Testimonial for Sarah Paksima
B4 giving birth I was always under the impression that labour was full of unbearable pain and suffering. This was my 1st pregnancy, and in the past I've never heard of the existence of doulas, since they were non-existent in my country until Sarah Paksima came. Thankfully I got pregnant 2 years after she came and founded the organization BirthKuwait. When I read about doulas, I immediately searched and found the BirthKuwait website which included a list of the doulas in Kuwait. That's when Sarah replied to my email saying that she has 12 years of experience and is also training other doulas-to-be in Kuwait. She explained all the benefits of having a doula and I finally decided to go ahead and try it. At the time she was training a doula-to-be so she asked my permission if she could also attend my birth (but I didn't pay her since she's a trainee) and I agreed. The 3 of us met as soon as I agreed to her services and discussed my birth plan. Throughout the remainder of my pregnancy she and her trainee periodically asked how I was doing
When my water broke Sarah and her trainee came as soon as possible to the hospital. I was only 1.5 cm dilated; nevertheless, she gave me an exercise ball to sit on while doing hip rotations, and we chatted for several hours until my contractions started getting intense. She taught me how to breathe correctly which helped TREMENDOUSLY, and also tried several pain-soothing techniches, including a shower and a foot massage! She didn't make any decisions for me but helped me with the pros and cons. My labor was 30 hours long and she was there almost the entire time (except to go check up on her kids when I was still 3 cm dilated), although she was in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy! She made time fly and made the experience very memorable. My labor was without pain meds and it couldn't've been better. Now instead of fearing labor, I look forward to it. After birth she also helped a lot with breastfeeding. Thank you!!
-Sarah Dashti
May 06, 2014
Sarah Paksima
DC Birth Doulas
Birth Fee: $1500
