Caitlyn M:

Lisa was my husband and I’s Labor Doula for the birth of our first daughter, Sloane.  Because this was my first time giving birth, I wanted to explore all the resources available to me and I found Lisa via DoulaMatch. Lisa is extremely knowledgable, nurturing, supportive and understanding. Upon meeting with her, I felt that she supported all of my hopes and preferences for birth without hesitation or any question; whereas other Doulas I met with tried to push their own agenda or seemed judgemental towards my preferences. It was very important to me that my labor experience be positive and that I would feel empowered to make the right decisions for myself. Lisa was instrumental in making that happen. She supported me during labor, helped with pain management and labor progression techniques.  I couldn’t imagine what my labor experience would have been without Lisa. I delivered at Swedish and it was a really nice perk that Lisa knew the facilities and a lot of the staff. Post-birth, Lisa came to our house to discuss post-partum healing and breast feeding. Her expertise and advice has been really helpful for my husband and I as we move into this new phase of life. I can’t recommend her services enough and will be referring her to all of my friends! You will be in good hands with Lisa!

Kat K:

We’re incredibly grateful to Lisa for her role as our doula, whose caring heart, kind soul, and spirited presence made our birth experience both positive and empowering. Her extensive knowledge, coupled with her support, guidance, and insightful wisdom, were truly invaluable. Lisa’s gentle approach and deep understanding greatly enriched our journey. We can’t thank her enough and sincerely wish that every pregnant woman could have a ‘Lisa’ during their birth. The experience with her is something we will always treasure. Thank you so much for everything.

Miki D:

We had our first baby on March 1, 2023. We must say Lisa was an absolute Godsend.

At 42, I was considered “advanced maternal age” and had multiple failed IVFs in the past. Even after we finally conceived, it was a constant worry about the unknowns and what-ifs. As first-time parents, my husband and I decided to hire Lisa to guide us through the birthing process. Lisa was there for us every step of the way, responding to our questions promptly and guiding us through the birthing process while being extremely respectful of us. She was pleasant to be around, and we could tell she was experienced and highly knowledgeable as a doula.

Our baby was in the posterior position, aka “sunnyside up,” which is known to cause a prolonged, painful birth experience. But thank God for Lisa, a strategic thinker who flipped me from one position to another while in active labor. Lisa used tools like a peanut-shaped yoga ball and rolled-up towels; then, she sat me up for a while. Our baby flipped into the correct position at the very last minute, and our son was born after just 22 minutes of pushing! She made it all seamless, but we knew it was 100% her strategic thinking that made our birthing experience much smoother.

When I said I was a little cold in the delivery room, Lisa made a heat compress and ensured it stayed warm for over 6 hours while I was in active labor. She also made sure I stayed hydrated. These things all sound like such little things, but they all contributed to improving the birthing experience. Thank you, Lisa!

Jeff D:

My wife and I hired Lisa as a doula for our first baby and she made the whole experience 1000x better.  For the husbands out there who are worried that they won’t know what to do when it comes to what to do in the delivery room, Lisa is a Godsend to you and your wife!  She was easy to get ahold of day or night, responsive via phone, text, email and extremely respectful of everyone’s boundaries.

She is calm, caring, super friendly and knows how to step in when necessary and step away when necessary.  She was so attentive and helped my wife stay comfortable during her delivery process by flipping her side to side and providing warm compresses.

Prenatal and Postpartum visits she came to our house and discussed processes in a very personal manner, answered all our questions and was genuinely happy to see us happy and healthy after the birth.  She truly loves what she does and it shows.  There are few people who master compassion and competence in this world the way Lisa did with us.

Thank you Lisa!!!

