I am delighted to write a glowing recommendation for Laura Ellis. Laura and I met 5 years ago when…read moreI opened my nanny agency, The Nanny Consultant. She was one of the first handful of nannies that I placed with my clients. When I met Laura, I knew that not only was I gaining a friendship but also someone who I felt could inspire me and support me along the way and that insight was spot on. Over the last few years I have placed Laura now three times and had three babies myself, and she has been our NCS (providing overnight care for our newborn). Not only have my clients been more than happy with the services she has provided, I have as well. Laura has also cared for my children as well in a babysitting role. Laura is the kind of person that is always looking outside the box and paying attention to the needs that need to be met. She has really gone above and beyond for in the last couple years and I am beyond appreciative. When our second was born our oldest was only 21 months. The night that Laura came to visit there was also a house full of guests, she could see that I was struggling and instead of socializing she got our oldest bathed and ready for bed. More recently our youngest turned 1, she knew I had so much on my plate with both work, family, and getting ready for a few events I was throwing and she was the only person to reach out and ask if she could help me. I of course said yes and she came over the day of the party and cared for my children until it was party time so I could be all the places I needed to be. More recently, on the day of the birth of our newest son, my parents were exposed to an awful virus and couldn't care for our children overnight and Laura came to save the day that night and care for my children so I could have our son and not worry one bit. Since then Laura has been caring for our newborn overnight and helping my 16mo old son who is going through a really awful sleep regression where he is up 1 to 5 hours each night. With her help we have a strong system in place and it is getting much better. I am so thankful for her thoughtfulness and attentiveness to us. In other settings I have had the pleasure of getting to know Laura as a friend and even do play dates with her when she had her nanny kids. Laura is a warm, nurturing, and attentive. She is kind, honest, trustworthy, friendly, humble, and respectful. She is thorough, has great judgement, and intuition. Everyone needs a friend and NCS like Laura and I can't recommend her highly enough.

Initially, I was very nervous about hiring someone who would be in our home, especially during one…read moreof the most vulnerable periods our our life. From night one, Laura instantly put me at ease. Laura did an absolutely fantastic job of taking care of our little one. She went above and beyond to make sure we all felt comfortable and removed all of the unpredictable variables in the early weeks of having a baby. She washed bottles, pump parts, provided detailed reports each night (that I could look at in real time when I would wake up to pump) and was just a gentle, stable presence in our home. Honestly, I could say that she took care of all of us. As a FTM, having someone around at night who knew babies better than I did ended up being such a huge comfort. She is reliable, consistent, knowledgable and someone who we could (and can still, to this day) consistently count on to show up for us and our family. I would easily recommend Laura to anyone looking for a Night Doula.

I found my doula, Shelia Kandeler, via a friend's referral rather than the Swedish Hospital Doula…read moreServices, but the Swedish Hospital Doula program made things incredibly easy administratively. I keep telling people that doulas aren't just for people who want a natural childbirth! It's a huge benefit for any laboring mother-to-be to have an experienced person on hand whose only role is to provide emotional support and comfort. In childbirth classes, Dad is sometimes coached to play that role, but the reality is that a first-time father isn't going to have any better idea what to expect than the mother. Birth plans can easily go awry, and an experienced doula can be a great help in getting the mother back into a a calm emotional state regardless of whether the mother wishes for as little intervention as possible or all the painkillers in the book. The presence of a doula has been shown in studies to reduce the odds of C-Section or instrumental delivery. Both the doulas I've had also provide lactation support after the baby is born. The fact that Swedish respects the role of the doula says volumes about the level of care they provide for expectant parents.

Laurie Levy is the best! We interviewed a couple of doulas who were very good, but we clicked with…read moreLaurie right away and were very excited to partner with her for the birth of our first child. Laurie met with us twice before the birth to go over questions and our thoughts on how we wanted everything to go. When I found our I was going to be induced, I thought I might not need her assistance as much - I was completely wrong! She was the greatest support, especially during the last 4 hours of hard labor. I ended up having complications during the actual birth and I am so glad that Laurie was by my side. The room was chaotic with lots of nurses and doctors and having someone I knew and trusted next to me was a life saver. She kept me calm and focused, and made a scary situation much less so. I'm so thankful we found Laurie through Swedish and hired her as our doula - I highly recommend her!

