Testimonials
Note: the images used here have no relation to the accompanying testimonial
We were honored to have worked with Samantha for the birth of our first baby boy who was born peacefully at home in October. My husband and I spoke with many doulas as we prepared for our first birth and Samantha was 'it' for us. From our first meeting, she impressed us tremendously with her emotional intelligence, humor, organization, communication and education. Our goal was to work with a Doula that would be like an educated friend - and Samantha was exactly that. I was blown away with her passion for supporting women and families as they welcome a new addition to their lives. We also engaged Samantha to provide birth photography and we could not have been more happy with the images that she captured. We LOVED that she provided pre, during and post birth to catch those extra special moments that come throughout the experience. The pictures have helped us with telling our story as we welcomed our baby boy into the world. Samantha also provided the most complete package, meeting in our home and in person many times before birth. She made both of us feel very confident in prepping for birth and very comfortable to have her in our home during the most intimate experience of our lives.
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I cannot recommend Samantha enough. Her support was key to our successful home birth and we are so thankful to have had her join us in this journey to parenthood.
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- Hailey
05/22/2023
When I was first approached on the subject of hiring a doula for my first birth I wasn't sure it was right for me. I had never heard of a doula before and wasn't entirely sure how they fit into the experience. After meeting with Samantha and learning more about the service, experience in a hospital setting, and what the value was I decided to move forward with it.
What I realized during our experience is that the Doula, especially one that has the RN background like Samantha, bridges some gaps that the hospital and OB team have when dealing with a pregnancy. Samantha educated us on the entire process which was super important to us as first time parents. We took a class as well but for us it was so much nicer to meet in person and discuss the process, what we wanted, and how to get there.
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When it came time for me to go to the hospital Samantha was there with us the entire time. This is when I knew I made the right choice. Honestly I don't know if I could have done it without her! Her experience made all the difference for me personally and us as a family. We opted in for birth photography because we are far away from our family and wanted to share and remember the experience. Samantha fought to be in the operating room with us after we opted for a c-section after a long labor and beautifully captured every moment. Our family was so gracious for the pictures we shared with them.
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I would recommend Samantha to everyone. The expertise and education we received was excellent. Her support was so great that we feel as though we made a lifetime connection.
- Shelby
04/03/2023
Samantha was our doula for me and my husband's first baby. She provided personal, caring and thorough assistance for our first delivery experience. She was so thoughtful in answering all our questions and walking me through the stresses and unknowns. She was a strong, vigilant advocate for me during delivery and helped ensure a beautiful, memorable day! We love Samantha and would highly recommend her!
- Raisa
04/03/2023
Samantha was the most valuable asset to our successful VBAC. She has a great way of actively listening and gave us solid feedback for personal preparation and helped us navigate the medical system with her knowledge and experience. Having her on our team gave us confidence and hope when feeling fatigued during the labor process. Ten out of ten ratings from this grateful family!
- Luke & Alia
03/25/2023
I was drawn to working with Samantha because of her balanced education and the easy introductory conversation.
Samantha has a gentle presence and comforting demeanor. She is flexible and accommodating, which greatly helped us navigate our birth and postpartum experience! We originally hired her for birth doula services, however I ended up with a last-minute planned C-section, and so she also ended up helping us during postpartum.
During our birth planning sessions, she patiently listened to our concerns and fears and helped us feel more confident in our decision-making for our birth plan. She offered a preparation notebook full of various helpful resources and showed us how to prepare for labor.
During her work as a postpartum doula, she offered us complete support at night for much needed sleep and peace. She was so gentle and loving with our baby and we had total confidence in her, which allowed us to rest. Our baby was not born a naturally good sleeper and she used her expertise to help him sleep longer and better. Finally, Samantha took photos of our family before and after birth. The photos are beautiful and we are so grateful to have these memories captured!
- Tara
03/16/2023
For various medical reasons, we started to feel very lost and overwhelmed with our first pregnancy around the 30-week mark. Then Samantha stepped into our lives, and everything began to shift. Samantha helped us to better understand everything going on with our pregnancy, which empowered us to better advocate for ourselves and baby within medical settings. She also quickly got to know us as human beings - our fears, anxieties, excitements, and plans for our growing family. This made it very easy to trust her and open up to show our genuine selves during the maternity, birth, and newborn photography sessions.
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Before we hired Samantha, the idea of giving birth for the first time was so overwhelming that it was enough to trigger panic attacks. But Samantha helped us become so comfortable and confident with the idea that we ended up having a rather fun and enjoyable experience at the hospital (as much 'fun' as one can reasonably have in between contractions anyways).
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Even after giving birth, Samantha continued to be our most important cheerleader and lifeline. She gave us space to settle into our new life as first-time parents but also continued to check in at exactly the right moments to make sure everything was going okay.
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We came into this doula/client relationship not really knowing what to expect. This was our first pregnancy and our first experience working with a doula. But we immediately knew it was going to be a good fit and we have never regretted our decision. We look forward to working with Samantha again during pregnancy #2!
