Before I got pregnant, I'm not sure I knew what a doula truly was, it was through our research and a few friends' recommendations that we considered having one present with us. I wanted someone to be there not only for me but for my husband as well. Being away from our family and friends I felt like we would benefit from some outside support. Before we even met Sara, I liked her. I'm very particular when it comes to timing and Sara responded to my email right away and when we set up our in person consult Sara arrived before I did. She was already a front runner in my mind. When we first met Sara within just a few minutes I knew she was the one. She was extremely easy to talk to, easy going, relatable and funny. She was able to work with us financially which was even better after my husband had been out of work for over a year ever since the pandemic hit.
Sara was my doula for my first birth, and I honestly don't believe I could have brought my daughter into this world without her. My husband and I had originally intended on birthing our daughter at a birthing center in Santa Clarita. At what ended up being my last prenatal appointment I was advised by my midwives to go to the hospital due to high blood pressure and some concerning levels with my blood work. My husband, Nick, contacted Sara to let her know what was going on. We decided to wait 24 hours and when my blood pressure never went down, we decided we should go to the hospital as a precaution. Nick once again called Sara to give her an update and at that time she had mentioned to him that we should consider going to California Hospital in downtown LA. She told him that they had midwives on staff who would take our birth plan into consideration. This was so important to us, if I would be birthing our baby in a hospital, we wanted to have a more personal and intimate experience. Since our insurance covered it, we decided to head downtown. This ended up being one of the best decisions we ever made all thanks to Sara.
I ended up being admitted and induced at the hospital. All the while Sara continued to check in with both me and my husband. We facetimed with her several times to get her opinion and give her the latest update as to what the next step was in our process. She was always so very calm and positive. We informed Sara when my water broke, and she ended up joining us at the hospital early on during my labor. It was nice to have another friendly face to sit and chat with since I was still in the first stage of labor. I told Sara to go home at some point so she could get some rest before the main event. Things didn't really start moving along until around 4a. Nick called Sara and she arrived right away. It was like a breath of fresh air entered the room when she arrived. She suggested a few different positions for me to labor in and her massagers helped so much with counter pressure. For a moment I forgot about the contractions and was able to catch my breath. I wanted to have an unmedicated birth and Sara helped me stay focused on my breathing and continued to bring me back down when I was getting too much in my head or focusing too much on the pain. She was right by my side holding my hand and filming my birth when my daughter came into this world. I never thought I would want to see the actual birth, but I must admit I've watched it several times and it is a wonderful memory to have with me for the rest of my life.
Sara continued to check in with us while we were at the hospital. Due to my high blood pressure and our daughter having some jaundice we ended up staying in the hospital for three additional days after our daughter was born. We talked with Sara once we were home, and she came over about two weeks later for our postpartum visit. It was very therapeutic to talk about my birth experience with her as some of it was very much a blur for me and my husband. I think I may have blacked out at some point throughout my labor due to my exhaustion. It was great to hear her perspective on things and to laugh at some of the insanity that ensued. She was so very kind and thoughtful and brought our daughter a book to add to her library.
I would recommend Sara to anyone I know. She was instrumental in so many areas of the birthing process I honestly could not imagine her not being present with us. Had it not been for Sara I know we would have ended up at a different hospital and things wouldn't have gone as smoothly as they did. She helped keep both my husband and I calm when things felt out of control, she kept things light when the conversation seemed too heavy, and she kept us both laughing when we were both pretty upset our birth plan had gone down the drain. I will forever be grateful for her and today I am lucky enough to call her my friend. read more