Testimonial for Rachel Koszka
I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to hire a doula, given how much say I'd have over a home birth environment. I am so glad I hired Rachel. I had joked that if I was going to have a doula then I wanted it to be the doula artists hire and I think I nailed it. Even just talking to them in the initial intake felt expansive and changed what felt possible in my planning. Rachel thinks beautifully about birth and about the empowerment possible in birth, and I found the attitude to be contagious. I was very glad to have a doula when it could have shifted it to being high risk, and when I did end up needing a hospital birth it was a relief to have someone from my intended birth team make that transition with me. Rachel was the exact presence I hoped for in my birth. I think it’s a testament to her skill that when I look back on the experience, her presence felt constant but not like a loud element of the room. I worried that a doula might try to prove their worth by acting/speaking more often than I found helpful. Rachel, by contrast, felt secure and solid and subtle. She offered such steady support while maintaining an attitude that I was the one deciding what I wanted to happen when. I felt witnessed by Rachel, by their words and actions and by the click of their camera, which I found oddly comforting as proof that I was really in labor and that it was going okay. The empathy and physical care she offered gave me a blueprint for offering softness to myself in the postpartum period for showing up for my baby and the other kids in my house as they experienced difficult emotions. I loved Rachel’s postpartum visits as an opportunity to process my birth, but now that I’m coming up on six months postpartum, I feel extra grateful for her photos. Different ones stand out to me than did immediately after and I’m just so glad to have such beautiful relics from the day. I strongly recommend Rachel and am so thankful they chose birthwork.
-Ashleigh Griffin
December 28, 2024
Rachel Koszka
The Moody Doula
Birth Fee: $3250