Jamie E:

There are no words to explain how much Lisa meant to us and still means to us both during our pregnancy, labor, and now postpartum. The amount of weight and stress that she took off of our shoulders is literally immeasurable. We are so grateful to have had full trust and confidence in her ability to guide us based on her loving heart, personal experience, and professional expertise. I understand that things don’t always go the way that you planned, but we truly feel blessed that because of her help we couldn’t have envisioned our labor and journey anymore perfect. We absolutely would recommend her to anyone and highly suggest having a Doula to everyone! If we weren’t moving away, we would absolutely have her as our Doula for our future kiddos as well. Her attention to detail, calming demeanor, continuous support, and confidence is more than we could’ve ever asked for. We also really appreciated that she put together a narrative based on our birthing journey—what a special keepsake from an objective standpoint. If you choose Lisa, you can’t go wrong.

Julie:

Lisa was an outstanding doula and an invaluable part of our birth experience. She is compassionate, knowledgable, reliable, and extremely skilled at what she does. We always felt she had our best interests in mind and tried to inform us and help us make the best decision rather than lead us in one particular direction or another. We can’t imagine going through this experience without her and would recommend her without hesitation to anyone considering a doula.

Carly:

Lisa is an incredible doula & helped my husband and I so much during the recent birth of our daughter. She is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. She came to our home for 2 pre-natal visits and we discussed our birth aspirations, fears & hopes. She also was accessible via text and email with any questions I had both prenatally and postpartum. While I was in labor, she came to our home when we felt we could use the additional help & she recommended a variety of exercises and positions which helped my contractions to get closer together. She was as hands on or hands off as we needed and really knows how to read the room. When it was time, we met again at the birth center. She has a tens unit which I found really helpful in labor and she had the most delicious honey sticks which helped me maintain energy when things grew more intense. She also put my water in front of me between contractions to ensure I was hydrated. She reminded me that I can do hard things throughout my labor. Lisa also took amazing photos for us that we originally did not think we wanted, but are so so special to look back on (she simply took these on our phones so that they could be deleted if we hated them). We highly recommend Lisa- she is an incredible doula & made me feel capable, empowered and strong.

Yasmin S:

I highly recommend Lisa! I am so greatful to have had her with me throughout my delivery. I was very nervous to give birth, and she provided a sense of calm and knowledge for myself and my husband. We had two meetings during my pregnancy. I really appreciated how she took the time to get to know the birth experience my husband and I wanted and the best way to communicate with us during a stressful situation (labor). Although my birth did not go according to plan (as it never does), she was able to ensure that things that we were able to control were done the way I wanted.

With Lisa at my side my husband was able to take breaks and get some fresh air and I never felt alone. It was difficult having multiple different nurses throughout labor and only seeing the doctor occasionally. Lisa was a consistent presence and was able to answer questions and use techniques to manage pain and move the baby into the right position for delivery.

She also took photos upon our son’s arrival, at our request, and documented our birth story, which was great since it now is such a blur.

She came to check on us a few days after delivery. It was nice to get help breastfeeding and to have her as a resource to answer questions that arose once we got home.

Having Lisa by our side was one of the best decisions we made during pregnancy!

Julie C:

From our very first meeting with Lisa, my husband and I agreed that she would be a valuable addition to our birth team. On the evening that I went into labor her presence made such a difference for both my husband and myself.  Once she arrived I was able to cope with the contractions and relax through them more efficiently than I had been.  After spending some time watching my labor pattern she expressed concern that my baby might be posterior.  She was able to direct my husband and I through a series of exercises and together they spent the better part of an hour working on my belly and back to get our little guy flipped.  After that hour my contractions spaced out a bit and became more regular and intense. It was about that time she suggested we start heading to the hospital and one hour after arriving at the hospital our baby boy was born.

As a first time mom, we had mentally prepared ourselves for a full day of laboring so having a quick and intense 9 hour labor was more stressful and a little frightening than I had expected.  We were excited to work with Lisa before I went into labor.  After the experience we had, words cannot express how incredibly thankful we were that she was there with us!!  I know I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the unmedicated, intervention-free birth I had hoped for without her assistance.  My husband was so thankful for her reassuring and guiding presence.  He wanted to be very hands-on and she was able to help him know how to best help me.