Having Leah as our private childbirth teacher and postpartum doula is the best decision we've made…read morein preparing and caring for our first child! She has everything we looked for in getting us ready for the birth and helped us feeling confident in newborn caring. I'd hire Leah again and again! Leah is a well of knowledge when it comes to birth and caring for babies - she comes to our home to give the private childbirth class, in this private session format it allows us to ask direct questions; my husband and my mom were both in the class with me, Leah was able to cater the content to different roles in the household with the focus on the birthing mother. Leah is always extra prepared for the classes from various engaging activities to catered content. During the preparation for birth, we constantly reached out to Leah for suggestions and ideas. For the postpartum phase, Leah came to our home to educate us in various baby caring tasks/details per our requests; we did some lactation sessions, a lot of Q&As, and gave baby the first sponge bath! Leah's patient, steady, and very encouraging throughout the process, leaving us feel empowered to care for the baby after she leaves. She's super detailed, wearing masks to the postpartum sessions as the newborn is not vaccinated yet. She's super communicative - reply to my questions over email and text as things come up. Always super encouraging and send me the right direction. We wouldn't be able to be at such a fine place this early in the newborn stage if it's not Leah. I'd recommend Leah to anyone who's looking for childbirthing class and/or postpartum doula!

Leah is an absolute joy to work with!…read more She is kind, understanding, and extremely knowledgeable. We had her help following the birth of our twins (and my c-section) and it was such a relief not only having the extra set of hands but having the reassurance of her expertise, especially as a first time parent. It was so incredible having a few hours to nap - knowing the twins were in good hands - and waking up to a clean kitchen and folded laundry! I HIGHLY recommend Leah!

A friend of mine spoke wonders about having a doula for labor, so between that and my commitment to…read moreself-advocacy, I knew that hiring a labor doula was a non-negotiable for our first child. What I didn't know is how lucky we'd be to find Christi @ Emerald City Doulas! She is the perfect combination of experienced and empathetic, and her calm but direct approach was the perfect fit for my personality as well as my husband's. We loved having our two prenatal sessions and the ability to text Christi with any questions (they were always super responsive), but for us, the real value came during labor and delivery, which was not only traumatic for me but also came with tons of unexpected turns (starting with PROM, which is when water breaks with no contractions). Between the horrible pain and the decisions to break with our birth plan, Christi didn't waver and made sure I was supported and safe throughout. Needless to say, next to my husband, Christi is the person I will most remember as being there for me in the process of having our first child. After our little girl arrived, we worked with Jylane as our postpartum support doula. I can't say enough about her demeanor (our baby is comfortable with her, but so are our two cats, which says a lot!), reliability and kindness--not to mention the lack of judgment, which is critical in a time where you're already hard on yourself. We purchased a combo of overnights and day shifts, and at this point in baby's life, there aren't many other people we'd trust to take care of her for such long periods of time! We are grateful for her role in the early days of parenthood.

Thank you, Christi, for being the best doula a first time mother could have asked for! I had a lot…read moreof anxiety with my first pregnancy because of gestational diabetes and a baby who was consistently measuring in the 99th percentile. Christi brought me a lot of ease with her vast knowledge of child birth and assured me that I am more than capable of a vaginal delivery. My birth went according to plan and she really gave me the confidence that I can deliver a giant baby. I will remember you for the rest of my life, thank you!!

Autumn is a fantastic Doula! I am so thankful that I was able to have Autumn during my labor. She…read morewas extremely helpful with pain management and came with a bag full of goodies to aid in my comfort. She was very helpful in coaching my husband and provided an extra set of hands so he could shower and make sure we had everything we needed before leaving our place. She arrived at our apartment at nearly 2am and stayed with us for at least 24 hours! We had planned an out of hospital birth, but after a very long labor at home and at the birth center, my midwives transferred me to UW. Postpartum home visits are just as helpful, providing breastfeeding and pumping advice, she will even show you how to baby wrap and answer any questions you have. Before I decided to hire a Doula for my birth, I was unsure if I would "need one." My midwife had initially recommended that I have one, especially for first time births. I then spoke to a few people who had used a Doula, and only heard positives! No one ever says "I wish I didn't have my Doula!" Now I tell everyone "you need a Doula!"

Autumn is an awesome doula!!! We had a great experience with Seattle Doula Partners and would…read moreabsolutely hire them again. We interviewed 3-4 doulas and the team at Seattle Doula Partners stood out the best to us. They were not pushy and their experience and calmness in communicating to us through facts and information really appealed to us. The initial conversations before the birth were very helpful. I was very apprehensive about the birth and talking with them to help uncover my and my husband's anxieties about the birth and it really helped prepare us emotionally. In many ways I felt like it was a therapy session! When I was hospitalized at 32 weeks, Autumn checked in on me consistently to make sure we were doing okay which felt very reassuring. Finally when the day came, we let Autumn know we were on the way to the hospital at about 11pm and she arrived just after I settled down in the L&D room which was super speedy! She immediately attended to both mine and my husband's needs, answering any questions we had. One of the most valuable things that Autumn did was that before anything that happened, e.g. getting my epidural or pushing, Autumn talked through in detail what to expect and this helped prepare us well emotionally and in many ways, made me less fearful. She was always right by our sides coaching us on what to do in a gentle and reassuring way. She wasn't intrusive and allowed me and my husband to have our own time. Through the pattern of my contractions, the nurse hypothesized that my baby was face up. Autumn had a ton of suggestions on how to resolve this and coached the nurse to getting me in the right positions. By then, my lower half was pretty weak from the epidural and every time the nurse had to shift me, Autumn was always there to lend a helping hand. At about 2am, all of us went to rest and my husband was exhausted. The IV machine kept beeping and Autumn always promptly stood up and turned it off so that we could all rest. She was close by and helped me with every small little thing I needed so my husband could rest. Autumn coached me through the entire 2 hours of pushing and holding my legs up. She was very encouraging and her calming and reassuring words gave me a ton of confidence. Once the baby was out, she stepped back, got one of our phones and took a bunch of pictures that I really treasure today! Post birth, I had a lot of difficult breastfeeding and Autumn shifted her schedule so she could come and visit me soon after that. She helped me with the latch and gave me a bunch of ideas to help increase my supply. 3 months on and I still think about how lucky we were to have Autumn by our side! Thank you so much for your hard work, Autumn!!

