Wendy and Joe's Story
I don't know where to begin to thank Sarah for her incredible and invaluable support during the VBAC birth of our little Clara. I will never forget the encouragement & praises that she provided while I labored and pushed. Sarah's voice was a pleasant and constant echo that, along with my husband Joe's words and touch, helped me through the journey of birth. Her helpful prenatal support may be the ultimate reason that my birth story ended up being a successful VBAC story. Because of my first birth that resulted in an emergency c-section, I had many fears of PROM & unnecessary intervention. Sarah helped me face and conquer those fears by encouraging me to strengthen my body and giving me the resolve to let my body do what it knows how to do, something that I wasn't truly able to do without a doula's support during my first birth. Because of Sarah's support, I actually enjoyed the experience of pregnancy and birth, and now, I can not imagine having had a baby without her help. Having Sarah with us was the best decision I could have made. Joe felt her constant comfort because she knew what to say when he didn't and she was was able to provide guidance when he couldn't. And following her lead, he was the rock that I needed. Sarah not only guided me, but Joe as well, and that was one of the most important parts of my experience. Thank you, Sarah, from the bottom of our hearts.
Mary and JP's story
We can not thank Sarah enough for the wonderful support she provided as our doula - we have already said numerous times that we can't imagine having a baby without her! Sarah was extremely helpful throughout my pregnancy - we learned so much through her childbirth classes and prenatal sessions and were able to make positive, informed choices about the type of birth we wanted to have to give us the best possible start with our baby. I had our son 8 days late, and had grown nervous and scared once induction was scheduled. Sarah helped calm my fears and give me resources for natural induction methods that I definitely think helped me avoid unnecessary interventions. We were so excited to have our baby come naturally. Sarah knew our personalities and birth wishes well, and she reminded us of them and help us stay focused on our goals, even when things were difficult. Because of her help, we were able to accomplish the natural birth we wanted, and had a beautiful beginning with our son. From her peaceful, calming words, to suggested positions for contractions, to the way she prompted my JP to assist me and be my primary coach, and her post-delivery visit at our house - Sarah was perfect! I have already recommended her to friends who have also decided to take her class and have her work with them as a doula - and I know they will be so glad they did! We can not say enough great things about her and will definitely work with her again if we have another little one and are living in Charlottesville. Thanks Sarah!
Sarina and Brett's Story
I am so grateful that we chose Sarah Davis as our doula for the birth of our daughter, Junia. Before Junia’s birth, I had one live birth (my son, Micah) and one stillbirth (my daughter, Rachel). Rachel was born between Micah and Junia. I was very nervous during my pregnancy with Junia and especially leading up to her birth. Sarah was a great emotional support as I worked through these issues, finally culminating in the birth of healthy Junia!
In addition to helping me work through those issues, Sarah was also available and on call for me for 2.5 months while I experienced preterm labor contractions. Sarah was very helpful for the emotional ups and downs brought on by that, as well as encouraging me through the exhaustion. As my due date came and went, she rejoiced with me and gave me good tips and advice for how to help active labor begin, as well as encouraging me in my impatience!
Sarah cautioned me that after so many months of contractions, my active labor would go very quickly. She was right! Labor was very fast and I was as prepared as I could be for it. Sarah knows so much about labor and birth. She shared books and advice with me in advance. I decided not to go to the hospital right away and I believe that was the right decision for little Junia. Sarah helped me get to the hospital before Junia was born. Junia was coming so fast that my water broke before I made it to a room, just as my body started to uncontrollably push. Oddly, the hospital staff needed help figuring out how to get me to my room and Sarah came up with a plan: on all fours on a stretcher – go Sarah! Junia was born 6 minutes after my water broke. Even though my water was clear, there was meconium on Junia at birth. Junia turned out to be the kind of baby who needed the bag of waters intact for all of labor. I am grateful to Sarah for helping me stay home as long as possible so that I could avoid (in this case) the unnecessary intervention of having my bag of waters broken. In Junia’s case I believe it could have possibly lead to more interventions. Since Junia was born so quickly we did not have a chance to talk to the hospital staff at all about our preferences. I was obviously busy and my husband was completely engaged in helping me. Sarah had memorized our birth preferences in advance and was able to answer all of the questions the hospital staff had as Junia flew into the world. Because of this, I was able to have skin-to-skin time with Junia on my belly and to nurse her right away, an experience I did not have with my son.
