wonderful patient advocate and spoke up for me about my birth plan. Having Aileen’s experience, confidence and support during my birth process was exactly what I wanted. She was great.

Jason Peterson

4/20/2017

Words cannot fully express the gratitude for the amazing partnership and training from Hypnobabies adn Aileen Larson!  From a DAD's perspective and our first child I trully cannot imagine not having the support and training that we had. I can tell you all the training in the world cannot prepare a first time Dad for when it is "Go Time" and having Aileeen provide extra advise and support was encredable. The classes and DAD/Partner Audio tracks were really powerful to calm and prepare for what is ahead. I found myself using many elements of the training not only during birth although preparing and post now 22 days from our lil ones birth. We had no interventions and chose a water birth. It was trully the most beautiful experience I have ever been through and it would have never been this smooth and successfull if not for the Hypnobabies training.  I will say it is a "gift" if you are able to have Aileen support you through your childs birth and wish you all a healthy birth.

Please reach out if any question I am happy to share more.

Jason

Katherine Kove

3/30/2017

My husband and I can't imagine the birth of our daughter without our amazing doula Aileen.  From our first meeting to our post partum visit, Aileen has been the perfect combination of supportive, informative, loving and committed.  She knows when to step up to be a leader in the midst of the chaos of a hospital birth, and when to step back.

She was so supportive of my goals for a natural childbirth.  When things went differently so was such an amazing bank of information helping us discuss the options and negotiating with the hospital staff for different creative solutions.  Her presence was so calming and peaceful and when there were times of anxiety or stress, she would be there in my ear guiding me through hypnobabies promps, helping me relax.

Her support of my husband was paramount.  He valued having a resource to discuss solutions (replace a nurse with different goals than us), get tips on how to support me (getting into the birthing tub, cold washcloths), and reminders on when to focus on his needs as well (sleep and food).

She was even an amazing resource after our birth when we called her at 3am because our baby was dehydrated.  She walked us through the options given to us by the on call doctor and helped us feel comfortable with supplementing with formula for the night and picking up donor milk the next day.  She calmed my fear of ruining my chances to breasfeed successfully and she was right.  Four weeks later, we are all healthy and breastfeeding exclusively.

We were so lucky to have Aileen as our doula, she feels like family to us now.  She helped make the birth of our first child a positive, calm, and peaceful experience.  I wouldn't question using her services again, they are worth every penny.

Tate Leyba

3/2/2017

Aileen instantly gained my trust the first time I met her. During our initial meeting she was very personable, thorough and was able to answer all my questions before I asked them. I attended her Hypnobabies class, hired her as my doula and had her do my placenta encapsulation. The class made me feel confident and prepared for birthing. The hypnosis worked well, I didn’t feel any pain as I was having 5 minute long contractions from a bad reaction to the induction medication. I ended up having a unplanned c-section and felt calm and happy through my entire birth experience. She was also very helpful in the initial breastfeeding experiences. I’m glad that Aileen was a part of it all and would recommend her to anyone.

Amy Nolte

2/26/2017

After interviewing several doulas, I knew Aileen would be perfect for us. She genuinely listened to our concerns, and my husband and I knew immediately that she would be a perfect fit.  Our three year old daughter was also very comfortable around her, which was important as my labors were 24 and 38 hours, so the doula we chose might be with us for quite some time.

Aileen spent time educating us before hand so that my husband and I had some strategies to help me cope with labor on our own until she could arrive, as she lived an hour away.

Aileen was so supportive, that during labor, I wanted nothing to do with my husband until pushing time came, which ensuring that he got the rest he needed and was able to care for our older child. She helped my husband and I communicate so that we both got what we needed.

Aileen also knows many people in the community, so when I needed some help moving my baby into the right position, I went to a body specialist that Aileen knew, who worked wonders.

Aileen was also very responsive to our specific needs, and did exactly what we needed, no more and no less, and wasn't pushy. She respected our wants and wishes for labor, birth and beyond.

Having a doula, specifically Aileen helped make my birth a very memorable and positive experience, and I can say it wouldn't have been that way without her. The strategies she had for pain relief and her support, along with my medical team, helped me be confident in the birth process.

Lindsey Feiner

10/12/2016

I can't say enough how much Aileen's support meant to me through the end of my pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

I ended up needing a last minute replacement doula at 39 weeks and Aileen met with me, assured me I could call her if I went into labor while I was interviewing a replacement, and really made me immedately feel at ease. She asked permission to physically comfort me when I was upset discussing my situation. I saw this as the first sign (of many) that she was there for what I needed, not what she wanted to provide. She consistently met me where I was.

Aileen met with both my husband and I in our home to discuss our hopes for birth and to go over comfort measures. We had done all of this with our orignal doula but it was important to establish that comfort with Aileen, especially in our home where I hoped to labor as long as possible.

