Nurture Doula Services

This was our first birth experience, and not knowing what to expect we were so grateful to have hired her. She was an amazing resource and support for me before, during and after delivery. The two in-​home prenatals were a great addition to our group classes. It helped establish the trust and relationship that was needed in the delivery room. My birth plan was to deliver without any added drugs, and indeed I was able to meet that plan because of Abbie. My mother and husband were also in the room, but it was Abbie that really made the natural labor and delivery a special and truly joyful experience for us all. She knew when i was «losing it» and could get me back into my breathing. She understood my own thresholds for pain and the emotional attachment that comes with each moan and grunt. I really felt the presence of a caring and nurturing professional in the room. Abbie was a great addition to my delivery team, and both my mother and husband were so thankful that she was there in the room. Her postpartum visits were also so helpful since they focused on breast feeding. She really is a wealth of knowledge and so very easy to work with. I will definitely, 100%, be using her for our second birth. I can’t imagine not having Abbie with us.

We hired Abbie as our doula with our first child. Abbie was wonderful! We had prenatal visits and a postpartum visit, and she was there for the entire birth. At the prenatal visits, she informed us on pretty much everything we needed to know about birth and after birth. She gave us very useful tools to help through contractions and also helped immensely with breastfeeding! If I could give her 10 stars I would, Abbie was kind, caring and was a wonderful doula.
We are so happy with how everything went and of course our newborn baby. And honestly, my husband and I are not sure we could have gone through the process without Abbie.
Thank you Abbie for everything!

We made a mistake of not hiring a doula on our first child and our birth plan didn’t go as expected and it was a really rough experience for both my husband and I as first time parents. I think that I would have had a natural birth then if I had a doula to coach us, especially with having epidural on my system. So, on our second child, we decided to hire one and we’re so glad to find an affordable doula. Abbie is wonderful to work with and she gives you all the options and encourage you to try them. When they put me in extended monitoring the day of — they wanted me to get induced since the baby’s heart rate had a few drops (from the chart). I was so worried that I did consider it but I’m glad that Abbie was able to bring me back to my senses and just stick with our plan since induction decreases my chance of going for natural birth. When I was in so much pain, she encouraged us to try the shower and that brought some relief and just gave me something else to do while going through contractions. She helped me focus, especially with breathing. It’s also assuring to know that my husband is not as stressed out over the whole thing and he was able to do a better job in helping me manage the pain. Overall, I was glad that they’re both there and I felt that they made a great team, along with the Kaiser staff we had that day.
I had to push for more than 3 hours before our baby came out with vacuum assistance — again, couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help. The baby won’t come out because she was in Right Occiput Transverse position. I’m really thankful that I get to experience natural birth with our daughter. She is such a good baby– latched and breastfed right away and sleeps most of the time. Abbie has been great with checking on our needs and offering support, advise, and resources and answering questions. She have been a big help with helping the baby breastfeed, too. We strongly recommend her services. Thanks, Abbie!

We were so thankful and glad to have had Abbie as our doula for the birth of our first son! Even before we had decided to have Abbie as our doula, she was genuinely helpful to answer any questions we had concerning pregnancy or birth. She holds the delicate balance between being nurturing and personable while still being honest and frank with what is important and necessary. My birth had some unexpected turns, and we are especially thankful that Abbie was there to support me and my husband during the delivery. She helped me and my husband learn what it would be like to truly have my husband as my partner in delivery. It was also great to have a third person there to be completely objective and very informed. Abbie also made sure to take pictures, something my husband probably wouldn’t have wanted to juggle in the moment!
Abbie is sure to get to know you as a couple, along with your goals and philosophy beforehand so she can fully support you in following through with your desires the best way possible. She is also thorough and thoughtful, being sure to check-​in with you throughout the pregnancy and after birth. Having Abbie at our birth was one of the best decisions we made!

