Nicole is wonderful. She is not judgmental at all. She was able to give me advice about how to…read moretransition back to work, bottle feeding, and anything else I needed. It was a great experience that I wish I would have had for my first baby (new mom unknowns).

Nicole made the weeks following my second birth SUCH a better experience than my first. Her BFing…read morehelped us quickly diagnose and address a tongue tie and was key in not having to pump all the time like I did with the first. She knows her stuff without being judgemental, completely respected our parenting decisions and helped in more way than I can count (baby wearing, feeding, food prep for me, letting me nap, you name it)!! Absolutely could not recommend her more, best decision I made!

We had our first child through the midwife program at IU hospital and loved our experience, but…read morehated having to stay two days at the hospital afterwards. We decided to go here for our second so we could get the same type of care but not have the long stay afterwards. Everyone was nice, willing to talk and get to know you and support you in your journey. When it was time to give birth, it was a smooth experience. They checked in as needed but also gave me space as I was in labor. I chose a water birth and everything went quickly and smoothly. And a few hours after birth, we got to go home and sleep in our own bed and just check in the following day. If you're looking for a lower intervention birthing experience without a hospital stay, but also not a full on give birth at home experience, this is the perfect in between!

This is the place to be if you want to have a peaceful uninterrupted birth. If you are high…read moremaintenance, it may be best to go to a hospital. If you want to enjoy the experience without being bothered every 2 seconds go to Sacred Roots. My wife really wanted to have the baby here after our oldest and 3rd child were born in a hospital. It was so annoying for her to get woken up and have the baby woken up every 2 hours for random checks. I delivered our second child at home in our living room and my wife wanted more of that sort of experience. Our 4th was born here and my wife got to invite her sisters to be with her and experience the birth. The midwife was awesome and did her job exactly how my wife wanted her to do it. My wife is a strong lady who doesn't need a constant you got this girl to give birth. After my son was born we made the food we brought and a few hours later we got to go home and enjoy the new member of the family in the comforts of our home. Now we are expecting our 5th and my wife wanted me to just deliver the baby at home like I did with our 2nd child. I am not up for that so Sacred Roots is the next best thing. If you do not have any issues with your pregnancy or a great amount of fear about having a baby, Sacred Roots is perfect!

Where to start? I guess I'll start with, "Tamrha at CCD was amazing!". I brought a lot of emotional…read morebaggage into this pregnancy and and still had a lot of healing to do from my first birth which was a traumatic, emergency C-section 2yrs ago. Tamrha was incredibly supportive, open and suggested some great resources to help my healing process emotionally. This birth with Tamrha also took place in June 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. This was hard in so so many ways; but her virtual meetings and support were so helpful, mind-easing and were about as close to an in-person meeting as you could get. She was always available to go over my fears, questions and concerns. Another challenge for me was that I was aiming for a VBAC. Statistically speaking, that shouldn't be a big deal; but I had to seek out a new provider halfway through the pregnancy that was actually supportive of my VBAC, argue with insurance over who were covered providers, worry about which hospitals would have which policies bc of the pandemic etc, and Tamrha supported us through it all. She helped me find VBAC resources, possible providers I might want to interview, stayed up to date on hospital policies and most importantly for me, talked though all of my frustrations and concerns after my many calls with providers and insurance. I don't know that I would have been as comfortable with my providers if Tamrha wasn't there every step of the way. And when it came to the labor and delivery...well she was fabulous. I had surges on and off for weeks before things got really going, and she really helped keep me focused and not let myself feel defeated. And then we had nearly four days of surges that were timable and getting stronger. We waited for them to pick up at any minute which was emotionally and physically exhausting. But having her just a text away to talk to about how I was feeling and what my body was doing and why, was such peace of mind...and when things finally did pick up, she was just a text and call away for both myself and my husband. She helped us gauge where I was at, helped me listen to my body to decide when to leave for the hospital, and when she met us there I was at 8cm, 90% effaced and starting to feel the urge to push. Her support and advocacy in triage was amazing. She helped to amplify my voice and the voice of my husband to help get my needs met. Her words and touch seemed to always be just what I needed to hear or feel just at the right time. I got my unmedicated VBAC, and it was everything I needed and hoped it would be. Tamrha was such a huge part of that accomplishment for me. My husband and I have completed our family so we don't plan to have any more children, but I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking a doula in our area!

