Aggie V

12/13/2022

Kate was my doula for our first-time pregnancy. She has many years experience and it shows. The best source material was Kate’s guided videos curriculum. We had another zoom session to review any questions or concerns me and my husband may have. Upon the days leading up to my due date I would update her on my progress via text or email, which they responded same day. I had to be induced at 41 weeks & 4 days. Once I was induced around noon, my water broke at 1pm and Kate texted me promptly. She made arrangements around her kids schedule and arrived at the hospital around 3pm. I wish I could say my birthing experience was easy but it was a long 20 hour labor. In the beginning we just chatted away during my early labor contractions and once it became intense Kate really stepped in like a super hero. I couldn’t believe how amazing Kate was during one of the most physically demanding times in my life. She guided me in so many positions, in the tub, on a birthing stool, birthing balls, leaning on my husband and other maneuvers to help. She was at my side at every intense contraction. The last couple hours I wanted to give up and Kate motivated me and reminded me of all the sacrifices it took to get to this intense moment (we’ve been dealing with infertility for several years). I’ve never felt more encouraged even at my most vulnerable hour. Upon our 5am delivery, Kate said her farewells and I couldn’t thank her enough. Kate also took photos periodically thru labor and right when she was delivered. I will definitely cherish those photos forever. Kate texted me four hours later to follow up on me and the baby… my goodness she barely got any sleep and yet she still was considerate to check in. Words can’t describe how valued and safe I felt with Kate. I cannot recommend her enough. I look forward to referring more strong moms to her and her team at Let it Be Birth. Thank you!

Kirsten McCullers

6/27/2022

If you want to have an unmedicated birth go with them! I was able to deliver my 1st baby at UW NW with Kate and I couldn't have done it without her support. She is like the motivational birth coach you didn't know you needed. When you're in labor you need someone you can trust and know they will advocate for you. With Kate I felt so safe and confident in my ability to birth my child naturally. She was also very helpful with instructing my husband on how to best comfort me during labor. I hope to use them again for my next birth. 

Tiffany Wilson

12/23/2015

I had the please of attending a recent home birth with Kate, myself as the assistant midwife in the primary role. The birth was intense and fast. Kate showed up quickly, ready to work. As we all arrived at the same time, the midwife and I were running around trying to get the minimal needs set up for the birth. Kate jumped in, met her client where she was at, and gave her a calm presence as the hustle and bustle was happening all around them. She paid attention to our mutual clients small details such as her birth music, taking photos to document the hour of labor along with video, helping her focus, and reminding her of her wished (one being to keep all taking to a minimum, which was a great reminder she politely gave us). As the midwives, we had to jump in and help the baby a bit after the birth, Kate was calm with an experienced presence, and reminded our client to talk to her baby and help him come into the world. After the birth Kate was very helpful in caring for the mother and father postpartum, cleaning up a bit, and also honoring their family time by giving them some space.

As a long time birth doula myself, and future midwife, I will always refer my clients to the Let it Be Birth team. Experienced. Professional. Dependable. Reliable.

Thank you Kate!

Laurel Anne

6/5/2013

Kate taught my birth class. I was amazed at her wealth of knowledge, and her easy going personality was exactly what my husband and I needed as we nervously anticipated our first child.

Kate's experience with many different birth scenarios allows her to be comfortable talking to women with any birth plan with care and understanding. I watched her reach out to every future mother in our class, from women who were high risk and planned on c-sections, to women who wanted birth center or home births with minimal intervention. She spoke to them all with respect, and from her wealth of knowledge was able to connect and give them all the information they were looking for.

I have kept in contact with Kate since leaving her class over 2 years ago, and have loved having her brain to pick whenever I had a birth or breastfeeding related question. I would recommend, without hesistation, Kate as a doula or birth instructor to anyone who asked. In my opinion, she is one of the best doulas I've ever come across, she truly was made for this job.

Elizabeth I

2/3/2013

Kate was wonderful! She encouraged me to birth the way I wanted to, and supported me every step of the way! She has a wealth of information and knowledge about the childbirth process and helps you utilize that information. She is caring and attentive. My baby was very high, and Kate instructed me to push her down with my hands. An hour later my baby was born! It was so nice having someone "on my team" during the pregnancy and birth!

She also did my placenta encapsulation, and I am happy to report that I had no postpartum depression. I was on the fence about having the placenta encapsulation done, but I'm glad I did.