Even the support she offers postpartum I found to be so valuable.  She spent a few hours with us the day after we came home from the hospital helping with breastfeeding, recounting my birth experience with me, and emphasizing the importance of self-care.  Throughout all of our encounters it is very evident that Lisa truly cares about her clients.

Anisa W:

When choosing a birth doula, we had initially intended to interview several doulas to make sure we would find the right match, but after meeting with Lisa for the first time, we were confident that she was exactly who we were looking for. Her approach is very open and welcoming. Her energy is very calm and easy-going. We had two 2-3 hour prenatal visits where she spent time getting to know us. She takes great care to truly develop an understanding of what her client’s birth preferences are.

I delivered closer to 42 weeks and until then she would check in with me just enough for me to feel supported but not bombarded, always reminding me that she’s available for any support I may need. Once I went into labor, she arrived promptly after I asked her to come and, though it was around 3am, she began assisting as soon as she arrived. She has a variety of tools and techniques to help manage the intensity of labor. She had the perfect balance of suggesting a change in positions and providing my husband and I the space to do what felt comfortable and natural.

I really appreciated having a follow-up visit a few days after the birth where we discussed my birth experience, breastfeeding challenges and how to identify postpartum mood disorders. Lisa also provided a typed copy of my birth story from an objective perspective, which was helpful for me to compare my emotional experience to the unbiased “facts”.

Lisa is a highly competent and compassionate birth doula who I would recommend without hesitation to a family seeking a well-supported pregnancy and birth.

Melissa B:

I hired Lisa as my birth doula.  I was pregnant with twin girls and wanted someone who made me feel comfortable and was also comfortable with a loose birth plan as a natural delivery wasn’t promised with twins.  We met with Lisa twice before the delivery and she made herself available to us as much as we needed as we got closer.  She recommended different tips to try and stimulate natural labor such as acupuncture, etc. She was encouraging and confident. Lisa was such a gift to me during labor.  Even though I had my husband and sister there to support me, she was truly the only one who could get me to focus and calm down between contractions.  She was creative in her coping techniques and helped me reach my labor goals.  She also gifted us with a story of the labor experience which was great since we didn’t remember a lot of it.  She also took amazing photos of the birth experience we will treasure forever! I highly recommend Lisa as a birth doula!

Amber E:

We where so happy to have hired Lisa as our doula. She is sweet, caring, professional, , easy to be around which is important during labor. She was a huge help to me after the birth too. She is a a great resource for questions you might have and a great support. The midwives at our birth center where very impressed with her too.

Overall we where very happy with her service that she provided to us. i would reccomend her

Danielle J:

We were so thankful for Lisa. She was a huge part of making our son’s birth such a positive experience. She was a calming presence, incredibly supportive,  and had great suggestions for both my husband and I. She has also continued to be a gift after the birth as well. She’s been reassuring and has quickly answered any questions we may have. I would highly recommend her to anyone! Lisa also wrote up our birth story and gave it to us at our postpartum meeting. It is something we are so thankful for and greatly treasure. Word cannot fully express our gratitude and how blessed we were to have her present at our sweet baby’s birth.

Jessie Z:

It has been one of our wisest choices to decide to work with Lisa for this significant life experience. She was very responsive, attentative, cultural sensitive and caring. As a first time mom, I couldn’t help being very nervous and sometimes even paranoid. Yet Lisa has taken every question from me very seriously and given me full support and understanding.  Throughout the delivery process, she provided such wonderful care to me and also support my husband to get involved. We couldn’t image how to deal with all the choices without Lisa’s help. She never pushed us with a solution, instead she has given us all the necessary information to make a decision we are comfortable with. In the end, we had a good memory to cherish for a life time.

