Carlee

“Martha made all the difference in our birthing experience and we will forever be grateful for her presence at this time in our lives. Prenatally, she met with us twice and shared so much information that we never would have known otherwise, whether in prenatal class or online. She helped build my confidence as a Mom-to-be, and helped my husband build his confidence both as my partner and as a Dad-to-be. She encouraged me to trust my instincts and helped me better communicate with my healthcare providers. I was able to contact her as needed - she was genuine in her offer of essentially being on-call for me starting at time of hire.

My birthing time ultimately did not go how I thought it would; rather than the 24+ hour labour I thought I would have as a first-time Mom, I began labour and birthed our daughter in less than 3.5 hours. It was the most intense experience of my life, and I was so terrified. Martha arrived so quickly, guided us in what to do regarding updating our midwives, and her kind and confident words (especially her reminders that I was safe, and that what I was feeling were safe feelings) and her calming physical touch helped me immensely during this time. She helped me utilize our Hypnobabies tools when I needed it, and additionally took the most special photos of our daughter being born.

Postpartum, she was the person I felt I could best express my feelings to when I was tired, frustrated, and having breastfeeding challenges. Even my husband and my mum kept saying "call Martha, you respond so well to her." She was able to provide breastfeeding support, and then emotional support during an appointment with a lactation consultant. While my review here is lengthy, I hope it sheds even a bit of light on how wonderful Martha is as a person and as a doula. We are most hopeful to have her as our doula again in the future.”

Claire

“There simply aren't enough words in the English language to capture how truly amazing Martha is. My partner and I reached out to her early in pregnancy, uncertain whether we wanted a doula, and Martha was SO informative & patient with us as we took our time to decide what was right for us. From early on, Martha helped us feel comfortable & confident (and never rushed!) as we moved through such a wild experience as first time parents. Martha handled all of our questions with such care - giving us reliable information, listening to our excitement & concerns, providing resources. And all of this is to say nothing about how PHENOMENAL she was during the labour. There is absolutely no way we could have had the birthing experience we did without Martha's support, calmness, encouragement, steadfast commitment...she had listened so carefully in our prenatal visits & showed up in the world's most perfect way for me, my partner and our baby. In my postpartum haze, I was describing Martha's support to my mom and said "She basically deserves the Order of Canada"....that about sums it up!! hahah. This was long but still doesn't scratch the surface of how special/great Martha is. She changed our lives and pregnancy/birthing experience for the better which is/was a pretty special gift for our growing family ♡”

Chris, Dania & Thomas

“I cannot help but get emotional when I think about how amazing it was to have Martha be apart of our son's birth story. Martha was knowledgeable, genuine, professional, and above all, she was kind. She was the person my wife and I needed her to be during each stage of our pregnancy and up to and beyond the birth of our son. Being there for us during these especially unique times was beneficial beyond words. Her knowledge, expertise, and willingness to help in anyway (and at anytime) possible went beyond what we could've ever expected. We are so grateful for Martha, and I cannot recommend her enough to anyone looking to have support for their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. Regardless of what your preferences are, you are in amazing hands with Martha.

Also, as the partner, I'd like to thank you personally Martha for being a calming presence. You gave me the confidence I needed, to know that I was doing and saying all the right things, and that is priceless. When / if we decided that our son needs a sibling we will be sure to make sure you are apart of that as well!
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Brittany

“Words cannot describe how amazing our experience has been with Martha. Martha spent so much care and time with us leading up to birth where both my partner and I felt ready, informed and knowledgable for when the time came. During labour Martha was a calm and steady presence, providing reassurance, encouragement and guidance. She provided amazing support to both of us throughout the process, both emotionally and practically. I strongly feel we would not have been able to achieve the positive birth experience we did without her. Martha was also there for us post birth and was invaluable while learning breastfeeding and how to care for our new little bean. We will forever feel gratitude and connection to her for coming on this journey with us!

I cannot recommend Martha enough to anyone looking to hire a doula for their birth. She is magic!”

Amanda

“I cannot fully express with words what an absolute joy it was to work with Martha. Her professionalism is perfectly matched with evidence-informed practices and information, enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and most of all, support and warmth. I am convinced our birthing experience was only as incredible as it was thanks to her help and amazing support. She helped me to feel empowered and ready to give birth, she created a warm and cozy environment for our home birth, and went above and beyond answering the many questions I had between prenatal visits. She helped my partner to feel confident and comfortable to support me while I laboured, and she captured incredible photos of our birth. Would highly recommend Martha to anyone seeking the support of a birth doula!”

Sarah J.

“I feel so incredibly grateful to have Martha's support. Martha started with me when my daughter was 2 weeks old. I was feeling a lot of postpartum anxiety and feeling completely overwhelmed. The first time she came I remember a wave of calm swept over my home, as her warmth and capability brought a sense of grounding to the space. Since then, she has supported me in so many ways, just to name a few - giving me time for self-care knowing that my newborn and toddler are in good hands, providing lactation support with my newborn who was having latching issues and reflux, discussing my emotional experiences in a way that feels healing, helping me prep healthy snacks for my family. Some qualities I appreciate of Martha's is that she is kind-hearted and warm (I feel very comfortable in her company), she is very knowledgeable and has some wonderful insights, she is flexible, she makes a lot of effort to support me in whatever arises. With this support, I feel empowered and now able to celebrate this special time, full of all it’s ups and downs and everything that motherhood holds.”

Elyse

“My husband and I (and our dog), can't say enough good about our experience with Martha. We originally started our Doula search very early in pregnancy, around week 12, and were very discouraged that after several interviews we hadn't found anyone that we "connected" with. We decided to walk away from the idea of hiring a doula and we're content with that. Only later in our 3rd trimester, when my midwives continued to recommend it, did we come back to it. We asked them for recommendations and Martha happened to be on that list. From our very first meeting with her, we knew we had found our support person. She was incredibly easy to get along with and talk to and made us all feel very comfortable about the process in front of us, especially important for us first time parents. She's all the things you expect and need your Doula to be but Martha continued to go above and beyond throughout our time with her. From offering meal drop off when I was first admitted to the hospital for an unplanned induction, to dropping of snacks PP and even indulging some requests of ours - writing our birth story and taking some rather detailed birth photos - she was there whenever needed for whatever we needed and never missed a beat. If you're looking for someone to coach you through this magical but intense process, provide you information and resources, be endless support and even provide jokes and distraction as needed - she's your gal! We can't say enough good about Martha, as a person and as our Doula and hope to stay in touch with her even now that we have welcomed our baby boy into the world.”

Trevor, Emily & Jay

“When my wife and I were preparing for our first child, we were very intimidated by the upcoming birth. Thankfully, we found and hired Martha as our Doula. Since day 1, Martha has been incredibly helpful with preparing for our birth, providing us resources and helping us be prepared with a birthing plan.

When the day came, the worries we had when contemplating the birth previously were completely absent. Martha was always by our side, suggesting different positions and weighing our options rationally and calmly during an event we had not experienced before. When there were bumps in the road, Martha was quick to respond and provide her extensive knowledge and experience with births to help calm us down and enjoy our birth. In the midst of the birth, she really helped by advocating for us. Her Photography service was also exceptional, we are so glad to have such amazing photos of our birth for us to remember the day our lives changed forever.

I would strongly recommend Martha to anybody who is expecting a baby and in the event that we have another child would absolutely hire Martha to be our doula again!”