How many stars would you give to a person who hand held you through one of the most difficult,…read moreintense, and mind blowing experiences of your life? Too bad Yelp maxes you out at only five. I knew I wanted Amber to be my doula right away, it was amazing how much at ease I felt knowing she'll be there when I need her. Months later I called Amber in a panic at 40+ weeks pregnant after my doctor mentioned induction for the first time. I always envisioned having an all natural birth and staying at home for as long as possible before transferring to a hospital, so the mention of pitocin really scared the s..t out of me. Amber calmed me down and offered to give me her magical Mayan massage. I started feeling contractions on my way home from her massage and was in full labor just hours after. Through the whole labor Amber's voice was the thin line connecting me to the reality and telling me I'm doing great. Every time I opened my eyes Amber was there, always knowing when to reassure me, when to push me, and when to keep quiet. My husband was there, ready to support me and do everything he could to help, but you really need someone with experience to guide you through l&d. Husbands cannot replace doulas!!! And if all of that was not enough Amber manages to take amazing pictures of the baby's arrival and of our first moments together as a family of three. I get to relieve that experience every time I look at the pictures now. I could not have done it without Amber, cannot recommended her enough!

There are people who "know their stuff" and then there is Amber. When it comes to women's health,…read morefertility cycles, knowing your body, and feeling more grounded and empowered as a woman, you couldn't have a better person on your team than Amber. I have experienced both her Mayan Abdominal Massage and her natural fertility class, and am deeply grateful to her for both. She has taught me so much about how to look after my own reproductive health in a way that feels empowering rather than patronising. She helped me totally reframe what is possible in terms of knowing my own cycle, birth control, family planning, and acting to take control of it without hormones, devices in my body, and so on. Amber is one of my top five practitioners of all time (and I see a lot). Even if you don't understand why you might need an Abdominal Massage, or a class on your own fertility, I would advise going anyway, if you resonate with any of the following: You feel a need to take back your body from the medical model You feel grief around how you or others have treated your body in the past You want to have a baby, and want to feel more connected to your body/baby, and/or would like an unmedicated birth You have had a baby and experienced any physical/emotional discomfort during pregnancy, birth or the postpartum time You want to feel witnessed by your women's healthcare provider, and are not receiving that from your OBGYN or other providers You suspect that there is wisdom in your body, that you are yet to discover As you can tell, I can't say enough about how wonderful Amber is. Her work in the world is such a service to all women, and I'm so grateful she was born.

Amazing experience having a home birth with my first child. I was very nervous to switch to…read moremidwifery care at 32 weeks and Angie took the time to make me feel comfortable. When I went into labor she was so patient with me as my labor progressed slowly and when I hemorrhaged post birth she handled it expertly avoiding a hospital transfer and providing life saving care. Would 100% give birth with Angie again.

We took Angie's birth class and she was our doula and we are so grateful to have had her as part of…read moreour experience. Angie made me feel so supported and understood every step of the way. She brought with her a calm and compassion that we will never forget.

Troop saved my life!!! I could not have survived the newborn phase without the help of my doulas…read more They were all so caring, helpful and knowledgeable. Even though it can be tough to be separated from one's newborn baby, I felt so comfortable sleeping while my doula took care of him. Having overnight support allowed me to get the rest I needed to heal and gave me energy to spend time with my toddler during the day. Troop is like family to me! I would recommend them to anyone in need of support.