Steve B:

My wife and I hired Lisa and her partner, Autumn Duckworth, for the birth of our first baby. We couldn’t have been happier with the experience. We had very helpful visits in our home prior to the delivery of our baby, complete with helpful tips, practicing breathing techniques and labor positions, assistance preparing and understanding our birth plan, and more. Once my wife was in the hospital, Lisa’s help proved indispensable. Everything from getting food and drinks, assisting with my wife’s comfort, even dealing with my non-English-speaking in-laws…no task was too small or menial, and Lisa handled them all with a smile. Since my wife was admitted to the hospital 31 hours before the baby came, Autumn stayed with us basically the first 24 hours of that, and then Lisa took over for the final stretch.  Lisa was super involved with the delivery of our baby.  She worked in partnership with the nurses and doctors in positioning my wife, working with her on her breathing, holding her legs, comforting her, etc.  Maybe I didn’t fully understand what role our doula would play in the process beforehand, but I was pleasantly surprised and grateful for all of Lisa’s help.

If we have more kids in the future, we’ll definitely be looking up Lisa and Autumn again, and would highly recommend them to anyone in the Seattle area looking for professional, friendly, energetic help. These ladies are awesome.

Gretchen M:

Where do I even start? I first met Lisa when she came to our house for an interview. She was so relaxed & wonderful with my 2.5 yr old. She easily answered all of my questions & over the coarse of the interview I not only decided that yes I wanted to hire a doula but that I needed to hire Lisa & couldn’t imagine feeling more comfortable with anyone else. She was available by text & email for all my questions. She came to our house another time prior to our due date & at that time my partner met her. He loved her as well. Our contact with Lisa increased when I was taken off work at 33 weeks & talk of induction started at 37 weeks. She was an amazing support. We were able to hold off the induction until 39 wks. She met us at the hospital & I wanted to cry when I saw her because I knew everything would be okay. She spent the night with me at the hospital. I felt so much better having her there. It was great to bounce ideas off her & get her opinion in the early stages of labor. It’s all kind of a blur but I remember she had me squeeze combs, we used massage, music, essential oils, cool cloths, various positions the TENS unit & the birthing tub. She was in tune to what I needed prior to me even knowing. I would start to think it or barely get the words out & she had already started. The birth of my daughter came quick with only 2 pushes & i was so relieved when they put her on my chest (unlike my first baby who needed resuscitation at birth). Lisa took the most beautiful pictures of my daughter being born & placed on my chest. I was so teary when I saw them because I didn’t know that she had gotten them. We had a postpartum visit with Lisa a few days later & she was honestly the only person I wanted to visit. I had some postpartum depression & anxiety in the first couple of months & she was an amazing support. Lisa is a gem & I am forever grateful that she was our doula!

Joy T:

When I became pregnant with my second child, I was determined to try, to the best of my ability, for a better birth than my first (my first birth was induced at 10 days past due and included two failed epidurals).  For my second birth I wanted to avoid induction, if possible, and try for a natural birth.  Being relaxed is such an important part in working towards your ideal birth plan.  With this in mind, I immediately decided on two things:  I needed a doula! and I wanted to practice Hypno Babies relaxation techniques.

Looking for a doula can be a daunting task!  I met with several doula’s before deciding on Lisa.  If I can offer any advice, it would be to interview and potentially meet in person with 2-3 doulas before picking one that is right for you.  Complimentary personality is extremelly important.  I have a very ‘Type A’ personality and after interviewing a few other ‘Type A’ doulas, I became very stressed – as I realized that in a time of great duress, their personalities might actually make me more stressed.  Choosing Lisa was the best decision I could have made for this birth, she has a peacefulness about her.  But with that being said, she is fiesty when she needs to be!  I felt Lisa wouldn’t hesitate to stand-up and support my desires to medical personell if needed.  Lisa, is very skilled at reading her clients and surroundings and acting accordingly.

