What Previous Clients Have to Say

"Cara was the best choice we could have made as a night nurse and lactation consultant! We had Cara with us for two months starting the first night we brought our son home and from the first interaction it was clear she was highly experienced. She brought a sense of calm to our entire household during what is normally a stressful period. After my first birth I was unable to figure out how to make breast feeding work for me with pain I was experiencing from an unplanned c section. This time around, having Cara, she made all the differences. She was truly 'in the trenches' with me at night to help me breast feed and gain confidence. Cara is one of a kind and I cannot recommend her enough."

"Cara was with me for the birth of both of my kids, and she played such an important, invaluable role for each. She helped me through labor with different positions, reminding me to breathe, and keeping me focused on the fact that each contraction has a purpose. When it came time for delivery, she worked so well with the doctors and staff, and I credit her for my labor and delivery going so well both times. Cara is such a calming influence and an attentive listener, and she plays that tough role of assisting and being supportive without overstepping. My husband and I often say that hiring Cara was the best decision we made when it came to labor. I cannot recommend Cara enough as a doula!"

"Cara was our doula for the recent birth of our child. We had to have an induced delivery, which spanned two days and involved various tough decisions in how to proceed. Cara's knowledge and experience were extremely helpful in making sound decisions during the process. Her pro-active assistance and guidance during labor were important factors in enabling us to ultimately have a natural birth without painkillers. Cara worked closely with us and the hospital staff during the birth, made very helpful suggestions during the labor process and was an excellent source of support, including for my husband."

"It's clear that you've supported a wide range of births and bring a strong foundation of knowledge that goes beyond theory, which means you can recognize patterns as they're unfolding and respond in a way that feels both intuitive and highly informed. Another thing that stood out to me is how deeply you understand the nuances of birth, not just clinically, but emotionally and physiologically as well. Your ability to navigate and advocate in hospital settings is also invaluable — you understand how hospital environments work and can help communicate in a way that keeps care collaborative while protecting my birth preferences."

"Cara has been present for the birth of all three of my children. Cara is the reason I was able to have three successful, all natural, unmedicated childbirths. Cara has a gift; a calming and supportive presence that I find crucial to a peaceful birthing experience. My husband also felt an enormous amount of peace of mind knowing Cara was there for our family every step of the way. Her presence really took the pressure off of my husband and allowed him the ability to enjoy the birth of his children instead of worrying about me. No matter what type of birthing experience you prefer, I know Cara will be there to guide and nurture you every step of the way. I couldn't imagine giving birth without Cara by my side and will be forever grateful for the positive impact she's had on my family's life."

"We were so happy to have Cara as our doula and recommend her without reservation! Cara is a calm, thoughtful, and caring person who ensured that we had a positive birth experience. With her relaxed and positive demeanor, and her great working relationship with the doctors and nurses at the hospital, Cara was a perfect fit. When it was time to push, Cara helped me to channel my energy and visualize my baby's progress in a way that helped me to feel in control and have a peaceful and joyous delivery. After our baby was born, Cara helped me with breastfeeding and stayed to ensure that we were in good shape."

"Cara is a wonderful doula! I can't imagine a more lovely, experienced and knowledgeable person to accompany a couple through pregnancy and childbirth. She offers a range of resources, from meditations to her lending library to her delicious red raspberry tea and homeopathic remedies. In the delivery room, she was fantastic. As soon as I saw her, I felt more relaxed and she quickly started creating a calm and comfortable atmosphere. Because she was so grounded and relaxed, I was able to relax and remember that childbirth is a completely natural process that my body would know exactly what to do. After our daughter was born, she stayed to make sure breastfeeding went smoothly. It was such a gift to have Cara guide us through the birth of our first baby."

"This was my second birth and I wasn't going to get a doula — 'what for?' I thought. I had been through this before and knew how things went. When you arrived to the hospital, I was so happy to see you — by then I was slightly scared of the intensity of it all. You immediately helped me with the breathing. You coached me through various pushing poses and the most important element — you reassured me during our pre-labor classes that vocalization is not only ok, but pretty important. The experience was exactly what I envisioned, and having you by my side was oh so helpful and reassuring that I could do it. And I did it!"

