Birth Stories & Testimonials

Doula Services

“Michelle Welborn changed my life.  Strong statement?  Maybe.  True?  Definitely.  I met Michelle through the Childbirth Prep class at Natural Resources. Through that class, I was empowered with the knowledge to help me determine that I desired a natural childbirth, that I wanted Michelle to be my doula, that I did not need to be induced even when my baby was 15 days post-dates ("late"), that I could indeed birth that 10 lb. 13 oz. little girl without any pain meds (I did!), and, finally, that I had a strong desire to help prenatal and pospartum women and needed to adjust my career path.  Michelle's stellar education and support prenatally set me up to have the empowering and transformative birth that I wanted.  Her support postpartum was...well, she's a freaking superhero.  Wearing my baby while doing my dishes, giving excellent advice, letting my husband and I have twenty minutes together on a sunny day in the back yard, and more.  I can't say enough wonderful things about her.”
~ Shelby

“Michelle's knowledge about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum health is boundless.  It was so comforting to know that she was only a phone call away, available to answer any questions that we had.  And questions that I didn't even know I had.  Michelle's help and support allowed me the confidence and freedom that I needed to feel like I was doing OK at being a new dad, and allowed me the space and time to fall in love with my new baby.”
~ Scott

“Choosing to have a doula was the best decision I made during my pregnancy. Michelle was absolutely wonderful and I can't imagine having gone through my labor without her. Additionally, the information that she gave me after the baby was born was succinct and more helpful than the half dozen books that I had read! I recommend her highly without any equivocation.”
~ Susan Cieutat, RN, JD.

"Simply put Michelle was a wonderful support person to have by my side during such a painful and emotional time.  Michelle and my husband worked together perfectly as a team to support me, and with her guidance made it possible for me to have my baby naturally, without intervention." 

~Stacey Matteoli

“Michelle was definitely a blessing to have during my labor and delivery. She was absolutely sincere, positive, helpful and personable, while being professional throughout the whole process. Although she was my doula, it was like having another friend in the room who knew how to adapt with me and my husband during my labor and delivery. I credit her for providing me such a great labor and delivery experience.”
~ LK

“As a father-to-be I greatly appreciated Michelle's presence. It took some of the pressure off of me and it allowed me to take much needed breaks to rest, eat, make phone calls, etc. I would recommend her to any expecting couple.”
~ Robert Markel

“Michelle's Postpartum Doula Services gave me the opportunity to rest and recover quickly after a particularly long and difficult 36-hour labor. Her support and experience in caring for our crying newborn, assistance with basic housekeeping, and knowledgeable postpartum advice were invaluable. I could not have made it through those challenging first weeks without her!”
~ Jocelyn

“Michelle was absolutely essential. She helped to turn what could be described as a rather difficult birth into a deeply transformative experience. You are in good and caring hands with her!”
~ Natasha Juelicher

“Michelle is very knowledgeable and always had good suggestions of techniques and exercises, while never being overbearing. I felt like I had a strong ally around the clock in the hospital, so I was free to focus all of my attention on my wife and the birth of our beautiful baby. She also reminded me to eat!”
~ Joshua Burbank

“Michelle made my labor a far more pleasurable experience than I could have anticipated. Her presence made me feel calm and in control, which gave me the courage to stay at home longer. I labored for 20 hours at home and then 5 or 6 in hospital and had a natural birth without pain medication. Along side my husband she helped me physically and psychologically work through each contraction with pain relieving tricks (acupressure/massage) and distractions (reading to me, breathing, meditations, even laughing and joking). My husband was concerned that he would feel useless if we had a doula - but he was SO happy to have her. She instructed him in ways to help me - also, having two birth coaches allowed them to rest from time to time, never leaving me alone.

At the hospital, Michelle worked well along side medical staff (they really liked her approach, and told me so afterwards). Mainly she bought me time to make decisions, acting as a mediator. Throughout our experience she provided thoroughly researched information, good reasoning and loving reassurance.”
~ Laura

“Michelle Welborn was our Doula for the birth of our twins, Madeleine and Olivia. Michelle met with us several times before the birth, and was extremely informative about many areas of pregnancy and birthing that I was not (even though I had already had one child)! In one instance, she gave me a suggestion of a yoga position that helped to move one of the babies into a head down position, and I am certain that her suggestions helped me have a vaginal birth. Michelle is calm, fun, knowledgeable, easy-going, -- and fit right into our family unit as we experienced a week of labor and a doubly successful birth! She was in no way obtrusive.

I recommend Michelle to any pregnant family -- her assistance and calmness and gentle advocacy during my labor were significant. My husband says that she was a very calming and invaluable presence -- suggesting ways in which he could be helpful to me.”
~ Kerry

“Michelle Welborn Da Doula Extraordinaire! My husband and I are both thrilled with our decision to have a doula during the delivery of our first child, Audrey. Even my husband, who was not convinced to hire one at first, would definitely not go any other route in future births.

I learned that despite the nature of any birth plan, the delivery of a child can be a rollercoaster ride filled with unexpected twists and turns. As a woman in labor it was great to have two people to support me through each contraction. But, Michelle provided much more than just physical support. She was very helpful in making me think through my priorities to establish a birth plan prior to the delivery date. Once in delivery, Michelle helped to provide a comfortable and stress-free labor environment. She made great suggestions to aid the progression of my labor, gave us objective opinions and guidance, as well as eased our minds during the most stressful moments.

When baby #2 decides to enter this world, we hope Michelle will again be right there with us!”
~ LeAnn Auer

“Michelle is highly knowledgeable, experienced, and intuitive with helpful suggestions, perspectives and techniques that make the entire pregnancy and birth process more under stable and meaningful. She’s both a calming and empowering ally to both Mom and Dad throughout the birth process. She helped me be a more involved, and helpful birth partner to my wife and fully ready to welcome our baby into the world. I would so highly recommend her to anyone. Thank you Michelle Wellborn.”
~ Anthony

Childbirth Education

“I attended a wonderful parenting/birthing class taught by Michelle. She was full of tips, tricks and hints. I was so impressed with her wisdom and knowledge that I wanted her as my doula."
~ Dianna

“We learned so much from Michelle during our Expectant Parent course! We appreciated the depth of her knowledge and experience, and were particularly impressed with her attitude and approach - she doesn't have her own agenda, but rather provides factual information without judgment, allowing parents to decide what would be best for them. She is warm and supportive, and is an excellent teacher.”
~ Dan and Julie Cohen