Testimonials
Words cannot express do justice to describe how essential Nancy was as our doula. From the meetings that were full of valuable information (and invaluable reassurance): to nutritious recipes plus positions of labor to practice, to the actual night in the hospital she spent coaching me through a natural birth. Her knowledgeable postpartum visits were more helpful than any birth class we took. Having Nancy as part of our birth experience was the best decision we made in our process of bringing our baby into this world. Her assertive yet deeply caring style was exactly what we needed to make our dream birth a reality!
— Emily & Pete
We can't say enough about how much we love Nancy! From our first meeting, she was comforting, knowledgeable, supportive, and non-judgemental. Nancy was truly there to help us figure out what kind of labor and delivery we hoped for, and how to plan for things that were in our control, and prepare for things that were not. We are so grateful to have worked with her for the births of both our sons, and despite being wildly different labor & deliveries (one was short, mostly at home, the second was induced in the hospital), Nancy was our constant. She was such an advocate for us and our wishes, she communicated well with our doctor and nurses, and she was such a source of positivity and calm throughout. Her support during both of our labor and deliveries - and after, was immeasurable. Nancy is the absolute best there is!
— Whitney & Niall
Nancy was our Doula for our beautiful, hypnobirth-based homebirth of our daughter. I could not have imagined or hoped for a better doula than Nancy. Truly… Hire. Her. Now. (if she’s not booked). She will nourish your body, mind, and spirit throughout the birthing process.
One of the many things I love about Nancy is that she has both a generous, nurturing, mama heart (read: she will TAKE CARE of you, intuit what you need, and provide everything she can), and also a strong fire (read: she will advocate for you, and be direct with what she thinks is best and why). She is also deeply, deeply skilled. Nancy knows her stuff, has seen it all, studied deeply, and brings 100% of her wisdom and experience to you. She holds nothing back, and LOVES what she does…she loves mamas, birth, babies, daddy’s, partners, families.
When our birthing day arrived, Nancy came right when we asked her to, walked into the house, saw where I was at, and jumped in right away to give me what I needed (but didn’t even know I needed…!). From that moment on she was by my side for the entire day and into the early morning hours. I mean, she was *literally* with me for every contraction (“surge”), helping me get through the grinding and also miraculous labyrinth of birth. She guided my husband, giving him a pivotal and perfect role that supported both of us. She became my birth spirit guide…encouraging me, anticipating my needs, keeping me hydrated and nourished, helping me be comfortable, helping us remember to appreciate and relish this moment, helping me manage the surges, and basically helping me stay in it beyond my breaking point. She even took gorgeous photos of us in the birthing tub (upon us asking her to!), so we got some great moments captured of this once-in-a-lifetime day.
The last thing I’ll say is that having both a doula and a midwife team was NOT over-the-top at all – it was totally necessary to have both. We had a phenomenal midwife team, and Nancy partnered with them effortlessly. Nancy attended to me + husband, feeding my body and soul through the birth, helping me take each literal and metaphorical step - and my midwife attended to me + baby’s health. I am not sure I could have had a successful homebirth without Nancy…this was my first birth experience, and even though I had diligently prepared with hypnobirthing, I had no idea what I was in for. Nancy lovingly and skillfully held my hand every step of the way. With her strength and encouragement I made it through, and we ended up having a beautiful, trauma-free birth for our daughter.
— Misha & Tyler
A huge thank you to Nancy!
Nancy is AMAZING! I cannot thank her enough for beautifully guiding me through the birth experience. My baby girl was born in early April, and I had a lot of concerns about how the birth would go with the uncertainty of coronavirus. Nancy is a wealth of knowledge of the health care systems and staff, and helped navigate everything before, during, and after birth (sometimes via video conferences). I wanted a natural birth (VBAC, since my first child was a C-section), and planned to mostly labor at home but deliver at a hospital. When my water broke, I called her immediately to get her advice. When she came to my house, she knew exactly what to do – massaging my back, suggesting helpful labor positions, giving relief to my husband, and encouraging me to get into the shower. But the best thing was that Nancy knew just when to head to the hospital – we arrived when I was fully dilated, 40 minutes before our baby was born! Even though she could not physically be in the delivery room (since my husband was the only visitor allowed), she stayed in the parking lot of the hospital and was on speaker phone during our birth. But hearing her voice and words of encouragement made it feel like she was in the room.
I am so thankful that I was able to have the natural birth experience that I wanted – it was really a dream labor! I am forever grateful to Nancy for being part of my incredible experience and helping bring our sweet baby into this world.
— Rachel & Paul
Mi Doula,
Gracias Nancy por haberme dado la fuerza en esos momentos cuando me sentía sola y con miedo. En esos momentos sus palabras de apoyo me dieron fé y esperanza que todo iba salir bien. No tengo palabras para agradecerte el gran trabajo maravilloso que usted hace. Gracias por seguir presente en nuestras vidas.
Con mucho cariño
— Lorena y Douglas
After the haze following Ben's birth cleared, my husband Brendon and I had a chance to sit down and talk about those sixteen hours, to try and grasp how on Saturday night we were just an excited couple, pregnant with our first baby and the next day at 2:16 pm we were the proud parents of Benjamin Bruce. It was during this conversation that we began processing Ben's birth story—the intense contractions at home, the quiet 4 am drive over the bridge to Marin General, the laboring (and more laboring), and finally the arrival of sweet Benjamin. As we talked, Brendon looked at me with tear-filled eyes and said with quiet sincerity, "we couldn't have done it without Nancy." I couldn't agree more. With all of our family planted on the East Coast, Nancy was not just our doula she was my caring mom, supportive friend, experienced nurse, encouraging coach, and proud grandma as Ben breathed his first breaths. She met with us in the weeks leading up to my due date to discuss birth plans, laboring techniques, and answer every last one of our questions (even calming my repeated "what if there is traffic and I give birth on the bridge!" concerns). She encouraged us with genuine enthusiasm and, in her most understanding voice, reassured away my fears with a resounding "You're going to be awesome, Julie." And she meant it. She had faith in me as a woman and in us as a couple. She had confidence that we could do this. That theme held true though the entire labor as Nancy guided Brendon to be an amazing, integral support and tirelessly encouraged us both to keep going when we thought we couldn't. She was hands on, rocking and breathing with me through contractions, calmly guiding our decisions, and giving unending (much needed!) praise. She read the room, she read my face, she knew what was needed when and did it. After Ben's arrival Nancy stayed by our side showering us with congratulations, sharing in our joy. It is in that moment, at 2:16pm on August 11th, 2013, that Nancy, along with Ben, became a part of our family forever.
— Julie & Brendon