Seattle Doula Partners (formerly Ohana Doulas) — Local services in Seattle

Autumn is an awesome doula!!! We had a great experience with Seattle Doula Partners and would absolutely hire them again.

We interviewed 3-4 doulas and the team at Seattle Doula Partners stood out the best to us. They were not pushy and their experience and calmness in communicating to us through facts and information really appealed to us. The initial conversations before the birth were very helpful. I was very apprehensive about the birth and talking with them to help uncover my and my husband's anxieties about the birth and it really helped prepare us emotionally. In many ways I felt like it was a therapy session!

When I was hospitalized at 32 weeks, Autumn checked in on me consistently to make sure we were doing okay which felt very reassuring. Finally when the day came, we let Autumn know we were on the way to the hospital at about 11pm and she arrived just after I settled down in the L&D room which was super speedy! She immediately attended to both mine and my husband's needs, answering any questions we had. One of the most valuable things that Autumn did was that before anything that happened, e.g. getting my epidural or pushing, Autumn talked through in detail what to expect and this helped prepare us well emotionally and in many ways, made me less fearful. She was always right by our sides coaching us on what to do in a gentle and reassuring way. She wasn't intrusive and allowed me and my husband to have our own time.

Through the pattern of my contractions, the nurse hypothesized that my baby was face up. Autumn had a ton of suggestions on how to resolve this and coached the nurse to getting me in the right positions. By then, my lower half was pretty weak from the epidural and every time the nurse had to shift me, Autumn was always there to lend a helping hand. At about 2am, all of us went to rest and my husband was exhausted. The IV machine kept beeping and Autumn always promptly stood up and turned it off so that we could all rest. She was close by and helped me with every small little thing I needed so my husband could rest.

Autumn coached me through the entire 2 hours of pushing and holding my legs up. She was very encouraging and her calming and reassuring words gave me a ton of confidence. Once the baby was out, she stepped back, got one of our phones and took a bunch of pictures that I really treasure today!

Post birth, I had a lot of difficult breastfeeding and Autumn shifted her schedule so she could come and visit me soon after that. She helped me with the latch and gave me a bunch of ideas to help increase my supply.

3 months on and I still think about how lucky we were to have Autumn by our side! Thank you so much for your hard...

We had an amazing experience with Autumn. We were induced, and Autumn was able to support us and explain what that really meant for me, as well as how long an induction realistically took. My providers did not do a great job laying this information out, as people's experiences can vary so much. Prior to the birth of my daughter, Lisa and Autumn helped us work through anxiety and gave us a broad view of options as we developed our birth plan. My husband was wary of hiring a doula at first, but after talking it through with the team, his anxiety disappeared. He was afraid that having a doula would make him obsolete and this triggered some insecurities. He was put at ease when he realized that Autumn would be there to support him supporting me. In the moment, she was able to reassure him that I was okay and that what I was experiencing was normal. They worked together to support me in a wonderful way. Honestly, my husband will admit that the reason he was able to support me so well during labor was because he also had support from Autumn. Now he is the one who tells everyone that they NEED a doula! During labor she gave him recommendations, stepped aside at times and was a reassuring presence in a new/ overwhelming experience. Autumn helped me with pain management tools, breathing techniques and specific pressure points, Because of these tools, my labor experience was quite low key. I would even all it zen (at times)! I am not kidding, when I was laboring in the bath, autumn put tea lights around the tub! Beyond the labor, Autumn was there to take notes and record our birth story, take photos and help with breastfeeding after the birth. Having another person on point for these things freed my husband up to truly focus on me and the baby. It was...

I feel so blessed to have had a successful VBAC at 39 thanks to the support of Autunm and Jocelyn! Before, during and after the birth Autumn and Jocelyn were each a perfect combination of warm, sincere, supportive, extremely competent, reliable, organized and professional. They showed enormous endurance at my birth and went the extra mile to support us.

I credit my successful VBAC in large part to the support of Autumn and Jocelyn. Despite all my best intentions, I did not go into labor in a strong state of mind. I felt worried for my baby, who was overdue and showing signs of distress. I also didn’t trust my own body after having had an unsuccessful labor previously and an emergency c-section after 26 hours of labor (with six hours of pushing) which started at home and ended up with a baby in the NIC unit. After that experience the prospect of natural labor deeply terrified me, but I felt strongly that I wanted to try for a VBAC anyway. Autumn and Jocelyn gave me exactly the coaching I needed to help me find strength and to deliver successfully despite a difficult position of the baby. They supported me with complete respect for each my decisions.

I also really appreciated Autumns postpartum visit to my home. I had been struggling with sore, raw nipples (a problem I did not have with my first) and she helped me correct the latch and try different breast-feeding positions that quickly improved the pain and let my nipples recover. She also had many useful tips for all aspects of life with a newborn.

Overall I feel completely blessed to have had the support of such a talented team. I cannot recommend Ohana...