"My experience with Cara was simply superb. I would recommend her to anyone. Cara offered excellent preparatory materials and consultations, including a visit to our house. Once at the hospital, Cara was a godsend. She was a calming influence, arriving with essential oils and putting me at ease. Knowing that I had been laboring at home mainly in a forward facing position on the birthing ball, she suggested that I continue in that position — but on the bed — in the hospital. It was just right, and I progressed from 4cm to 8cm dilation in under 30 minutes. I offer my highest recommendation for Cara's doula services."

"Cara provided support and assistance to us through what proved to be an epic labor (several days long, including 21 hours in the hospital) and helped us tremendously with talking through issues, helping us and hospital staff keep to and respect our birth plan and to know when to depart from it, and providing calm insight and assistance in the week or so after birth. She felt more like a good family friend than a hired assistant, and was fantastic: we would not hesitate to recommend her."

"Cara was an integral part of having the natural and positive birth experience we hoped for. She was patient and encouraging during our lengthy labor, especially in early labor and transition when progress stalled for several hours. She worked closely with our midwife, suggesting different positions and relief techniques to keep labor moving and keep me encouraged. Throughout the labor, she worked well with my husband, allowing him to be my primary support, but providing helpful suggestions and explanations when we had questions. I especially appreciated her calm and confident presence during those times in labor when it would have been easy to get discouraged."

"I'll never have a baby without her! Cara was the calm and guiding presence that I needed when labor was tough. After a long early labor, Cara arrived at my home like a breath of fresh air. She was so calm and encouraging as I rode through each labor wave, and she helped my husband find the best ways to support me throughout. To top off all of the wonderful support she provided during my labor, she took the most incredible pictures of my husband and I working together to bring our daughter into the world. I will treasure those photos, and my entire labor experience, because of Cara."

"Cara arrived at the hospital shortly after us and immediately attended to me. She recognized my pattern of coping with contractions and made the perfect suggestions. Most importantly, she coached my husband through it all and allowed him to also be an integral part in managing my pain. While I was monitored, Cara began running the shower for what would be my final hour of labor. It was the most peaceful setting — warm, lights dimmed and candles filled the bathroom. The strongest memory I have is repeatedly saying 'I can't do this.' Cara reassured me that I was strong and so was my body. Cara is amazing, an inspiration, and I couldn't imagine my birth without her."

"We could not recommend Cara more highly as a doula. She recommended a wonderful acupuncturist for natural induction and checked in with me every day that week. During labor, Cara took the lead in devising creative ways to help me push and help the baby descend — squats, lunges, tug of wars, just to name a few. She remained creative, calming, wise and caring — forming a perfect team with my husband, the nurse, and the doctor. Then all of a sudden, I had a beautiful boy on my chest and was experiencing the happiest time of my life. A week after it happened, she gave us a short movie clip that forever captured the experience."

"I absolutely loved working with Cara. She was amazing during the labor. While I thought I was going to arrive and just push the baby out, the labor turned out to be more complicated than expected, and Cara helped me into many different positions to help turn the baby and help him descend. I also had excruciating back labor and Cara was incredible at massaging me right where I needed it. I don't think I would have been able to get to where I got, medication-free, without Cara's incredible knowledge and assistance. I truly believe that without her I would have ended up with a c-section. I would whole-heartedly recommend her to anyone, including anyone seeking a VBAC!"

"Cara is amazing. She assisted us with the birth of our first child. At each step, Cara was an incredibly helpful part of our birth process — from supporting my husband and I as we waded through our expectations of the birth, to helping us make key decisions, and providing a caring and supportive presence as I went through a Pitocin-induced natural childbirth. She also helped me to establish breastfeeding in the first couple of hours after my daughter was born and her follow-up visit several days later provided emotional support in the initial difficult period of breastfeeding. I feel fortunate to have had a positive birthing experience and I couldn't have done it without Cara."

"Cara provided us with a very informative session in advance, which covered many topics never discussed in the childbirth class we'd taken. When I went into labor, Cara was great throughout at coming up with new ideas to speed things up and to make me more comfortable. My marathon 38-hour natural childbirth went amazingly well, and I honestly never found myself wanting or even frankly thinking about pain medications — with Cara's calm assistance I never felt like I needed them. We frankly weren't sure if we would need Cara to come back for the post-delivery visit, but it turned out that Cara's suggestions at that visit, when we were about at our wits' end trying to figure out breastfeeding, were among the most useful we received throughout the entire pregnancy and post delivery period."

