Arrity Deakin

Arrity with Birth Love Doula was without a doubt the best decision my husband and I made in preparation for the birth of our first child. After interviewing a handful of other local Doula's, we immediately felt Arrity was not a standard or predetermined Doula plan, but rather a very personal and customizable support person for us both. Arrity has a wealth of knowledge but what stood out most was her genuine, warm and positive personality. There was nothing scripted about our interview, just a clear passion for supporting birthing individuals during such a special time. During our prenatal appointments, we discussed a range of birth options, preferences, and possible outcomes which left us both feeling as calm and prepared as possible. When I went into Labor I was excited and simultaneously nervous and uncomfortable; thankfully Arrity arrived to our house shortly after calling and supported us every step of the way (Early Labor through Delivery). Within minutes of arriving to our house, Arrity transformed my nervous energy into calm, excited, and empowered energy. Arrity's instruction, counter pressure, position suggestions, and subtle distractions enabled me to comfortably labor at home for 10 hours, something I never thought would be possible as someone with a low pain tolerance. Honestly, I had a lot of fun laboring at home! Arrity joined us at the hospital where she continued to support me and my husband, constantly curating calm and positive energy which I confidently believe helped lead to the most amazing birth experience. I attribute a large portion of our success to Arrity, and will forever be incredibly grateful for her. As I now share with my friends, you don't just need a doula, you need Arrity!

We are so grateful to have worked with Arrity as a labour doula for the birth of our first child. From our first meeting with Arrity, we knew she would be a good fit. Arrity is incredibly knowledgeable and has extensive of experience with all kinds of births, she is open, empathetic, has a keen listening ear, and radiates warmth. Arrity helped us develop a birth plan and provided support during pregnancy, especially in the last weeks with recommendations for exercises to prepare for birth and encourage labor to start. When labor began, it felt so good to call Arrity to join us, knowing she would be there with her wisdom and calm presence to guide and reassure us through the birth process. We had a wonderful birth experience, and Arrity was key to making it so. She knew us and our intentions well, and was able to advocate for us with hospital doctors, nurses, and staff. We loved how she made the hospital room calm and inviting with soft lighting. She helped us make decisions as labor progressed, and offered pain management techniques and encouragement as the intensity increased. She also helped us navigate boundaries with family visiting the hospital, all of which we are deeply grateful for. It was a joy to see Arrity for our postpartum visit, and see her rock our new little baby to sleep. Birth was an intense, transformative, and intimate moment in our lives, and we are so grateful to have had Arrity with us on our journey.

Working with Arrity was wonderful and I would highly recommend her. It was important to me that I find a doula that matched my energy and would think my jokes are funny - which might sound silly, but you're going to spend a lot of intimate time together and I wanted to feel like I had friend who knew a lot of things in the room with us rather than just some woman we hired. Arrity turned out to be the perfect fit for us. She did find my jokes funny (or at least did a good job pretending) and also didn't mind when I ugly cried - which I did a lot both at birth and postpartum. She was a breath of fresh air to have around in those postpartum weeks which were so hard and I really appreciated being able to just word vomit my questions and concerns to her both in person and via text. <3

Arrity was amazing!! We worked with her in preparation for the birth, at our birth, and for postpartum stays so we really got a chance to get to know her well. For the birth prep, Arrity helped us cut through the noise and advice thrust at new parents. We had no idea how to set up the house for caring for a newborn or preparing a birthing plan. She was fantastic at guiding us through with kindness, giving us information but not skewing our choices. We felt heard, supported, and respected through every step. This carried into the day of the c-section. Arrity met us at the hospital and immediately calmed our nerves. She was with us every step of the way, making sure to step in and help us advocate for our choices. While she wasn't able to come into the operating room, she was waiting for us when we got out and was a crucial set of hands. I struggled to come off of the medications post-surgery so having Arrity there to support my husband as he bonded with our new little one was priceless. I'll never forget Arrity bringing me juice and snacks while my husband could focus on our new baby. Her presence helped get us through the first day of being parents. We also worked with Arrity for postpartum overnights - the best decision we ever made. I cannot emphasize how much we looked forward to Arrity's visits. Not only did it allow us to get a full night's sleep, refueling our energy for another week, but it allowed my husband and I to go to sleep knowing our child was safe and in great hands. It was the only time we could shut off our new-parent brains from worrying all night. We would wake up to clean bottles and a tidy living room - all better than how we left it. We loved working with Arrity so much that we extended our overnights with her by two more weeks! We cannot recommend Arrity enough. She is caring, funny, compassionate and supportive. We love "Aunt Arrity!"

Arrity was both our birth doula and postpartum doula.  She was a fabulous source of support throughout! She was very communicative during my third trimester and helped teach us exercises and stretches we could do to alleviate discomfort and help with the baby's positioning, and shared evidence-based resources for us to learn about different interventions / decisions we may have to make. At the hospital, Arrity took so much stress off our plates -- she navigated us to the delivery wing, got us settled in our room, and added layers of comfort we didn't even know we needed like adjusting lighting, drawing a bath, etc. When it came time to navigate different decisions, Arrity helped us though this, too. We are also so grateful for the postpartum support Arrity provided us. She is one of the few doulas who provides overnight care, and having her come our first week home helped us catch up on much needed sleep and helped us reset to be more independent going forward. When Arrity came during the days, she jumped right into whatever was needed around the house, but more importantly--talked with us about our daughter and helped get us on a path as new parents with the tools we needed to care for our newborn. Above all, Arrity provided emotional support during this remarkable life event, and are so glad she was there for us for the entirety of the process--from pre-labor to delivery to post-partum recovery.

My birthing experience with Arrity was nothing short of amazing. Actually, the birth itself was extremely difficult and unconventional, but having Arrity there saved me. Early on in my pregnancy, my partner and father of my baby and 2 children left permanently and didn't look back. Shortly after that when I was 12 weeks pregnant, I was also diagnosed with breast cancer. It was established early on that I would endure one round of chemo (safely for the baby) and then deliver at 35 weeks so that I could tackle my cancer more aggressively. Needless to say, I knew that this pregnancy and birth would be filled with many unknowns and some amount of trauma. When I asked Arrity to assist in my birth she went above and beyond to answer all my questions and do additional research on my cancer as well as my treatment. Giving birth at 35 weeks was very emotional knowing that I would give birth to a NICU baby. Adding to that stress, the morning of my induction I was diagnosed with the flu as well as rhinovirus (a cold), meaning that I would not be able to visit my baby in the NICU. The news hit me extremely hard and Arrity was supportive, knowledgeable, and got me through one of the toughest days of my life. She held my hand round the clock from the beginning to the end. She gave me advice but also followed my lead and supported all my decisions. Anyone who has Arrity at their birth should consider themselves lucky. She is an amazing woman and doula.

I can't say enough good things about Arrity and her support of our family after we brought our new daughter home.  The transition of adding a new baby to the family is big and hard and we were SO tired.  Arrity came in at the perfect time, offered us comfort, expertise and the opportunity to rest knowing that our baby was in the hands of a true professional.  This service really set us up to be successful in the early weeks with our daughter and we are so grateful.  I would highly recommend Arrity's post partum services and feel that her kind and warm nature makes her easy to connect with without feeling judged in the most vulnerable and sacred times.  Thank you!