Being first time parents, we quickly agreed that adding a doula to our care team would help calm any anxieties we had about labor, and help us navigate all the information we were receiving from classes and online resources. We interviewed several doulas to find the right fit, and enthusiastically selected Sue. Her decades of experience are unmatched in the Twin Cities and really stood out, and we were comforted knowing she had already seen it all - we felt confident there was nothing she couldn't handle. Throughout the process of developing our birth plan, Sue was a gentle guide. She didn't push anything on us, just provided the information, answered questions based on her experience, and helped us arrive at our own conclusions. During early labor, she was there in the middle of the night answering texts to guide my husband and I on when to go into the hospital. During pushing, she was the captain of the room and by my side giving me courage and support (while at the same time not limiting the role of my husband). After, she took the most amazing candid photos of our new family and surprised me with the best peanut butter toast of my life knowing I would be starving (it's the little things, really). We are so thankful for Sue!
Posted 12/18/2019
Cydney
Sue provided amazing support, reassurance, and guidance during our pregnancy and birth. She was very attentative and provided extensive knowledge during the birthing process. She seemed to come up with all of the best things to do while I was working through contractions with an all natural birth. I highly recommend her and would definitely hire her again as our doula.
Jennifer Erickson
Posted 11/30/2019
I sought out the services of a doula as I struggle with anxiety and knew having a knowledgeable birthing coach who was not my husband would be useful. It was wonderful to have her on my team for my first baby. The two prenatal meetings were useful; however, I know they would have been better suited for a person/couple who was very unfamiliar with the process of labor and delivery. I spent months reading articles and books, as well as talking to all the mothers in my life to learn all I could, so I didn’t have many questions besides her role in the process. It was nice to have her put together a birth preference document to ease my own preparations. I was really looking forward to Sue's vast array of techniques to ease labor pain, but I was unable to get that benefit as I was induced on my due date for medical reasons and chose to get an epidural prior to the AROM. Early in the induction I used nitrous oxide (on Sue’s recommendation) that helped greatly with my anxiety and prevented me from needing pain medication much earlier than I did. I am sensitive to Pitocin so needed it to be reduced several times before my labor really started. Sue arrived after I’d been in the hospital for 32 hours, just prior to things advancing more quickly (just short of 12 hours after my water was broken). When it came time for me to begin pushing, she was there to hold up one of my legs and coach me through it with the help of my nurse and it was wonderful to have someone there who knew what was happening, how to help, and what to say to explain what was going on to a first time mom that just wanted to sleep. I especially liked that she took pictures just after so my mother and husband could focus on me and the baby. The postnatal visit is what I found most valuable in my situation as it was great to recap everything that had happened and to get the birth story in writing.
Laurel M
Posted 11/11/2019
Working with Sue as a doula was one of the most valuable decisions I made while pregnant, especially since this was my first time.
Sue was incredibly helpful during pregnancy and encouraged me to reach out to her with any questions, even when I was nervous I was asking too much! There are so many unknowns in a pregnancy and labor, and the fact that Sue was very knowledgeable and caring helped me get through it all with a peace of mind. Even the creation of my labor plan was beneficial because there were many options I did not know about!
My labor did not go as we had hoped it would in my labor plan, and Sue helped us decide how to proceed in a way that would be healthy to both mom and baby. Without her by my side I would have been so much more panicked and unsure of what to do. My husband is a data driven man that is skeptical of opinions from non-doctors, but after meeting with Sue, he saw that she is extremely knowledgeable and all her information is backed by data. This was very valuable because he trusted her when we needed her advice to make a quick medical deicison. During my labor Sue was extremely encouraging, helpful, and had little tricks to help make it go more smoothly.
I was also really touched by Sue's involvement with us post-partum. Having a first child is very emotionally and physically overwhelming, and Sue was my rock during the first few difficult weeks. She was always checking in to make sure I was doing okay, and she helped me through a lot of emotional ups and downs.
Sue is an incredible doula that feels like a combination of mom, friend, nurse, and educator. I was incredibly lucky to work with her in my pregnancy, labor, and post-partum period, and I highly recommend her for everyone.
Ruthie T
Posted 10/20/2019