Throughout your pregnancy and labor, if you are weighing options, Lisa is the type of person who will listen to your history/concerns/desires and work with you to come up with possible solutions for YOU to choose.  I always felt impowered with Lisa close by, both before and during my labor.  I wish a million times over I had Lisa during my first birth.  With her help we had our second child, a healthy baby girl, at 13 days past due and no medical intervention.

Valerie R:

Lisa exudes everything you want in a doula. She is caring, compasionate, thoughtful, and knowledgeable and we are so thankful for Lisa’s counsel and expertise throughout my pregnancy. We originally hired Lisa in hopes of having a natural vaginal birth, however, when a c-section became our only option due to our baby’s breech presentation, Lisa was just as helpful as I know she would have been had a natural childbirth been our ultimate path. It was extraordinarily helpful to have Lisa present during the Version (an attempt to turn the baby). Just as she would during labor, she helped me cope with the discomfort of the procedure.  Though I was scheduled for a c-section, my water broke before the scheduled date and my contractions promply began. Lisa rushed to the hospital and helped us manage my contractions while we waited for an operting room to become availalable for the c-section. After our darling boy was born, Lisa helped with latching and stayed with us through the first successful feeding. I am so thankful to have had Lisa’s support through each stage of our pregnancy and would highly recommend her to all soon to be mamas.

Jacob T:

Lisa was absolutely great during our pregnancy, our birth in the hospital and once home. She has a wonderful complimentary skill-set and was very knowledgeable. Her extensive experience was really valuable to us. She came over in the middle of the night once labor was underway, and was incredibly helpful in managing the pain and nausea before heading to the hospital. She helped turn our daughter from OP to OA at home and in the hospital–which allowed labor to progress much more quickly and successfully than it would likely have otherwise– and continued providing care and support once in the hospital and after the epidural. She was always incredibly open and supportive of whatever we wanted–as she said numerous times, birth should not be a traumatic experience, and her job is to help make sure of that–and even once we had opted for the epidural, she remained incredibly engaged and proactive. After delivery, she was incredibly helpful with getting breastfeeding going, and stopped by to see us in the hospital the next morning too. Our birth wouldn’t have been the same without her timely advice and experience. We chose Lisa after finding her on doulamatch.net and recommend her highly.

Casey (pediatrician) and Jacob (pediatric nurse).

Natasha A:

Some of our friends had recently had a baby, so when we started out hunt for a Doula, their recommendation was one of the first that we contacted. Lisa met us at our home and we immediately were drawn to her and excited to potentially have her share this experience with us. Lisa has a very calm and kind presence that made us feel at ease, we immediately trusted her and felt as though she really knew what she doing and would be a great support for us during the birth of our son.

We had two visits with Lisa prior to giving  birth as well as unlimited access to Lisa for support via email, phone, etc. We felt comfortable asking her questions or an opinion. At no point did Lisa push any of her views on us but simply offered us support with articles and feedback she has seen based on her experience. This left  us feeling like we could make good decisions and eased our minds on things as pregnancy progressed.

The evening we went into labor, Lisa was responsive and quick to be avialable for us in our time of need. When she arrives she was just an extension of us during this time. She helped us remember things on the way to the hospital and made us feel like we were in great hands the entire time with reassurance.

Lisa was there the entire time we were in the hospital and was always there especially if and when my husband needed a break, Lisa was always there! She was so prepared and knew all of the things I didn’t even know that I needed. She helped keep me energized and hydrated with broth and water, she was positive, supportive and extremely comforting. We would not have wanted to go through the experience without her by our side!

Lisa stayed with us for a while after our son was born to ensure that we were comfortable and that our son was feeding well. We feel so fortunate to have had the experience to meet Lisa & include her in our birth. We will absolutely be asking Lisa to join us again.

Michelle M:

I have had the opportunity to have Lisa present at both of my births. She was incredibly helpful at both, giving me great advice when it came to relaxing through my contractions and just learning to trust the process.