My husband and I had only had 3 appointments with Sarah during my entire pregnancy, but she made…read moreeach appointment a delight. She put us at ease through her passion for her profession as well as her emphasis on customer care. My baby daughter was due to come on June 3, and Sarah originally had an appointment conflict, but decided to reach out to the midwife scheduled for that shift so that she could be with us during delivery. She certainly didn't have to, but given her passion for her patients and her desire to put her patients first (as much as possible - since I believe she had a family appointment this day) she was an amazing assistant to the OBGYN in the birthing room. Sarah made herself present to answer questions once in the operating room and afterwards in the post-birth suite. She is certainly someone that I would count on to walk a patient from the first stages of pregnancy to the last and makes every effort to put your family at ease as you navigate the twist and turns of bringing life into the world :)

Sarah Chandler was one of my 3 (rotating) midwives throughout my whole pregnancy, and I got super…read morelucky that she was the one who was on call to actually deliver my baby girl when I went into labor. She is literally THE most amazing midwife I could have ever dreamt of. The whole pregnancy, she was informative, always gave me time to answer the absurd amount of questions I would bring into my appointments (my first pregnancy = SO MANY unknowns). She was always positive but honest, which I really, really appreciated. She took the time to explain things to me to make sure I understood everything to the extent I wanted to. And on the day my daughter was born, Sarah made my L&D experience the most positive and happy experience I could've hoped for. She encouraged me with every push, she kept my mind busy in between pushes/contractions with light and fun conversation. She cheered me on, she kept my husband involved and excited. I could not have had a better experience delivering my little girl. I look forward to my next pregnancy knowing I am going into it again in the best hands!

I cannot say enough good things about Cheryl. She is incredible and I hope she'll be my doula for…read moreall my future births. BACKGROUND on me/us. We decided when the pandemic hit that we wouldn't let it stop us from starting a family. I got pregnant in April of 2020, and in September, we moved from San Francisco to Seattle. Since this was my first, I wasn't sure what I was looking for. I visited Swedish First Hill thinking I might want a hospital birth, and interviewed three midwives and several (six, to be exact) doulas. When I met Cheryl, I knew I had found "the one." She was also the only person I spoke w/ that made me genuinely feel EXCITED about giving birth. PRE. Not only did Cheryl offer to meet me throughout my third trimester to do the stairs or go for walks, but she also hosts weekly prenatal yoga classes (over Zoom), which I'll be honest, were the *only* times I did yoga during my pregnancy. BIRTH. On the birth day, Cheryl was phenomenal. She comforted me not only w/ her words, but also her hands when I was laboring. She rubbed my back or my leg, which I later found out is not the standard for birth doulas, and suggested different positions for me as things progressed. She was so good about feeding me and making sure I was staying hydrated, too. (As an endurance athlete, I know for a fact I would have bonked had she not force fed me a banana, honey, and electrolytes.) She made me feel strong and safe throughout my entire labor. POST. After baby was born, Cheryl took such good care of my partner and me. She fed us, taught us how to swaddle baby, helped me through mastitis, and became someone we consider to be family. She encapsulated my placenta after making placenta art, too. Her intuition about what we needed was so spot on, it truly is a gift. I birthed a 9lb1oz baby w/o drugs or stitches at home, and I thank Cheryl (and my midwives) for that. We adore Cheryl and anyone would be lucky to have her.

