I am in the process of suing this business in small claims court for breach of contract as my doula…read morewas not present at my delivery. I am a single mother but I received assurance from my doula that I would not be alone, given that my birth partner (close friend) fell ill right before I went into labor, and it was uncertain who (if any) of my friends could fill in. There were many times over the course of my labor that I felt judged by my doula and not supported in my decisions. My labor ended up being very fast and furious with contractions narrowing to less than 5 minutes apart and close to a minute long within the first few hours of labor. I essentially had the kind of contractions you expect would come later in labor, very early on. My doula acted very dismissive of the intensity of my labor in the beginning and acted as though she could prophesize everything which turned out to be very untrue in the end. I had non-stop vomiting for many hours, and needed multiple anti-nausea meds to get the vomiting under control. While laboring at home, for about 18 hours total, I was concerned that I had been vomiting for so long and I hadn't felt my baby move in a while. My doula was dismissive and assured me that decreased fetal movement was normal (she later retracted this statement when I arrived at the hospital and was severely dehydrated and the baby's heart rate was bradycardic) and she kept sidetracking me from going to the hospital, despite expressing that I wanted to go. I was supposed to have a family member drive me, but she insisted on driving me and kept delaying leaving. When she finally agreed to take me, she went to get me food that I can eat after delivery and took over an hour to return while I waited at home anxious to get to the hospital. I later learned that she had "taken a break" at that time and hadn't informed me that was her plan. I felt incredibly judged and unsupported in my decision to get an epidural. At that point, she told me that she was going to go home to sleep for a few hours and then return. My good friend had arrived at the hospital and stayed with me. My doula ended up being gone for the final 8 hours of my labor and never returned. The final events of my labor transpired quickly - the baby was in distress and I was rushed into an emergency c-section - but my doula had AMPLE opportunity to return. She was in contact with my friend and there were several updates that should have been prompts for her to return. She assured me that she would OR send a backup. At one point she said that she was sending a backup that never came. My friend was not aware of my birth plan, but my doula was, and I was left vulnerable and without an advocate and there were several points in my birth plan that could have been upheld even in a c-section had my doula been present. My time in recovery and maternity were traumatic mainly due to me being completely alone, heavily medicated, unable to use my legs, and with my newborn baby. My doula did not check on me in the maternity wing. She claimed that a backup was turned away at the hospital due to COVID which I found to be completely untrue based on speaking with hospital staff. She claimed that she was available virtually, but we had agreed upon in-person support and she explicitly told me that she would return. She claimed that I did not ask clearly enough for her to return which is unbelievable - she told me before she left the hospital that she would return. I should not have to wage a campaign for my doula to return to the hospital. During and after my labor, I was either in severe pain, heavily medicated or incapacitated and I did not have my personal belongings nearby nor the means to even access them to be able to call or text her. After my daughter was born, I was alone, without the use of my legs, and holding an infant. She communicated to my friend that she was going to meet me in maternity to make sure I was ok and help me shower. She never came.