My husband and I are first time parents and found ourselves desperate for help in the first few…read moreweeks home with our newborn. He wasn't sleeping much more than an hour at a time and we were really struggling. We reached out to Erin at MidCoast Village Doula and to our delight, she responded very quickly and was able to come the next day. Erin came and listened to us, our routine and concerns and gave us a general recommendations for new parents as well as a detailed email of suggestions, tips and tricks specific to our family and baby boy. She helped me with breastfeeding and so much more. Erin's warmth, kindness and support was so nice to have especially coming into our home and helping two sleep deprived and stressed parents. It truly takes a village and I cannot recommend Erin enough if you find your family needing support at any time during the beautiful and challenging process of bringing a little one into the world! Thank you, Erin!

I just had a baby in late August and when a friend told me that a space was opening in Cape…read moreElizabeth focused on overall women's wellness with an emphasis on motherhood, I was so excited! Ritual Art of Wellness offers lots of yoga classes (prenatal yoga, postnatal yoga, and yoga with babies and kids), reiki, women's health physical therapy, counseling for individuals and couples, childbirth education, massage, and more! So far, I've attended a Tea + Tummytime class with Jackie (Tuesdays @ 11am) and the Feeding Circle with Brooke (Thursdays at 9:30am). Both are FREE community classes, you just sign up beforehand on their website. I plan on checking out the baby yoga classes as well. Both classes I attended were great - it's a very open and welcoming environment and a great place to meet other moms in the area. I'm so excited to be a part of this community and watch it grow!

Ellie is truly wonderful! My husband and I took her hypnobirthing class, and it helped us both feel…read moreconfident, informed, and prepared for birth. She combines helpful techniques with thoughtful education and creates a supportive environment where you can ask anything and know you'll receive honest, reassuring guidance. I also took her breastfeeding class, which was incredibly helpful. Ellie is compassionate, responsive, and has such a natural approach that makes you feel calm and confident. I truly appreciate how much she cares about both parents and babies. She has a wonderful way of guiding you while helping you trust your instincts as a mother. Highly recommend!

Wow, where do I even begin?! I could write pages about how wonderful Ellie is and the impact she…read morehad on my birth preparation, labor, delivery, and beyond! Ellie is an incredible doula and human being. Thanks to her, I had the positive birth experience I envisioned and went into labor feeling informed, empowered, and supported.Her hypnobirthing class was invaluable! Beyond learning breathing techniques, affirmations, and mindset tools, Ellie helped me believe birth can be a beautiful, positive, and empowering experience. That belief stayed with me throughout labor. My labor was fast and intense. I vividly remember my husband calling Ellie, and the moment she walked through the door, everything shifted. Hearing her voice and feeling her calming presence and hands-on support changed the energy in the room. I felt grounded, empowered, and ready. My husband and team were amazing, but Ellie brought a different level of expertise and intuition. She knew how to change my positions, guide me through contractions, and apply counterpressure. She seemed to know what I needed before I even did! There were so many moments when I felt I couldn't keep going. She had an incredible ability to reframe my thoughts, remind me of my progress, and help me find strength when I felt I had none left. After 3 hours of pushing, her coaching and unwavering belief in me helped me bring my sweet baby into this world. Ellie always reminds me that I did all the work, but I couldn't have imagined doing it without her. I will forever cherish my birth experience, and she was instrumental in making it so positive and empowering. I knew from our first conversation that Ellie was special, and I'm so grateful I trusted that instinct. Ellie, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your compassion, knowledge, and gift of making women feel strong and supported. I'm forever grateful you were part of one of the most meaningful moments of my life!

The Concord Birth Center was out of this world incredible. My wife and I just had our first child…read more10 hrs ago. Kate our lead midwife was nothing short of 10 out of 10. We arrived at the center at 6:30pm. As a man I super curious about how a natural birth would go. However, I got to experience the most beautiful gift I have ever received up close and personal. It was difficult to watch my wife go through the struggle, however, Kate was on top of every move. She had my wife in a tub, in different positions for different phases of the pregnancy. And come to find out she is coming up on her 800 birth that she has been apart of. To anyone who is looking for an alternative to the hospital experience and can handle a natural birth, I recommend this place with full enthusiasm. Our baby girl was delivered at 11:17pm. The birth could not have gone any smoother. I am so grateful to Kate and her assistant Bryn. Words can not express our gratitude. Outstanding job!!!! Thank you for playing such a huge part in one of the greatest days of our lives. You two are the BEST!!!!!

