Photo Gallery & Client Reviews Archives - East Bay Doula

06 Aug

Client Testimonial: Heather S. – Summer 2015

Our family welcomed our second baby with Jenny by our side. I can’t say enough about how much her support guided and encouraged us through a wonderful minimal-intervention birth. I interviewed Jenny and was immediately sure that we were a good fit. It was so easy to connect with her and I felt confident that she would provide both the emotional and physical support I needed both during labor and pre/post-natal.

My labor started slowly and, as a second-time mom, I was reluctant to call Jenny to my house too early. Jenny’s doula intuition told her that I would be needing her sooner than I thought, so she drove over to just be in the area just in case I needed her. This really illustrated to me how committed she was to her role and also how completely she cares for her clients.

Jenny helped me stay home to labor as long as possible before heading to the hospital. She assisted me in finding positions that encouraged my labor to progress including using a “peanut ball” to get baby to move center into an optimal birth position. Her help timing contractions and gauging contraction intensity allowed me to focus on coping and enjoying the time laboring at home instead of worrying about when we should be leaving for the hospital.

Beyond the practical and physical support, Jenny was invaluable to me in providing emotional support. In fact, I was so relieved when she showed up wearing her “Let’s Doula This” t-shirt, I was brought to tears of happiness to have her positive encouraging presence. More than once during intense contractions, my eyes would lock with hers and she wordlessly communicated reassurance and comfort. With her support I was able to deliver without pain medication in spite of being unable to leave the hospital bed due to the need to monitor my high heart rate.

My husband and I really appreciated that she was constantly paying attention to what the medical staff were doing and saying so that she could communicate to us any pertinent information they might not convey so that we could voice any concerns.

I loved how Jenny went above and beyond the scope of her duties to help make our birth special. Early in labor I mentioned in passing an angle of a photograph that I had seen and was hoping to get when baby arrived. Sure enough, Jenny remembered to snap a picture of baby and mommy meeting at the exact angle I had mentioned. It’s my favorite picture of my baby’s birthday.

Overall, I cannot recommend Jenny to expectant parents enough! Call her!

09 Jun

Client Testimonial: Ashlie K. – Spring 2015

We chose Jenny Bare as our Doula for the birth of our first child at Kaiser Walnut Creek. It was absolutely one of the best choices we have ever made. After interviewing several Doulas, we chose Jenny because of her warm nature and professionalism. She presented information clearly, without judgment, and took the time to get to know us as a couple. I felt instantly comfortable with her and knew that she was the person I wanted by my side during one of the most vulnerable and special moments in my life.

Part of the reason we chose to hire a Doula is we wanted support in interacting with the hospital staff during our birth. Jenny quickly connected with all Kaiser staff and integrated herself beautifully as part of our support team. She brought out the best in everyone, including my husband and myself. A second reason we chose to have a Doula was the benefit of comfort measures during labor. Jenny came with a full “bag of tricks” and supported me with many techniques that assisted me in managing my pain and feeling empowered in my body.

At multiple points in our labor, we came to crossroads where challenging decisions needed to be made. Jenny’s support allowed us to make informed choices free from fear. I was able to deliver without an epidural, which was a goal of mine, even though our daughter surprised us all by arriving “sunny-side up!” I am certain we would have made very different decisions had we not been in her care. Jenny was additionally a great support post-partum, continuing to provide me with valuable information about my newborn and my own healing body. We cannot express fully the immense gratitude we feel for her role in bringing our beautiful daughter into the world.

10 Feb

Client Testimonial: Erika B. – Winter 2015

Last month I gave birth to our second son and had the pleasure of having Jenny Bare as my doula. I had a home birth and may have not been able to stay at home if it wasn’t for her. My blood pressure was high when my midwife first arrived and I had a very short period of time to get it down to be able to give birth at home. Of course having contractions and bringing your blood pressure down at the same time is quite challenging. Thanks to Jenny talking me through it and performing the rebozo technique on me, I was able to calm way down and give birth at home. I’ll never be able to thank her enough for this. She is warm, gentle, calming, and very knowledgeable.

She helped with my son’s latch right after birth and was immensely helpful to my midwife too. The assistant midwife was unable to make it because my labor was so fast, so Jenny had to step in. Thank goodness she was there!

Jenny has about a million resources for everything and anything related to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. She has been so helpful since my son was born too. Checking in with me frequently and always just being a positive and encouraging force in a time that can be challenging. She is just wonderful!

I encourage anyone who is thinking about having a doula at their birth to give Jenny a call. She really will make your experience a beautiful one!

Birth photos courtesy of: Shannon Stellmacher. Copyrighted 2015.

28 Jan

Client Testimonial: Katherine W. – Winter 2015

My husband and I chose Jenny Bare as our doula for the labor and delivery of our son at John Muir Medical Center in December 2014, and we could not be happier with our decision.

From the very start, Jenny presented herself professionally with clear and constant communication with us. She presented many resources that helped us as first-time-parents figure out what our preferences for what sort of birth we wanted. She did not push any sort of agenda on us, but listened to us with insight and empathy and offered helpful tailored advice. She was able to identify what sort of coping-style I had, personality-wise, and met my needs perfectly– often even before I was able to articulate them myself.

During my labor, she worked smoothly with the nurses and OB smoothly while still advocating for our birth plan. Her constant support (including physically supporting me in various positions during contractions) not only got me through twenty-five hours of active labor without an epidural, but freed up the hospital staff to focus on monitoring the baby and other vital medical functions.

Without her empathetic, positive, and practical support, I know we could not have had the positive birthing experience that welcomed our little one into the world. Jenny is a wonderful person and I highly recommend having her by your side before, during, and after your birth.