I absolutely love what I do and am always honored to be a part of your family’s special day. Thank you to the amazing families I’ve worked with for their kind words. It’s been my joy to support you on your birth and postpartum journeys!
"It was great to work with Jennifer! As first time parents, we thought it was a good idea to have someone work along side us that was experienced in childbirth. Jennifer has a very calm presence about her. I had a relatively quick labor and she showed up to my home in time to help us get to the hospital. I wasn‘t really nervous but had terrible back labor and we had to make some tough decisions and she was there every step of the way. We would gladly work with her again! "
A.H.
"Jenn supported us during the labor and birth of my 4th baby/2nd homebirth in November of 2015. I hadn't ever used a doula before, because I didn't believe I needed one. I became a doula between the birth of my 3rd baby and my 4th baby, I still felt as though I wouldn't need a doula. When Jenn offered to be my doula, I had no idea what an impact her support would make. She provided a safe space to vent during my pregnancy, someone who I knew would be listening and providing advice and support, rather than just hearing what I said. When my labor began, and my water broke, she was the first person to come to my home, knowing that I was nervous about the midwives potentially not coming in time and being alone with my husband. Her gentle, yet steady, touch, and whispers of support helped me through what ended up being my hardest labor and birth yet. Her place in the circle of women around me during my birth was irreplaceable. I can't imagine going through my son's labor without her guidance and wisdom. I won't hesitate to use her again if a 5th baby is in our future! "
J.M.
"My husband and I didn't hire Jenn in the 'traditional' sense. We wanted her help preparing for our daughter's arrival by assisting us in writing the birth plan, answering any questions we had, and being a resource in case we ran into issues. In addition, we wanted her continued support for knowledge for after the baby arrived. So while she wasn't actually present during labor and delivery, the information she provided us helped us to feel prepared for the journey. We were able to make informed decisions regarding our labor and birth of our daughter, in addition to some healthcare choices, based on what we all talked about. I would recommend her to ANYONE looking for a doula."
E.M.
"As a birth photographer I've worked alongside many doulas and I must say that Jennifer went above and beyond during a birth I attended. I would highly recommend her to everyone. It really was a pleasure watching her work her magic."
J.M.
"I wanted to drop in and just thank you so much for being with me during my labor and delivery. Words can never express my appreciation. You lit some type of enteral fire in me and got me through my bumps. You helped me bring in the most precious little girl into this world, I will be forever thankful."
B.W.
"This woman is an absolute godsend. From the first meeting, I instantly connected with her. I have pretty bad anxiety and she somehow has the ability to immediately calm me down and center me. Jenn is gifted with the amazing ability to read people’s emotions/feelings, so that she can fulfill their needs completely. I can’t get over how she can be in the room, constantly watching and involved, but also allow us to have privacy. It was like she was there, but also not there at the same time. It allowed my husband to take a more confident role by having someone with experience there to help us. When I called her to come over during my labor, she arrived within 45 minutes (she lives almost 30 minutes away and it was 4:00am). Jenn has two small children herself and what we didn’t know at the time was that her husband was out of town on business and she was still able to be with us, uninterrupted, the entire time. She never said a word about it and made us her priority. I labored 37hrs and I don’t know what we would have done without her. I interviewed with a few other doulas who would bring in a substitute when the 24 hour mark hit, but Jenn stayed with us through it all. She tended not only to my needs, but those of my husband’s too, without overstepping any boundaries and while completely including him in the process. While at my house, Jenn walked 5 miles with me to try and speed up the labor, helped me ease my pain so I could rest, and even suggested/assisted with different positions and techniques to try and move the baby from posterior to anterior position so that the labor would move quicker. My labor leading up to moving to the hospital at hour 25 was so beautiful, which was so much because of Jenn’s experience and sense of calm. We knew we were in good hands and that she would be able to guide us during our early and active labor. As a first time mom, there is so much that you don’t know about labor. The books can tell you so much, but there’s still a lot of unknown about how your body will experience it. Jenn put this apprehension out of my mind because I knew that she would be able to help me make the right decisions, especially in helping me decide when it would be time to transition to the hospital, since I wanted to labor at home as long as I could. After 29 hours of labor