Testimonial for Kaitlyn Reed CD(DONA), CPD(RI), LCCE from Stephanie Marlin

Testimonial for Kaitlyn Reed CD(DONA), CPD(RI), LCCE

As a first time mom, I had a deeply intuitive feeling that I would benefit from additional support during pregnancy, labor and postpartum.
My husband and I had already interviewed a handful of doulas when we did a virtual meeting with Deep Water Doulas. We knew we were a great match based on their level of expertise, friendly and outgoing personalities, and outlook on pregnancy, labor and birth. My type A personality appreciated their level of organization from the very first Zoom call all the way through our final postpartum checkin. What made Deep Water Doulas different from the other doulas we interviewed is they offered both birth and postpartum support and that was incredibly important to us.

While my 37 hour induction at 41 weeks was not the labor and delivery I had originally pictured, it turned out to be a very positive experience. I largely thank Kaitlyn and Noura for that. Despite multiple times when I had to pivot based on how my labor went, including an epidural that I originally did not plan for/want, Kaitlyn and Noura were by my side quite literally for the entire duration. Noura sat up all night with my husband and I watching the monitor for any decels and helped with multiple position changes, offering snacks and encouragement along the way. Kaitlyn supported me through early labor as well as 3 hours of pushing while taking some of the most important and memorable pictures I will ever have. My husband and I looked at each other after and said “how would we have done this without Kaitlyn and Noura”.

Having Kaitlyn and Noura for pregnancy, birth and postpartum of our first child was one of the most important and memorable experiences of our lives. I would highly recommend Deep Water Doulas to anyone seeking additional support, guidance and friendship through this amazing journey of motherhood.

-Stephanie Marlin

August 09, 2025