Testimonial for Heather Karlson (DONA)
Even the briefest interaction with Heather brings immediate reprieve from the anxiety of becoming a mom in a world that, overnight, becomes exponentially more hazardous. Somewhere in the second trimester of our pregnancy, I was beginning to feel truly overwhelmed with all the decisions surrounding labor. I found Heather's profile in the early hours after going down the rabbit hole of the internet, as I researched hospital statistics for C-sections and alternate birthing options in the state of Illinois. Feeling lost, I reached out to her, and she responded with the name of an OB who allows mothers to labor naturally without staging unnecessary interventions based on liability/convenience.
Just as it did in the throes of anxiety-inducing research, Heather has a unique ability to infuse immediate peace with just her presence (although she brings many accoutrements to help with that too!). Through the 16 hours of active labor with our first, she walked with me up and down stairs, around the neighborhood, helped me try a range of positions to speed up and slow down labor, plied me with water and labor tea, provided stretches of unbelievable calm through her magical heating sock and skill with a shower sprayer, and just generally allowed for me to focus on weathering the storm rather than trying to direct it, be above it, fight it. With our second, it was a given that she would be there - except we had a precipitous labor and NO ONE attended the birth! Yet I still attribute our sense of calm, despite the speed of labor, to her. When I texted her in early labor, she called me and reminded me how to breathe through contractions and to try to rest up what was ahead. Her words and her confidence in me were what allowed for me to manage the incredible speed of our labor and even though she wasn't there to catch our baby (I know she would have), she was an integral part of the equation that allowed us to begin parenthood with confidence rather than fear.
-Natalie Hoffer
November 21, 2020
Heather Karlson (DONA)
DoulaKarlson.com
Birth Fee: $1800
