(First time parents)
I was interested in Charity for her experiences working with teen Moms. Knowing that our Doula was committing time to ensuring teens received the best emotional support and education during pregnancy and birth was a Doula I wanted to support.
I felt very comfortable with Charity. She was patient and interested in getting to know us. She was also very open about her experiences as a Doula and a mother. I appreciated her personal experiences as a mother. I knew regardless of how our birth proceeded, she would have knowledge and experience based on delivery vaginally, by c-section and VBAC.
Following an interview via zoom, I felt very comfortable in our preparation with two in-person meetings during pregnancy. Charity was very honest with us about how we should resource her and how labor may progress according to our wishes and the likelihood that it would not play out exactly how we envisioned.
When I went into labor, we knew we could call Charity whenever we needed. She joined us at the Birth Center after 5 hours of labor at home following a membrane sweep. I experienced back labor throughout my 13 hours of labor. The relentless nature of contractions made it difficult to stay relaxed. Charity was very helpful in re-directing my attention if I started to loose control and tense up. Charity also showed my husband and sister-in-law how to apply pressure to my back to relieve sensation of labor.
During the pushing stage, Charity was very helpful in reminding me how to push and offered lots of encouragement to help me get to the arrival of our baby!
Following birth, Charity checked in via text message many times and offered feedback based on our status. About a week postpartum we chatted via Zoom to review the birth. Charity’s document recapping the birth was very helpful. I felt very positive about the birth experience and the support Charity provided. Thank you!