Doula Fresno

From Amy and Jon whose son was born April 2nd, 2010:

During my pregnancy people would ask me if I was going to have a doula. Some of them were surprised when I would say “Yes!” It was almost like they assumed that, since I am a doula myself, I wouldn’t need that support. Having a doula is something that I firmly believe in and I wouldn’t want to have a baby without one.

My husband and I thought our family was complete with three children, so this pregnancy came as a surprise. I felt that after experiencing birth as a doula and seeing the many variations one can (sometimes) choose, I wanted this final birth to be different from my others. I talked with Andrea about all of my fears, hopes, expectations and dreams for the birth of our son. She knew that my previous births had quite a few medical interventions and I was hoping to have a more natural experience. I felt confident in the support Andrea provided before the birth and I knew she was going to play a necessary role in the delivery room.

When Andrea came to the hospital she offered suggestions for positions to make me more comfortable in labor and to help me progress quickly. She offered words of encouragement and reminded me that I was strong enough to do it! Later when talking to my husband about Andrea’s role in the birth he commented how helpful she was. He said, “I wouldn’t have known that those positions would be helpful.” My husband was an amazing advocate for my wishes and he rose to the challenge when an intervention was suggested.

Andrea’s presence made my goals even more attainable.  I highly recommend Andrea to anyone who is looking for a doula!

From Dorothy and Gabe whose daughter was born March 19th, 2010:

My husband, Gabe and I knew we wanted continuity during one of the most important days of our lives.  So, we chose Andrea to provide that continuity for us during our birth experience.  I was induced with our first child and this time I really wanted labor to start spontaneously.  Unfortunately, I went two weeks past my due date and my doctor ordered an induction. Fortunately we had Andrea with us at the hospital during the whole process.

Gabe and I were both discouraged about not starting labor spontaneously.  Through the waiting process Andrea provided us with the encouragement we needed. She even suggested we have a night to ourselves before baby arrived…so we did!  Her encouragement continued through our whole labor experience.  Through prayer, suggestions about laboring positions, creating a calm atmosphere, giving Gabe a helping hand, etc., Andrea gave us exactly what we needed for our situation.

Our personal list of benefits of having a Doula:

• Having Continuity
• Giving us ideas for relaxation before and during the birth
• Suggesting that I be taken off Pitocin briefly so I could walk around outside of the room
• Having support for the decisions we made
• Having suggestions for labor positions
• Someone who knows the stages of labor
• Giving Gabe brief breaks
• Providing a pleasant aroma when cigarette smoke filled the room from a nearby break area.
• Best of all…having someone we knew with us during this special time!

Thanks Andrea!!!

From Liliya and Sarwar whose son was born February 5th, 2010:

I would like to share with everybody how great our experience was delivering a baby with Andrea’s help! My son was born 12 days early so when I got to the hospital on “The Big Day” I still hadn’t made any arrangements with Andrea. I called her in panic at 8 am and she showed up right away!

She was very professional and calm, knew exactly what was going on and what the doctor and nurses were talking about. She helped to ease the pain and came up with ways to make me progress faster. The positions that she offered worked great for me! I was able to deliver in 7-8 hours WITHOUT any medications or painkillers! I truly believe that this happened largely because of Andrea’s participation. My husband helped me A LOT too, but even he admits that Andrea’s help was essential.

After the baby was born, she helped the baby to latch onto my breast and then before she left the hospital, she showed my husband how to install the car seat (we hadn’t had that ready either!) When I was released from the hospital Andrea visited me and looked after my baby so that I could take a shower. She also kept in touch with me and called to check on our lives.

I would recommend Andrea to anyone who is thinking about having a doula during childbirth. She is a great person to know and to work with!

Liliya, Sarwar and Baby Marcel

From Katie and Rob whose son was born September 25th, 2009:

Andrea was the perfect addition to the birth story of our first baby. When I was about 6 months pregnant I started to worry that my husband and I did not know enough about labor and giving birth to achieve the birth experience that I wanted, so I started looking for a doula. I had heard that doulas help coach the mom and dad through labor and delivery and that’s what I wanted.

It didn’t take me long to find Andrea. I found her website, read her profile, and knew that I wanted to meet with her. She was the perfect match for us. She is friendly, kind, calm, knowledgeable, confident, and encouraging. She met with us a couple of times before our due date to get to know us, to help us think through a birth plan, and to practice for the big day.

I went into labor on my due date and Andrea was available by phone all day. She came to our house when we decided that we needed her help. She assisted my husband in comforting me in various ways and positions through contractions. She even made me a snack and did my dishes! She helped us decide when to go to the hospital and I’m glad for her help in that decision because when we got to the hospital I was already 9 cm dilated (keep in mind that I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible). I would not have been able to labor so long at home without her there. She continued to coach my husband and me through contractions at the hospital.

The nurses would not have been able to give me the same help that she was able to give. Even the nurses were amazed at how well we all worked together as a team. Even though the whole experience was exhausting and painful (I had no pain medication, which was my choice), it was one of the best experiences of my life and I wouldn’t have been able to do it the way I wanted without Andrea’s help. She gave me confidence in myself to have the birth experience that I wanted.

My husband and I would recommend Andrea to anyone. We will definitely use her again if we are blessed to have more children!

From Maryanne and Keven whose son was born June 16th, 2009: