What My Clients Say...
"Happy Mom"
In my opinion, Bonnie Miller was worth her weight in gold (with fees much less than that:) She gave us two birth classes, was available by phone anytime, and had many good recommendations for resources such as The Thinking Woman's Guide To a Better Birth by Henci Goer and the movie The Business of Being Born by Ricki Lake.
She was recommended to us while we were at the birth class at Providence. Employing her is one of the reasons I believe my husband and I were able to enjoy the birth experience so much.
When it seemed overwhelming, she even provided us with sample birth plans (a format we eventually ended up using). She also had great follow up even providing us with sample letters to submit to our insurance company to request reimbursement. Even though she is not an employee of the hospital, Bonnie was welcomed as part of the team at Providence as she is at other area hospitals.
When my water broke Bonnie came to our home and assessed my progress and labored with me at home which allowed my husband to do the necessary things to prepare for our trip to the hospital and soon homecoming, including cooking! I believe without Bonnie it would have been a much more stressful event. Because Bonnie was there, I was not expecting my husband to support me in ways he neither knew how or was not prepared to do. With Bonnie to help me (over 40 years of experience) it freed my husband up to enjoy the experience and not be exhausted by it. He was truly exhilarated by watching the two Sons God have given him come into the world.
We wholeheartedly recommend Bonnie, she is caring, highly experienced, and well thought of by the medical community.
Sincerely,
Happy Mom
Another book that was very helpful was Supernatural Childbirth by Terry Mize
Link with more benefits of Doulas
http://www.vegfamily.com/ vegan-pregnancy/hiring-a- doula.htm
Christina's Birthing Experience
After the birth of my firstborn, I declared that I would never give birth to a child naturally again. Although I had been in an alternative birthing center and surrounded by supportive friends, family and an amazing midwife, the experience of 20 hours of back labor was enough for me to call it quits.
A few years later, the pain faded from my memory, and my husband and I decided to have another baby. After achieving pregnancy, I began to fear the labor, and I knew that we had to do something to ease the anxieties. One of my friends had used a doula for both of her pregnancies and suggested that we consider hiring a doula. I chatted with my husband about this possibility, and he quickly said, "yes". We hired Bonnie Miller with the recommendation of my friend.
Having Bonnie to support us during this pregnancy was the best decision we made. She helped support us months prior to the pregnancy with techniques to get the baby in the right position and natural ways to help my body prepare for labor. Labor was very different with Bonnie present. I felt more relaxed and able to welcome most of the contractions. My husband followed Bonnie 's lead and was significantly more helpful to me during this labor. Together, my husband and Bonnie , helped me through every contraction, and with labor that was only 9 hours, our daughter was delivered.
A few weeks after I delivered our daughter, I realized that my first thought after birth was not that I would never have a child again. In fact, my first thought was that I didn't know how I could have done it without the loving support of a great doula. She really completed my childbirth experience with a positive note. For that I am forever grateful.
Birgitta & Brian
Our birth story
I've had a strong belief in natural childbirth for a long time, and so
when I was pregnant with our first child, I decided to rely on midwives for my prenatal care and delivery. I planned to birth at the Alternative Birthing
Center (ABC) at Providence Hospital, and I hired a doula for both my and
Brian's support during labor and birth. I felt an instant connection
with Bonnie when I first talked to her, and there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted her by my side for this special endeavor.
My water broke two weeks before my due date, and it took hours before I
felt the first contractions. Throughout the day Brian and I breathed and walked and chose various positions, using herbs, homeopathic remedies and acupressure points that Bonnie had suggested to stimulate labor into a more active pattern. A brisk walk through the neighborhood late at night
finally brought on stronger contractions, and we decided it was time for Bonnie to come and join us at home. Her presence was calming, soothing and reassuring to both of us. There were more hours of sitting on an exercise ball, walking around, leaning in doorways, and kneeling on the floor. I wasn't in much pain then but time seemed to drag on and on. I got really frustrated at some point because I didn't see much progress at all, but Bonnie was there to tell me that she understood how I felt and that my body just needed time to do its job.
At around 2 a.m. Bonnie suggested we stop tracking my contractions and
just lay down to rest. With my mind not so focused on labor, I was able to
relax a bit, and slowly but surely my contractions became more and more intense and regular. I was finally in active labor (now I felt it, too!), and we
left for the ABC early in the morning. I took advantage of one of the
birthing center's big tubs, which provided incredible comfort and
eased almost all of my pain. I remember so vividly how relaxed I felt between contractions, and how I enjoyed chatting and laughing with the few dear people around me. Even though this wasn't home, it felt like a safe haven, quiet and intimate, and everyone present was incredibly supportive and encouraging. This truly was personalized care. While in the water I progressed quickly, and my cervix was almost completely dilated when Jessica, my midwife, checked me again. The next hour was the most
difficult physical challenge in my labor. I had an incredible urge to push but first needed to allow the baby to move all the way down the birth canal. Again, Bonnie was right there by my side, taking turns with Brian applying counter pressure to help me out as much as possible.
Finally, it was time to push, and even though it felt like a huge relief,
I had a hard time switching gears mentally. With Jessica's and
Bonnie's guidance I tried several different positions, and over the next two hours I watched my body ever so slowly open up to my baby. Despite the pain and exhaustion it was an amazingly empowering experience! As the baby's head was crowning, it got stuck in place for a while but I used all the remaining energy I could find in my body, and our son Miles Henri entered the world beautiful, healthy, and strong!
I continue to be extremely thankful to Bonnie for her care, wisdom and
knowledge. Her presence gave me great comfort – physically and
emotionally I truly believe that my labor and birth might have otherwise taken a different turn at several stages. Ultimately it was her patience and her belief in my body doing the right thing in its own time frame that gave me my confidence as well. To a large extent because of her tremendous
support, as well as the excellent care from Jessica and the nurses at the ABC, I experienced the natural birth I had hoped for. I can wholeheartedly
recommend Bonnie's services to any expecting woman and couple, and I
would be honored to have her assist me with a future birth – in fact, I'm counting on it!
Please feel free to contact me with questions at birgitta75@gmail.com.
I'll be happy to provide more detailed information about my experience with
Bonnie, the midwives, and the ABC.
The Wencel Family
(VBAC)
Bonnie is an amazing spirit. We have 3 children and the third delivery was by far the best because Bonnie was my doula. My first son was delivered by c-section. Determined not to have another one I researched the internet and found a doula to help with labor and delivery for my second child. We were unable to obtain that doula for my third pregnancy so I began to search and talk to friends about obtaining another doula.
Bonnie came highly recommended from a friend of mine who worked as a nurse at a hospital. I must say that comparing the techniques and knowledge between both doulas, Bonnie had more hands on techniques and an abundance of knowledge that still stays with us to this day. She taught my husband the techniques and he was able to help get me through labor. My mother and sister were also a part of the team and they were able to play active roles helping me with my labor. She communicated with the nurses at my hospital, in fact, the nurses pretty much stayed away during labor because they did not know how to assist me. They even told me that 99% of laboring women get epidurals and they were not trained to help women who wanted to deliver naturally. I tore very badly with my second delivery (took about 6 weeks to heal) and it happened because I pushed too quickly. Bonnie prepared me on how to prevent tearing again; however, I was determined to get an episiotomy.
During delivery she carefully guarded me and was able to stop me from pushing when I had the sensation to push. I did not know at the time that she was coaching me not to push, the baby's cord was wrapped around his neck and if I would have pushed the baby would have been strangled (the cord was wrapped tight-could not be slipped over the neck). Not only did she prevent injury to me (I didn't get an episiotomy after all) she helped prevent injury to our baby.