Testimonial for Ires Wilbanks CD(DONA)
Ires Wilbanks came into our life at exactly the right moment. Our intention was to have as natural a birth process as possible. After meeting and speaking with her, we knew she was in alignment with our values around birth and life. My husband is a chiropractor and we are both holistically minded and believe in the body’s innate ability to heal itself. We believe birth is a spiritual journey and not a medical event. Throughout my pregnancy (which was not easy as I had very intense nausea throughout), Ires helped me build confidence in my inner power through her open and honest sharing of her birth experiences, and in her nurturing prenatal yoga and birth prep classes. We worked together to prepare and she encouraged us to listen to our hearts and tap into the vision of the birth we wanted. When it came time to labor, she supported our process with different laboring positions, breathing and other coping measures. Although we had planned to be at the birth center, we had discussed with Ires that if for some reason the birth center did not work out, we were open to an unassisted birth at home. This was our first birth experience, but we had many friends who had made the choice to “freebirth" so the concept was not unfamiliar to us. Ires came through in a big way. Long story short, we were turned away from the birth center in the middle of the night for not being "dilated enough”. I was pretty discouraged, but we returned home and labored on. By sunrise, I roared my baby out into this world and MJ was born calmly and safely in our small steamy bathroom. No one disturbed our process. We know MJ was born exactly as he was meant to make his entry into this world. Thank you, Ires for holding the space and grounding us throughout a very intense and powerful process!
-Nicole McNeill
January 31, 2023
Ires Wilbanks CD(DONA)
Shakti Yoga & Living Arts
Birth Fee: Not specified
