Testimonial for Dara DeSoto ,CD(DONA), CLEC, Licensed Midwife from Adrianne Hirsh

Testimonial for Dara DeSoto ,CD(DONA), CLEC, Licensed Midwife

My husband and I have been calling Dara our "birth angel" and hiring her was probably the best decision we made during our planning for our birth. We were hoping to have a Hypnobabies natural birth and we originally found Dara based on her certification as a Hypnodoula. We loved Dara's relaxed, confident attitude and knew that her calm energy would be best for our birth. She was available to us via text and phone call in the days leading up to labor, and she had great referrals for additional services like acupuncture. She even offered to come to my home and give a one-on-one breastfeeding class in lieu of the second in-person meeting. It was so helpful and I think it contributed significantly to my successful breastfeeding relationship with my baby. I ended up being induced and having a very long, complicated labor that ended in an emergency c-section. This was something we were completely unprepared for and I think we would have been totally lost if Dara had not been there. She helped my husband to feel useful and stay calm during some more stressful moments. She brought me comfort through use of aromatherapy and her knowledge of positioning. She was there to massage my feet and hips when things were uncomfortable, and that alone was incredibly reassuring. Birth is an incredibly vulnerable experience, and Dara helped me to feel at ease (even during the pushing stage). She was judgement-free despite the fact that I ended up having many unplanned interventions, uncluding medication for pain management. She just went above and beyond in so many different ways. She stayed through the c-section and was in the recovery room to help facilitate breast feeding. Afterwards, we received many compliments from nurses and our OB on how wonderful she was. Our doctor said, "You guys have a great doula...most of them leave immediately when a c-section is required''. If you are considering hiring Dara, my advice is to DO IT! We are so thankful that we did.

-Adrianne Hirsh

July 18, 2018