People questioned our decision to work with a doula. It’s true we could have gotten through the delivery and recovery without a doula… but WHY? Delivering a baby is not something you do every day, and we thought working with a doula would make us feel better prepared and more relaxed in the weeks leading up to the delivery, during delivery, and afterward. That turned out to be true for us.
After interviewing several doulas, we decided to work with Abbie. She had attended fewer births than some of the others, but it was clear that she knew what she was doing, and we liked her personality the best.
She was prepared and organized during our prenatal visits, and provided far better information than our childbirth classes. Like many births, ours didn’t go as exactly as expected, but Abbie took it in stride and helped us do the same. Abbie also stays in contact after delivery during those first few weeks when parents need to feel supported and have someone on hand for questions about feeding, diapering, and calming fussy newborns.

Abbie was our doula for the birth of our daughter in December. As my husband says «That was the best money we’ve spent!». She’s been a very positive and supportive presence before, during, and after (even 5 months after!) the birth of our daughter.
Our daughter arrived 3-​weeks early, but we had fortunately had at least one session with Abbie where she spent a few hours with us, reviewing our birth plan, and practicing relaxation moves. During labor, Abbie was constantly in touch, very supportive, and present, but never interfered. My husband was able to take a few breaks for meals and heading back to our home to look after our pets, thanks to Abbie. We’re really grateful that we met Abbie, that she was part of our birth experience, and highly recommend her doula services!

We had such a wonderful experience working with Abbie. From the first meeting I felt very comfortable with her. This was my second pregnancy. My first was 10 days late and I was induced. I had 2 doses of Fentanyl and then an epidural that worked on only half of me and then wore off at the end. My daughter ended up being 9lbs 7oz. and had shoulder dystocia. A little bit of a scary experience and we wanted to do everything we could to make sure that this labor and delivery went smoother. I knew that she couldn’t insure that I would have the unmedicated problem free birth of my dreams but I knew she could help us ask the right questions and be the emotional support I would need even if I ended up with a c-​section.
I liked the idea of a doula mainly to have that same person with us the entire time I was in labor. We had some great nurses with my first delivery, but it felt like once we got attached to one, there was a shift change. And they really weren’t there to help me cope besides offering more medication. We really wanted that familiar face that understood labor and delivery and could coach us through each contraction if need be. She has two small children so has just recently gone through pregnancy and birth herself and really knows what you’re going through. She stayed in constant contact with me throughout my pregnancy. She helped me work through any issues or fears I had. She truly cares and does everything she can to help. Abbie is very thorough and responsive. She was going a few hours away for the day a couple of weeks before my due date and she called to give me her husband’s cell #, the family member’s house number that she was going to be at, and a backup doula’s number just in case I went into labor and couldn’t reach her on her cell. 3 days past my due date when I thought I might be in labor, she helped me decide when to call Kaiser and head to the hospitaI. I ended up having a much faster labor this time and was able to do it unmedicated. At the end, I panicked and thought I couldn’t do it. My husband had been my rock through most of it but at that moment I had Abbie who had done this herself to look at me and say I could do it and I was almost there. She said and did all the right things to get me through it and I feel forever grateful for that. She has a gift and if I were going to have another child my husband and I both agree that we would call her in a heartbeat.
I wanted to note like the previous poster did that she is in no way judgmental about your pain management choices. This was my personal choice and she helped me achieve it. We had a detailed discussion beforehand that I wanted her to help me through if I started to doubt myself. We had a code word that I would use if I really wanted to get an epidural and didn’t want to be talked out of it. No questions asked. I just wanted that freedom of being able say «I can’t do this» without everyone jumping to the epidural option when I knew that’s not really what I wanted. From the beginning my OB said I could do an elective c-​section because of the shoulder dystocia that had happened with my first and Abbie was completely supportive of whatever I chose to do.

You don’t have to be a hippie to hire a doula. I am certainly not a hippie but I needed a lot of advices and support while getting ready to deliver my baby girl. Abbie was there every step of the way. She was not judgmental and she respected my choices completely. She was also very caring. After our meetings, she would e-​mail me relevant materials and check up on me constantly. I am so glad that she was part of my pregnancy experience