Sarah stayed with us after Junia’s birth and helped us get breastfeeding established. She was a great help getting Junia latched on. She also visited us at home within the first week of Junia’s life. It was wonderful to have her there to talk about Junia’s birth and process everything! After my experience with Sarah, I would recommend her to any expecting mother!
In addition to helping me work through those issues, Sarah was also available and on call for me for 2.5 months while I experienced preterm labor contractions. Sarah was very helpful for the emotional ups and downs brought on by that, as well as encouraging me through the exhaustion. As my due date came and went, she rejoiced with me and gave me good tips and advice for how to help active labor begin, as well as encouraging me in my impatience!
Sarah cautioned me that after so many months of contractions, my active labor would go very quickly. She was right! Labor was very fast and I was as prepared as I could be for it. Sarah knows so much about labor and birth. She shared books and advice with me in advance. I decided not to go to the hospital right away and I believe that was the right decision for little Junia. Sarah helped me get to the hospital before Junia was born. Junia was coming so fast that my water broke before I made it to a room, just as my body started to uncontrollably push. Oddly, the hospital staff needed help figuring out how to get me to my room and Sarah came up with a plan: on all fours on a stretcher – go Sarah! Junia was born 6 minutes after my water broke. Even though my water was clear, there was meconium on Junia at birth. Junia turned out to be the kind of baby who needed the bag of waters intact for all of labor. I am grateful to Sarah for helping me stay home as long as possible so that I could avoid (in this case) the unnecessary intervention of having my bag of waters broken. In Junia’s case I believe it could have possibly lead to more interventions. Since Junia was born so quickly we did not have a chance to talk to the hospital staff at all about our preferences. I was obviously busy and my husband was completely engaged in helping me. Sarah had memorized our birth preferences in advance and was able to answer all of the questions the hospital staff had as Junia flew into the world. Because of this, I was able to have skin-to-skin time with Junia on my belly and to nurse her right away, an experience I did not have with my son.
Sarah stayed with us after Junia’s birth and helped us get breastfeeding established. She was a great help getting Junia latched on. She also visited us at home within the first week of Junia’s life. It was wonderful to have her there to talk about Junia’s birth and process everything! After my experience with Sarah, I would recommend her to any expecting mother!
Julia and Garret's Story
Sarah was our lifesaver during labor and delivery. She was so good at reminding us of what our goals were and helped me work through and recognize each of the emotional and physical signposts. She was great at giving us options to either speed things up or slow it down…then letting us decide! At one point, I was ready to pack up and head to the hospital and she cautioned me against getting there too early. We waited and when we got there a few hours later I had already dilated to 7 cm. Ian was born just four hours later! This is just one small thing as she was there to support us through every moment, whether it was relieving my husband so he could have a break, giving me a back massage, or helping me stay hydrated. She was right by our side through every decision and helped to make the whole process not just bearable, but enjoyable as we welcomed our son into the world. Thanks so much, Sarah. You were a Godsend!