The day of our birth she was accesible via phone and text all day and was on her way over as soon as we thought we were ready for additional help. She supported me at home for about an hour and then we were headed to the hospital. She was VITAL to my success in having the birth I desired at the hospital. She instilled confidence when I really needed it, anticipated needs before they arised, supported my husband when he was unsure, and stayed after the birth to see how breastfeeding was going and make sure we were all settled.

After the birth I had trouble with breastfeeding, had lost all of my confidence in my ability to breastfeed, and had a bad experience with an in hospital lactiation consultant. Aileen reached out to check in and I told her that I was concerned and she referred me to a great IBCLC in her network who was at my house within hours.

Aileen was supportive of any decision I made, never made me feel silly for asking questions, and was like an extension of my family through my brith experience. I cannot recommend her enough.

Jen Roesler

10/8/2016

Aileen was exactly what I wanted in a doula: An experienced guide through the birth process; a nurturing and assertive "you can do it" coach; a champion for the birth that I wanted; and a strong yet kind and supportive partner to my husband and me. Especially as a first-time mom, I absolutely couldn't have achieved the birth I did without her, and my husband and I are so grateful to have had her support, before, during and after our son's birth.

Experience and the right "energy" was important to me. It was so reassuring to bring up any question or concern and have Aileen answer with "been there, done that" or give an evidence-based recommendation. She has helped so moms in many hospitals and birth situations that I felt completely confident that she could guide us through our birth no matter what happened - and she did. Though I was open to doing anything needed to safely bring my son into the world, Aileen's preparation, education, support, coaching and encouragement helped me have the drug-free, self-hypnosis-assisted birth I had hoped for.

One of the most valuable aspects of working with her was in preparing for the birth. We had all the information we needed to be prepared for whatever might come our way. In addition to having her as our doula, we did the Hypnobabies childbirth preparation classes with her and I can't recommend that experience highly enough. I was skeptical about whether self-hypnosis would work or be worth the investment, but if I were to have another child I would 100% do it all over again. I also did the planceta encapsulation and am so glad I did; I think it definitely helped support a fast, good recovery.

Aileen is the best balance of being knowlegeable; strong yet nurturing; experienced; an advovate for you and your baby; a great guide & coach; and someone you can be comfortable with supporting you in your most challenging moments. We wholeheartedly recommend her!! :)

Jen Roesler

10/8/2016

Aileen was exactly what I wanted in a doula:The perfect combination of an experienced guide through the birth process; a nurturing yet strong "you can do it" coach; a champion for the birth that I wanted; and a kind and supportive partner to both my husband and me. Especially as a first-time mom, I absolutely couldn't have achieved the birth I did without her, and my husband and I are so grateful that we chose her to work with us from among the many talented doulas in the Twin Cities.

When looking for doulas, I wanted someone experienced (since I had no idea what to expect from the pregnancy & birth!). It was so reassuring to bring up questions or concerns or issues and have Aileen be able to answer with a "been there, done that" story. She has helped so moms and partners in many hospitals and different birth situations that I felt completely confident that she could guide us through our birth no matter what happened - and she did. Though I was open to whatever was needed to safely bring my son into the world, Aileen's support, coaching and encouragement helped me have the drug-free, self-hypnosis-assisted birth that I hoped for.

One of the most valuable aspects of working with her was the preparation for the birth. I felt that I had all the information I needed to be as prepared as I could be for whatever might come my way. In addition to working with Aileen as our doula, my husband and I did the Hypnobabies childbirth preparation classes with her and I can't recommend that experience highly enough. I admit that I was skeptical about whether self-hypnosis would work or whether it was worth the investment, but if I were to have another child I would 100% do it all over again!!

If you want a doula who's the best balance of nurturing, strong when you need her to be, experienced, and just an all-around good person as a childbirth educator, champion, coach and mother herself, go with Aileen. I'm so glad we did!

Tysann Forsman

10/6/2016

We worked with Aileen for our first baby.  I really valued the amount of time that she spent with us before, during, and after our baby was born.  My husband wasn't so sure about working with a doula before our daughter was born, but after he saw the amount of care she provided for both of us during the delivery, he was sold.  Our delivery was nothing like we had hoped and planned for, and Aileen was available for us to keep me calm and provide support to my husband as well.

I have a friend having a baby in the near future that was interested in working with a doula, and her husband was skeptical as my husband was too.  After our experience with Aileen, my husband said he would highly recommend working with a doula, and in particular Aileen, and that he would happily tell other husbands that he had changed his mind about it after our experience.

The post partum follow up was also helpful, as I found it so valuable to have someone I trusted to ask questions.

We are grateful for Aileen and her role that she played in our daughter's birth!

