I used Ashe for my first birth in 2024. Emilie was my doula and Milta was her partner. Both of them were so supportive and patient during my pregnancy - they are knowledgeable and kind, never pushy and always helpful and kept what my partner and I needed at the forefront of all of our interactions. They answered every question and I had lots! Emilie and Milta were very gracious and mindful of supporting my husband, as well. I was grateful for them and their guidance throughout pregnancy, but my labor and delivery is where Emilie's sunshine beamed the strongest. She seemed to know what I needed before I could even ask her, providing physical support and pain management for me at my induction. With her unwavering help, I was able to carry through with my hopes for an unmedicated birth even with an induction and even though I was nervous! She had total faith in me and it made me believe in myself. She checked in on us at home after the baby came, and we also used Ashe's postpartum services to get a few, much-needed, nights of rest (Courtney is amazing!) Ashe does it all and they do it all beautifully. I'm grateful every day for Emilie and her team. I wholeheartedly recommend their amazing care for every step of your journey! We could not have been happier. read more

I am so glad that Emilie was my doula during my pregnancy and delivery experience. I knew I wanted a natural birth experience, and someone who would champion for my wishes. Emilie did that and much, much more. In the months before delivery, Emilie met with me for pre-natal care, informing me about hospital interventions, medications, and decisions I'd have to make for my child. When contractions begin, Emilie coached me through the contractions and then met us at the hospital. (She was getting ready to meet us at home but my labor was very fast). At the hospital, she helped me settle into a comforting routine. With every contraction, she held my body, coached my breathing and I felt completely in control of my labor and delivery. There was no screaming, or kicking as I imagined there'd be. The nurses even commented that this was the most controlled delivery they'd ever seen -- thanks to Emilie! She kept me hydrated, massaged me, and coached my husband about what he could do. She worked incredibly well with the nurses and doctors. I was so nervous about giving birth but I was fully empowered and in control over my body. I absolutely loved my labor and delivery experience. After giving birth, Emilie visited me twice, bringing sitz baths and talking me through all the issues I was facing during that first month. It's been several months and she still checks in on me. You won't regret going with Emilie! read more

There are no words that can express how appreciative I am that I had Emilie by my side during this sacred journey. From our very first meeting, she mapped out her role as a doula, things I should expect, ways I should prepare for labor as well as things to do in celebration of my pregnancy. I immediately felt comforted and supported in way I didn't know I even needed. Throughout my pregnancy Emilie was always available to answer any questions, help me work through my fears so I remained open and grounded. When the big day finally came, things did not go as planned. Emilie was there, flexible and patient throughout my 20 hour long labor. She was the support both my partner and I needed. I felt empowered to make the decisions I needed to without feeling pressured or discouraged. Postpartum, Emilie was amazing. The first three weeks were tough. Between recovery, hormones, breastfeeding and simply acclimating to motherhood I could not keep my head above water. She checked in on me, offered valuable advise, listened while I cried and made sure I ate (so important). I made it through in one spiritual, mental and emotional piece and enjoyed the moments of becoming a mothers because of her encouragement and support. read more

Ashe Birthing Services - Zora's BIRTH day!! - Doulas Near Me

Janeè felt heaven sent when we connected during the last trimester of my pregnancy. We were in contact for a little while before we actually got the chance to meet in person, and it was during our official meeting that I understood the saying "good things come to those who wait for it." If intuitive was a person, it'll for sure be Janeè. She is amazing at anticipating your needs and knowing what you want even before you ask for it. I was made aware of the benefits of things such as Red Raspberry Leaf tea for pregnant women and also how important it was to have a birthing plan because of Janeè. She is very soft-spoken and has this calming aura to her, and this what I needed in a doula. I had a crazy labor that lasted about 48 hours and Janeè was there by our side the entire time. She was hired to assist in my home water birth, but unfortunately I had to be transferred to the hospital because my cervix wouldn't dilate past 7 centimeters. But even in the hospital, Janeè and my midwife were still very much present to advocate for me against the overbearing hospital staff and policies. I felt protected and well taken care of because Janeè did not leave my side once when I most needed her. I can go on and on with the praises, but to keep it short I'll say, Janeè has such an amazing soul and is my forever doula. read more

