We were so blessed

We were so blessed to have Karen as our doula during the third trimester, labor, and postpartum journey. My husband and I decided to get a doula since it was our first pregnancy and wanted to attempt an unmedicated vaginal birth. Karen was very supportive and informative throughout the whole process and things couldn’t have gone any smoother. We met with Karen twice during the third trimester and she was always very prepared to answer our questions and refer us to evidence based articles for a more in-depth information. She helped us draft a birth plan and was committed to helping us achieve it. Her calming and reassuring nature, as well as her researching approach was so empowering to me. I was ready for labor, confident in my birth plan but ready to embrace my birth story no matter how it turned out, realizing that I had the BEST team by my side. My water broke two weeks earlier than the due date and before any contractions started. Karen was available at any hour of the day and night to check in with me, answer my questions and support me through the whole process. Once Karen arrived at the hospital, she set up the room based on what we had agreed earlier, dim lights, candles, and vision board on display. Karen was so prepared and had everything you could have asked for in her doula bag. She continually encouraged me, reminded me to switch positions, and kept me hydrated with water or ice chips the entire time. As my husband was doing acupressure points on me, Karen was a listening ear and extra helping hands to him as well. Our birth story couldn’t have gone any better and Karen was detrimental to its success. Setting up the atmosphere, moving the vision board so it was always on display, and being a consistent help during labor were such a great aid to the natural unmedicated birth process. Karen continued to check in during the postpartum weeks and came over our house to spend some time with us and our baby girl. My husband and I couldn’t be more grateful to have had Karen as our doula 🙂