our first baby was born at home with one of the birthways doulas in attendance. in the months preceding the birth and at the birth itself, she offered such warm feelings of encouragement, support, and loving enthusiasm for this crazy process that is birth that i would highly recommend getting to know the folks at birthways if you're looking for support pre/during/post labor-- both for their practical information and calm guidance as well as for their hands-on apply-hot-compresses-to-your-low-back-and-massage-your-feet-during-labor service. she also helped me address some of my confused/overwhelmed/holy-shit-we're-parents feelings in the roller coaster ofemotions after the birth. having a baby has been such a huge transition (no surprise, i know, but it was more than i expected and was perhaps all the more daunting since we didn't know many other parents in chicago before becoming parents ourselves). birthways has made the process of getting to know our new baby and getting to know ourselves as parents a funnier, more relaxed, and more sane experience. i also feel incredibly thankful to have stumbled on such good post-partum care when the baby and i were still figuring out nursing. i think it's easy to assume that all the pieces will fall into place and then be caught by surprise when it doesn't all come together as easily and gracefully as expected. having non-judgemental support from respectful and knowledgeable practitioners was invaluable. in the calm hours/days after each visit from the postpartum doula, my spouse and i referred to the "karen effect", whereby everything suddenly got easier and we both felt more human and even remembered that it's possible to have a sense of humor about the absurdity of all this new-ness :) i seriously wish i could put a birthways doula in the mail and send her to my friends in other states who are pregnant or who have newborns!

I have both personal and professional experiences with Birthways and have never been let down. Their childbirth classes left my husband and I feeling as informed and prepared as one possibly can be before becoming a parent. Our instructor, Karen, was amazing and her words stuck in my head and helped me get through my early labor at home. I have referred many, many friends and co-workers to Birthways... it is time and money well spent.

My work in a Women's Hospital gives me the inside scoop from a number of women who have used Birthways for labor and postpartum doula services. I have never heard parents regret using them, and I have only heard glowing reviews. A doula at any point in this transformation into parenthood is a great gift, and Birthways delivers quality and personalized care. I recommend moms consider adding Birthways to shower registry so that family/friends can pamper you with a night or morning of help after baby comes.

For my first birth, I did not have a doula. For my second birth, I knew I wanted one. Birthways helped me connect to a doula (actually, 2 doulas!) who we could afford and who were a perfect match for us personality-wise. I had an awesome midwife who was present for most of my hospital labor and who was totally on board with the kind of natural childbirth I hoped to have, but even with a practitioner who is that simpatico, it's great to have someone who is there to support your comfort and your family. The minute Shoshana and Susan entered the delivery room, they brought with them fresh energy and enthusiasm. They made my labor much more comfortable, and after the birth they went above and beyond in making sure I was fed and comfortable. One of them went to pick up my son at a friend's house so that my husband wouldn't have to leave me and the baby. I highly recommend their services.

Our doula (Susan) was excellent. She definitely knew her stuff and communicated it to us in a very accessible way. She was always willing to answer our questions and was always very friendly and open even when we called her at odd hours or were feeling stressed out during our communications with her. At the hospital, she was able to talk to the doctors/nurses/etc. about our options and advocated for us in a non-confrontational way - she was also able to ask the right questions so she could advise us when it appeared that we would need to divert from our birth plans. She was very good at letting us know about natural ways to deal with labor pains and to advance labor, and was very supportive of us during a long labor. If we decided to have another baby and were in the Chicago area, we would definitely use Birthways again.