Testimonial for Kate Zeiler, CD(DONA), Perinatal Educator from Sarah Safton

Testimonial for Kate Zeiler, CD(DONA), Perinatal Educator

Kate and her teammate at Welcome Baby Co. provided exceptional prenatal education and support during labor and delivery. We could not recommend them enough! Despite being first time parents, my husband and I left our prenatal visits feeling like we had all our questions answered, and the information we needed in order to feel confident and excited for the birth of our son.

Even with all the preparation, there were parts of labor that made it particularly challenging and I'm glad we had Kate to support us. I labored for 60 hours and needed her support to know what to do, as I wasn't progressing linearly. She helped me be mentally prepared that even after a long time laboring, I still had a ways to go and it kept me from feeling defeated when I got checked in hospital. Kate was also a great coach during pushing, one of my core memories from birth is her enthusiastic confirmation when I was pushing correctly once we had started!

Unfortunately, my son had to be rushed out with a forceps delivery, then promptly taken to NICU. I was deeply comforted to have Kate stay with me while my husband left with our baby to the NICU. She was texting him and sharing photos he sent while I had to stay in recovery, in addition to keeping me from spiralling given the unpredicted events (he was full term and had been an uncomplicated pregnancy - no one saw his difficult entry coming!). I would have been devasted sitting there without any contact, I really appreciated that she knew what I would need in that moment.

My husband had RAVE reviews, he appreciated not feeling like it was all on him to support me and know exactly what to say or do in the moment, as seeing me in that much pain was very new, hard, and scary for him. I don't think there's any prep either of us could have chosen that would've rendered Kate's services unnecessary. We are grateful she was a part of our son's birth story, and I think any family looking for doula support should hire her.

-Sarah Safton

January 05, 2025