Danielle Massie

After an unhealthy 1st pregnancy and delivery at 6 weeks early, when I got pregnant with my second I started wondering what kind of birth I wanted. While pregnant, things were very healthy and looking good all through out so I wondered what it would be like to try to have a completely different birth. After speaking with Danielle a few times and becoming a little more knowledgeable on birth and delivery, my husband and I decided to hire her as our doula. She was there from start to finish, with super quick response time with any questions we had. She never made us feel pressured to do things a certain way. When it came time for my body to start laboring, she was on my husband and I's side within minutes. With her help, and instructions and the relaxing environment she made for us, I was able to have the labor and delivery I so dreamed for. Biggest help from her was when she made me feel like she was feeling my labor and delivery right along with me by breathing with me, and then continuing to moan and make my birthing noises with me. It was truly an amazing labor and delivery and I was able to get the unmedicated birth I longed and hoped for. Without her there, my husband and I would not have known how to advocate for ourselves, my husband wouldn't have known to do the helpful things she instructed him to do, we wouldn't have known when the right time to get to hospital was. There would have been a lot of unknowns if she hadn't been there every step of the way. Danielle was amazing, calm, on time always, extremely quick to respond to any calls or texts and all around made a huge impact on getting the birth I dreamed for.

Before meeting with Danielle I was terrified at the prospect of trying for a second VBAC. As difficult as my recovery from a long labor and unplanned cesarean had been with my first child, I considered asking for a planned cesarean since the pain recovering with a 4th-degree tear from my second child's birth had been so severe. After talking with Danielle, and coming up with a plan to avoid tearing as much as possible, I started to feel good about trying for another VBAC. In fact, I felt so confident in having a beautiful birth experience--emphasizing healing and safety--that I switched doctors three weeks before my delivery date to avoid a planned cesarean due to this baby being breach. Without Danielle as my doula, encouraging me to find ways to flip the baby and create a healing birth experience, I would not be enjoying the wonderful recovery that I am right now. My little one is not two weeks old yet and I am already finding joy in playing with my kids again. That's a big deal. I love that I don't spend hours crying in pain or hopelessness each day. Instead, I feel a strength within myself that I haven't felt since learning to play rugby in college. That was over ten years ago. This birth experience has gone beyond healing the experiences of my first two births and started to heal other tramatic events in my life as well. So for anyone considering hiring a doula, I highly recommend Danielle. She was never pushy or judgemental. Somehow her questions guided me away from my fear and led me to believe in the possibility of a healing birth. She was calm, supportive, had good information to share with me, and, best of all, helped me to feel strong and resilient again.

Danielle attended my 6th birth, 1st homebirth and to say the experience was amazing is an understatement. She had such a calm and positive air about her and was so helpful in getting me anything I needed, so my husband was free to stay by my side beginning to end. She supplied cold washcloths for my head and back, a smiling face and positive reinforcement when I thought I couldn't go on any longer. She was beyond respectful of my privacy and has a positive uplifting energy around her. She made me feel confident in myself and my body's ability to birth my sweet baby. I never once felt judged or rushed.      Every birth is a precious miracle and I highly recommend Danielle as a doula!