Ashe Birthing Services was exceptional and really made my birthing experience a success. My Doula Janee was the best Doula that I could ask for! It was my first child and I decided to do a natural home birth but I wasn't sure if I wanted a Doula because I thought my husband or friends could help out if needed. I decided to use Ashe Birthing Services late in my pregnancy around 34 or 36 weeks and this was the best decision I made. Janee stepped right in and I felt like she was on board from day one. She was very attentive, informative and caring. Janee checked in with me regularly both pre and postpartum. She made natural tea blends to aid with my pregnancy, birth and postpartum and dropped them off to my home. During labor she did everything needed to comfort me from making me a quick meal, keeping me hydrated with water or tea, hip squeezes, playing music, getting cold towels, and even offering her arm or hand to hold and squeeze when I was in pain. During all this she still found the time to take photos and videos of my birth which I wanted to have for my memories. Her help during labor really gave me the strength to push through and I was able to give birth to my beautiful baby girl naturally in the comfort of my home. After my birth Janee was still involved and made sure I was getting the right postpartum recovery. She visited 2 days after I gave birth to drop off a yoni steamer seat and herbs to help with healing. Janee made this task so easy for me as she even gave me a pot to boil the herbs, a natural cleaning solution to clean the seat, and a nice wrap that I used to wrap around my body to entrap the steam. This remedy was so relaxing and I really enjoyed steaming. It was a few minutes to myself to just breathe and do something great for my body. She checked in with me or my husband everyday to see how things were going. The service that I received from Ashe Birthing Services was one of a kind and worth every penny spent. I will definitely be using them again, God willing, for our second child. read more

Finding Emilie was one of the best decisions I made in my pregnancy journey. She played a huge role in actually making my delivery and labor the experience I wanted to have. I honestly couldn't imagine the day without her and hope it's possible to have her by my side again for future pregnancies. Among the many amazing things she did for us: - Was incredibly warm from the very beginning. She exudes calmness and openness in the way that I needed being that I'm usually very type A and labor/delivery are not experiences you can control - Offered my husband guidance on how to support me throughout my labor/delivery and met with him 1:1 so they could work out how to best support me as a team - Gave us great tips on questions to ask our OB so that we could establish a birth plan - Helped me figure out what exactly I wanted on the big day in terms of a vision and ideal scenario - before my exercise with her I honestly had no clue - Helped us labor at home according to plan then instructed us when it was time to head to the hospital (I had a relatively fast labor and probably would've stayed home too long without her direction) - Helped us manage the chaos that is a NYC hospital. She remembered what was on our birth plan when the hospital lost ours and helped us with advocating for ourselves when dealing with pushy hospital personnel. - Kept us on the right path towards executing our birth plan. The intensity of contractions mixed with an unfriendly hospital environment meant that at several points I didn't believe in my own strength. During these moments Emilie looked me in the eye, reminded me of my strength and assured me that we were making good progress. I didn't trust anyone but her and it's only through her guidance that I was able to deliver without any medications. - Took amazing photos that we will treasure forever - this might seem minor but was so huge for us, I absolutely love all the photos she took while my daughter was being born. It allowed my husband to be in the moment and was a wonderful gift. - Followed up often post-delivery to check on how I/we were doing. This was so huge - as a first-time mom with limited support I often didn't even realize when I should be reaching out for help and she did an amazing job of not waiting till I reached out. read more

I had the good fortune of having Emilie as my doula for the birth of my second child. When we first met, I was immediately drawn to her warm, grounding, gentle nature - and I loved that she infused a spiritual approach to her doula work! As the big day drew near, Emilie was an amazing support and helped me advocate for my birth wishes, in particular when I was facing some unexpected issues with my maternity practice. She kept reminding me that my birth team works for me - so she helped me stay empowered throughout the whole process of preparing for baby. She took the time to really understand my and my husband's wishes for this birth, and by the end of it we felt like we gained a wonderfully insightful friend! When the big day arrived is really when Emilie really showed us her magic. My labor went much faster than expected, so we faced the reality that we wouldn't make it to our hospital in time. Being the intuitive person that she is, she calmly presented us our options and in the end, she helped us avoid an uncomfortable labor in an ambulance or in a hospital we didn't want. Instead, we had a magical - unplanned - home birth with a wonderful home birth midwife (Tanya Wills) who we all knew well. We were nervous in choosing this route at the last minute, but Emilie's calm, loving nature and wise guidance made us confident that we were making the right choice for us. The birth itself was a beautiful experience, and while we waited for the midwife to arrive, Emilie lovingly helped me to direct my energy exactly where it needed to go - and as a result I had an essentially perfect birth! While I didn't plan a home birth, it's an experience I secretly always dreamed of but never thought I could have (since I was a VBAC). So I credit Emilie with helping me to manifest this beautiful birth experience - one that I feel incredibly lucky to have had! Postpartum, Emilie continued to be a wealth of support and advice. She also gifted me the most amazing self care products!! Looking back at this experience, it truly feels like Emilie was my guardian angel and I feel so blessed to have had her at my side during this special time as I became a mom of two. I can't recommend her highly enough!! read more