From the owner: We are a midwife-led freestanding birth center in Concord, NH, offering professional and…read morepersonalized prenatal, postpartum, and childbirth services. We support your vision of birth, including home birth, water birth, and VBAC. We are dedicated to providing the highest standard of care, offering an intricate balance of tradition and technology. Midwives are the facilitators of natural process and reserve intervention, invasive testing and procedures for situations outside the parameters of normal. We also recognize that parents value and honor the experience of pregnancy and birth as much as the health of mothers and babies. We allow as much time as needed to listen, interact and educate -- encouraging families to be proactive, to make truly informed decisions about their care. Call us to tour the birth center, and to learn more about what truly collaborative, family-centered midwifery care looks like.

We are so grateful for the support Natalie provided to our family. From the first meeting, she…read morebrought a calm, reassuring presence. Through our initial meetings, labor/delivery, and our days after she offered thoughtful advice that focused on determining and achieving our preferences days afterward. During labor, her grounding presence, advocacy, and encouragement made all the difference -- she helped us stay centered, connected, and prepared for every step. After our baby arrived, Natalie continued to be a source of comfort and clarity, offering practical tips and calm support. We really appreciated her help, and we feel lucky to have had her by our side.

My husband and I could not recommend Maine Doulas enough! Natalie was kind, supportive, gave…read morehelpful suggestions and cared for our newborn at night as if she was her own. It's a little daunting handing over your newborn (that you hardly know yourself!) to a stranger, but Natalie made us feel comfortable from the start. Thank you MD for all you did for our little family, we will definitely use them in future!

Krista is an exceptional lactation consultant and doula!!!…read more I was seeking help nursing my second child, and had no luck even with the great support at the hospital. I was even told we likely wouldn't be able to nurse for meals at one point. But with Krista's help we are successfully 100% nursing! Krista's work with us was highly individualized. She listened closely to the difficulties, considered our goals, and made adjustments/suggestions that helped immediately. It was different than other approaches which had felt like they were teaching a specific protocol. With Krista she is really attuned to both bodies and fluidly offers repositioning that works. Plus she gave great practical advice to make our transition from bottle to breast achievable. On our first visit she showed up with a super thoughtful New Parent Care Package, on the last she gave us a book she had written about doulas for children with a thoughtful note for our family. She also offered advice on helping our toddler welcome our new family member. It is clear that Krista has found her calling, I highly recommend her work and Relief Parenting to any parent. We need all the positive support we can get!

Kenzie is a phenomenal doula. She was upbeat and positive, respectfully hands on and completely…read morepresent for me during my labor and birth. She provided emotional and physical support, was encouraging and helpful in every way. Some examples of how she helped include helping me get to the bathroom, in and out of the birth tub, to my bed, gave me my drinks, provided counter pressure during my contractions and was happy to help every time! She was also fun and helped me laugh a lot between contractions. She was so kind and positive it made needing help from her a pleasure instead of feeling like an inconvenience. She's exactly the kind of doula I wanted to support me and my family during the birth of my 5th baby. She's a complete natural and super enthusiastic about birth. She's a joy to have around and was an invaluable part of my birth team. Everyone who interacted with her, from my kids, husband, midwife and nurse had high praise for her. She's worth her weight in gold and if I ever have another baby I hope she would work with me again as she is a true delight. I cannot recommend her enough.

I love the prenatal yoga class! It's a wonderful way to keep my body moving while also keeping a…read morefocus on baby. The instructor Nya challenges your body while also encouraging you to listen to your own intentions and needs for that day. The class is 60 minutes, with a typical flow of a yoga class (warm up, full Asana flow, sivasana (rest)); but what's sets this class apart is the focus on mother's strength during the class, specific poses chosen to best prepare our bodies for labor/birth and a beautiful sivasana period that encourages you to connect to baby within (sometimes utilizing breathing techniques or affirmations). The class instructor is also a labor and post partum doula! She is very encouraging and supportive no matter where you are in your yoga practice or how far along you are in your pregnancy. I highly recommend this class. I believe it's the only prenatal yoga class in the area and I'm so happy to have found it!

From the owner: I am a spiritual birth witness who helps women prepare for the great Ceremony of Birth and the…read moreRites of Passage of motherhood. I offer holistic 1:1 coaching, education, authentic birthkeeping, and in-person holistic pregnancy & postpartum care serving Downeast, Maine. I also offer a variety of free women's circles and other women-centered events to connect with others in the motherhood continuum.