Testimonials
"I
was committed to having a natural birth. Every research article I read
about birthing naturally touted the benefits of having a doula assist
you with your birth would increase the chances of having a natural birth
and decrease any interventions. I was relatively young, fit, and had a
pretty uneventful pregnancy, so I thought that natural birth would be a
piece of cake. Yeah right!April came out to our house to teach us the ins and outs of
birthing. She came to my baby shower. She texted me when she hadn't
heard from me to make sure that I was OK. I was her number one
priority.
When my contractions began (on my due date!), my boyfriend and I labored
at home and in the bath until April came. She stayed with us until we
went to the hospital the next morning. She was with me for roughly 21
out of the 27 hours I was in labor. Even though at the end, I opted to
have an epidural (I had been at 5cm for several hours and wasn't
progressing), she had pushed me to go 20 hours without any
interventions, and the fact that I know that I CAN endure something so
taxing and grueling has changed the view I have of myself. And I'll be
forever thankful for that experience.
During the time between my epidural/pitocin and the birth, April
stayed with me the whole time, holding my hand and telling me when a
contraction would occur, even as I dozed in and out of sleep. She
filmed the birth and managed to take the first few pictures of our baby
boy, of which I'm so grateful" S.R.and baby boy Salt Lake City, Utah
“April was the very best investment our new family could ever make. She made something so scary so amazing, and I achieved my dream of natural childbirth, there was a time when I wanted to give up, but she pushed me to achieve my dream and I did it. There is absolutely no way I could have done it without her." Jessica C. and baby girl Salt Lake City, Utah
"Wow what can I say? April changed our lives, when the nurses tried to increase the pitocin on my scheduled induction, April asked if we could talk about it together and then let the nurse know. I am so glad she did, we talked about it, decided against it, and I sailed through natural labor for only another hour! She saved me from getting an epidural, if my husband and I were alone, we would have agreed to the increase and it would have made my labor unbearable. Thank you April."Janice M. and baby boy Clearfield, Utah
"I chose to hire a doula because I had no support from my family or my husband to choose natural childbirth. They thought it was stupid. I was alone, but April strongly supported me, she was loving and I didn't feel alone. When I did go into labor, April stayed with me through 20 hours of labor. I was told by the nurses at the University of Utah that they had not seen a mom labor for that long without pain relief in a very long time, and it was all due to April being with me. My labor unfortunately did not make my cervix dilate past five centimeters, so my midwife recommended pitocin and something for pain. I was not able to make a good decision at that time, I was so tired. The nurses wanted to give me morphine, April got down low with me on the bed (I was on my knees) and told me I didn't want morphine, that my baby would get it too, so I decided against it. My baby came out and was ready to nurse immediately after being born, if I had accepted the morphine, the baby would have been "doped up" and she may not have breastfed. I cannot imagine it without her. It would have turned out so bad. Amber B. and baby girl South Jordan Utah
"Thank you April! I am so thankful for you, anyone reading this, please take time to get to know April, we know now that having our baby would have been extremely difficult without her help. My husband and I were having our 4th child, I wanted a doula because I was scared of the medical side of things at the hospital, thanks to April's knowledge I felt safe and secure with everything that happened, she even taught my husband how to read the contraction meter! He appreciated me so much more for what I was going through because he could see what I was feeling! I wanted an epidural after 11 hours, but April encouraged me not to do it, and I stuck with it, and I did it! She also helped me and my baby to breastfeed, when I was not able to do it with my other 3 little boys, its saved us 1000's of dollars. Thank you!" Michelle K. and baby girl Salt Lake City, Utah
"Hi, my name is Holly, I chose to have a doula because my husband and I are stationed in Utah in the military. All of my family was in florida, and my husband was in afghanistan. I was completely alone. I prayed to find someone to help me, and I was guided to find April, she helped me even though I dragged her to the hospital 3 different times having false labor, and finally when my son was born she was with me, she cheered me on, we cried together, it was the most incredible experience of my life. Noone should labor without a doula, its just the best choice you can ever make!
Holly H. and baby boy Jack Layton,Utah
"My fiance' and I wanted to have a completely natural birth, we took April's personal childbirth class instead of at the hospital class because we didn't want to sit through hours of information we were not interested in and listen to other couples experiences. April made her childbirth class around everything we needed to know and more, but also valuable information I will tell everyone I can, she also helped us to learn ways to go natural. It was awesome having her come to our home and doing the classes on our schedule. We loved it and learned so much. When it was time for us to have our son, April stayed with me and never left, she encouraged my fiance into helping me and they rocked it as a team! I don't know now how any woman cannot have a doula. She also gave me a massage every time she came to my home in the 8 weeks prior to our son's birth. I really loved that part LOL it made me feel so good! We love you April! James, Staci, and baby Michael..Salt Lake City, Utah
"My husband and I chose to have a doula, as we called and interviewed different doula's we just couldn't find someone we liked, I finally found April and when she came to our home we were so impressed we hired her on the spot. I cannot believe how lucky I was in that decision, when I went into labor April came to our home and we worked through labor in the comfort of my own home for about 8 hours. She helped me move around and switch positions, it was so wonderful, then when it was time to go to the hospital April and I were separated for a short time while my husband and I drove to the hospital in separate cars.. I went from calm to crazy without her there. Once we arrived she comforted me back down into my focus and concentration and I went at labor like a bull. Unfortunately my labor lasted 28 hours, but April never left my side. When it was time to push, she told the nurses I was going to push when I felt like it, they tried to encourage me to hold my breath! But April said "nope, she will do it on her own." So I did, and my baby came out and he was so calm and so pink! I didn't deprive him of oxygen by holding my breath. He was so hungry and I started breastfeeding even before my midwife had delivered my placenta! April and my husband cheered me on, and it was the most amazing moment of my life, and I am prepared to hire her again if we choose to have another baby....take the time to meet her, you will be amazed at her knowledge and how comforting she is. We feel that our experience would have been horrible without her being there with us. Love Janet C. and baby boy Salt Lake City Utah.
