A Family Affair Birth Services

I have nothing but wonderful things to share about hiring a doula, specifically Falen for my first baby and her delivery.
My husband and I had talked about hiring a doula, but not until I was about 7 months pregnant. Falen responded promptly to my inquiry and we met over lunch. She is warm and personable and I liked her right away, as did my husband. We hired Falen, and she came to our home twice to ask questions and get to know us, and what our desires and hopes were for the birth of our daughter. I was a high risk pregnancy and was most likely going to be induced, and she brought reading materials for me about different types of induction methods for me to ponder over, and things to ask my doctor. She was never judgemental or pushy about anything, ever.
In the end, I was induced, and Falen was on standby for me and came to the hospital as soon as I called her. Throughout the entire labor process Falen was tremendously helpful and kind. I really don’t believe I could have done it without her. She helped my husband help me, and I am so happy that she was there. The birth ended up different than planned, but Falen was sympathetic and supportive through everything. I highly recommend a doula for your birth and Falen is just the best. As a side note: my husband was kind of on the fence about a doula in the very beginning. He says now there is no question how invaluable Falen’s services were to us!
Falen has also been in contact with me after our daughter’s birth and has been a pillar of support for me in the weeks following the delivery. Which new moms especially need!

This will be a lengthy review but since it is the first one, I feel as though the extra detail is warranted!
Bottom line up front: if I could give more than 5 stars I would. Falen was awesome…
The details:
I hired Falen to be my doula for the birth of my second child. I had my first daughter without an epidural (which was my goal), but there were many areas in which I hoped for a much smoother experience with my second.
My husband was deployed for a majority of my second pregnancy so I also decided to hire a doula to give me some peace of mind in case he did not return home in time for the birth. Fortunately my husband did return a few days before the baby arrived, but having a doula undoubtedly still made the experience a positive one and she helped my husband nearly as much as she helped me.
Falen came to my house three times before the baby was born, once for an initial interview and twice for pre-​birth sessions. During the two visits, Falen took the time to get to know me and my desires for the birth experience. She helped me process the positives and negatives from the first birth (in which I did not hire a doula) and helped me brainstorm concrete ideas and methods to accomplish my goal of minimal intervention and have a more positive experience this time around. Based on our discussions she typed up a birth plan that clearly communicated my desires to the hospital staff.
Throughout the rest of the pregnancy Falen periodically checked in to see how things were going and offering advice when needed. She struck a good balance between being available and helpful but also not being too pushy or overbearing. She understood implicit cues, knowing which areas I felt comfortable in and where I still felt uncertain.
In addition to making herself available for the entire labor and delivery process, Falen also came to visit me at my house to see how we were doing and to enjoy visiting my beautiful baby girl a few days after she was birn.
Simply put, having Falen as my doula was amazing. Having a second child is already less daunting than the first. However, the entire experience this time around was so much more positive than my first, both because of my own confidence and because of the support Falen provided.
After the birth, she continued to offer amazing support to both my husband and me. It was so comforting to have two different people to lean on!
I am so glad that I decided to hire a doula and that the one I chose was Falen. She had a tremendous impact on the experience, which turned out to be everything I had hoped for. I ended up achieving my goal of a completely natural birth with almost no medical intervention during labor. I don’t think I could have done that without her help. Falen helped me to have a vision for what I wanted and also gave me sage advice and concrete steps to achieving my goals. The biggest things she assisted me with were being flexible and listening to my body, which were instrumental in allowing me to go with the flow and trusting my own intuition. I HIGHLY recommend her for anyone considering hiring a doula. One of the best decisions I’ve made!