Testimonial for Odile Penet, CD(DONA), LCCE, PES
My husband was skeptical at first, but I always knew there’d be a doula to help me through labor and delivery. My goal was to deliver naturally and I was happy to hire a woman who comes from a culture where that is the norm. Odile answered a lot of questions (keeping me away from questionable Google searches) and sent resources to help through the pregnancy. She also suggested podcasts to my husband (his preferred medium) to help educate him. I ended up having to be medically induced. Odile was by my side to help me and Jason make informed decisions as labor progressed and a huge thank you to Odile for helping me through contractions, especially when I had to get on and off the toilet. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to get up and down without her talking me through the breathing, and coaching me on how to work with the contractions, not against them. Odile was there to tell my loving, clueless husband what to do, how to provide comfort massage, and to just direct traffic in general. She also encouraged and helped me into different positions, using yoga balls and the peanut shaped ball, got me up and moving when I could and helped me to work with and listen to my body to be able to birth the baby. She did it all without interfering with the hospital staff and guided Jason to be an integral part of the labor. When it was time to push the baby out, Odile was by my side, holding a leg, and reminding me to breathe. After Isabel was born, Odile maintained contact and continually followed up to monitor me for PPD and made sure I was healthy on this new journey. My labor was long and hard, not at all what I had wanted it to be, and I can’t thank Odile enough for helping me get through it. I firmly believe that we were able to minimize the medical intervention that was needed because she was so adept at helping me work with my body through labor and delivery. Needless to say, Jason is no longer skeptical.
-Faith Hammock
June 22, 2019
Odile Penet, CD(DONA), LCCE, PES
My Birth Companion, LLC
Birth Fee: Not specified