Jennifer Mensching

1/23/2012

When I was searching for a Doula, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for since this was my first pregnancy. I met with 2 doulas before I met Kate, and while they were very nice and obviously skilled, the fit wasn’t just right. Then Kate showed up on my doorstep. Immediately, she made me feel like we had been friends our whole lives. She was very easy to talk to, and I felt very comfortable sharing this vulnerable yet amazing part of my life with her. It was important to me to choose a doula that I would have no reservations about having in my labor and delivery room. She is not only very professional and very good at what she does, but she is also extremely caring, compassionate, comforting and encouraging. I completely trusted her judgment, and she trusted me to know my body so that I could express my needs and have them met. I had a very long and challenging labor, completely with very painful back labor. Kate’s suggestions for position changes and pain-relief measures were very effective and helped me progress well. I firmly believe I would have ended up with a c-section if it weren’t for her support. It is obvious that Kate knows her stuff, and she loves what she does. Kate was (and is) the one. I would choose her again in a heartbeat for future pregnancy(ies).

Jf Ta

6/8/2011

Kate attended the homebirths of two of my children. When we met we clicked, and her no-nonsense style of communication was comfortable and easy.  I had a lot on my mind regarding the births, and knowing she was a great communicator took a lot of anxiety away from me.  In fact, her confidence and knowledge and straight forward information made me feel confident & informed, too ~ empowered even.  She also helped prepare the placenta for me just how I wanted it to be eaten in smoothies during my postpartum recovery. It made all the difference in the world, and I had the best & fastest recovery ever.  When our next (4th) child was going to come, I could not imagine birthing without Kate present; I even had dreams about the necessity of her being there.  She even knew when the baby was coming before I was sure, and high-tailed it to my house. I was holding on to a few things before she go there, but shortly after she arrived, I was finally able to let go and let the birthing process/transformation take over. She knew what and how to say to make me listen when I wouldn't hear anyone else, and acted as an interpreter to the midwives as well as making sure my birth plan was followed. Kate is conscientious and respectful, no-nonsense and very loving. Again for this second birth she attended, she prepared the placenta for me, and also made placenta prints as a keepsake for our family.  What a blessing she is in my life!

Adelina Thelen

4/27/2011

I really can't fully express what a difference it made for us to have Kate at our birth.  I was attempting a VBAC and very much wanted to have the natural birth I had wanted with my first.  I started having high blood pressure and low fluid, and the last weeks of my pregnancy were an up and down roller coaster, with another c-section contstantly being discussed.  Thankfully I was able to go into labor on my own.  Kate met us at the hospital, literally arriving minutes after we did.  From the minute she got there she helped put me at ease.  She gave me a hot pad for my belly, and just kept bringing out things from her bag that helped me.  We felt she was our advocate, contsantly asking for things to help the process and make me more comfortable.  She brought the birth tub to the hospital, which I actually labored in for most of the time.  Kate was just on the ball the whole time, getting me whatever I needed to make the process easier.  Her encouragement helped me to get through the really tough parts of my labor where I felt like I just couldn't do it anymore.  I would recommend Kate to anyone, and I know that I was able to have a natural childbirth and this life changing experience because she was part of our team. 

Emily Helgren

2/8/2011

Kate helped us plan for any eventuality with our birth. With a twin pregnancy, we knew that a c-section was a possibility, Kate helped us plan for that as well as a vaginal delivery. Our twin A ended up breech and Kate helped us with resources and info on how to turn a breech baby and was supportive of multiple therapy types (chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, etc).

My husband attended her CHAPS class and found it very helpful and informative. She and her husband kept it light and entertaining while preparing him for the birth and how to handle me afterwards.

Kate was very supportive of the delivery option we ended up with (c-section) and she was able to lighten the mood and make it a great birth experience. She fought in the OR to get immediate skin to skin contact with our twins.  It was the perfect birth for us due in part to Kate's calmness and upbeat personality.

She had invaluable knowledge regarding breast feeding that helped get our twins ready to eat and milk production going.  She has given ongoing breastfeeding support since they have been born that has been a huge help as well.

I would highly recommend her to any mom of multiples.
 

Kate Sipe

11/28/2010

Kate did an incredible job of assessing what I’d need to know to successfully execute my VBAC drug free. I was embarrassed at how little I knew about vaginal delivery. Kate sensitively and respectfully educated me. She explained my body’s pain management abilities. She made me feel so ready to have my baby naturally. When I was in labor, Kate did exactly what I needed and wanted: she distracted me when I was in the bath during early labor; she calmly reminded me how to breathe the pain away; she set up a ball and pillows to make me comfortable when the contractions got worse; she watched gLee with me to take my mind off of the pain; she made me eat (my husband could not); and she settled me comfortably into the car to get to the hospital. At the hospital, my dear husband just didn’t know what to say and do. Kate did. She advocated my needs to the nursing staff. She reassured and comforted me. I progressed from 3 cm to 10 cm naturally in one hour at the hospital, undoubtedly because I was so comfortable in the atmosphere Kate set up for me. Every time I said I couldn’t do it, Kate said that I could and I believed her. There was a complication during the pushing and the room had nearly a dozen people in it, nervously bustling about. Without Kate, I would have panicked. She was so calm and so confident. I was able to do my work birthing because of my clear state of mind, which was clearly due to Kate’s positive and confident manner. I really believe that without Kate, I would have had to get drugs. There’s no way that hospital staff or my husband could have offered me the support that Kate did. After the baby was born, Kate ooh’d and aah’d my gorgeous baby and also helped me breastfeed successfully for the first time ever! I highly recommend Kate Rollins for your doula!