I gave birth to my son last year in May. Although it was originally planned to be in a birth center, I was transferred to the hospital due to failure to progress. At the hospital I was able to get the epidural and relax. Lisa was very reassuring and supported me through this entire process. During this labor with my son, I ended up spiking a fever twice. Lisa was very quick to grab ice cold rags and place them all over my back, chest, and forward to bring the initial fever down, allowing me to labor just a little longer before I had to go in for a cesarean. Lisa was able to be in the OR with my husband and I. This was incredibly comforting for me.

When I found out that I was pregnant back in October of last year, just 5.5 months post-partum with my son, I knew I wanted Lisa to be at the birth of my second baby. This time I was going to be attempting a VBAC and knew I wanted her by my side with how comfortable and supportive she was through the birth of my son. . Lisa offered great advice and support for helping prepare for my VBAC. As the days were getting near, I really started to doubt my abilities to have a VBAC and she was amazing by offering links for birth affirmations and mantras. The labor and birth of my daughter was much different than my son’s. It progressed very quickly and I believe it was due to a tension releasing mouth peice that Lisa offered me to use. It helped me cope through the pain all the while letting me relax all the tension in my body. I ended up getting my all-natural, unmedicated VBAC and I honestly know think it would have happened without the support Lisa and my family provided. I highly recommend taking her on as your doula.

Rachel S:

Lisa was incredible. Her support was exactly what I needed to have the natural birth experience I wanted. She was at the same time constantly present, positive, and supportive and yet never intrusive or detracting from the surreal experience of giving birth. I wouldn’t give birth without her again!

Grace O:

Hiring Lisa was one of the best decisions I made to prepare for natural childbirth! My labor was longer than expected and she stuck by my side the entire time.  My husband and I would have been at a loss without her. I’d hire her again in a heartbeat!

Elisha S:

Lisa is an amazing Doula! Prior to the birth of our son Sahir, Lisa met with us several times at our home so that we could get to know each other better. She provided us with tons of really great information and resources to assist us with our birth plan. We loved her mild and kind nature – she gave us all the information and tools to create a birth plan that met our needs (birth without an epidural) and was also flexible in the event that things did not go as planned. Lisa strongly recommended that we find a code word (our code word was giraffe) which I would use in the event that I absolutely needed an epidural.

My water broke in the middle of the night and shortly thereafter my contractions were strong and close together. Lisa came to our house at 2:30am ready to help me and my husband with the labor. I had a 22 hour labor (back labor as the baby was sunny side up) and she was a tremendous help. She worked with me incessantly to help get the baby in the right position. I was on my hands and knees, on an exercise ball, in the tub – Lisa even used a shimmying technique to help him turn.

There were many times that I felt that I could not go on any longer and could not stand the pain any more but Lisa and my husband were there to support me and were constantly reassuring me that I can do it and that I was in fact already doing it. After all our hard work, the baby finally turned and I was able to give birth to our son. Thanks to Lisa and to my husband I was able to do it all without an epidural!

3 Days after the baby was born, Lisa came to visit us at home to see how we were doing. She helped me with breastfeeding and just took time to sit with me and talk to me about the baby and also about how I was feeling.

Lisa – we can’t thank you enough for all your help with the birth of our son! We would not have had the same experience without you.

Kristen V:

I am so thankful and feel so blessed that my husband and I were able to have Lisa be a part of the birth of our second child, Andrew. Greg and I talked a lot about if we should even hire a doula the second time around, since it was not a brand-new experience for us and we were working with the same birth center.  However, I had always heard that each birth is different and unique, and we ultimately decided that having a doula would be a wise choice as “you never know.”  I began searching on the DONA website for someone in our local area, who had experience and who also listed themselves as “able to help with sibling preparation” as I had no idea how to best help our son prepare for the arrival of his new brother!

