Joyful Doula Care
What moms are saying!
Krissy B.
Val has been a friend and neighbor of mine since I was a little girl. Four years ago, when I was pregnant with my first son, she was a huge support system for me. I was upset with my Prenatal care and OB. After speaking with Val about her experiences with birth, it really empowered me to rethink my birth plan, change from an OB to a midwife, and start hypnobirth practice while I was pregnant. I hired a doula here in Chico and Valerie and I started talking regularly about how women needed to be more aware of their choices during their pregnancy and birth.
Flash forward to this year and Valerie has become a doula herself, having assisted many laboring mothers with a variety of birthplans. When I found out I was pregnant with twins, I knew that the odds of me having an unmedicated birth were even less likely. This time, not only did she offer emotional support, advice with choosing an OB (since a midwife wasn't an option this time), but I also had her as my doula.
My labor was much longer the second time around. It lasted two days, and I was released from the hospital at one point. I went back and was 9 cm dilated! Val drove four hours the second she found out I was in labor. She was an incredible, gentle support system the whole time I was in labor, filling me with positive affirmations, reminding me to stay hydrated, trying different positions, etc. She was also a huge support system for my husband who found it quite difficult to see me in labor and ended up getting physically ill at one point (not much help). ;)
Having a doula is a great choice no matter what, but finding one as knowledgeable and passionate about birth as Valerie made my birth experience not just bearable, but absolutely rewarding. She was such a steady, positive energy throughout my labor. I gave birth to two beautiful babies 10 minutes apart and if I had a chance to do it all over again, I would! I can still hear her voice in my ear, reminding me how close I was to meeting my babies and how in control I was with my breathing. I wish all women were fortunate enough to have such an incredible support system as they welcomed me their little ones into the world.
Good luck on your journey! Motherhood is the most transformative life experience there is and I think it all starts with having an empowering birth experience.
Sandra D.
As a mother of two daughters (a teen and pre-teen), I was extremely lucky to have wonderful doulas to helped me have natural and fulfilling birth experiences. When I got pregnant with my third child (my partner’s first!), I knew that I wanted a doula again. I found Valerie through a referral from the DONA website. After I wrote to her, she replied right away and asked me to call her. I did and felt an instant connection with her-- her calm demeanor, experience and expertise all put me at ease. I knew I wanted to set up an in-person interview so that my partner, Jim, could speak with her too. Jim felt the same way and we were so lucky that she was available to work with us. After two appointments with her, we covered different birth positions, labor situations, pain management techniques through breathing and massage, and much more. Jim felt empowered and supported for his first birth experience and I felt secure and relaxed since it had been 11 years since my last birth.
My due date came and went. I was a week late, getting my non-stress test, when they found that the baby’s heart rate was lowering with each contraction. The nurse had me go to labor and delivery for a longer period of monitoring. I texted my partner and Valerie right away and they both met me in the labor and delivery room. The midwife decided that the best choice for me and my baby would be an induction. I was afraid since I hadn’t been induced with my previous children and wanted to do natural once again. Valerie helped to ease my fears with her confidence in my abilities and my partner’s. We practiced all the different labor positions and even danced during contractions! As the labor progressed and became more intense, I had to ask for pain management and Valerie again helped my partner and I feel relaxed and calm. When it was time for pushing, the baby’s heart rate lowered too much and it was considered an emergency situation. After I was wheeled out for a “Code C”, Valerie helped not only my partner, but my sister, mother and two daughters deal with the fear that comes with emergencies like this. Thankfully, I was able to push on my own and gave birth to a beautiful, big and healthy boy.
They say third babies are a wildcard and that was certainly the case for me. I am eternally grateful to Valerie for the love and support she shared with Jim and my family and helping to orchestrate an amazing birth experience. We now consider her part of our family. We highly recommend Valerie!
*A note from Jim: I would personally like to thank Valerie for those moments together as they took Sandra to the OR. Valerie was so strong and comforting as we both held each other and cried. I couldn’t have done it without Valerie! Luckily, the nurses soon came in to get me prepped for the OR and to meet our beautiful son. Love you Valerie!
Karen B.
After a disappointing first birth experience that resulted in an unplanned cesarean, I decided to reclaim some sense of control by working with a birth doula for my second pregnancy. I wanted to try for a VBAC and knew that a birth doula could help prepare me for an empowering natural birth. I interviewed several doulas with excellent reviews and ultimately chose Valerie because of her gentle, maternal and calming nature.
