Testimonial for Lupe Valtierra Prieto, MSW

I highly recommend Maria Apreza as a doula and medical translator. She assisted me with the natural birth of my first child, Alexander Rene (“Renny”), on May 3rd 2012. Maria met me as I arrived at Puget Sound Birth Center at 3:30am, after I’d been having contractions throughout the night. I was having a particularly hard time with the front contractions, more so than my back pain. Maria used a technique with her scarf to help relieve the pain – I couldn’t believe how well it worked! I don’t know how I would have gotten through the last couple hours of dilating without her help. As I was pushing, her words of encouragement helped keep me stay focused and made me confident I could get the baby out. At 6:32am, Renny was born! For a few hours after the birth, Maria stayed with me, helping initiate breastfeeding and making sure I was eating and hydrated. Getting my baby to latch and start breastfeeding was a huge help, as he didn’t want to do it on his own. Now he loves eating! My husband is from Peru, and just learning English. Maria’s assistance in translating was a great help to both of us. He understood what was happening at each point in labor, and I didn’t have to worry about translating for him – I could focus just on laboring. We both felt more relaxed during the birth with Maria there to translate. Thank you so much Maria! You helped make Renny’s birth a great experience. I couldn’t ask for anything better!

-Minday Navarro

May 31, 2012