- Monique
01/30/2023
I'm so grateful I found Samantha!! She was everything I was looking for in a doula. This was my first birth and I was very anxious, but having her before, during, and after was the best decision I could have made for myself.
The resources and knowledge she shared with me beforehand was just enough to prepare me without feeling overwhelmed. Her presence during the birth was calming, reassuring, and knowledgeable - but she also knew when to step away and let me have time with just my partner or when to help him feel more confident and comfortable in the process as well. She also stayed with me for 18-19 hours of my labor! She empowered me to advocate for myself as well as advocating for me with hospital staff and assisted the nurse in helping me move at least every 20-30minutes in the last several hours of labor! (I ended up having an epidural) and I'm sure this helped make it possible to have a vaginal birth and didn't need a C-section! Her reassurance before and after birth by being available through text messaging any time was so valuable! I'm so glad I found her!!
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- Sara
12/05/2022
My husband and I had the most wonderful experience with Samantha for the birth of our second child. She came to our home for 3 prenatal visits which was invaluable to us. She is extremely organized and educated. She taught us many hands-on comfort techniques, answered questions about birth preferences and was a continuous source of support and knowledge throughout the pregnancy and birth. Through the prenatal home visits we really connected and built trust with Samantha. She taught my husband different moves to help me with discomfort/pain management which we used throughout the final weeks of pregnancy. She was extremely responsive whenever I had questions and even obtained a TENS unit when I had expressed interest in using one during labor. She checked in on me consistently once my contractions started and got to the hospital at the exact same time as us. She helped create the labor room experience that I wanted, she provided clips and string to hang up photos and affirmations, brought essential oils, and candles and ensured a calm vibe in the room. She was hands-on when I needed her to be, and faded into the background when I just needed my partner. She recommended different labor positions throughout the labor to help it progress and coached me when I needed help pushing. When we found out my baby was a bit twisted, with discussion from the midwives, she got me into the right positions to help get my baby straight. She provided support to my husband throughout the experience as well. Additionally, Samantha took the most INCREDIBLE photos of the birth. Samantha also came to our home for a postpartum visit which was very much appreciated. Both my husband and I have already started recommending her to our pregnant friends. I can honestly say my birth experience was amazing and a lot of that has to do with the prep and support both my husband and I recieved from Samantha. While we hired her as a doula, she really just felt like a good friend.
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- Hayley
11/16/2022
Samantha was very easy going from the beginning when we wanted to meet to discuss and set the package we want to work on. She listened to our needs and provided support in every possible way. She prepared me for birth and provided great education about what what I need to do to be ready and what I'm gonna go through during labor and delivery. I had a long back labor, when I started to have sign of labor I called her and she answered all my questions, and kept checking with me until I asked her to come over to my house. Having her was very helpful as she helped me to stay in control. She also stayed with us all the night till we went to the hospital and till after delivery. Also she kindly gave me two visits postpartum and helped with bathing my baby and prepared food for us. My experience wouldn't be the same without her.
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- Sham
09/19/2022
Samantha was so wonderful and a breath of fresh air. I had already given birth before but I had some fears from the last birth. She talked through these fears with me and encouraged me when I needed it the most. She provided a relaxing prenatal massage when my back was killing me and used comfort measures through my contractions. I'm so glad I had her there with me. She even offered to pick up food for me after I gave birth. She also recorded the entire experience and gave me a copy to keep. It was really nice to have that because many parts of labor become a blur and I wanted to remember what happened. I highly recommend her.
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- Anonymous
09/16/2019
Upon meeting, I immediately experienced a connection with Samantha and felt completely comfortable with her as if we were old friends catching up. Samantha is a soft, graceful soul who exudes love, positivity, compassion and empathy. Her ways of being were an invitation to me to feel and be safe sharing my journey with her.
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My journey to motherhood was marked with a broken relationship, deep emotional pain and so many fears of the future. The pregnancy was physically demanding and emotionally challenging. Samantha helped create calm, peace, assurance and relief during the last days before my daughter's arrival.
When we first met, Samantha was generous with her time getting to know me, discussing my birth plan, sharing her background and detailed information about what to expect working with her. The very next day she offered me a relaxing essential oil massage in my home. It's just what I needed. The following day we stayed in touch via text message updating about a final ultrasound appointment and phone calls with my OB to determine what the rest of the week might look like. Early that evening I went into active labor and sent her message right away. Just about an hour later she met me at the hospital. Once I was admitted, she helped set the atmosphere of the labor-delivery room with an essential oil diffuser and her calm aura. During labor not only did she comfort me with a relaxing foot massage, but she was also a hand to hold, a calming voice, and advocate.
The postpartum check in conversations and meetings were also significantly meaningful and helpful.
Samantha walking into my life was an amazing blessing and gift, and I cannot properly articulate the gratitude I have for her. She is an angel of birth and I'm so glad that she was a part of my journey. Now, a year later, I am so thankful for this amazing friend. I highly recommend her! May she be a blessing to many others!
- Kimberly
02/02/2019