and nearly 36 hours without rest, the pain became too much for me and I decided to get the epidural. This was the most difficult decision I have ever had to make. I sobbed and felt so extremely depressed about the my choice. I felt like I had let my child, myself, my husband and my birth team down, but I knew that I could not keep going like this. Instead of judging me for my choice, Jenn helped me to come to terms with the decision and resurrected my good feelings about the labor/birth process. She was able to help me find the beauty in my birth experience and reassured me that I was making the right choice for me. Even though it was the middle of the night and my husband and I were both trying to rest, Jenn watched over me and never went to sleep. She stayed alert enough to help me if I needed it. If I needed more ice or a popsicle or just to talk, Jenn was there. When the baby was born, she stayed with us until we were in recovery and asked for time alone. Jenn also tastefully captured pictures/video of the birth for us so that we can relive our first reactions to our daughter over and over again. She came to my home to do her routine postpartum visit when my baby was a week old. Just as she arrived, my daughter suddenly became very ill, which for a new mom is terrifying. We didn’t know at the time that she had terrible reflux, which had caused a fever, congestion, projectilevomiting, and coughing all of the sudden. My husband and I were panicked and I was completely hysterical. Jenn helped me find the words to explain to the doctor what had happened and held my hand through the entire ordeal. She didn’t leave my side until the doctor had called us back and we had both calmed down. My husband and I want a big family and will never birth without this woman by our side. You need this doula!"
A.Z.
"My husband & I hired Jen to attend the birth of our first child as our labor doula & we could not be happier that we did! We lived an hour away from her but she was willing to make the drive to do our 2 prenatal visits. During the prenatal visits she answered any questions we had & was very knowledgeable in her responses. When the big day finally arrived, Jen’s support was absolutely indispensible to me. We checked into the hospital around 11pm & my son was born at 3:22pm the next day. His birth ended up being way more medical than I had envisioned. I had wanted an unmedicated labor & vaginal birth & ended up with artificial labor induction, an epidural, pitocin & ultimately a c-section. Each decision that I had to make took me further away from my vision for the birth & was very difficult & emotional for me but Jen was by my side every step of the way. I did labor on my own with no drugs for quite a while & during that time Jen was fabulous. She has a very calming presence & soothing voice & was able to encourage me gently through each contraction. She brought her own music to play which helped keep my mind focused. She & my husband worked together very well to make sure I was comfortable. When the midwife finally determined that a c-section might be the best course of action, I asked Jen for her thoughts as to alternatives that we might have at this point. She offered her thoughts and then gave my husband & I space to make the desicion & fully supported us when we decided to go through with it. She stayed for a couple hours after the baby was born and helped him to latch on & begin nursing. Jen is a very kind, gentle and supporting person & I would highly recommend her to any mama-to-be! I will definitely be calling her to attend my next birth! Thanks for all you do, Jen!"
B.R.
"Jen was amazing throughout my entire pregnancy. She was there whenever I had questions and never made me feel like a crazy first time mom. She was nothing but supportive of all of my choices, and provided my husband and I with information and advice when we asked. During my actual labor, she was more help than I could have ever imagined. It felt like I had known her for years. She was very in tune with what I needed, providing me with both physical and emotional support throughout the entire labor and delivery. Not only was she in tune with what I needed, but also with my husband’s needs. She was able to show him some things to help me, and he never felt left out. When I started to feel some negativity creeping in, she was literally right there to whisper positive affirmations into my ear when I needed it most. I truly can’t say enough about Jen. She is a fantastic doula, and we look forward to having her at our future births. Thank you again Jen for all that you did!"
E.W.
"Jennifer is a fabulous doula. She attended the birth of my second child. The intensity of the contractions progressed much quicker than with my first child and felt very different which took me by surprise. I birthed at a free standing birth center intending to have a natural birth. When I was swearing and begging to be transported to the hospital for an epidural she helped with talking me into staying. I’m very glad I did. Jennifer also provided physical support: applying pressure to alleviate pain in my hips, letting me squeeze her hand tightly, and fighting my ever stubborn legs that did not want to stay in a good birthing position. I highly recommend Jennifer as a doula. In fact, I have already recommended her to a friend."