Just last Wednesday, I delivered my first child (a boy! Surprise!) with Patti Crawford, (C)DONA,…read morecheering me on as my doula. It was a slow-start labor (in fact, we chose to go home from the hospital for awhile to see if it would progress faster...and it did) that would have been discouraging without Patti's patience, reassurance, and--in the final stages, her vast store of knowledge of comfort measures as well as the physical mechanics of good, progress-making pushing! She formed an amazing collaborative alliance with my care team as well as my husband while I labored, and I couldn't have been happier with my med-free, intervention-free natural birth experience! To top it off, our son arrived in perfect condition, which just made our day! My experience with Patti and her agency of knowledgeable doulas has been awesome since I first engaged their services back when I was just 28 weeks along. Before I gave birth, I was able to meet the other doulas (in case a backup was needed) and even attend (for free!) an awesome breastfeeding class taught by Abi Miles, who in addition to being a doula with IDA is also a lactation consultant who offers private sessions. I also experienced Patti's own personal care in the two prenatal visits she made as our doula to help my husband and I make good choices in our birth plan and gain knowledge about birth preparation. Now at a week after the birth, it's wonderful to know that not only will Patti be making a postpartum visit to check on us, but that she's only a text or call away! Beyond their personal skill sets as doulas, this team of women at IDA also keep close ties with other professionals in the birth community--from acupuncturists and chiropractics specializing in pregnancy, to placenta encapsulation services and more! If you need or want a special service, they will be sure you get it! I could go on...but in sum, If you are looking for a personal guide, emotionally supportive cheerleader, and knowledge-source in your pregnancy-to-postpartum journey, look no further. The ladies at IDA are awesome!

When I was going through my third pregnancy, I was lucky enough to have many trips to Clarian North…read moreMedical Center in Carmel. At the time, the hospital had just opened, and I was in awe of all the little shops and the incredible food options in the atrium area--it was like a five-star hotel! With a swelling belly (and feet!), I would hobble and waddle my way around, mostly walking past the Starbucks stand and over to the cafeteria to check out the chocolate cake. But one store stuck out as being especially, well, special. Expressions: A Store for Women, is an adorable little shop filled with unique and wondrous items. Beautiful children's books of course caught my eye, but so did the beautiful, feminine, and oh-so-soft nightgowns for new mommies, onesies for babies, and gifts and rare finds galore. I immediately had my eye on a little outfit for baby that had sailboats all over it...a little hat, T-shirt, pants and matching receiving blanket. Maybe it was the raging hormones, but I swear to you that I could've dropped down on the floor and napped on that blankie. I loved it that much. It brought tears to my eyes. (Yeah, definitely hormones). Needless to say, I bought the entire outfit and blanket for our son's "going-home outfit." He was adorable. Oh, and I bought a great foot lotion as well. Pregnant women love foot cream. All this aside, I must point out the coolest thing about Expressions (besides their awesome selection of gifts): Every time I was in there, there were new moms speaking to nurses right in the store about breastfeeding concerns. Turns out this store is more about information sharing than the bottom line. Why? Expressions' mission, as stated on its Web site: is to "provide expert information, superior products and terrific customer service to all women - and the people who love them." Certified lactation consultants are on staff to help women with all their questions ... they'll even fit you for the CORRECT bra size! Love it! And, there's a women's oncology section where women going through cancer treatment can be fitted for breast forms, bras, wigs and hats. All this, and there's more. And it might be the best part. Really! (It's hard to pick the best part!) Get this: (from the Clarian Web site) Expressions donates ALL PROCEEDS to Clarian's Women's Services, providing support for lactation and childbirth education, home visitation program, Luz de mi Vide (Light of My Life) and postpartum depression and perinatal bereavement programs.