Pregnant and postpartum moms - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY…read more We signed up for doulas for 12 weeks while I was pregnant and put down the deposit (roughly $10k). Our needs changed postpartum and when we went to update our timeline we were told that the deposit we put down would not be applied to the updated timeline - basically we were asking for $8k in services and even though we had already paid $10k we were told that we still needed to pay more. They quoted the handbook which was not noted in the contract we signed and we were never told of this "policy" while interviewing or signing the contract. We received the handbook after we had signed the contract. We worked out an agreement after pointing out how ridiculous this was and we felt it was still worth it to move forward as we were hopeful that they would provide the services they promised. Over the course of four visits we had two different doulas. Both were very polite and nice but had totally different levels of care. The first doula set timers on her phone to wake up and check on our daughter as well as wake and bring her to feed so that she didn't go too long without eating. As a mom that is EBF this was immensely helpful and she was great to work with. The second doula was polite but did not take care of our daughter. She slept so deeply that did not wake during my daughter's feeding cues/crying. I awoke to engorged breasts and when I checked the monitor I could see my daughter fussing in her bassinet while the doula slept on. I also saw that she had set the temperature of the room to 74 degrees. For a 6 week old that can't regulate heat this was VERY concerning. I went to wake my husband to figure out how we could change it to a safe temperature and then went downstairs and woke the doula while getting my daughter from the bassinet. My daughter was so overheated that she could barely finish one side even though she regularly finishes both. While I was feeding her, this doula fell asleep again and when I brought my daughter back she did not wake to me entering the room- I changed my daughter's diaper and only after returning with a light on did she wake up. We were scheduled to have her for the next month and my husband and I did not feel comfortable leaving our child in her care again. When I emailed the company to cancel (on a Thursday with our next visit being a Monday), I received an OOO message from Lynette Wilson the Director of Operations. The following day (Friday) I forwarded the message to the scheduling team and did not receive a response. When Lynette returned that following Monday she did not ask why we were suddenly cancelling but did try to tell us that she was going to charge us for not cancelling 24 hours before the shift even though the message was sent several days before. Only after I was able to get Lynette on the phone (you cannot contact anyone in the office directly) did she relent. I also brought up the concerns with the doula - again she did not once ask why. She did not seem to care or bother to offer solutions but rather wanted to end the conversation. We've spent $10k+ for 4 nights. Pregnant and postpartum moms - this company does not care about you or your child. Their team of overnight doulas is sporadic in their level of care and created an unsafe environment for my child. This company only cares about squeezing you for money during one of the most stressful and vulnerable times of your life.

Christi performed placenta encapsulation for us after our baby girl was born and I highly recommend…read moreher for this service. The process took two days, and she spent about two hours in our home each day. She explained the whole process and took time to make sure I understood the instructions before she left. During "down time" she gave me some pointers on breastfeeding and some guidance on cluster feeding. She left our kitchen cleaner than it was before. :)

Christi Nixon at Emerald City Doula's was by far the very best person I was lucky to work with…read more Week 32 of my first pregnancy I was to suddenly change care from midwives to a specialty care. I was so stressed out, I decided to get myself a doula to help self advocate and boy was that the best choice! Wonderful Paula, who mans the office, got back to me immediately and helped reassure me that she was on the case and would help me quickly. I got a call that day and I was paired with Christi (who I was referred to). It's so strange having to choose a complete stranger to pay to be a close companion in little to no time. It turned out to be a perfect fit. After a long and troublesome induction I called Chrisi to Northwest and the nurses attitudes completely changed. Chrisi had a wonderful working relationship with the staff and I wish I'd called her sooner even if it meant going beyond the contracted time. In the end, with such a complicated and troublesome delivery, Christi was right there with me postpartum and helped me get through the most challenging parts of adjusting to parenthood. Her non judgement, compassion and empathy were life savers and what's best about having a postpartum doula is that they're there to help you specifically, so there is very little to no drama like you'd inevitably get with family. I also appreciated how available she was via text. She even helped coach me through my child's tongue tie and helped me find a wonderful lactation specialist who came to my home. Together we worked out breastfeeding and pumping and the very best gift of a postpartum doula was giving me one blissful full nights rest while she stayed up with my child. Having a doula is a wonderful gift to give yourself, having a postpartum doula in addition is a blessing and having Christi or anyone from Emerald City Doulas is a must! I recommend these wonderful folks hands down every chance I get.