"Cara is knowledgeable about the process without using her own opinion against any of your decisions. She helped us avoid having an unwanted emergency C-section and was able to guide me through the contractions by giving me more comfortable positions, breathing guidance and just lots of moral encouragement. She also helped my husband by giving him advice on what he could do to make me feel most comfortable. She allowed me to feel somewhat in control of what was happening. Cara stayed about 2 hours after birth and thanks to her, I was able to get my son to latch on before he fell asleep. That was certainly a great start for breastfeeding."

"When you look for a doula you're hoping for the best birth experience possible, but I want to tell you about the flip side. Our world took an unexpected turn minutes after our son was born, and he ended up needing major interventions. Cara was the one who identified he was having trouble, and she stayed by our side during a traumatic and terrifying time. He ultimately spent two weeks in intensive care — Cara checked in with us several times while he was in the hospital, then met us once we finally brought him home and helped us immensely. I believe that by identifying a problem from her experience as a doula, Cara helped save our child from further harm — and may have saved his life."

"Cara was amazing! This was our first pregnancy and I told my husband right off the bat that I wanted a doula. She kept us calm and in control. I got to a point where I felt I wanted to change my mind about the epidural. She gently reminded me of my birth plan and of how adamant I was and why. She helped me push through the labor longer and when I finally 'caved' she did not judge me or tell me no. She was supportive and flexible with the choices I made during the labor. When some issues arose with the hospital staff she spoke up on my behalf. We were so grateful to have had Cara guide us through the most stressful, and ultimately joyful days of our lives."

"Having Cara as our doula was an invaluable experience. I had made the decision to have a home birth early on but was constantly doubting myself. Talking to Cara and having her by my side made all the difference in this deeply fulfilling experience. My labor started during the evening and I called Cara — although she was just finishing up supporting another birth, she came right over to my house around 3am no less! Cara was by my side for the next 24 hours as my labor slowly progressed. Cara has a very special way about her that is very empowering to those she assists — I felt she effortlessly enabled me to be my strongest self and maintain my focus throughout the labor."

"Cara was an integral part of the entire birth process and was the added extra support I needed to deliver at Special Beginnings Birthing Center. Cara came to our home at 2am to help me labor, with bags packed and ready for whatever I needed. She played soothing music and lovingly rubbed my back during contractions, never failing to offer words of encouragement and support. Cara's calming energy and protective and soothing nature set the mood in the room that allowed me to have an amazing birth experience. Her perfectly timed instructions helped me focus, and along with my husband helped provide the support I needed to labor un-medicated for 14 hours."

"Meeting with Cara changed my perspective and she instilled the confidence to know that I could have a natural childbirth. My husband called Cara to let her know I had gone into labor and found out she was at another birth — 3 births in two days with no sleep and we were about to make it number 4! We fully expected her to call one of her back-up doulas but she guided my husband over the phone and he coached me through the contractions. Cara arrived at the hospital as we were checking in. Even during the transition phase, Cara would remind me to breathe and that each contraction brought me closer to birthing my baby. I felt so strong and empowered throughout the labor!"

"Your photos are really a terrific memento of our birth experience and I barely remember you taking them. You even captured things I missed, like his first weigh in. We've shared the video with our parents which was especially nice given that my mother wasn't able to be present for the birth. Thank you for being such a wonderful coach during the birth process, and for all of the thoughtful ways you made the experience beautiful for us. Cara, you will always have a very special place in my heart."

"We had our little guy during the March blizzard of 2010. He was pre-term at 36 weeks, 6 days. We called Cara and told her we were admitted to the hospital but with the full expectation that she would not be able to make it in due to the terrible weather. It was snowing sideways, the wind was howling, and the roads were virtually impassable. The Governor had declared a state of emergency. Cara said she'd be up as soon as possible. Before we knew it, she was there with a huge smile and calming spirit. All of Cara's support and strength got us through some tough hours. Cara is worth her weight in gold."

"Cara was our second interview and, after meeting her, my husband and I agreed there was no need to talk with anyone else! It was immediately obvious that not only was Cara going to be helpful during the birthing process because of her knowledge and experience, but also because of her genuine desire to help, to listen and understand our concerns. Cara was as much of a coach for my husband as she was for me. By having Cara support us in our labor and delivery, Jim and I were able to better concentrate on bringing our daughter, Bailey Madeleine into the world. Cara was such an asset, that we did not hesitate to ask her to work with us for the birth of our second child."