As a dad and support person, I was of course excited to help my wife through birth–but, especially as we chose to have a natural birth, I knew I couldn’t offer much more than emotional support. What do I know about giving birth? This is where Katy came in. Katy didn’t take my place as a support system, but rather became another member of our team. She was the one with the knowledge and the confidence to help us all stay calm through the process, which went perfectly.
During our prenatal visits, Katy helped us not only by creating a successful birth plan, but by talking about aspects of birth and infant care we otherwise might have never thought of. We made some very important decisions that we’re very happy about now based on those talks.
Testimonial #2:
Dude, just hire Katy.
We hired Katy to be our doula for several reasons.
First, I am a swim coach for the university of Michigan and if someone watched a video of someone swimming, I would not let them coach my swimmers afterwards. As a husband, I felt that just because I had watched a video of labor, did not mean I was qualified to “coach” someone though labor. I knew I could provide emotional support but I wanted a professional that had been through it before because labor can change at any minute. With Katy we got just that. Her professionalism and skill allowed me to stay calm as a first time dad. It allowed me to emotionally support my wife without having to worry about all the medical jargon that was going on around me. She assured me that when my wife was going through really bad pain that everything was normal. Also, our birthing plan changed during my wife’s labor and with her help I felt more comfortable with these changes! There were also times where she left and got us food and kept us focused on taking care of ourselves through the emotions of labor. She also made calls to our family memebers to update them on our behalf so that my wife and I could focus on her labor, rather than all of the white noise surrounding us.
Second, and more importantly, Katy was a real support figure as another woman. There were times where my wife would tell me that she felt better with Katy just standing in the room. Her experience proved to be just as soothing for my wife as she was constantly reassuring her in a calm soft tone that everything that was happening was normal. She provided comfort measures, aroma therapy, massage and so much more to help my wife stay comfortable. She also was on call and helped my wife through 27 hours of prodromal labor and 24 hours of her actual labor. To say she put her time in is an understatement.
Third, She was great with the Doctors and nurses and really bridged the gap between us and the hospital staff. Katy knew many of the nurses/doctors and had worked with them before. It was reassuring to know that she was so connected to the hospital. She also made sure the hospital staff followed our birthing when it was time for delivery. She verbally reminded everyone on our behalf about waiting to cut the cord until it had stopped pulsating on it’s own, and allowing the father to be the one to cut the cord. This was helpful because, although this was important to the two of us, it was the furthest thing from either of our minds when my wife started pushing.
After our experience I would recommend Katy as a doula to anyone with any level of birthing and labor experience. She does so many things beyond simply giving comfort measures to the wife. Without Katy I feel like we would not have had the birthing process we intended!
Everyone said your first baby takes forever, you’ll be in labor for days…my water broke at 4:30, and by 6 my daughter was born. Katy arrived as soon as we called bright eyed and bushy tailed! No one expected my labor to be so fast or so intense. Having Katy there helped me to stay focused on what I needed. My partner and I felt it was great to have a third leg on the support team. We are sure it would have been even scarier without her calming presence.
Katy was a wonderful and integral part of our birth experience. From the prenatal meetings, where we discussed our birth preferences, expectations, and feelings about birth, to the birth itself, Katy was a great support for us. What I appreciate most about Katy was her calm demeanor, and nonjudgemental nature. When discussing birth preferences, she was supportive of us and was able to discuss options and pros & cons without pushing us in one particular direction. She was extremely well informed about the hospital staff, policies, and procedures, which really helped us have clear expectations for the birth. During the labor, Katy knew when to step in and offer help and when to let me and my husband just be by ourselves. Just having her calm presence in the room was a great comfort! My husband also really appreciated the fact that Katy was there to help him and provide support for him throughout the labor and birth. The whole labor and birth was really wonderful and we are so thankful that Katy was able to support us throughout the experience!
Childbirth was one of the most intimate moments in our lives. It was easy to share this moment with Katy. She has an ability to quickly form a relationship which is comfortable to both partners. Katy’s biggest contribution was during active labor in the hospital by recommending and helping mom get into birthing positions, helping provide nourishment, listening to the needs of father and mother and communicating with the hospital staff. She helped us to develop our birth plan and ultimately to deliver our baby naturally. For this we will forever be grateful.
Katy was a calm, confident presence at the birth of our son. She helped the hospital staff be more effective in caring for me, and helped me better communicate my needs. She was the comfort I needed to get through the most challenging moments!
I really enjoyed having a person around who was coming from another perspective – not a hospital employee, not a family member. Someone who could offer encouraging and comforting words, and provide a sense that no matter how nuts things got, we could deal with it (like trying to have an IV in the tub). Also, someone to believe what I was saying even when it seemed unbelievable (like when I said it was time to push).
