Stephanie was an absolute life-saver with my first baby - she was the only sane part of our entire lives. When I found out I was having twins I BEGGED her to move back to Austin from Waco (but WEIRD, she couldn't ‍). She gave me great recommendations - I hope our new night Doula's can measure up to the amazing love, support, and service we got from Stephanie! She is also the only reason I was able to breastfeed for 8 months - she would take my calls and give tips (or call me down) and provide such potent reassurance. I could go on for days. Last thing - when I first found her info I was hesitant because we are not a churchy family - in hindsight I can't believe this gave me pause. She performed her work in such an incredible way - I know she has a lot of experience in spiritual child rearing, but was so unconditionally loving without pushing any message on any of us at any time (other that rah rah and you got this-type messages). We love you and we miss you!!! Also - please move back from Waco :) read more

I didn't know what having a doula would be like, but Stephanie helped me far more than I expected. She answered my questions and listened to my fears during the pregnancy, and stayed in close contact with me leading up to the birth. She helped me think through my birth plan, and I felt comfortable asking her even silly questions. During the birth, she was invaluable. I had originally thought that having my husband and mom there would be enough people--but it turns out that with pitocin-induced contractions, I absolutely needed three people helping me stay focused! She also visited after the birth to answer more of my questions and offer some general breastfeeding support, too. I had wanted an intervention-free birth, but it didn't work out that way. Despite being induced, with her help and support I was able to give birth without pain medication or an epidural. She kept me focused AND kept my mom and husband focused on helping me effectively. Having Stephanie there gave me the best of both worlds--I was under a doctor's care in the hospital, but I feel like I got a natural birth experience despite being induced. read more

As good as it gets for sure! I first learned about Doulas when I went photograph an event for them, because up to that point I was like: what's a doula?!? I learn at the shoot what a Doula is, but only with Stephanie I learned the real value of a Doula and having Stephanie as my Doula it was the best decision I ever made. On the day of the birth, my contractions started really early in the morning , so I called my OBGYN and I called Stephanie, the nurse told me to go to hospital ASAP ( leaving me a bit nervous) and Stephanie said in her soothing and calm voice: " you still have time... so make sure you eat and get your bag" ... So I did took my time and went to hospital by 10 am...but they send me home because I was not enough dilated ....by noon Stephanie came to my house and help me with every single contraction, helped me stay focused and positive...she took me to hospital and for that moment did not leave my sight ( thank God). At the hospital even tho my mom was there ( even more nervous than me) and my husband was also very supportive, Stephanie was my rock. Every time the nurses came and talk or did something she basically would "translate" for me in the soothing tone. But the biggest help came when they had to rush me to a C-Section, she just look me in the eye and said "you doing great, it's all going to be okay , just stay positive and calm" ...and I did, even the doctors said I was really calm considering all the running. After the birth Stephanie came to visit at my house and also help me with breastfeeding , because I was in so much pain. She is the best and so knowledgeable, sweet, calm, soothing, considered, patient, understanding, caring ....I could go on and on and on. Forever grateful! Solange Phillips read more

Stephanie is a wonderful lady, and amazing at what she does. I met Stephanie three years ago, before the birth of my first daughter. I attended her breastfeeding class and after my daughter was born, her breastfeeding support group. She is so personable and funny - and most importantly - she's a true expert when it comes to child birth and lactation/breastfeeding support. When I found out I was pregnant last year, I immediately thought of Stephanie and asked her to be my doula. Having her as my doula this time around was so awesome...she came to our home for a couple of visits before AND after the birth of our second daughter. I felt very blessed to have her in the labor room and was grateful for all that she was able to do to make me feel as comfortable as possible. I would give her a thousand stars if I could. If you are questioning having a doula - stop. Just do it. And pick Stephanie, because she's the best at what she does. read more

We started working with Stephanie around 20 weeks into my pregnancy. I took lactation courses from her (before my baby was born) and she attended the birth of our daughter. Stephanie continued her support after my daughter was born and provided lactation consultation. I couldn't have found a better partner through all of this. The depth and breadth of Stephanie's knowledge was amazing. She took my concerns seriously, provided peer-reviewed educational resources, and even coached me on how to discuss issues with my midwife. How to ask questions. I am a trained biochemist and patent attorney and I immediately appreciated her approach - which was to provide reliable information so that I could have the ground work I needed to inform important conversations with my healthcare providers. Stephanie attended my water birth at Natural Beginnings. When surprises arose, Stephanie reminded me to keep asking questions until I fully understood and had all of the information I needed to make decisions. Despite all of the unexpected things that happen during labor and delivery - I felt amazing during the entire process. I felt heard. I felt like I was an active participant in the process. My birth experience couldn't have been better. After my baby was born, Stephanie helped me get right on to breastfeeding. We were all tired, but she stayed on until we were latched and settled. I credit all the smoothness I experienced to her patience and her steadying presence. I did encounter some breastfeeding issues too. Again, armed with lots of great educational resources from Stephanie - I was able to navigate the inevitable - from tongue ties to supply issues. To summarize: if you want a steadying force with terrific intuition, deep education and experience, and a mirror that shows you your own strength and allows you to bloom into your own birth experience - work with Stephanie. She has a genuine respect for women and has a manner that allows you to embody the dignity and magic of the birthing process without shame. She is mature and solid. read more