We were referred to Ashe Birthing Services through a family friend. I had such a nice experience having Janeé as my doula. She brings a calm presence and deep compassion to her work. Janeé is warm, professional, and patient. She provided us with the resources and knowledge to help us thoroughly understand the many important decisions we would be expected to make surrounding birth. She was extremely responsive to all of my text/phone calls. Every prenantal visit with Janeé left me feeling more calm and confident about my pregnancy and giving birth. During my labor, I was very thankful for her use of pain management massage techniques. I can't remember much from my labor, but I do remember her massages and words of encouragement were a big help to reduce stress and discomfort. Janeé also captured beautiful photos of my partner and I with our baby. Post delivery she offered to come over to help with the baby, provided breastfeeding support and was receptive to any and all concerns I had. One of the main reasons we hired a doula was because we wanted an experienced advocate in the delivery room with us to help us navigate every medical decision, but also someone who would be advocating for my birth plan. Janeé was exactly that and more. Although I didn't enjoy all of the hospital interventions during my labor, our birth experience was still amazing and empowering, thanks in large part to Janee's support. read more

I feel very lucky to have worked with both Griselda and Emilie for the birth of my little girl in April 2016. Griselda was my doula, but I met with both Griselda and Emilie in case Griselda would not be available during my labor or in case Emilie needed to take over an especially long labor. We had a wonderful intake session during which we discussed how I wanted the birth to go, and we also did some visualizations and some breathing exercises. I'm not a spiritual person but I appreciated a calm moment to connect with myself. During the remainder of my pregnancy, both Griselda and Emilie stayed in touch and listened patiently whenever I needed to talk about my fears, symptoms, etc. When it came to showtime, it turned out that I had to be induced, and by the time that my partner and I got to the hospital, Griselda was already sitting in the lobby with a huge grin on her face - she was way more excited about this than I was! She had the patience of a saint and stayed with me from Wednesday night when I got induced all the way to Friday morning when the little one joined the party. I feel so blessed to have had her steadying presence during the birth experience, ESPECIALLY given that I didn't quite get the natural-birth, labor-at-home experience I was hoping/planning for. Griselda was so accepting of what the universe had in its plan that it gave me peace and calm as well. If I decide to have another little one, I will be working with Ashe again without any reservation. read more

We are so lucky we hired Emilie to be our doula during the birth of my daughter. My initial hope was to have an unmedicated vaginal birth, but unfortunately my baby was a little too comfortable and I had to be induced. This was an epic process that took over 72 hours, during which I needed to have several interventions. If Emilie wasn't in the room advocating for my needs, I would have felt overwhelmed by what was happening and a little bullied by the medical staff. Emilie has so much experience, knowing that she had seen it all before many times, was very reassuring. She has an easygoing personality that is easy to be around in your most vulnerable state. With her guidance, I was still able to have a vaginal birth! If you are considering a doula, hire Emilie! read more