Molly Schwaiger

3/27/2016

We had exactly the natural, water birth experience that we wanted, and Aileen's help was absolutely integral to how calm, positive, and healthy everything went.  From the beginning, we were impressed that Aileen went above and beyond with her time and expertise: We met her first at a coffee shop by our house, we were invited to her home to hear other couples' experiences with Hypnobabies, and based on those positive experiences, we signed up to take the Hypnobabies class with her in January and February.  When the other couples in the class had to drop out for various reasons, Aileen gave us a completely personalized course, meeting with us for 6 weeks individually.  We learned a lot and it's clear that Aileen has a deep knowledge of birth that she happily shared with us.  One of the most valuable parts was the birth rehearsal, which Aileen offered to do with us twice: this really gave us a positive preview of what to expect and what to do when the time came.  I can't imagine going into my first birth without this valuable practice!  Moreover, Aileen was always positive and flexible about our birth education.  She always made us feel like we were prepared and able to handle whatever would come.

When our birthing time started, Aileen's arrival and the use of Hypnobabies techniques instantly made me feel more relaxed and comfortable.  When it was time to go to the hospital, I was nervous because I didn't want to spend the 20 minute car ride without her constant support!  Aileen was calm and reassuring throughout the process, and I actually delivered our daughter in the birthing tub only an hour and a half after we arrived (only 7 hours of labor total for our first birth).  Aileen made sure that my husband, our baby, and I were completely cared for - she ordered us food, talked us through recovery procedures, and was so positive through the whole time.  We highly recommend Aileen!!

Jessica Siemens

6/14/2013

We truly enjoyed working with Aileen as our doula! We were using the Hypnobabies method for birthing and she was awesome at helping with the birth prompts, suggesting new positions and being a great support system for both my husband and myself. She was always calm and was able to help guide us through our first birth experience. Our birth time was a total of 48 hours and she was there for almost the entire time (we told her to go home and sleep while our induction was getting going). As the birth process progressed she did a great job keeping us informed of our options and ensuring we were sticking to our birth plan as well as possible.

We loved working with Aileen and would recommend her highly to other couples whether doing Hypnobabies or not. We hope to have another baby in the future and would love to use her doula services again!

Di Lucht-Johnson

6/4/2013

We were a little skeptical about having a doula and it being a strange situation BUT she was wonderful. She was very helpful and was always there when we needed something. She went above and beyond what we expected and was with us when we needed her! She is also trained in hypnobabies and she was GREAT! My husband was by my one side and Aileen was by my other side. Once she got to the hospital during my birthing time everything calmed down and the environment went from crazy to calm and relaxed! I would recommend her to anyone and everyone! I want her back when we have another child. It was such a great experience with her and I would have a VERY hard time considering anyone else! She called numerous times and came to see us all numerous times, before and after giving birth! She is a very friendly down to earth doula and is also very considerate. She will work with different diversities of people and likes everyone. She is very open-minded and was not pushy with anything and let us make decisions and basically went with what we wanted! She helped make a birth plan for us so we were ready for the big day. She also helped us make a baby plan so the Drs. knew what the plan was for our baby once he was born. It was a great experience and I wouldnt change it for anything!

Abbey Vargo

6/3/2013

Aileen was my doula when I gave birth to my second child. I had an OB, Pitocin and an epidural with my first baby and although everything turned out fine I knew there was something else out there for me.

I met Aileen through friends and we hit it off immediately. She has this amazingly calm way about her and made everything seem so... easy. I was interested in using Hypnobabies and she encouraged me from the start.

My husband trusted her immediately and totally got on board with the doula idea. Aileen made him feel very comfortable and helped him feel involved throughout the pregnancy.

My birth went so beautifully. Aileen was a wonderful addition to the room. She encouraged me to keep going when I wanted to stop. She was my advocate with the midwife and she helped me avoid Pitocin and all pain medication!

I had exactly the birth I wanted. Aileen is a big part of why it went so well. I would encourage every woman to hire a doula, and to hire Aileen in particular. She is a treasure and I am glad she is part of my life.

Lindsay Schwab

3/30/2013

 We had a great experience with Aileen.  She was very well versed in HypnoBabies.  She was always positive and supportive of all our decisions.  I had the perfect VBAC birth that I wanted after a lot of false starts.  Aileen was always coming up with ideas and consulting with other resources to help things go along.  She is very knowledgeable with all things related to birth.  I would highly recommend her to anyone.  

Kathleen Navarro

3/29/2013

Our Hypnobabies instructor encouraged us to hire a doula.  We felt that Aileen was the right doula for me and my birth partner. On the day of birthing my husband texted Aileen that we were heading to the hospital and she met us there quickly.  She helped both me and my birth partner through the entire labor process.  She was resourceful in getting our needs met at the hospital.  Her doula methods helped me to stay encouraged and calm during birthing (labor). She helped my birth partner help me which without her I don't think we could have managed.