I will be perfectly honest, when the search results came back, one of the things that caught my eye when I looked at Lisa’s page was her low fee.  You often hear about how you “get what you pay for” and usually doulas who have tons of experience and expertise are more expensive.  But at the same time, you have to work within your family’s budget, and price/cost, while important, is not always indicative of quality and can certainly not determine if you will “click” with someone.  This was certainly the case with Lisa.  I liked the lower cost of her services, but I was also impressed with what she had to say about why she chose to become a doula and her commitment to her own family.  I contacted her to arrange an in-person meeting to ask her some questions and see if we hit it off.

I remember very clearly that right after that meeting, I turned to Greg and said, “I want to work with her!”  Lisa was warm, friendly and yet also had a very calming presence.  I could just tell that she would bring a wonderful sense of peace to any situation, and she had a very approachable nature and great sense of humor.  I soon got in touch with Lisa to officially hire her as our doula for this second birth.

We met with Lisa several times during the pregnancy, and each visit was relaxed, informative and comfortable.  She was wonderful with our older son, Brendan, playing and joking with him (he still does “Cut the Pickle”) and making sure he felt included in the process.  She gave us some great tips and resources on preparing  him the best we could.  (Because really, how can a 3 ½ year-old really grasp what is about to happen?)

Nothing went quite as expected for Andrew’s birth, including how important Lisa was during the entire process.  What I mean by that is that right before the birth, I was talking to Greg about how I felt a little bad that I wasn’t sure exactly what I would need Lisa to do during the birth and that I felt like I didn’t need her as much as I needed our doula the first time, and I was worried about “wasting” her time.  However, I had no idea what was in store for me during the next part of the journey, and I can honestly say that I don’t  know how I would have made it through without Lisa!

Andrew was a week late, and during that week I had a couple bouts of false labor.  Lisa’s support was hugely comforting during that long, frustrating week.  She seemed to know just what to say and when to give Greg and I our space.  We never felt like she was checking in on us too much, yet we knew that she was just a text or phone call away if we needed anything.

When Andrew finally decided to make his appearance (on Seahawks Super Bowl Sunday no less!), Lisa met us at the birth center and things were progressing just as I had thought a second natural childbirth would… shorter than the first and slightly different contractions, but nothing I couldn’t handle.  But all of that was about to change.  When the midwives thought I was ready to start pushing and nothing was happening, they checked on things and found out that Andrew’s head was “asynclitic” – it was tilted to the side, so he was coming down the birth canal “crooked” and was getting stuck.  The next few hours were some of the hardest of my life, as I did the “Miles Circuit”, laboring in various positions during incredibly intense contractions to try to get Andrew to shift and re-align his body.  Whereas I felt like my first birth was a marathon – long, exhausting, but just a matter of endurance – I felt that this one was a test of my limits.  Everything was happening faster, and I began to panic with the intensity of the contractions and was not always able to regain the calm mindset that is essential for getting through the contractions with as little pain as possible when you are doing it natural.

Through all of this, the best word I can think of to describe Lisa is “intuitive”.  She was able to anticipate my needs even before I knew what they were.  She knew things to try that I would have never thought of.  She applied pressure to my lower back that I’m convinced is one of the few reasons I was able to finally deliver Andrew in that same birth center suite and not at the local hospital.  She was indeed the calm yet strong presence in the room that I had anticipated she would be.  I ended up needing her more than I could have imagined, and I will forever be grateful that she was there to share in those moments, those struggles and that joy with us.

I would highly recommend Lisa as a doula.  She is caring, knowledgeable, experienced, intuitive, creative, funny and kind.  She and I are now Facebook Friends and I constantly see what an amazing example of a mother and wonderful human being she is.  Whether it is your first birth or your fifth, I am confident that she will listen to your wishes, respect your choices, and calm your fears.  She has truly found her calling in her work as a doula.

Karee B:

Alexis T: