Testimonials
Working with Amanda was a great experience. I wanted to have a doula for the additional support and in case my family couldn't be there for my labor, and it was truly a great decision - fortunately they ended up being there with me, too, but I do not regret having Amanda as my third birth team member. As a first-time mom, I loved having her there for additional knowledge and support. She was able to walk me through a lot of different positions and techniques for laboring and provided helpful input regarding my healthcare options for the birth of my daughter. Her counter pressure on my hips provided noticeable relief during contractions, which was something none of the staff nor my family would have been able to provide for me. It was also invaluable to have her to help support my husband and mother-in-law (they are both in healthcare) and they both appreciated her presence and insight. She is very knowledgeable about the variety of options available to a mother as she labors and delivers and seeks to understand your wishes for labor and delivery. She worked well with the hospital staff and was an advocate of me in the delivery room while also being flexible to support me when plans/my desires changed. Her explanations of what was going on and what options were available to me went beyond what the nurses and doctors were able to provide as she came from a different "angle". She is 100% supportive of the mother's wishes for her birth, whether that includes drugs or not. I appreciated her ability to be a friend but also be an experienced birth support doula, and we had fun together - she jived very well with me and everyone in the room. If I have any more babies while I'm in York I will certainly hire her again!
My husband and I decided early on in my pregnancy that we would like to hire a doula. Amanda was the first person we interviewed and immediately after, we cancelled all of our other interviews. She has an incredible ability to make you feel at ease and trust her expertise. During my pregnancy, she visited with us and always answered my pregnancy questions in a timely manner to ease any of my worries. Together we came up with a birth plan but unfortunately my body had other plans. As soon as I was ordered to go to the hospital, Amanda and I kept in constant communication and she was very reassuring during those stressful times. After three days, I was finally ready to give birth and Amanda came as soon as I had asked. Even though medically I could not stick to my birth plan we had originally decided on, Amanda remained very flexible and made sure as many of my wishes were carried out. I can’t say enough great things about her during this time. She was incredibly supportive to both my husband and I, gave us great advice based on her extensive knowledge and kept me focused on my wishes in a time when all reason goes out the window. We ended up having to have a cesarean, and I can’t imagine going through that without Amanda at my side and as a support for my husband. At a time when you are so vulnerable, and my husband with the baby, Amanda was my only support and a great one at that. As I said, I cannot day enough great things about Amanda. She gives you the ability to enjoy what can be a very anxious and scary experience and gives you the tools to be in charge of your pregnancy and birth. She will be the first person I call if I were to ever get pregnant again and I absolutely recommend her to anyone who is expecting.
Amanda was the perfect addition to our birthing team. She was helpful in giving suggestions for possible "next steps" in positions; she was knowledgeable about resources available; she moved easily from leadership to support as needed by the parents. I now will advocate for women to use a doula regardless of their other support because Amanda did a great job in making the arrival of my grand daughter A Beautiful Birth.
Amanda has such a calm and helpful presence! She had a lot of ideas to share, and I was grateful to have someone with her knowledge and disposition during labor and delivery! I highly recommend her!
Having Amanda as our doula was a wonderful experience. It was nice to have some of the pressure off of me (the Dad). She never ever over stepped my job as the main coach, however, she let me know what I could do to help, and I was still very involved. It was really nice being able to go to the bathroom, and I even ran down to the cafeteria for dinner, knowing my wife and our little bundle of joy to come, were in good hands.
The 10 minutes my wife wasn't "supposed to push," freaked me out, but Amanda was cool and calm, and kept a smile on her face the whole time. She was worth every moment we spent together. Moreover, I believe my wife's natural birthing experience with Amanda was the most and enjoyable and relaxing of her three deliveries. I KNOW we couldn't have done it without the ease Amanda provided. Amanda's presence was so important to my wife AND our midwife--she was irreplaceable!
Amanda helped to prepare me mentally for my 3rd birth, which I planned to deliver vaginally with no pain medication. This birth was a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), and to my astonishment, was much easier to manage than I expected!
Amanda supported and encouraged me to allow my body to do the work for me. She kept me relaxed and focused, while also keeping my husband calm and focused as well. She helped my husband to support and provide the added pressure and stability I needed to manage labor, and ultimately deliver our baby Earthside!
I am grateful to have Amanda throughout the labor and delivery process. She knew my wishes, and was my voice and advocate through it all.
February 12 came faster than I could blink and my husband and I were ecstatic to bring our amazing ray of sunshine into the world. In the hospital Amanda made us feel very relaxed during the labor. She was constantly by my side helping me with my breathing and she talked to me calmly to help me feel more at ease. One would think having someone talking to you in hushed voices would not help, but, it did just the opposite. My mind was at ease with Amanda by my side. When I was walking the halls she was right beside me walking, talking, and helping me with my IV pole. The contractions were not fun. I was in loads of pain and Amanda was right there helping me. She was doing hip squeezes, talking me through my pain, and comforting me like the amazing woman she is. She is the true definition of a doula in my eyes.
Encouragement, perseverance, and love are just some of the things that I think any doula needs. It is such a comforting feeling knowing that your doula is not just your doula, but your cheerleader. Amanda made my labor 100% better and if she wasn’t there i know things would have gone so much differently. I relied on her like a child relies on their parents. She was there to push me and to remind me time and time again that I could do this, that I would do this. She pushed me to be strong and to keep fighting so that I could have the gold at the end of the rainbow. So that I could hold my baby girl in my arms and fall even more in love with her than I already was. In the end i could see and feel that Amanda truly cared about me, my family, my well being, and so much more. I knew that she would be there to help and support my husband and I no matter what happened. Amanda is more than just a doula, she is an amazing human being and I would never have made it the whole way without her in our lives.
I so appreciated Amanda's help and advice. This was my first pregnancy and I was very anxious about it. She worked to help calm my anxiety and checked up on me regularly before our daughter was born. I had a very fast and unexpected labor experience. I had wanted to get pain medication, but my labor progressed too quickly and I was forced to give birth naturally. Amanda was a big help in getting me through that difficult experience, helping to keep me comfortable and encouraged. I would definitely recommend her to anyone seeking doula services!
Amanda was our Doula with our second child. It was a pleasure working with her. Amanda was easy to get in contact with and always responded quickly to any questions I had. She worked well with my husband & I developing my birth plan. I was induced and she was there to provide various ideas to help with process. Although it was my second child, I still felt like I didn't know what I was doing. Amanda was there to guide me and was a great support. My plan was to not have an epidural and to delay cord clamping. Well, things didn't go according to plan but Amanda was able to quickly switch gears and was supporting me 100% during the process. I ended up requesting an epidural due to pain from SPD. We were unable to delay cord clamping because the umbilical cord was around my son's neck and it needed to be cut to get him out. Amanda was able to provide emotional support to me because that was something I was set on doing. Amanda's follow up post birth was greatly appreciated as well.
No matter if this is your first birth or fifth birth, I would highly recommend having Amanda as your doula. Every birth experience is different. When you're in the moment and feeling so overwhelmed it is wonderful to have someone calm & experienced to guide you through your labor & birth.
When I was 39 weeks 2 days pregnant I had my belly casted by a woman I had never met before, Rachel. She was a doula also and she was phenomenal. We talked about her kids, my pregnancy, our career desires and motherhood in general.
Once we got into the subject of doulas I became more knowledgeable on what exactly it was all about. I had expressed to her that I wish I had looked into it more and gotten a doula. I had felt that it was entirely too late now considering the fact that my due date was any day. Rachel told me she would look around and see if she could find someone for me and let me know. Two hours later I had gotten a call from her saying her friend Amanda would be willing to do it. I was ecstatic.
I got a call a little later from Amanda and we talked for awhile. She asked about my wishes for labor and had many good view points about every topic. She seemed just as thrilled as me and she was extremely opened minded about it all too. I think that’s why we got along so well. I couldn’t wait to meet her!
Well my wish came true, later that night at 8:30 my water broke and headed for the hospital. I had a 17 hour labor. She stayed by my side the whole time. I did not have a good experience with the hospital whatsoever. Amanda had to push for me to be allowed to just switch pushing positions and I’m so glad she did. I had expressed my discomfort with pushing while on my back and she had asked the nurse if I could turn around and get on my hands and knees. The nurse almost seemed reluctant to allow it but eventually did because of Amanda being strong headed about it. Being in the position I was in I would have never been able to do that for myself I was entirely too exhausted and in too much pain to even talk.
Out of everyone that was in the room with me, hospital staff, family, baby’s father’s family Amanda was without any doubt the most helpful and encouraging one there. I felt like her and I were one. Highly highly recommend her!
Being a doula myself, it was a challenge choosing the right doula for me. Luckily for me, I had taken a doula training with Amanda during my pregnancy and I remembered how soothing her presence was. I asked her to be my doula and she provided prenatal visits during my pregnancy.
During these visits she reinforced my knowledge of childbirth, offered emotional support for myself and my husband, and helped us try comfort measures. She also assisted in creating our birth plan and breastfeeding education.
She arrived at the hospital with me and stayed throughout labor and delivery. I was a tough client! I yelled at her and my husband, I threw up, I cried, I told them they weren’t helping me. Amanda wouldn’t give up on me, and stayed encouraging and positive. She was everything I needed in a doula and more. She helped to support and reassure my husband when things got hard, and helped us begin bonding as a new family after delivery.
When i struggled with postpartum depression, Amanda offered her support and even had another doula come over and spend some time with me at home. She truly cares about you and your family.
When you choose to hire Amanda, know that you are getting a truly wonderful doula.