Morgan Espinosa

11/25/2010

My experience with Kate as my doula was nothing short of amazing.  First of all she spent a lot of time before the birth helping me to really figure out what I wanted out of my experience of my birth, what I wanted from her and helping me get over many fears that I had.  I had a long labor and she was by my side from the moment I needed her (before, actually) until the end, even though I know she must have been exhausted she did not act it and was my pillar of strength and what kept me going even when I thought I could not do it anymore.  She had so many ideas of how to help my labor progress while helping me to relax at the same time and work through fears and hesitations. I had a very very long pushing stage and a huge posterior baby and she was a key piece in helping me obtain my ultimate goal of a home birth.  I'm not sure I would have been able to do it without her.  She is uplifting, optimistic, funny and at the same time loving, caring, tender hearted and soothing.  You can tell that she truly truly loves being a doula. I would hire her again in a heartbeat and I recommend her whole heartedly. 

~ second time Mom, homebirth

Ashley Sheridan

8/28/2010

My experience with Kate was great.  My Doula, Tiffany, had another birth that she was attending when I went into labor so she had Kate contact us.  From the first time I spoke with her, while having contractions at home, I was relieved by her calm demeanor and reassurance.  Kate met us at the hospital as soon as we got there.  During early labor, my contractions were painful and I started having back labor.  Kate knew right where to push during each contraction the take the pressure off my tailbone and it made them so much more tolerable.  As they started to get stronger, she had me get in different positions to try and flip the baby so he wasn't anterior anymore and what we tried seemed to have worked.  As my labor progressed, she helped me remember to breath and suggested different things we could do.  I could tell that she was very knowledgable and confident in what we were doing.  I wasn't progressing very fast on my own so later that night they had to start pitocin.  She started me a warm bath to get into and it helped SO much (until the pit was turned up and I could no longer take the pain).  At around 6 the next morning I decided to get the Epidural and she let me lean on her during the whole procedure, which took away alot of my stress.  I am so thankful to have had Kate there during my labor-she truly helped me SO much and I'm glad I got the chance to share my birth experience with both her and Tiffany.

Nataly Taylor

8/16/2010

My experience with Kate Rollins as my doula during the birth of my son on 7/5/2010 was wonderful! She reduced the stress over the whole process of labor allowing me to have a much better experience than I would have had without her there. She also was helping me cope the WHOLE time during my labor, I dont even remember her leaving my side to use the bathroom. She also helped me be able to follow my birth plan by "reminding" the doctors of my wishes and pushing them to allow me to do things such as labor in the bath tub and have liguids instead of just ice chips which made my labor so much better as it was a long labor and not being able to relax in the tub or get some extra calories through liguids would have made it an even harder labor.

My baby was turned a little the wrong way which caused back pain and she was educated and knew some positions I could labor in to help him turn the right way. She also made sure the others in the room with me like my aunt and husband were ok and comfortable as my husband has a hard time in hospital settings and passes out alot, she made sure doctors were sensitive to his situation when it came to pulling out medical equipment and even had a special IV cover to cover up the IV in my hand to make the experience enjoyable not only for me but for my family as well.

The cost I paid was WELL WORTH having her there! I would not change anything or ask for her to do anything different if I had the choice, she did her best to meet my wishes and make me comfortable. She was very understanding and compassionate and sensitive to my needs. I plan on having another child soon here and I will be calling her again to be my doula for that birth as well.

I have absolutely no complaints about Kate, She was just wonderful!

Thanks Kate! Hope to see you soon with the next baby!

Nataly Taylor

Tiffany Berry

8/1/2010

We went into the pregnancy thinking about going for a natural childbirth. Though my husband needed a little convincing, he knew we would be at a birth center before I had decided the same thing. He needed a little more convincing to have a doula be a part of our birth, but after I conveyed how important it was to me that I felt that he had someone to support me through the process, and someone who had been through this before to support me, he was willing to go along with the idea. Now that we've been through the birth, my husband has said "even knowing what it is she does, and how she does it, I don't think I could have done her job; it was really very helpful to have her there." I am equally happy that Kate was there to help me through a natural birth. She was upbeat and talkative with me when I needed it, and was quiet and right on top of what I needed when it changed. She had a lot of suggestions to offer to help me get through a lengthy labor after a long prelabor, and did a great job of going with the flow when I either went with her ideas, or just said no. She helped me find a rhythm that go me through labor, when I had difficulty finding that coping mechanism, and was a familiar face there the whole step of the way, exactly where I needed her to be.
After the birth, Kate was an invaluable resource for breastfeeding troubles we had. She stuck with us for a long time, and even after she suggested we see someone with more knowledge (we ended up working with an occupational therapist and physical therapist on the issue), she was very supportive and positive about the whole effort to make breastfeeding work in a way that was best for both mom and baby. The moral support has been invaluable!
If we have a second child (which is not something we're thinking about with a seven week old in the house), I will certainly be calling Kate back!