I have started this review over many times, agonizing over my wording only to determine that there simply aren't words to describe our gratitude for Janeé. We knew we wanted to hire a birth doula and we interviewed many fantastic ones. However, something about Janeé's presence (even on a zoom call!) instinctively told us that she was our person. All the doulas we interviewed communicated their levels of professionalism and expertise but with Janeé, there was so much more than that. It was obvious that she was experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate about her work but she also had this sort of magical way of communicating genuine excitement, interest, and, even during the first meeting, a great capacity to share her love. We chose her instinctively and our instincts were spot on. Labor and delivery didn't end up being what we hoped for or planned for at all. We experienced several complications along the way and, even though we took an amazing birthing class and felt pretty well prepared, we could not have done it without Janeé. Let me be clear about what I mean here because obviously we could have done all of it on our own, as many have before. However, without Janeé, I doubt we would have felt confident or comfortable in our choices. It feels overwhelming when doctors start suggesting interventions and providing options. Janeé helped us slow things down and gain the space we needed to understand what was happening and make an informed decision. I especially appreciated that Janeé was able to calmly tell us what she was hearing from the doctors, what their concerns were, what she has seen in her experience, and what our options were for moving forward. And every decision we made came with her full, unconditional support. For me, this aspect of her care was invaluable but that is only the tip of the iceberg of what she brought to our experience. We are pretty easy-going people who found ourselves in an intense situation. Without Janeé, I think we would have felt really scared, out of our element, and in over our heads. Janeé helped keep things light with music, stories, massage, etc. She helped us navigate a situation with a very strict nurse and connected with some of the other nurses as they shared their expertise with each other. It was awesome to see how effortlessly she and my husband bonded and became the best support team I could ask for, each of them holding a hand during each contraction, making me feel safe and protected every step of the way. Even once I was encumbered by tubes and cords, she helped me achieve my goals of laboring in various positions to help things move along. She constantly reminded me of my birth affirmations and enveloped us in positivity and love when things weren't going the way we hoped. Once our little one finally entered the world, she worked tirelessly with the nurses (after being up all night) to make sure he was able to feed right away when I was too exhausted to hand express some colostrum while he figured out how to latch. She didn't leave our side until we were safely moved to our recovery room and she knew we were safe and comfortable. Even then, she stayed in touch over the next several days in the hospital, always offering more help and support. Our postpartum visits were equally as delightful and informative. She helped me process our crazy labor and delivery experience and helped me move in the direction of feeling okay about how it all turned out. She also helped coach me through the significant breastfeeding challenges I was facing at first and helped give me the courage and strength to stick with it. She even brought me an herbal compress and an herbal tea that helped me heal from the inside out. As I wrap up this review, I know I am leaving out so much. Janeé is truly a blessing and we will never be able to express our gratitude for everything she has done for us. I only wish we could do more to show her how thankful we are. If you are looking for a doula, go with the one you feel most connected and comfortable with but I strongly urge you to meet Janeé and see if she is the one. read more

Our birth with Janeé was such an empowering and beautiful experience. One thing we knew immediately upon meeting Janeé was that she projected a very calming presence. Some people are more talkers than doers. Janeé is a doer. She was there when we needed her, thinking of all kinds of things that we hadn't thought of, and bringing a calming focus. Because of how my water broke, we had to rush to the hospital alone. When Janeé met us at the hospital, she right away got to finding little and big ways to help me get more physically comfortable and emotionally stabilized. She was able to navigate the hospital and find more pillows when my husband couldn't. She suggested new poses to try to deal with the pain as it came. She was there for us and perfectly struck the balance between being our coach and following our lead. I am so sure that without Janeé, given all the particular details of our situation, I would have had a cesarean-- but Janeé's work played a part of how eventually, it worked out without one. The day after the birth, she stayed with us to make sure we were doing okay. She is incredibly caring and personal, and has been following up with us since the birth and we send her photos of our daughter. We feel so blessed that she was our doula. read more

Emilie and Griselda were so amazing! They supported me leading up to my daughters birth and also at her actual birth. A few weeks before she was due, I decided I wanted to try delivering without an epidural. They explained to me the various sensations I would likely feel throughout the process. When the day came and I said "no" to the epidural, I felt like I knew what to expect at every transition. I also felt empowered through the experience and supported at a very fundamental level. From aromatherapy wafting under my nose to supported back traction, giving birth was definitely a joint effort. I never felt alone or scared. Afterwards, Emilie's support was priceless as well. read more

From the moment I first spoke to Emilie and then met in person, I was certain she would be the person to help us with the birth of our second child. It felt as though we had been friends for a long time. She was extremely knowledgable and it is abundantly clear she loves what she does. From initial meetings, to follow ups throughout my pregnancy she was attentive and responsive. The day our son was born, Emilie was on top of it all. She helped me stay calm and truly kept me focused when I thought I couldn't handle much more. After our son was born, she stayed with us until we were settled. She helped with our initial go at breastfeeding and helped to get that first latch. We also had Emilie's tremendous help with post partum visits. She was extremely helpful, allowing us to sleep, shower/bathe and even cooked amazing meals. We couldn't have asked for a better partner in our journey and I would recommend her a million times. Thank you Emilie for everything! You are truly a bright light! read more