Testimonial for Tanya (Tatiana) Ponomar
It is hard to put into words how amazing and helpful Tatiana was. We were first time parents and having her experience, wisdom, and compassionate presence throughout the process was invaluable. I honestly can't imagine going through what we went through without her there. At every stage, she knew what we needed before we did and came ready with potential solutions for us to consider.
During pregnancy, she came to our house two times to discuss our birth plan. She has such a calming presence. We have two dogs and a cat and they immediately loved her. She inspired us to make us feel like our birth plans and ambitions (unmedicated birth at a birth center rather than hospital) were not just reasonable -- a lot of other people had made us feel like we were 'crazy' or 'irresponsible' -- but that we could accomplish them.
What transpired was I had a very long and challenging labor that did not turn out the way I had envisioned - 36 hours of back labor followed by a C-Section. Throughout the process, Tatiana comforted us, advocated for us in the hospital, and was just so immensely helpful. Despite the 'change of plans', I left the experience without regrets, feeling like I was empowered to make my own decisions on my own timeline. Tatiana played a huge role in that.
After the birth, we were having issues with breastfeeding and were massively sleep deprived. She came by our house, was slightly horrified by how ragged and sleep deprived we looked, and held our baby while we both napped. She helped us find a night nurse and a lactation consultant.
At every turn, she was a life saver. It's hard to express the level of gratitude we feel for her, and couldn't recommend her highly enough.
-Chelsea Colnett
July 12, 2024
Tanya (Tatiana) Ponomar
MyDoula
Birth Fee: $2400 to $2600
Postpartum Rate: $60