Colleen Anderson

5/23/2010

My doula introduced me to Kate, I was only at 37 weeks and with my first. My original doula was heading out of town for a few days and we wanted to be on the safe side because I was full term at that point. I had a slow leak in my bag of waters for a 2 and a half days.  Kate was very knowledgeable and had lots of advice for me to help start my contractions naturally. My husband call Kate to come to our home when my labor really picked up. She showed up very quickly and jumped right in helping me both physically and emotionally-she was such a godsend! I didn't know what to do with myself, my body felt out of control. Kate was very reassuring and compassionate to my state of mind she was able to provide me with comfort. I got really scared at one point and Kate knew just what to say to ease my mind, she kept reassuring me that this was normal and natural and everything was as it should be. I also think it's nice to be with someone who actually has given birth and has first hand experience. Kate had ton's of great ideas of things I could do to help my labor progress and distract me. She also knew right where to push on my back; this was so relieving. She guided my husband and showed him places to push and rub on me. Kate had a great breathing technique that was different then we had originally practiced but worked like a charm. I ended up pushing for 6 hours and 10 minutes-from 3:30am until 9:40 am it was very intense. Kate never left my side, she held my hand and supported me through the entire night. Kate has a natural nurturing and loving energy yet is very strong and confident. Even though my labor came early and Kate was not part of my original plan, I felt so comfortable with her and was definitely in great hands. I'm so happy Kate was with me for my birth. Kate has an amazing talent for what she does and I highly recommend her.

Erin Skipley

2/2/2010

I am so thankful that I found Kate when I did, up until then I had little confidence about the birth and was terrified!   She was so supportive during my pregnancy, I could call or email her with questions and concerns.  Then when it came time for the birth, she was FANTASTIC.  She helped us over in the phone in the early stage and then was right there at the house when real labor set in.  Kate is so knowledgable and helped us to streamline the entire process (which can be long and exhausting).  It seemed like labor and birth took about 2 days, and Kate was there the whole time.   Always helpful, asking questions to the hospital staff, and supportive to me and my family in so many different ways.   I wouldn't want to go have a birth without her!  My baby is now three months old and I still call her for help..

Kristin Hoeflin

9/2/2009

My birth was the most amazing experience and Kate helped make that possible for me.  My water broke 3 weeks early and Kate helped me achieve the natural birthing experience I wanted even though I had to use Pitocin to help make the contractions stronger.  My husband was so grateful for her help because the birth was tiring for both of us, and she helped me stay focused using the hypnobirthing techniques that my husband and I both learned when my husband needed a break.  After my son was born she was there with me after he had to go to the NICU. He was in the NICU for 3 weeks due to feeding issues which made breastfeeding impossible.  Through all this, Kate kept encouraging me to not give up and shared all her knowledge with me related to breastfeeding.  After a month my son was finally ready to breastfeed so Kate came over to help us.  With her help my son was successful and he is still going strong at 3 months.  Kate absolutely loves being a doula and it shows in her enthusiasm.

Tayla Suda

9/2/2009

Kate was my savior before, during and after my birth. My husband and I kept meaning to sign up for a class and then never did. Kate came over and talked to the two of us about what to expect and used some techniques to make us feel ready for the birth. When the day came, she was by her phone, ready to go! My labor came on very strong and she was by my side the whole time keeping me calm and helping me breathe. My baby was in distress and I had to have a c-section and then she was immediately admitted into the NICU. While all of my family was there, Kate was the one that saved me from going crazy. I couldn't see my brand new daughter, because the c-section had me planted in bed for at least 6 hours. Everyone went to see the baby, Kate stayed with me. I needed someone and she was there. She is phenomenal and keeps the mom as her number one focus!!  While at the hospital, AJ (my daughter) was having a rough time breastfeeding, Kate kept me focused and kept reminding me to hang in there...it is 100% worth it. After the baby came home from the hospital, I went through the "craziness" of being a new mom. She was ready and willing to answer all of my questions, no matter how silly!! She even hooked me up with a stay-at-home mommy play group. They are now my best friends and my favorite people!! My daughter is almost 7 months old now and still a breastfed baby and has lots of little baby friends, her age. All thanks to Kate!!