From a Dad’s Point of View

“This was once my wife went into labor, to the actual delivery nurse, to the nurses during post partum care in the following hours and days after his birth. I felt that her presence actually even changed some of their views on doulas.
In the hours leading up to the actual birth the nurses would come in and put my wife in difficult positions, to induce labor. Debbie kept explaining to my wife why they were important and helping out with the positions in a way that she understood. Remember although guys you are a coach, basic psychology says a lot of times, she won’t listen to someone so close as you, and then you may be afraid to tell her what you know is right, because she won’t listen to you at times of increase pain and that only gets more frustrating for everyone. Insert Doula here, and that role is invaluable one. It gives you a chance to take a step back and just watch and help where you can. It’s important because it gives you a chance to be there for your loved one rather than to coach her through it necessarily, which isn’t always a bad thing. Also, Debbie, knew how better to assist the nurses than I did, and the nurses would turn to her to help them, because if you aren’t a medical professional they won’t seem to ask you for liability purposes.
When it came to birth time, Debbie was on one side and I was on the other. This also gave me the opportunity to assist the doctor or nurse below and gave me a chance take a look (If you want guys). I was under a notion I may be able to even help with the delivery, which I wanted to do, another reason to have a doula, because they can be near your wife’s head helping her while you deliver if you choose. Not all hospitals allow that, so look into it. Ours did not. As planned if any complications arose, the doctors would ask myself or my wife and we have to give them an answer, sometimes in a matter of seconds. We had discussed these situations beforehand with Debbie and how we would proceed. Luckily we had to. When ours son’s heart rate began to drop the doctor wanted to make a slight incision. I immediately turned to Debbie, and we both looked at the monitor, confirmed the heart rate was dropping, and she advised me that we proceed with the cut, because she cannot tell the doctor, but I can, and that’s what I did. All proceeded normally after that.
The next hour or so in the delivery room is pretty chaotic actually. All that is important though is Mom and Child. And guys, you cannot be in 2 places at once. With everyone that runs into the room after birth to take care of the baby, you want your attention in one place or another. With Debbie there, I felt my wife was very in good hands with her, while I was staying with our little one. I got to be there for his first bath, and his measurements and stuff that happens very quickly and well orchestrated. This was another key moment I’m glad she was there for. She also took quite a few pictures, which is great for later.
Soon after birth and we got settled into our room, Debbie left, and let the families come in and enjoy their brand new grandson. In the following days she came by and helped with feeding and was immediately available for all the questions we had. You get so much advice from parents and doctors and such, that it is truly nice to have someone that is up to date on the practices of today, but that loves you like family enough to give you sound advice that caters to your needs. At the end of the day, her opinion was the one I valued most.
Overall, I absolutely loved having Debbie around, and still when we see her, we look at her as family. She always remained professional and friendly and was an invaluable part of our very special day and the weeks and months that led up to it. The amount of assistance she rendered and always being there to answer my wife’s questions by text in the weeks leading up to birth and after was another invaluable piece as well. We both highly recommend Debbie, as your Doula, and good luck to you as you partake in this amazing adventure, just know you don’t have to do it alone. Thank you Debbie.”

“Debbie did an outstanding job for us. I would highly recommend her to anybody that has the need for both day and night time help. My wife and i were in a jam because we both work and my wife only had 8 weeks off for maternity leave. We tried to get by but after a week of getting up every few hours, we needed some help. We reached out to Debbie and it was one of the best things we ever did. She stayed at our house 3 nights a week for a couple of months helping with the feedings and changing of diapers for our baby girl. We were able to get the rest we much needed during those first few months.”