Testimonial for Renée Ahmadi MA CD (DONA) from Charity Sarah

Testimonial for Renée Ahmadi MA CD (DONA)

In those days after the 'due date' (which I was determined wouldn't affect me but it did) waiting for labour to start really took its toll and I became anxious and weary. We did some relaxation and yoga stretches to determine what I best responded to for labour. We texted each other that week constantly with my "is this it?" type of questions. It felt great to have someone to just ask questions without the feeling of nagging my midwives with false alarms. I was impatient, but never worried.

Renee helped me labour at home through the night while my husband slept for a few hours to conserve his energy. As a first time mom, we had no idea how long this would be! Renee kept me on a schedule of peeing, drinking and eating to keep my energy up. Not just the food itself, but the act of having 'something to do' other than just waiting for more contractions... it was fantastic. I felt I was taking the offensive, rather than just desperately grasping at some form of defense against this monster of labour.

We found what worked for me (the shower) and worked it hard. Everything was absolutely my choice... but she was there to offer me advice and options without asking stupid questions like "what is your pain like? Rate it on a scale of one to ten." She is smart enough to know what I looked like and sounded like and made those judgements herself.(Have I mentioned I LOVE doulas?)

I laboured for over 8 hours with virtually no dilation to show for it and still ended up giving birth to my daughter in the water in my home just a few short hours after that. Without Renee I would have surely given up on home birth due to exhaustion and discouragement.

Renee was the first face my sweet baby saw and as the midwives were taking care of us she cut the cord (my man is a little squeamish ;)

Next time I'm knocked up, I'm calling Renee. She is the best.

-Charity Sarah

August 14, 2014