We wanted a to hire a doula for this pregnancy because I wanted someone to coach us through our first labor experience and wanted to avoid any pain medication. We worked with Demi for the birth of our first baby in May. Demi was our backup doula, so we never met her before she attended our birth. My labor had initally progressed slowly, but in the evening sped up rapidly. I had been in active labor for 4 hours before we called Demi to meet us at the hospital. She was totally wonderful, and knowledgeable. As soon as she walked in she was so calm and encouraging as I moved into transition. My labor progressed so rapidly that she was only there for an hour and a half before I suprised the staff and told them I had the urge to push. As the staff rushed to get the room ready for delivery Demi coached me in how to stall pushing until the staff was set up for me. Throughout the time I was pushing she was by my side encouraging me and validating what I was going through was normal (first pregnancy for me). When I was unsure if I should get an epidural Demi reminded me that I said I wanted to avoid that and that she thought I could still do an unmedicated birth if I wanted to. I did not get the epidural. After the delivery of our son she stayed and communicated our desire for skin to skin and delayed cord clamping to the hospital staff. She assisted me in getting our son latched on for breastfeeding for the first time. After skin to skin she talked to me about practical ways to deal with the tear I experienced. During the post delivery followup she brought several items to help me with my recovery including frozen medicated pads and topical spray. She was so encouraging and answered all our questions. For any future pregnancy we would definitely work with Demi again. Having Demi there for the birth of our son was so helpful. I'm very happy we hired a doula.
-Laura
June 23, 2019
Birth Fee: $1500
Postpartum Rate: $45