A Father's  Testimony
   

   Our first child was born five years ago.  My wife ended up using pain
medication.  She really doesn’t remember much of her labor as the drugs
made her very tired and she drifted in and out of consciousness.  The
birth itself was painful and difficult and the doctor gave her pitocin to
speed things up.  After our son was born he cried for two days from the
residual birthing drugs. When they finally wore off he was actually our
quietest baby.

   Our second son’s birth was a little better, still difficult for my wife, but
better as we lucked out with a helpful nurse who was kind. When she
was available she would coach my wife on her breathing and alternate
birth positions.  Nonetheless my wife ended up with more drugs and
pitocin.  Her recovery was long and difficult.

   When our daughter, our third child, was born Sasha served as our
doula.  It was our first experience using a doula.  My wife decided that
with Sasha’s help she would birth this baby with no pain killers and no
pitocin.  I have to admit I was a little weirded out by having someone else
in the room while the baby was being born.  That however quickly
changed as I saw how Sasha was able to help me meet my wife’s needs
during her labor.  Over and over Sasha would suggest a new way to sit or
move that would help the baby shift lower with much less pain for my
wife.  In fact, even without any pain killers I could see in her eyes and
behavior that the pain was visibly less than anytime before.  Sasha would
massage a point on her hips or encourage my wife to do something
different at just the right times.  For the first time I was able to do things
that actually helped my wife, all with Sasha’s gentle guidance and
support.  She made this birth much easier on us both.  Best of all, my
wife was able to see and hold the baby right after the birth without any
drugs to alter her perceptions or cloud her memories.  It also took her
much less time to recover after the birth and get back to feeling “normal”
again.  

   We would highly recommend using a doula in general and Sasha in
specific during pregnancy and birth.

                                                                           ~ Joe V.
big brother saying hi
to his little sister
our baby girl born
wide-eyed and beautiful
my wife and daughter soon after
giving birth, happy, healthy and
filled with pride and joy