"Small things that made a big impact"
As a first time mom, I didn't know much about birth in the early months of pregnancy, but I knew having a doula on our birth team was something I wanted. This desire came from hearing about birthing experiences from friends; quite simply, I had noticed that those who had doulas had more positive birth experiences to share. I heard such different narratives about birth from women who had doulas as part of their birthing teams, and though there may be other reasons for that, the women in my life with more positive birth experiences credited having a doula as part of that. It was also important to me to have a doula to allow my partner to be more present during birth.
The thing that stood out about Mary from day one is that she wanted to hear about our story and birth preferences. She asked thought provoking questions that prompted me to be intentional in my own birth preparation. For example, rather than simply suggesting to come up with a list of birth preferences, she encouraged me to think about the value driving each preference, which in turn helped me learn more about the options on my own and get very clear on my preferences.
Leading up to birth, Mary checked in with me frequently wanting to hear about Dr.'s appointments, how I was feeling, etc. Mary was there to coach me (virtually) through some false labor that I otherwise was feeling uncertain about, and when I went into "true" labor, it was very helpful to have her come to our house and advise us when to go to the hospital. Mary provided a consistent source of calm energy and helped with the small things that made a big impact. I had shared that I am sensitive to hospital lighting -- she made sure the hospital lights were dim and brought battery-operated candles. She also brought a tool to help my partner with counter pressure massage during labor, which was a game changer for me!
In addition to providing excellent support before, during, and after birth, Mary was a great resource and connected me to other people and ideas to help labor, delivery, and postpartum care go more smoothly. I cannot recommend working with Mary enough!