Each time we spoke she made me feel at ease and I intuitively sensed that she had a strong capacity to nurture and to empathize. Throughout our relationship, she sent me uplifting messages and reminded me to gently exercise both my mind and body to prepare for my upcoming birth marathon. She also helped me prepare for the best, normal and worse case scenarios so that I could set realistic goals and adopt a flexible outlook if things didn’t work out exactly as I had planned.
I am so grateful for this because I ended up having an emergency c-section after laboring for over 40 hours. Like most women, I never expected to encounter extreme complications since the odds of them happening were so small. To my dismay, I did experience two very rare complications: a placental abruption and uterine rupture.
Thanks to my amazing medical team, partner and Valerie, I was able to get through this difficult time. Throughout my labor, Valerie was a significant source of emotional and physical support. She coached me through various positions and reminded me of my strength and ability to birth. She watched over me and let my partner rest when he was exhausted. She advocated for me while being respectful of the medical staff. After my surgery, she reminded me that even though I didn’t get to have the birth experience of my dreams, I gave it my all.
Looking back, I do feel like I had an empowered birth experience despite not delivering naturally because I don't have regrets about any of the decisions I made along the way. With incredible endurance I labored like a champ and succumbed courageously to medical intervention when my uterus was no longer willing to cooperate. In the end, I still survived and gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy. I am so grateful to Valerie for supporting me throughout this journey.
Sylvia R.
Since my husband and I learned that we would be expecting our first child, I hoped to have as natural a birth as possible with minimal pain medication, no induction or epidural, and no C-section if at all possible. Knowing that we would be working against standard hospital norms and statistics, we made the decision to select a doula to help us prepare and navigate first-time childbirth.
For Matt and me, bringing a child into the world is a special grace, and it was important for us to have a doula who respected our faith and our prayerful approach to birth. We interviewed Valerie, and it was a perfect match! During our two pre-birth meetings, she not only helped us feel confident and comfortable, but she also taught me how to prepare physically for labor and walked us through the key choices on our birth plan. This was invaluable as first-time parents!
At almost 41 weeks, my water broke and there was meconium in the fluid. Valerie met us at the hospital and was crucial to helping us get comfortable, ensuring that I had the supplies needed and supporting me through a painful saline lock procedure. It was a very busy day at the hospital, and having her either with us or on call gave us the comfort of consistent advice and support.
Since meconium was present, our hospital began a strict 24-hour delivery timeline. While this often results in immediate induction with a higher chance of a C-section, the medical staff respected my birth plan and allowed me to continue naturally through light early labor contractions for 14 hours. I was then put on the lowest dose of Pitocin until my body quickly took over contractions naturally, and I requested pain medication for one hour until my body’s natural pain response kicked in. Four hours later, everyone was surprised that I was ready to push!!
For the 2.5 hours that I pushed unmedicated, I was surrounded by an incredible support team that gave me the strength and stamina needed to deliver our baby without pain medication or an epidural. My husband helped me feel so safe and loved. Valerie was an incredible comfort and super important female presence that kept me focused on my faith. Together with the nurse and doctor, this perfect combination of support made it possible for me to deliver vaginally our 9 lb.-1 oz. daughter!
Valerie visited a week after my daughter born and has continued to stay in contact, providing advice on nursing and our first bath. Knowing that we had Valerie’s support was incredibly reassuring; it helped normalize this draining, exciting, and love-filled time while also giving us the skills to parent our baby. If and when we are expecting our second baby, we absolutely hope to work with Valerie again!
Janaki J.
We were expecting our first child and we wanted to be as prepared as possible for the labor & delivery. To add to the nervousness of being first time parents, these exceptional COVID-19 times revealed the need to have additional support during my pregnancy as well as on the final day. We were lucky to be able to find and have Valerie as our Doula.
Valerie had been a great support during my 3rd trimester and all the way through the labor. She had two good tutorial sessions with us before the due date where she answered a lot of our questions regarding labor. I had my labor induced and Valerie coached us very well during her prenatal sessions on what to expect during the whole process. This really helped calm our nerves and I was able to have a Vaginal Delivery (with no pain medication) even though the chances of having a C-section in this case were pretty high.
During early labor, Valerie was constantly in touch with us via texting (and not phone calls, giving us our space) and providing us guidance before she got to the hospital. Once my labor started progressing, Valerie was there for us at the hospital all along encouraging me to keep moving and work the birth ball during my contractions. In addition to this, she had been a great friend and her pleasant conversations helped take my mind off of the upcoming birth. She was an awesome emotional support even after the birth and took care of me and comforted me very well so that me & my husband could enjoy the golden hour.
One of the best things about Valerie is that she never pushed her own opinion on me and was always supportive of my healthcare provider's judgements while providing us with all the necessary information. I truly appreciate her being with us during this journey.