Colleen has been an unbelievable help during our time welcoming our first baby! From helping us set up the nursery and giving us tips about our furniture and room arrangement to teaching us how to swaddle and wear our baby to giving our dog lots of supplementary cuddles to reassuring us that we're doing everything right, Colleen's support was welcome and incredibly useful. Being able to nap and come out to a happy baby and a clean kitchen is priceless! We really appreciated Colleen's expertise and sense of humor, and kindness in never making us feel silly despite having no idea what we were doing. It was terrific to have someone so trustworthy and capable during what could have been a very overwhelming time. We will always be grateful to Colleen for her role in helping us find our footing in these first precious months! read more

My husband and I were both so happy we had Bethany as our doula. She was awesome prenatally - I had a stubborn placenta previa and didn't know whether I would need a c-section or not until I was nearly 35 weeks along. She provided a lot of information, thoughts, and reassurance during those months of uncertainty and anxiety, but she was also fantastic during labor. You know when someone just somehow *knows* what to do? Where on your back to rub and what words you need to hear? That was her! Bethany is also the reason my daughter wasn't born in the car, or (accidentally) at home in my living room! She knew when I needed to go to the birth center, even though I was worried it was too early (it was NOT too early - baby was born an hour after arriving at the birth center). And, as others have mentioned, her photographs are a great bonus! I have some beautiful photos of me and my husband shortly before my daughter was born that I will always treasure. If I were going to have another baby, I'd hire Bethany again in a heartbeat. read more

I had a wonderful experience working with Bethany. From our first meeting she made me feel comfortable and at ease. My husband and I chose not to take any birthing classes as we felt well prepared by Bethany's prenatal visits and abundant resources. She was incredibly supportive throughout my labor and delivery and helped me to feel confident and well informed when things didn't go exactly as planned. She was also very helpful for my husband, reassuring him as things progressed and keeping him involved. Her calming presence helped both of us stay relaxed through the birthing experience. One of the best parts of working with Bethany was getting to see the beautiful photos she took. Having her document the process allowed my husband and I to focus on what was happening, rather than remembering to take pictures ourselves. Also, having had a c section, when it took what seemed like a long time for the medical staff to bring the baby to me, Bethany quickly snapped some photos and brought them over so I could see my son while he was getting cleaned up, weighed, etc. which was so kind and comforting. I highly recommend Bethany's optional postnatal visit. After hearing so many conflicting opinions from doctors/nurses/family in those first days home trying to figure everything out, it was a breath of fresh air to see Bethany again. She was so encouraging and validating. I also enjoyed reflecting on my birth experience with her. She was able to remind us of a few details we had forgotten, and answer all of our questions. Should the opportunity arise, I would absolutely hire her again. Or as my husband concisely stated "10/10. Would dolua again." read more

It is impossible to write a review here that would fully convey how wonderful our experience with Bethany was/is. I am a planner, a researcher, a natural questioner and a person who hopes for the best but always wants to know contingency plans. My husband is a, "We'll follow our intuition and figure it out when the time comes" kind of guy. You can see where this may have caused some stress for both of us. I had a lot of interest in a having a doula from the start but I never approached the topic with my husband because I thought it would be a nonstarter. Boy did he prove me wrong! One night, we were watching The Business of Being Born and after they mentioned something about doula he asked, "Have you thought about having a doula? Maybe that would be good for us?" YES YES YES! Instantly I got on my phone and searched the internet for options. A few days later we met with Bethany. On the drive over my husband admitted that he was excited to hear about what she does but that he was worried he wouldn't have a role during the birth. Upon sitting down with Bethany and casually chatting she instantly addressed all of his concerns without him having to even bring it up. It's like she was in our heads. During the pregnancy and our pre-birth meetings Bethany was a neutral sounding board, an attentive listener, and endlessly supportive that we could have the birth that we were envisioning. During the last month of our pregnancy we got some surprising news that our baby was perfectly healthy but little. Very little. We would most likely be induced and I was put on bed rest starting immediately. Our minds started racing and I was positive that all our plans and goals for this birth were out the window. Bethany was on call, ready at any moment for advice, reminders that there are always options and of course to meet us at the Birthing Center if needed. The birth, in fact, was more transformative, empowering and 'perfect' than we could have ever hoped for. This was largely in part not only to Bethany's presence during the actual event, but her helping us maintain proper focus and headspace leading up to it. All this to say, Bethany's evidence based approach to pregnancy and birth, deep knowledge of comfort measures during birth, compassion for the process, professionalism with the other care providers, calming spirit and general enthusiasm for helping new families is impressive. We would highly recommend Bethany to any parents to be, in fact we already have :) She also takes photos if you would like and they are amazing! Thank you again!!! read more

Hiring Bethany and Becca to support us as we prepared for our first child was a great decision. We took classes at the hospital and read what we could, but these two women came to our house and talked us through the decisions we'd have to make so we could think them through in advance. They also served as a valuable sounding board when we received anxiety-inducing information from our doctor, providing links to more information and giving us questions to ask the doctor at our next appointment. Lastly, over the course of a long labor, Bethany came to the hospital each of the three times we went (we were sent home twice to continue laboring), and offered physical, emotional, and mental support each time. The day after our son was born, my husband turned to me and said "it was really important to have Bethany here, wasn't it?" It sure was. read more

Bethany is absolutely wonderful. She made my birthing experience smooth and comfortable ..although unpredictable I'm glad we chose her to help us bring our beautiful baby into this world. She has a vast amount of knowledge and resources read more

I can't imagine our birth experience without Bethany. She is awesome. From our first meeting, my husband and I were both convinced that she had to be at our son's birth. Her eyes light up when talking about helping families through birth, no matter how difficult - this is clearly her passion. In the earlier meetings she was a riot, and we all got along easily. In the hospital, she knew exactly what to do and what to say at the intense moments, and she helped my husband help me. She was gentle, thoughtful, focused and had both great confidence and warmth. I wanted to avoid an epidural and when I started asking for it, she managed to distract me at key moments (for which I am grateful!). She was also very available before and after over text messages, emails and the phone - our baby was quite late and she was a reassuring voice as I got more worried. Her photos and videos were a beautiful bonus too. We'll definitely ask her to be there for any and all future deliveries! read more