Debbie is such an amazing, loving, incredibly knowledgeable sweet soul and it was such an honor to have her at my birth. She treated me like an old friend and made it clear that she would support me in whatever I wanted for my birth. She was there for me every step of the way through my pregnancy, labor, and postpartum and always made herself available to answer my questions and help in whatever way I needed.

I met with her several times starting in my early pregnancy and she helped me with staying healthy, connecting with my baby, preparing for motherhood, and so many little things that came up along the way. She’s so well connected in the local birthing community that she was able to provide me with recommendations for whatever else I needed such as breastfeeding support, chiropractic care, prenatal massage, parenting classes, etc. When it was time for baby to arrive she was available 24/7 to help with all sorts of questions and issues that came up, without ever having an agenda of her own. She helped me to get all the information I needed from the medical staff, giving me ideas of what questions to ask so I could see all sides of an issue. During the labor she made sure that I felt safe and heard and worked with my husband and the nurses to make things go as smoothly and comfortably as possible. When my daughter was born she stayed with us until we were all settled and breastfeeding was going well.

We also had her come to our house and help out postpartum. I had no experience with babies and she helped me to feel comfortable with my new role as a mother as well as helping me to recover from the birth. She gave me so many helpful tips that I’ve never seen in parenting books and even stayed and watched my daughter overnight so I could sleep. She also helped with the first few outings so that now I am so confused when other people seem afraid of taking their baby out places.

I can’t express how grateful I am to have had Debbie with me in this journey. Everyone should have have a doula like Debbie by their side.