As a first time mom, I was clueless about the labor and delivery process. As I was exposed to…read morevarious kinds of births, I came across the idea of having a birth doula to help both my husband and I through the process. Cheryl was everything we had hoped for and more. We connected with her immediately. I would reach out to her regularly during my pregnancy with questions and concerns, and she was very quick to respond and ease my nerves. We took a few prenatal classes with her which helped us understand labor and delivery better. I wanted to make sure my husband and I were also well versed with the possible interventions that could take place at a hospital birth. Cheryl did a great job of teaching us what the alternative options were in case things didn't go as planned. On the day of, Cheryl helped me labor at home and the hospital, which is exactly what I had hoped for. I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible before heading to the hospital, and I felt very secure knowing that Cheryl would know when is the best time. The majority of my labor was pretty intense back labor and Cheryl knew exactly what to do to help me get through the contractions. Our experience with the labor and delivery would never have been the same without Cheryl. I had an amazing experience thanks to her faith and support. After the birth, Cheryl came to our home a few times to check on us and help me breastfeed as well. Being with Cheryl on this journey felt like being with our family! It's been almost a year and a half since our daughters birth and we still keep in touch with her and enjoy speaking to her about parenthood! Cheryl was a Godsend, and we could not have imagined our daughters birth without her!

So this is going to be long, but after 4 months I feel like I need to get this off my chest…read more I started my pregnancy journey with the Polyclinic after conceiving twins with the help of IVF. It was a long and arduous journey, but so worth it now that I get to hold my little boys. I dreamt of a natural twin birth and joined a support group of other twin mamas who had come before me. Dr. Norland and I talked at length about my birth plan... She was sometimes resistant to my goals but I knew my rights as a birthing mama and hoped I would be supported at the hospital. She continued to tell me to trust her, that she had the best interest of me and my babies in mind. Fast forward to my 38th week... I left the doctors office after an appointment and drove home. Halfway there I felt a tearing pain on my right side and had to pull over the pain was so intense. I became excited thinking I was in back labor and continued home to labor there and time the contractions. When I got home my mom called and we tried to time the contractions together but there was no rhyme or reason to my pain, so she came over and we called the doctor, she instructed us to come in. By the time I got there I was fainting and vomiting and in searing pain. They could tell that I was not having contractions and sent us to the hospital. Once at the hospital things took a turn for the worse. We arrived in the afternoon and they ran test after test on my kidneys and gall bladder while I was thrashing around in pain. At one point, after a few hours and finding nothing, my husband heard a nurse ask if it was all in my head. By midnight the doctor instructed me to try and get some sleep. She said that she was sure I had a kidney stone (even though every test had come back negative) and we would test again in the morning. I laid down, but had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right. They hadn't found anything wrong with me... There had to be something wrong with the babies. I asked the nurse to get the doctor and demanded a c-section right then and there. They prepped me and we were in the ER within 30 minutes. Just after beginning the procedure the doctor looked at my husband and I and said so calmly, "it's really good that we're doing this... Baby A has an abrupted placenta. If we would have waited until morning he could have been dead." At the time I was so relieved to no longer be in pain and was so excited to meet my little ones that I didn't think twice about the comment. It has taken me months to process everything that happened and to come to terms with it all. I heard baby A (Bodhi) cry once before he stopped. I looked over and I saw tubes and blood as they tried to get all of the blood he had swallowed out of his lungs. My husband and I kept asking what was wrong as they wheeled him off to the NICU. Baby B (River) was healthy and I was able to hold him. Bodhi was brought back to me within a few hours. It was later, when I was clear headed and able to put the pieces together that I realized that incompetent doctors almost killed my son. I had been with those doctors since noon that day. Never once did anyone mention the words "abrupted placenta" as a possibility. If someone would have told me that there was the slightest chance that my babies lives were in danger... We would have gotten them out right there and then. My babies were almost 8 pounds each and I had reached 38 weeks. There was no reason to try and keep them in longer. When asked later why it wasn't mentioned to us, the doctor became incredibly defensive and couldn't even own up to the mistake that had been made. I have never felt more fearful of doctors than I do now. The woman who asked me to trust her with mine and my babies lives made an agregious error and showed absolutely no remorse. I am writing this in the hopes that other mamas will read it and know to trust their mama instinct. These doctors (mine in particular) act as though they know everything, but you know your body... Trust it!

I had a terrible experience with this doctor. She came in unprepared, made a sarcastic remark and…read morethen left for about 20 minutes. When she came back, she was again hostile, and only did a cursory exam, and let out a deep sigh when I asked her to actually do a full exam and treat me for the issue I came in about. I had scheduled my appointment through their MyChart tool, and made it very clear why I was there, but she claimed that she never looks at that, even though I think the Polyclinic doctors are supposed to monitor patient communications through it. A couple of times during the appointment I brought up the medication that I was currently on (which she had prescribed about a year ago) and asked her how it was pronounced. She kept deflecting the question and finally admitted that she didn't know how it was pronounced. At the end, she told me she would follow up with me in a few days, but of course she never did. Her demeanor was so abrasive that I really wish I had just gotten up and walked out. Probably the worst experience I have ever had with a doctor.