Called Stephanie a day before my water broke at 4AM the next morning, I was stubborn since I've already had my first & I wasnt doing a homebirth planned on epidural, didn't think I needed a doula despite what my girlfriends were advising. Boy was I wrong! What would of been a negative experience turned into an empowered experience and a Natural birth!. My mom was a nervous wreck, babys father at home getting our 3 yr old ready, nurses were nice but very busy, Stephanie was my rock & support! read more

Stephanie is an amazing doula, lactation counselor and childbirth educator! I am so lucky to have had her support prenatally, at the birth, and postpartum. She is a calm source of unbiased knowledge and support as we went through the biggest transformation of our lives! Having a doula is my #1 piece of advice to new moms and having Stephanie as that doula makes it all the better! I highly recommend having her on your team. read more

Stephanie was the doula for the birth of my first child last June. We met with a few doulas before hiring her, and were impressed by her knowledge and enthusiasm in comparison to the others. She came to our home for a few pre-birth visits; where we put together a birth plan, talked troubleshooting ideas, labor techniques, and had a very thorough breastfeeding class. (She's a lactation consultant as well). I wanted to have a natural, non intervention birth and Stephanie was vital to my success. During week 39 of my term my blood pressure shot up and I needed to be induced. Long story short: I had to be monitored very closely during labor, needed a few interventions to get my blood pressure below emergency level, and had a really long and tough labor. However, it was invaluable to have Stephanie there by my side along with my husband. She was able to explain my options and help make informed decisions along the way and keep us all calm. Also, Stephanie has magic hands during really intense back labor. In the end I was able to have a natural labor (no epidural), even though I did have to have some medications for blood pressure and ended up with severe preeclampsia. 11 months later I have a happy and healthy baby, and we've had a successful breastfeeding journey as well. I think everyone deserves a doula and advocate like Stephanie while giving birth. I can't recommend her more highly. read more

I was lucky enough to have Stephanie as my doula last year. She is wonderful, she knew just what to say, and when to say it. She also has such a wonderful positive and strong comforting presence. I don't know how I would have handled labor without her by my side! It was just wonderful having her there, she was only there for me and my baby, and she was calm the whole time. My poor husband was climbing the walls, but Stephanie was a rock! Again, she knew just what I needed when I needed it, and even gave me some useful pointers when I was pushing. Hopefully, we'll get another opportunity to work with her again, I would share my next birth with Stephanie in a heartbeat. read more

Stephanie visited my home for lactation consultation during my pregnancy. I am a first time mom and had limited knowledge about breastfeeding. Stephanie was very patient with me and answered all of my questions. The meeting was informative and interactive. Stephanie had me practice techniques with a doll and shared excellent educational video resources. She is personable and made me feel prepared and confident in breastfeeding when my baby arrived. I highly recommend her services. read more

Stephanie was my doula during her time at AustinBorn and has been invaluable throughout my journey as a breastfeeding mom. She taught my childbirth classes, provided me with incredible breastfeeding/lactation support AND was present at my birth, which was a birthing center/hospital transfer/c-section doozie. In addition to being incredibly knowledgeable, Stephanie has the perfect personality for this work. She's warm and supportive, but also direct when you need her to be. She has a great sense of humor and has a very memorable way of presenting advice tidbits (which is key when you have pregnancy brain or are a new mom running on very little sleep). My husband and I couldn't have survived my 20+ hours of labor without her, and when I found out I needed to go to the hospital and THEN found out that I needed a c-section, she was able to keep me calm and centered (in addition to keeping my husband AND mother calm and centered - no easy task!). She helped get my baby and I off to a great start with breastfeeding and continues to provide me with support now that my daughter is nearly a year old. I really can't say enough good things about Stephanie. I highly recommend her to anyone in need of lactation support, childbirth education or a doula. read more

Stephanie is an angel. Honest to goodness, no other way to describe the kind of dedicated, hard-working woman she is. I gave birth, for my first time, five months ago to a beautiful baby girl. She helped me to do it with as little fear or pain as could be expected from me. (I'm a little dramatic when it comes to upcoming hurdles) I can say I was terrified to give birth.. But then I heard about doulas and how they can help, so I signed up for the GALS program. I thank my Heavenly Father that he assigned her to me. I was nervous about having a "stranger" help me through such an intimate human experience.. But, she came over and met me at my house (I was 7 months pregnant) calmed my fears, answered my many questions, asked me about my concerns going in.. I really needed that reassurance at the time. After she helped me through my birth journey, I consider her invaluable to the experience. I was induced because my daughter was a week overdue. I had no clue how difficult it was going to be, but Stephanie was ALWAYS right beside me. She put up with all my discomforts, rubbed my legs, fed me ice chips, summoned the nurses when needed, left when I wanted a moment with my husband, came at my beck and call through the toughest thing I've ever had to do. Most importantly, she kept me calm and focused, helped me breathe and stay as relaxed as I could have been under the circumstances. During the hardest part, she looked me deep in my eyes, and snapped me out of the agonizing death grip of pain I was feeling. It felt like having my mother with me, how much she cared for me. (My mother is on a church mission far away, and couldn't be there.) Being my first birth, I cannot express what it is like to have such a wonderful comforting friend to be that shoulder to lean on (literally), and how i would have felt leaving that birth experience, had i not had her by my side. It's hard enough for your spouse and family to watch you go through that pain, feeling as helpless to alleviate it, as they must feel.. But Stephanie was a professional, a solid peaceful rock when i needed it most. I had the best birth experience, with no lingering regrets or wishing anything had been done differently. The only thing i left with, was my adorable little girl. Happy Birthday Stephanie. May you have even half the happiness you've given to my life. read more