-Danielle V

“’ I’m so glad I went with my gut and hired Allie after interviewing 5 midwives (I’m a first timer). I often left her office thinking she should have been a therapist because she always knew exactly what to say to make me feel at ease about everything from my relationship, my family, my choices, and pregnancy, parenting, and birth anxieties. I talked absolutely everything over with her, and even felt sometimes that nobody else would understand me like she did. I had dealt with depression and anxiety for most of my life so this is a big deal to me. She never made me feel stupid, she validated me, and she wasn’t afraid to voice her own opinion or call me out in a loving way, which I really respected (she knew I could take it). She always gave me her opinion, and yet I never felt belittled for making my own decisions. My birth experience was transformational only because of Allie, Brooke, and my doula. They made me feel like I could actually do it in the toughest parts of labor. And they taught me to trust myself so much that I felt the safest I could possibly feel. Given the shock I felt about how painful it was, I truly feel like I would have ended up in the hospital without them. It’s not that I trusted Allie— it’s that she and the rest gave me the unshakeable strength to trust myself. It may be hard to understand if you haven’t gone through it yet. I only met Brooke 1-2 times throughout pregnancy and was surprised at how important she became to me. It’s been 2 months now and I’m a brand new, happy, and motivated person because of how perfect-for-me my first birth was! :) And of course how life-changing it is to love this little one so much. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring my baby earth-side in the most loving manner. I’ll never forget it and my baby will forever reap the benefits of this experience”