Corinne and Jesse's Story
My husband and I wanted to do everything we could to have our baby naturally. As first time parents, it became clear to us early on that, though we had decided to deliver at the hospital, we wanted someone with us who knew us and could advocate for our birth preferences and help support us through the labor. Sarah was like a dream come true. Being able to take her natural child birth classes and learn from her about the stages of labor, nutrition, breastfeeding and get to know each other before our labor was incredibly helpful. During our doula meetings she was able to help us articulate a birth plan that we felt really confident in and talk over our fears and hopes in an easy and supportive way. Our meetings with her always left my husband and I feeling excited and more prepared for our baby's birth.During labor Sarah could not have been more helpful. I was able to listen and respond to her in a way that allowed my husband to play the critical role of pure support and comfort, rather than guide and advocate. Having Sarah there helping us navigate the stages of labor, always offering ways to help the labor move along, empathizing with my experience, and keeping a big picture perspective of ways that she could be helpful and what needed to happen allowed my husband and I to completely surrender to the incredibly powerful birth experience without worrying at all that decisions would be made that we were uncomfortable with or that our hopes would be overlooked. Because Sarah knew how I was hoping to labor she was able to help me follow that plan- I didn't have to remember anything, only listen to her. Our Lily was born just the way we imagined she could be, and my husband and I both attribute that blessing in a large part to Sarah. We could not feel any better about our experience with her!
Jen and Daniel's story
I wanted a doula present at the birth of my daughter so I could count on one person to give me both emotional and practical support. My doctor was very experienced, but our relationship was of course more impersonal. My husband was incredibly supportive but just as inexperienced as I was. That was right where Sarah came in. We developed a great relationship over the course of my prenatal visits and her childbirth class. I was very impressed by her knowledge of prenatal development, childbirth, and nursing. On the day of my daughter’s birth, Sarah joined us at the hospital, and having a familiar face there from the start really helped ease me through the transition between settings. She had many helpful suggestions for laboring, but even more importantly, her presence was very calming. It turned out that my daughter was breech, so she was born via C-section, but even then it was invaluable to have Sarah’s support. With her there, I was not left alone with strangers when my husband went with our baby Nora to the nursery. After they returned Sarah helped me get started nursing, and she came to check in with us after we arrived home. Having Sarah walk the path with me from pregnancy to parenthood was a great blessing. Thanks again for everything!
Leah and Ryan's Story
We are very thankful to have had Sarah attending our birth. We really valued her knowledge and experience. Our confidence in her increased my own as a first time mom. Whenever we had questions, she was there to ask, or she would research and get back to us if necessary. She went out of her way to help us in many ways.
During labor, we appreciated her balance of coaching mom and letting dad be the main helper. My labor was smooth and quick. I attribute this to her encouragement to change positions often, which I would not have done on my own. Sarah helped me to breathe well during contractions and relax in between contractions. She motivated me to work harder than I had been when it was necessary.
The Lord gave us an unmedicated birth without tearing and a beautiful, healthy baby. Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Sarah!
During labor, we appreciated her balance of coaching mom and letting dad be the main helper. My labor was smooth and quick. I attribute this to her encouragement to change positions often, which I would not have done on my own. Sarah helped me to breathe well during contractions and relax in between contractions. She motivated me to work harder than I had been when it was necessary.
The Lord gave us an unmedicated birth without tearing and a beautiful, healthy baby. Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Sarah!