I found Meg on a website of doulas that serve Whidbey Island. After reading every website for the…read moredoulas on the list, I bookmarked Meg because I felt she seemed open, warm, accepting, and knowledgeable. I didn't contact her right away because I was only a few months pregnant at the time. Over the following month, I talked with several friends about their birth experience and two told me how much they loved their doula. Turns out those two friends had Meg! Both friends had nothing but amazing things to say about Meg so it felt kismet, and I emailed her right away. Upon meeting her it was clear that I wanted Meg involved in my birth. She was so soothing, respectful, understanding, and personable. Meg helped us prepare for birth and taught us all we needed to know before going into labor. Meg counseled me through decisions I had to make and helped me think through every single option. I appreciated that Meg holds NO judgement about ANY decision. She's on your team. No agenda - She shares the facts and allows you to make the decision. I am so grateful to Meg. My birth ended up taking a tough turn, and I had an emergency c-section under general anesthesia. Meg was there to meet my baby with my partner. She supported him as he worried about me and as he held our newborn for the first time. When I finally got to meet my son, Meg immediately latched him on and listened to me as I sobbed. Meg will always be a special part of our birth story. I wholeheartedly recommend Meg. She is a phenomenal doula.

Giving birth with Meg by my side as our Doula was absolutely amazing. I 100% attribute her and her…read moreskills to me being able to achieve my natural birth goals. I couldnt have done it without her. Her calm energy and knowledge was incredibly reassuring. I also was so impressed with her knowledge and ability to navigate the entire birth, she really is gifted as a Doula. A very special thanks to Meg!

Thank you, Christi, for being the best doula a first time mother could have asked for! I had a lot…read moreof anxiety with my first pregnancy because of gestational diabetes and a baby who was consistently measuring in the 99th percentile. Christi brought me a lot of ease with her vast knowledge of child birth and assured me that I am more than capable of a vaginal delivery. My birth went according to plan and she really gave me the confidence that I can deliver a giant baby. I will remember you for the rest of my life, thank you!!

A friend of mine spoke wonders about having a doula for labor, so between that and my commitment to…read moreself-advocacy, I knew that hiring a labor doula was a non-negotiable for our first child. What I didn't know is how lucky we'd be to find Christi @ Emerald City Doulas! She is the perfect combination of experienced and empathetic, and her calm but direct approach was the perfect fit for my personality as well as my husband's. We loved having our two prenatal sessions and the ability to text Christi with any questions (they were always super responsive), but for us, the real value came during labor and delivery, which was not only traumatic for me but also came with tons of unexpected turns (starting with PROM, which is when water breaks with no contractions). Between the horrible pain and the decisions to break with our birth plan, Christi didn't waver and made sure I was supported and safe throughout. Needless to say, next to my husband, Christi is the person I will most remember as being there for me in the process of having our first child. After our little girl arrived, we worked with Jylane as our postpartum support doula. I can't say enough about her demeanor (our baby is comfortable with her, but so are our two cats, which says a lot!), reliability and kindness--not to mention the lack of judgment, which is critical in a time where you're already hard on yourself. We purchased a combo of overnights and day shifts, and at this point in baby's life, there aren't many other people we'd trust to take care of her for such long periods of time! We are grateful for her role in the early days of parenthood.

My husband and I took our child birthing class with Kendra before the birth of our first child and…read morecouldn't have been happier! She is not only extremely knowledgable, but is a very sweet woman who obviously loves what she does. All our questions were answered and we went into labor & delivery very prepared! Because of everything we learned in her class, we were able to have the birthing experience we had hoped for :) As a Le Leche League leader, she was also very helpful after our little one arrived and we were having a little trouble getting the hang of breast feeding. Kendra went above and beyond to help us out and gave me the peace of mind and reassurance I needed to provide the type of care we wanted for our baby. I would highly recommend Kendra!!

I just have to give the biggest praise I was a late transfer to care at almost 38 weeks after a bad…read moreexperience with my previous midwife. This team took the time and was so kind to ease my mind and make sure my wishes were respected and taken into account. Even without knowing them long before I went into labor they did so amazing making me feel supported, loved and secure in my birth which went amazing! This team is fantastic and truly cares about your desires for birth oh and I must add I had 2 crazy toddlers at my birth asking a million questions and the midwives did great with them and answering questions, allowing them to be involved it really meant the world to me to have midwives that allowed and welcomed the whole family to be part of the process without getting overwhelmed with the chaos of a 4 and 2 year old

Marie and Michelle have been amazing so far. I haven't given birth yet, but they come highly…read morerecommended.