E.W.
"Giving a testimonial was very important for me as I thought it might help other women who are going through the same feelings I had. First I would like to begin by saying that I didn’t know what a doula was until my Yoga teacher mentioned the importance of hiring a doula. I was very nervous towards the last couple of months I didn’t know how my labor was going to be. I did some research for doulas around the area and found some. I called two other doulas, but I didn’t feel a connection with them. My third call was Jennifer and right from the beginning I knew she was the person to hire. Jennifer guided me from the beginning to the end. She was there for me physically and emotionally when I most needed her. When I was going through the hardest stages of labor she was there supporting me and giving me advice. Overall my husband and I are very satisfied with her service. I hope she continues doing this profession and helping many women as she did with me. Thank You, Jennifer!"
K.H.
"I decided to go for a natural birth and the best thing I did to support that decision was enlist Jen Edmonds as my doula. I didn’t know exactly what that would entail and wasn’t 100% sold on even “needing” a doula but her knowledge and ability to implement massage, breathing techniques, and her calming presence set the whole tone for my labor & delivery. Now that may seem a bit much, but when I hit transition and thought I was going to die having Jen there completely focused on me while the midwives took vitals and my husband talked with my mom, was beyond words. I stared into her eyes begging for help without saying a word, and she understood and spoke back with and without words that my body could do it. She gave me her strength and energy to surrender to my body through the pain. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND JEN EDMONDS for any birth: natural, medical, or c-section. I PROMISE your money will not be wasted! Thank you, Jen!"
J.W.
"When I got pregnant Jenn had just started her Doula training and since we were friends we had talked about how I would love to know more about her training and have her be a part of my pregnancy. Jenn was so excited when she received her training material and would check in with me regularly and tell me all about what she was learning and how it could help me. When it got closer to my due date we got together and Jenn told me all about how she could support my husband and I during the labor and delivery of our son. Jenn was fantastic having lots of information for us to read, helping us to not be nervous about what was going to happen when I went into labor and answering any questions I had and if she wasn’t sure on the answer she would look it up or show me where I could find more information. As the last 2 weeks closed in we spoke almost daily and Jenn would give me lots of great support and advice. The night I went into labor I let her know early on and she was prepared and ready to go whenever I told her to come. As my labor intensified I called her and told her I was ready and she was here within 40 minutes (about the time it takes to get from her house to mine). Jenn had many things prepared to help me relax and for my labor to be as pleasant of an experience as it could be. Once we arrived at the hospital and we were all checked in she played the music in which we planned, she kept reassuring me that I was doing and great job and checking in with me to see if there was anything she could do. Jenn has such a warm and calming way about her that she helped me to feel relaxed as I could be. I was having a long labor and my body was not reacting as I hoped it would so we were not able to try many of the calming techniques out of bed that we planned. I had planned for an all natural birth but after 3+ hours of my body shaking with every contractions which were doubled up and coming every 30 seconds or so lasting 2+ minutes, I couldn’t take the discomfort anymore and was thinking about getting an epidural. I was so scared about having the epidural and the procedure to receive it. She helped me to remain calm and reassure me that I had done a great job thus far. She consistently gave me the support I needed. When it came time to push Jenn was right there, helping hold my leg while my husband held my head and then when our beautiful baby boy made his grand entrance she quickly grabbed the camera and snapped as many pictures she could of me and my husband meeting our baby for the first time. I also planned to bring home the placenta as I was having placenta encapsulation done and she made sure the nurse packaged it up and put it on ice. She was there for us for a few hours after the birth of our baby to help us get settled into the recovery room. Shortly after we brought our little boy home from the hospital Jenn came over to check in, talk about post labor and to help me out for a few hours while my husband was working some overtime. She hung out with the baby while I showered and got a snack and she helped answer any questions I had about nursing. Jenn also wrote our son, Lucas, a beautiful letter about the day he was born through her eyes, which of course made me cry! It was so sweet and it now sits in a frame on his dresser. Thank you Jenn, from the bottom of my heart for your support, warm, caring and compassionate nature. I am so thankful for our friendship and will always support you on your journey to become an amazing Doula. I see you doing wonderful things for many families for many years to come. "
