Life Links Doula Services

"Monica was very supportive and provided me a lot of information related to a natural birth. She assisted me in making informed decisions regarding my personal choices of my own birth experience. She was always available when I had questions and was respectful to my opinions. When it came time to labor and delivery, Monica was there to offer as much support as necessary. Overall, I appreciated having her there through my pregnancy for emotional support and to provide me information on different breathing techniques and positions that ultimately helped make my labor and delivery more manageable."

-Rebecca 

"The minute I spoke with Monica she had such a calming presence that I instantly felt comfortable. My husband and I had a video call with Monica and asked so many questions, and with lots of patience Monica answered all of them thoroughly. The week after she came over to meet both of us face to face. And we had a lovely informative encounter where she showed us certain exercises to do in the meantime to turn my sunny side up baby into position. Monica was a great support system with continuously checking up on me and give me certain tips and send me helpful information to my email that I would need after birth. I had a specific birth plan in mind but that didn’t go the way I expected. I had a very long labor and Monica was fast with communication when I needed her to come over to my house when I was in early labor. She had so many different techniques and methods to ease the pain while I had contractions. She helped me with countless exercises to speed up labor and was very patient with me when I just wanted to give up. Fast forward to when I was 6 cm dilated, I needed her every second due to the excruciating pain and with the exercises she was helping me with I went to a quick 10 cm and was ready to push. Our Beautiful baby boy was born, but due to turning events he had to get sent to the hospital. During this scary and stressful experience Monica stayed by my side through it all. Following the days after she would continuously follow up with me and make sure to let me know she was there for me if I needed anything. Throughout this whole experience I do not regret having Monica be a part of our birth story and will always recommend her to any of my mamas wanting to do a natural birth!! Thank you Monica for all you’ve done, you are a true blessing and we couldn’t be more thankful for you!"

-Violet

"As a first time mom wanting an unmedicated home birth, I knew I had to prepare mentally and physically. Three months before leading up to the birth of our daughter I felt mentally and physically prepared, but I felt the support of a doula was the one missing component that I needed. Every book on natural birth preparation and my midwife strongly recommended it. My midwife gave me the contact for Monica and by our first phone call I knew she was God sent. She had a calm and peaceful demeanor and was very knowledgeable from the get go. She had 4 natural births herself and I believe that experience speaks volumes. Monica was always extremely professional and encouraging. She worked very well with my family and the birth team. Monica was respectful and stayed within her scope of practice at all times. She would frequently check up on my mental and physical status and follow up with me after each appointment. She was well prepared and gave me hand outs on hands on techniques for my husband to use during birth, as well as general movement and exercise for me (with the clearance from my midwife). Monica even drove two hours to practice hands on techniques with my Husband and me so that we felt more prepared for the upcoming birth. During the birth Monica remained peaceful and encouraging throughout. She spent 12 hours performing hands on techniques with my husband because I was experiencing very intense back labor and it required counter pressure the whole time. Monica had great stamina and strength. Her and my Husband were a dynamic duo, thanks to her support and her coaching my Husband. Even when I wanted to just lay in one position Monica encouraged me to get on the ball, stand, walk (anything really to progress labor). For a first time mom my labor progressed quickly. I absolutely believe that I couldn’t have done an unmedicated birth without the much needed support, knowledge, and encouragement from Monica. I thank God that he put her in our path, and as a result I was able to birth our healthy and happy baby girl at home, just as I prayed for. It was a dream come true, and I have my birth team and Monica to thank for that! I plan to have Monica at all my future births. I strongly recommend using Monica as your doula if you want a strong, peaceful, and passionate doula by your side!!" 

-Sarah

"Monica was a great addition to my birth team, along with my husband. Even though this was my third birth, and my husband is a great partner, I still wanted the extra support of a doula. She met with us around 36 weeks, discussed my birth plan, provided some resources, went over a few techniques with us, almost like a rehearsal, and discussed things we could incorporate depending on how the labor was going. She made herself available, for the birth or just to communicate over the phone, starting at 38 weeks. I was able to share with her how the end of my pregnancy was going and get some advice on different things to make myself more comfortable or better prepare for the birth. When I went into early labor, things didn’t really progress for awhile, and it was the middle of the night, so I didn’t request that she come over yet. Eventually my labor started to progress quickly so she made good time to get to our house, but then I realized we needed to actually go to the hospital right away so she met us at the hospital instead. It was a bit of a whirlwind at the hospital, because I had to go to triage by myself [due to Covid restrictions] and then Monica and my husband were allowed in when they began to transport me to the delivery room, where I started pushing right away. My baby was born pretty quickly, and it was a stressful pushing stage, because the baby’s heart rate was very low. Monica and my husband couldn’t be as involved as I would’ve liked, mainly because of how the environment was in the delivery room at the time. I think if we had made it to the hospital earlier in my labor, we would’ve been able to settle in more and utilize all the things we had planned, like the tub, the essential oils, massage/counter pressure from both of them, etc. Monica was ready for all that, but my labor just caught me off guard and it didn’t happen. However, after the birth, she stayed with us for a few hours and helped us get all settled into our postpartum room and also helped me a bit with breastfeeding, which was good because there were no lactation consultants available. All in all, Monica seems like a great doula and is a warm, calming presence. It was a pleasure working with her."
 

-Jennifer

 "Monica was very informative and accommodating when it came to hiring her as our birth doula. I was due to have our baby boy October 2021 and we planned on having her as a part of our birth team. We were so excited! Leading up to the birth of our son, she spent time talking to us over video chat, informing us what to expect and all the ways she was here to support us during labor, birth, and after birth. We were thrilled to have her on our team as we approached such new territory (giving birth for the first time) and we felt confident we would have a positive birth experience with her. Unfortunately, due to unexpected health conditions and a sudden induction, we were unable to have her as a part of our birth team. Monica is very knowledgeable in her field and appears with a strong passion for what she does. I would definitely recommend her for anyone who is considering doula services. Having support and confidence leads for a much more positive birth experience!!"
 

-Rachael