Testimonial for Charisse Fontes
I can’t sing Charisse’s praises enough! Throughout the process of prenatal preparation, labor and delivery and postpartum support, Charisse has been there every step of the way. She strikes a balance between pro-active advocacy and quiet but reliable support. She is very organized, always on time and excellent at communication.
For our prenatal care, she provided four in-person visits (with agendas and notes) as well as phone, text and email support. She provided helpful resources to answer our questions, guided us through our birth preferences, comfort measures, and processing our previous birth experience. We both felt as prepared as we could be for the birth. And she often brought delicious homemade snacks!
During my long and complicated labor, she did her very best to support us through a chaotic, turbulent and stressful hospital experience. She arrived early in the morning and stayed to the wee hours of the next day to see us through birth, missing Mother’s Day with her own children entirely to be with us. Additionally she guided us and provided space for discussion through several difficult, high-pressure hospital decisions. She never spoke for us or told us what to decide, but rather helped facilitate the right decisions for us in the moment. Though the birth did not go as we had hoped, we felt we made informed, careful decisions at the right times. In an environment where it’s easy to feel forgotten and uncared for, she provided the continual, emotional and physical support that hospital nurses just cannot provide.
During my postpartum recovery, she checks in, even when we forget to, and has provided extensive support, including bringing us homemade, hot meals and performing placenta services. This was our second birth and our first time working with Charisse. We feel such a connection with her as a professional and a friend – thank you!!
-Mary Sobrero
June 12, 2018
Charisse Fontes
Dear Doula
Birth Fee: $1550 to $3000
Postpartum Rate: $45 to $65
