STAY AWAY! This woman is no good for a new mom. It should have been more clear from the cheesy title, but my wife and I were incredibly desperate regarding the breast-feeding efforts of our newborn, so we contacted Lori Beth Geils aka Dove Miracle Moments. I will explain in depth here, but she was of little help regarding the breast feeding and swindled us out of a lot of money regarding post-partum doula services.
Regarding the lactation consultant portion of her business, her energy is all wrong. She is so high-strung and tense, and even physically forceful with mother and child, that she simply does not help. In the moment when mom and baby are having difficulty navigating breast feeding, they definitely do not need some high-strung lunatic giving advice and trying to make the process work.
My wife gave birth on a Thursday, and by Sunday we were desperate because our son hadn't been eating, had jaundice, and hadn't gone to the bathroom in 24 hours. In addition, we had slept just a handful of hours since the labor began that Wednesday evening. At that point, we were supplementing with formula because he couldn't eat from the breast, and my wife couldn't manually express enough milk for him. We contacted as many lactation consultants as we could, trying to avoid formula if possible (and if not, fine, we just needed to know what to do to help our son). Lori Beth was the only available person. The one positive for her, she came over at 8:30 am on a Sunday, and also taught my wife how to use the electric pump. But her efforts to get my son to latch were clumsy and forceful, but more than anything, her energy did not allow mom or baby to relax. It's impossible to solve a difficult breastfeeding relationship with such tense and high-strung energy. Long story shorter, when we were exhausted and desperate and she apparently, or at least not immediately, couldn't solve the breastfeeding problem, she offered to provide an overnight doula to help out. She manipulated us into signing a two week contract.
Fast forward five days, and we had gotten some sleep (thanks to the overnight doula, so credit again). As the fog of no sleep cleared, we realized that this Lori Beth person was not for us. We contacted another lactation consultant, who came to our house, provided calm and relaxing energy, and ta-da, in no time he was breastfeeding. In addition, my Mom had arrived from out of town to help. With all that, we didn't need any more doula services. We told Lori Beth that we appreciated the week she gave us, and the services she provided, but if possible, would want to get out of the contract. She refused to budge. We had a long and spirited conversation in which I explained we were happy to pay for the services she provided, but there was actually nothing a doula could do for the following week. She refused to budge and threatened to sue if we didn't pay. In the end, we paid just to get this woman out of our lives. But, be warned, do NOT enter into any contracts with this lady. Hire a doula directly. I am sure you can find and hire doulas directly who have a good reputation.
STAY AWAY! and CONGRATULATIONS!!! read more