Jayne and Jon's Story
I'm so glad that I didn’t forego a doula just because this was my second child--I really needed Sarah. She presided over my labor and delivery with composure when I was starting to doubt myself, expertise when I was too scared to remember everything I had read, and focused strength when I needed pain management in my sacrum during the baby's descent. Instead of chattering away, her carefully chosen words were precisely timed with the rise and height of every contraction. These gentle directions became mantras for me as I worked through the pain cycle. By the time I had to push, I was completely following her cues of confidence and excitement. My husband and I are so grateful that we had Sarah by our side every step of the way. Even the attending physician told me later how impressed he was with her! --Jayne
Dads need doulas as much as moms. This was our second child, so there was less anxiety than there was the first time. Even still, it was an enormous relief to know that whatever happened, and whenever it happened, we’d have a warm and supportive expert who knew my wife and her preferences well. Sarah came to our house at 1am and helped my wife through the increasingly painful early stages of labor. At Martha Jefferson hospital, she worked seamlessly with the nurse and then the doctor. I could have handled the early parts of labor--though not nearly as well as Sarah--and the nurse could have handled the later parts--though also not as well, meeting my wife for the first time so late in the game. In our case, everything went smoothly. It was so valuable for us to have one person, whom we chose, liked and trusted, to guide us through the whole process. --Jon
Dads need doulas as much as moms. This was our second child, so there was less anxiety than there was the first time. Even still, it was an enormous relief to know that whatever happened, and whenever it happened, we’d have a warm and supportive expert who knew my wife and her preferences well. Sarah came to our house at 1am and helped my wife through the increasingly painful early stages of labor. At Martha Jefferson hospital, she worked seamlessly with the nurse and then the doctor. I could have handled the early parts of labor--though not nearly as well as Sarah--and the nurse could have handled the later parts--though also not as well, meeting my wife for the first time so late in the game. In our case, everything went smoothly. It was so valuable for us to have one person, whom we chose, liked and trusted, to guide us through the whole process. --Jon
Kim and David's Story
Ok, so call me crazy, but I am a nurse anesthetist and desired an un-medicated birth experience. Knowing everything about how to take pain away chemically for my own patients, I wanted to really experience what childbirth was like since I had heard all these horror stories about it!
Anytime I hear of a challenge to many, I like to overcome it. This was the attitude we took regarding labor. As our pregnancy progressed, I started talking more to friends who had a doula for their birth experience. At first I was a little unsure of what a doula does and how her presence can help. The more we learned about labor, the more I desired to have additional support from an expert.
Why have a doula? Well, being of a scientist and medical background, I am a strong believer in statistics. The statistics prove that having doula support decreases the need for pitocin, pain medication, unnecessary intervention, and need for C-section. These were all very important to us since we trusted my body, and knew it would deliver our baby safely without intervention. In this day and age so many of us are jaded by what the media portrays the imminent danger of giving birth! That view plus being so far removed from close family members leaves many delivering without that sense of community and support. A doula provides this missing part of today’s birth experience. One may think a doula fee is too expensive! To us, a small investment up front gave us tremendous gains later in our delivery experience. You can’t put a price on the sense of security and support a doula provides. Plus consider the decreases in cost when you don’t have pitocin, pain medication, sleepy baby, difficulty with breastfeeding, and a tough recovery due to those interventions!
We found Sarah on the Charlotte Doulas website. I read her story and enjoyed the great pictures of her adorable family! I also liked her background in nutrition and that she was studying to become a Certified Professional Midwife. I was so impressed by her experience in the Philippines watching how other cultures deliver their babies.
Sarah was such a great support right from the start despite how late we were in our pregnancy before we asked her to be our doula. She was readily available, kept open lines of communication, and a great source of knowledge. I could sense she had a keen sense of intuition about the labor process and knew what to do and when. When I was in pre-labor a week before real labor, she was right on the phone and ready to help! She was patient with our turmoil when my water broke and I was in latent labor for over 10 hours. Most of all, she was such an advocate at the hospital for both David and I when labor really intensified and we couldn’t think straight!
We can’t thank Sarah enough for everything! She was the best investment to our labor and delivery experience and we will never forget it!
Chad and Laura's Story
After dealing with a difficult early delivery at 33 weeks my preemie and I were finally home from the hospital. She was eating well and gaining weight, but I needed some additional help with breastfeeding. We were supplementing with formula and my desire was to strictly breastfeed her. Sarah was able to help me with getting her to latch on which was wonderful. She was also such an encouragement to me when the nights were long and my frustration levels were through the roof! Now my daughter is eating better and getting the nutrition that she needs from my milk. She has gained four pounds in eight weeks and I know that part of her success is due to Sarah's assistance and encouragement! What a wonderful experience this has been for us. We highly recommend Sarah and her services and know that she can be a great help to you!
