Testimonial for Melissa Duenas-Witter
If you are thinking about hiring a doula... Do it!!! If you are ready to hire a doula, hire Melissa Duenas!! After having had 4 previous births resulting in 5 children (one set of twins!) everyone joked that I could manage the last birth all on my own at home. Well, as funny as it was, it wasn't true at all. There was no way I would have been able to vaginally deliver the last set of twins unmedicated, without the support, encouragement and strength that Melissa provided.
This was a surrogate pregnancy, and with a teen and toddler at home I was worried that my husband wouldnt be able to be present for the birth of these twins. The IFs(intended fathers) of the twins promised to be there for the entire process, but lets be honest. As much as we had connected over the course of the 9 months I was carrying their children they weren't MY partners. They didn't have an inate ability to anticipate my needs before I knew I needed them. Melissa did. They didn't have a relationship with the labor and delivery staff at MMH. Melissa did. They didn't know just where to rub when the back labor started, and couldnt tell I was transitioning just by the way my moan changed. Melissa did. She held my hand and insisted I could do it even when I wanted to give up. All the while being attentive to the needs of the TWO dads in the room as well. Answering questions, calming their anxiety, and showing them ways that they could support me when they weren't quite sure what to do. When they were quietly huddled in the corner of the room up by the head of my hosptial bed as I pushed, Melissa was by my side, holding up my leg and giving me the encouragement to keep pushing. And when that first baby was born, and the guys headed over to see her for the first time, take pics and swoon Melissa was by my side helping me transition again to prepare for the second babies arrival. That unwavering support continued thru my postpartum and I am forever grateful for her presence!
-Stephanie DeCampos
February 16, 2016
Melissa Duenas-Witter
Diary of a Doula
Birth Fee: $2250 to $2850
