My doula Holly Kaddour was amazing!!!! She was refreshing, supportive and always available to help and answer my questions. She guided me through the stresses of going from natural in a birthing center to transferring to a hospital, she was a rock through my 30 hr labor! I would highly recommend her for any momma looking for a calm, kind and compassionate birth worker. read more

Karen L. Was the perfect doula for my first birth. She was the exact presence I needed in addition to my husband and mom. My mom is usually pretty chaotic and very hovers and Karen balanced her out perfectly with her calm and grounding demeanor. If I wanted someone to worry with me I'd look at me mom and if I needed to forget my worry I looked at Karen. Her face was always peaceful and expected nothing from me. No look of question on her face, just acceptance of the situation and how I was dealing with it. She was very respectful of my religious beliefs and even provided materials related to my faith. One of the quotes she provided actually stuck with me through labor and I'll never forget it. "When my strength runs out, His is only beginning". I would absolutely recommend Karen to anyone who is mostly looking for a grounding and calm presence for their birth experience. Side note: my labor was on the longer side and Karen never complained nor did she look inconvenienced. She was very serving. She also took AMAZING photos of my birth and I get to look at the moment my baby came out. Very thankful. read more

Mumda: Bump, Baby & Beyond - Karen applying counter pressure when my husband had to pee! I yelled at her "help me" lol - Doulas Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Hypnobirthing Class: When we were six months pregnant, my husband and I took Doulananda's Hypnobirthing class. There were five (5) two and a half hour courses, each one chock full of information, exercises and advice. As first-time parents, we were very nervous about what was to come, but these courses helped us to feel prepared and ready for childbirth. Melissa's no-nonsense teaching style was refreshing. She presented us with what we needed to know, and how to deal with any bumps in the road. If you desire a natural childbirth, this class will prepare you. If your doctor or hospital isn't on board for a natural birth, Melissa can help guide you on how to deal with this and how to get them on your side. Many of the other couples were as far along as us or further in their pregnancies, but I would suggest taking the class as early as possible to give yourself plenty of time to practice the techniques that you will learn. There are several different meditations that you will be able to use and practice with - allowing yourself time to figure out which works best for you is very handy. Don't worry if you can't take the class until later in your pregnancy though, you can still pick it up! The meditations that we learned were so helpful in keeping me relaxed during childbirth. All of the information we received let both my husband and I feel prepared and knowledgeable of what was going on and what to expect next. The insight we got from the Hyphnobirthing classes was invaluable and empowering. After completing the courses, simply accepting the doctors', nurses' and hospital's expectations for our birth experience according to their timeline and principles was absolutely unacceptable. However, taking their advice into account and considering it in the context of our own expectations and values and conferring with our doula when needed made a world of difference. Now, four months later, we still use the techniques that we learned in class to calm our son when he is cranky. My husband is especially good at it! Doula Services: My husband, Paul and I hired Melissa Johnson to be our doula for the birth of our first child. I wanted to have an unmedicated birth, but I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it without the support of someone more experienced. Hiring Melissa was one of the smartest moves we've ever made. Melissa spent 12 hours with us the day our son was born - this after she had just spent the better part of the previous two days assisting with another client's birth. I experienced something called 'back-labor.' Without Melissa's help, I don't know if I could have made it through without giving in to the call for an epidural. She had many techniques for relieving the pressure that I was experiencing, and even showed Paul how to do them so that he could help me, too. Melissa is perceptive and funny; she knows when to step in and when to step back. Before I gave birth, I didn't realize just how physical and arduous the job of a doula could be. If I were Melissa, I think I would've gone home and slept for 24 hours after this particular birth! Paul said that Melissa was incredible - and she was. Playing "the husband" role throughout the whole pregnancy process - up to and including the birth - he easily wins the Best Supporting Actor award. Thanks to the skills and techniques learned in the Hypnobirthing classes, he became part of the process. He wasn't just in the room with me, he was an active participant, following Melissa's lead and taking it when necessary. Before I gave birth, Paul wasn't sure we 'needed' a doula. Afterwards, he was just as thrilled that she was there as I was. As he says, she met and exceeded expectations! Placenta encapsulation: Prior to giving birth, we let the nurses at the hospital know that we would be saving my placenta. After I gave birth to our son, my husband put my placenta into a cooler. January came to visit us at the hospital and picked it up and overnight, she transformed my placenta into a bottle of placenta pills. She brought them back to us at the hospital the next day. Over the next several weeks, I took the placenta pills and really felt like they helped stabilize my moods. When I forgot to take them, I'd get very weepy, and it wouldn't take long for me to realize that I had forgotten to take my last dose. Tapering off them was easy and helped ease the hormonal transition from pregnant to not. Admittedly, the pills didn't taste very good - I'd hold my breath when I took them - but the effects were totally worth it. I totally recommend taking placenta pills. I've seen where some people drink their placenta, but I'm not that hard core. The pills are a nice way to get the effects of eating/drinking your placenta without the 'ick' factor. Just take a deep breath and down the hatch! read more

