From the start, Sue was warm, knowledgeable, and her enthusiasm for our journey was genuine. She supported us in the months leading up to the birth, often helping us sort through the mountain of advice we were getting from friends, family, doctors, and the internet. Her expertise was particularly helpful when it came time to make a birth guideline. There were many considerations that we had not thought of and Sue helped us feel as prepared as we could be for any circumstance that should arise during delivery. This was extremely helpful when we experienced a long and complex labor. She made sure to be there quickly after we were admitted to the hospital and was a rock for both my husband and I after we had to deviate from our ideal birth plan. Sue’s timing in post-partum visits was excellent and she again provided much welcomed support and reassurance during those weeks. I am forever grateful that Sue was a part of the birth of our son and cannot recommend her highly enough to any parents-to-be.
Donelle Heieie
Posted 12/22/2017
I don't think I would have come out of this pregnancy and delivery so well if it wasn't for Sue. I'm so happy we decided to go with a doula and especially that we went with Sue. We interviewed several different doulas and groups, and they all had their good points, but Sue's experience and personality definitely made her the right match for us. She instantly put me at ease.
Our pre-meetings were great ways to get us comfortable with Sue and with what we were going to encounter in the delivery room. We had a physician group and were unsure who would actually be with us for the delivery and it was great to know that we would have one familiar person there (Sue).
Unfortunately, you can only be so prepared as every delivery has its own path. Sue was there for us every step of the way through my inconvenient and inconsistent delivery. Together, we tried to have the delivery go as I wanted / pictured. However, things didn't go the way I wanted as my body wouldn't cooperate. Sue was with me through every complication and change of strategy. She helped me make knowledge based decisions and helped me to trust that things were going to work out. The outcone was our beautiful baby girl.
I also appreciated that Sue's services and friendship didn't end at the hospital. I have the support with my sweet girl still. Sue is available for questions and to provide support and resources. I will definitely bring in Sue again for baby number 2.
Adrienne Keely Bishop
Posted 12/21/2017
Our experience with Sue was great! She was supportive and flexible from starting the process to the finish. My husband and I really liked her evidence based method of helping guide us through the birth process and decisions that we made. She was able to provide us with great information on our options going into buidlig our birth plan and tell us about various comfort options for labor. She helped us build a plan that we were comfortable with and made sure that we were as prepared as we could be. Since I had to be induced, we weren't able to use many options that we discussed and our birth plan became fluid depending on my needs. She was very focused on what was best for me and my husband throughout the evolving labor and delivery process. She was there for longer than she needed to be to help me cope with the pain and went above and beyond in helping support me as the labor progressed and into our delivery of our healthy son. She was able to quickly pinpoint what was most helpful for me throughout the process and worked to keep that our focus so that we could have the best delivery possible of our healthy baby boy.
After the birth, Sue also had great follow up, including a write up of what happened during the birth. She regularly followed up with texts to check in whether I needed any help and came by for several home visits, including offering addiitonal post-partum support. If I hadn't had a lot of family in the area, I would have taken her up on her offers to help. She also provided some good advice on baby behaviours and how to help with breast feeding, since I had some trouble in the beginning.
Overall, I would highly recommend Sue to anyone looking for a doula who is supportive with a strong scientific evidence background and a focus on educating her clients.
Sarah Craig
Posted 12/21/2017
We loved working with Sue!
She has a natural ability to make you feel like you're old friends by quickly building trust and a connection. She uses her sense of humor and gentle spirit to soothe, yet brings an incredible knowledge and wisdom to the table. Because of her demeanor, we were filled with confidence that she knew what she was doing, yet was very attentive to what we wanted.
We were blown away by her ability to read me (mama) and work with dad during labor. She listened so well to our birth preferences and was able to advocate for us throughout the process- especially in the intense moments of labor when it would've been easy to forgo my birth preferences. We were so impressed with her ability to read the room. She worked well with doctors/nurses. You could tell they really respected her and that she was known throughout the hospital. She worked with me every step of the way. Sue was quick to suggest counter pressure measures, encourage, and help with breast feeding, and other post-partum questions.
She has been incredible since we've had the baby-- checking in, encouraging, making herself available to answer questions, visiting, etc. She truly feels like part of the family. We can honestly say that it was because of her that we were able to have the birth that we hoped and planned for. We will definitely use her for our next baby!
Jamie Fredrickson
Posted 12/12/2017