We found Shelia through Swedish’s website, and read through her testimonials and felt an immediate connection, which continued after we initially contacted her. She was very knowledgeable, and continued checking in with us throughout the pregnancy, with recommendations for further information. When I went into labor at 38 weeks, Shelia was such a calming presence. She arrived at my home, and helped me through a few very intense contractions before assessing the situation and getting us to the hospital. Once we were there, she continued helping us through the chaos that a fast labor can be, and recommended different ways to help keep me relaxed. She knew the exact spot to apply pressure to when I was having intense back pain based on how my baby was positioned. I intended on an unmedicated, intervention free birth, and while all signs pointed to that at the beginning, after a few hours of pushing with no baby, she helped the nurse come up with a variety of new positions to try, to help us attempt to preserve our original plan. When it was clear that the baby was not cooperating, she continued to encourage us to discuss our options, and gave us the space to do so in private, which we appreciated immensely. When we finally decided to go forward with a c-section, Shelia made sure she was in the room and advocated for me even when I was not able to do so for myself. Due to all the medications I was put on, I was unable to remember the majority of my daughter’s birth; Shelia took the most amazing pictures, and wrote up a beautiful birth story to help me fill in the blanks. She also met with us for a postpartum visit to help us figure out latching and to just check in with us and make sure we were adjusting, and made sure to check in with us each day as well.

We fully intend to hire Shelia for any additional births, and feel very fortunate to have had her present for the birth of our daughter.