My family and I had a wonderful experience using Jen as our doula for the birth of our first baby in 2014. Having a birth coach was not only great for me as a laboring woman, but it was also such a help for my husband. He was able to be engaged and confident in the the labor experience with me. He expressed feeling less pressure with having a knowledgeable support person attending to our first birth experience. We both felt well attended to and supported through out the pregnancy, labor, and after. Having someone there to help with positioning, comfort measures and emotional support was AMAZING. I absolutely agree with a previous poster that Jen has such a calm and peaceful energy that she brings to the entire birthing process. read more

Without a doubt, hiring Jen as my doula was the best decision I could've ever made for my labor. I honestly couldn't have had the drug free, natural birth I desperately wanted without her amazing support and coaching. She stayed by my side for the entire 2 days in the hospital as I struggled through some serious contractions. When I questioned my own ability to continue without drugs, she gave me the strength and courage I needed to follow my birth plan and successfully deliver my baby girl the way I wanted. That means more to me than anything I can put into words. She's extremely knowledgeable of her craft and puts her heart and soul into what she does. Specifically, Jen had me constantly moving in a variety of positions to help aid in my labor as well as guiding my clueless, nervous husband as to how he could support me. We would have been a serious hot mess without her, probably drugged out of my mind giving birth to a stoned baby! It's hard to follow your birth plan in a hospital setting with all the craziness going on there. It's crucial to hire a doula like Jen that can have your back and be your voice when you're in labor land. Her hypnobirthing techniques were extremely helpful and made a huge difference in my labor. I highly recommend Belly Bliss to everyone wanting a better birth experience. read more

Absolutely LOVE the ladies at Doulananda. I never thought I would be able to find a woman that my husband would be comfortable with in the hospital room as I gave birth to our daughter- but he loved ALL of them! Melissa attended our birth and January came by after to encapsulate my placenta. The hypnobirthing education we received and support we had throughout our pregnancy and birth was incredible. Despite being in labor for over 24 hours I was able to have the natural birth I wanted and I will be thankful to them for the rest of my life! read more

My husband and I had no idea what a Doula was prior to watching a childbirth education video. I was going through my pregnancy not thinking too much about the delivery, but did know that I did not want an epidural. After learning of what a Doula was, we both looked at each other and thought this is something that we should definitely look into. My husband, because he wasn't sure how I was going to get through this without drugs and me because I thought it would be great to have another support person at my birth. I did some research online and Doulananda was the only company in Jacksonville that had multiple Doulas working together. All others were home-based single person businesses. After having our first consult, I knew that Melissa Johnson was going to be so much more than just a person attending my birth. Melissa was extremely informative and brought up many topics for discussion that I had not even thought about. If I wanted to know more on a particular subject, she would pull the information for me. She has a wealth of information and shared it without pushing her own beliefs. She was available to talk any time and was there to support the final months of my pregnancy, in addition to being there for my daughter's birth. She also gave me the confidence to discuss what I expected from my birth with my doctor. I found that my doctor did not agree with pretty much any of my expectations. I am so glad that I found this out when I did and decided to change to someone that would respect the plan that I had for my birth. I ended up going to 41 weeks, and came really close to having to be induced. In that final week, Melissa helped me to arrange an appointment with an Acupuncturist for labor induction and labor comfort. After my third appointment and having my membranes stripped earlier that day, I went into labor late that evening and had my daughter early the next morning. My labor was very quick and I made it through without the epidural. I went into labor without fear and in complete control, which is why I feel like my delivery went so well. Melissa played a HUGE part in the confidence I had in the final weeks of my pregnancy, going through labor and having my daughter. Thank you so much Melissa!!!! read more