In Your Words: Testimonials
My goal is to help women and their families have satisfying and rewarding birth experiences. Some of my past clients have been kind enough to share their birth experience using a doula, and I would like to share those with you.
Monica S.
We are a military family. With that comes a great deal of change and adaptation. That sentence in itself should explain why I sought out a doula. When I became pregnant with our second child I remember how alone and frustrated I felt with the hospital birth of our first child. In order to take charge of this second birth I began toying with the idea of having a doula. I thought, “Is having a doula necessary”? I thought also, “Is it a wise use of money to spend when we already have so many expenses”? Lastly, I wondered if just my family could function as support and labor coach. Then I realized that for me, hiring a doula wasn’t a luxury, it was a necessity if I want to have a better birth experience. And so I looked around locally and found LaReina. LaReina filled in where my husband and family could not. She supported me during a difficult time physically and emotionally with grace, poise and gave me confidence. At a time when the doctors and hospital treated me like I was sick, LaReina reminded me that I was strong and my body was capable. I had the best birth, considering the circumstances that were within my control, because of LaReina’s support and guidance.
Emily D.
My name is Emily Dickey and I had my first baby, Trystan, 9 months ago. He was born into this world happy and healthy and with help from my dear friend and doula LaReina. Without her there, I'm pretty sure I would have been a wreck. She was my teacher, my coach, my reassurance. She was a guiding light to my coming (and coming quick) bundle of joy. LaReina was there for me anytime I called with questions and with a calm and caring manner she doused any doubts and brought up all the wonders and excitement of birth. She expertly helped me with my birth plan, exercise positions, labor and birthing positions, invited me to all kinds of meetings and presentations, and helping me turn the baby (he was posterior during my pregnancy and born face-down). LaReina was a God given gift to my husband and I. I couldn't be happier with how my son's birth went. My husband and I want more children, and I pray LaReina will be able to coach us and be our doula again for each addition. Thank You LaReina, for everything.
Jen B.
LaReina is hands down the best thing we ever could have done with regards to the birth of our first baby Aiden. When deciding whether we should use a doula or not we had no idea the extent of the support that we would receive. LaReina went above and beyond just assisting in labor and delivery. Her assistance went from A-Z from helping us with our labor and delivery, our birth plan, educating us of our options, going over exercises, help with turning our posterior baby, providing us with references for various specialists, practicing comfort measures, help with breast feeding, and providing alternatives and recommendations to accommodate unanticipated complications that popped up at the end of the pregnancy.
During labor and delivery she served not only as a coach for me but as support for my husband. She reminded me of my options through labor, gave gentle suggestions to make me more comfortable, reminded me why I chose to go through with a drug free delivery when I was asking for drugs, and helped keep me informed about what was happening in the hospital. Because I have Kaiser you do not know who is going to be your delivering doctor until you arrive. When we arrived I got a doctor who decided that my birth plan was not ok even though I had it signed off by my OB. LaReina was able to calm me down and come up with a quick plan that would ensure that I had the birth we planned. It went off without a hitch. For example, I requested intermittent fetal monitoring, a saline lock instead of IV, to be active and walking during labor, and to deliver with a squat bar instead of laying in bed. All of these were immediately shot down by the doctor that I happened to get but in the end I had no fetal monitoring, no IV, was active during labor, and delivered hands and knees. An amazing birth experience that never would have happened without LaReina. We have and would recommend her hands down to anyone who is pregnant and thinking to use a doula.
Anonymous
We hired LaReina for the birth of our third child. After having our first two without a doula, we both knew that we wanted the extra knowledge and support that a doula would provide. LaReina was perfect! She had the knowledge and expertise of a professional. She always had suggestions to help wtih each challenge that came up during labor. We relied heavily on her to provide the physical support needed to deal with each contraction.
We were pleased to have her help and support at our birth and would definitely hire her again.
Allyson B.
I have been researching natural birth for quite some time and when I learned what a doula was, I quickly knew I wanted to have one at my birth(s)..fast forward a few years to when I was pregnant, I still wanted a doula and especially with my life situation I knew having a doula was vital, so I started my search and quickly found LaReina and set up a time to meet. It was that 1st meeting I knew she was going to be my doula--she just clicked and it felt like I was talking a friend I had never met. she was amazing during my pregnancy, always there for my ftm questions and nervousness stemming from previous losses and indecision regarding a provider. We had 2 prenatals and a birth class which were all very helpful in helping me prepare for labor/birth and see perhaps how it'll go. During my labor, she was amazing always knew how to help, support me, what coping methods to use, and keep me going, yet stay out and respect my space and follow my lead. She was vital in me achieving my goal and dream of a natural and med free birth, I wouldn't have been able to labor med free as long as I did without her. Post birth she came by twice to check on us, seeing how we were doing, see if we needed anything. highly recommend her and so thankful I found her.
Kristen W.
From the first time I net LaReina, I knew that she was the perfect "doula match" for me. She was kind, open, honest and made me feel at ease. This was the kind of person that I wanted by my side during the birth of our first child. She is knowledgeable and attainable if you have any questions or concerns. While my goal was to have a natural birth and labor at home as long as possible, my daughter chose to come into the world early and via an emergency c-section. LaReina was there, helping me cope with everything that was being thrown at me, helped me understand what was happening, and assisted in calming methods to help me cope with the meds that were being given. We now have a healthy beautiful girl! When we decide to have another child, I hope that we can use LaReina's services again!
Jessica M.
I just had my second daughter in April with the help of LaReina. Making the decision to have LaReina there wasn't a hard one because she is one of my dearest friends. Shes the first one I call for the big problems and little ones too like deciding what kind of donut i should get:) However honestly i was a little nervous when I asked her because I was uneducated as to what exactly a Doula does i thought they were strictly "all natural" and I was afraid I would disappoint if I threw in the towel and went another route. After meeting with LaReina for our prenatal appointments my husband and I felt very educated on what we were both to expect before,during,and after birth but mostly we learned that LaReina was first my friend then my doula and was okay with whatever choice i made during my birth as long as it was what i wanted and as long as i was fully understanding what i was agreeing to during my labor. when my labor began LaReina was available for every little concern we had even before we went to the hospital she came and checked on me took my calls and texts all hours of the day and night! Once we went to the hospital and got settled LaReina just set the tone in the room and not by being dominate over the staff it was just her countenance it was calm, loving, it was just a very sweet time of fellowship. It was the best decision my husband and I made. she made me feel special she even made my hair all pretty before i pushed and put some tinted moisturizer on that way i was looking fly when my girl made her appearance. She made my husband feel comfortable and confident that everything that was happening was okay. I believe she even made the staff there feel comfortable. It didn't feel so much as a hospital room as a my own home. I would highly recommend her to Doula I can't imagine doing it again without her.