Doula Keelia

KEELIA IS A MUST!

I first heard the word doula when my wife asked me if I wanted additional support for my birthing experience. I was apprehensive at first, but meeting and working with KEELIA before and after my birth experience made me realize that her support WAS A MUST!

I interviewed a few doulas, but Keelia really stood out with her knowledge about the prenatal and postpartum process but more importantly her compassion, calm presence, and support. She gave me the confidence and loving guidance I needed especially during my long complicated three-day labor. She was committed to giving me the birth experience I wanted without judgment, and I was able to count on her during the tough times. Keelia is very professional doula yet amazingly kind, knowledgeable, gentle, present, and approachable doula and has no agenda but to be there for you through your process. I have already recommended her to my friends who are pregnant and will continue to recommend her in the future.

Thank you Keelia!

Keelia is amazing! We wish we had her help for all three of our boys. Having her come during the first days and weeks after our third boy was born gave us peace, encouragement, and support. She made a very busy and stressful time much more manageable. Her knowledge and skills are extensive, and she matches that with a calm, confident, and cheerful demeanor. She was ready to help with any task and took initiative when we didn't have something specific for her to do. I can't recommend Keelia highly enough!

I am certain that my experience with Keelia made THE difference in achieving the birth of my daughter the ways that I wanted it- delaying at home for as long as possible, no pain meds and a positive, empowered experience. My biggest fears were my low pain tolerance and lack of control over knowing exactly how it would go.

Shortly before our due date, Keelia came over to review our birth plan and a timeline of what to expect for pre-labor, active labor, travel to the birth center, transition, and delivery. She made sure we practiced comfort measures, breathing and how I wanted to be supported verbally. It wasn't until the last moments with Keelia where she looked me in the eye and said I was ready, that I actually felt prepared to go into labor and meet my daughter.

2 days later, my water broke in the middle of the night. For the next 44 hours of contractions, naps, two car rides up to the birth center, a traumatic cervical check on day one to then be sent back home, many walks around the neighborhood, yoga ball bouncing, 1 game of Monopoly, snacks, massages, and support - Keelia was at our beck and call.

By the time we got to the birth center (again) on day 2 after 36 hours, I was only at 1cm and 50% effaced. Keelia helped me calm down from exhausition and frustration at this news, and we made a plan to get misoprostol to thin my cervix but hopefully proceed with no other interventions.

Miraculously, Ava was born 7 hours later. Keelia coached me through contractions which came back to back for hours, waved lavendar oil in front of my face for nausea, massaged my back, covered the clock when she noticed it stressing me out, got me into the shower with Joe when I hit the wall of transition, and helped me breathe through pushing - 3 contractions! She reassured me every step of the way - calmly & knowing I could do it at all moments.

In this amazing doula's hands, I felt loved, safe, and supported. Thank you, Keelia.

We interviewed a couple of doulas but the minute my wife and I met her, she felt an instant connection with her and knew that she was the right person for the job. We met with Keelia at our place for dinner and knew she was the right person for the job. She has a very soothing and calm personality and is a great listener (which is a rare quality). She made herself available for texts and calls before the pregnancy and we had to text and call her a few times anytime my wife was exhibiting symptoms she was concerned about. Keelia was responsive to our questions and did her best to answer them even though some of them were of a medical nature.

During the labor process she was also fantastic. Very calm and composed under pressure and very responsive to my wife's needs. My wife, in no uncertain terms, declared that she wouldn't have been able to do it without Keelia. Keelia massaged her during every contraction and it seemed that was the only thing that would help with pain management. In fact because of the massaging my wife was able to make it to 9 cm without an epidural -- she was super fatigued which is why she ended up doing the epidural but I'm pretty sure if labor hadn't occurred during the wee hours of the morning Keelia's massage techniques would have helped her give birth without using any medication. Thanks Keelia, you were great.

Having Keelia at the birth of our son was the best decision we made!

We chose to have a doula at our birth because of my desire to have an unmedicated birth and some anxiety about a hospital birth. Having Keelia be present for us before, during and after our birth such a gift. As soon as we spoke on the phone I knew she would be a good fit. She was warm, genuine, and reassuring. Having her in our home for our pre-birth meetings was comfortable and really helped put me at ease about having a "stranger" at our birth as well as our decision to birth at the hospital. Keelia asked thoughtful questions and offered her expertise. Given that this was second birth Keelia helped us process the first birth and we talked about how things might be similar or different.

My labor was short and intense and Keelia helped guide both me and my husband every step of the way. She was a calm, experienced presence for my husband (when do we go to the hospital? Etc.) and a great comfort for me. In moments when I didn't think I could go on Keelia gave me the reassurance I needed to have the unmedicated birth that I wanted. There was one particular moment when I was feeling like I was out of options and the nursing staff was buzzing around. I was incredibly overwhelmed and didn't think I was going to be able to continue to be medication free. Keelia connected with me though the intense contractions, reassured me and helped me to keep going. Our little one was born soon after. She was wonderful!

Let me just start off by saying that i wouldn't have been able to do it without keelia by my side during my labor. At my first home birth, i didnt think I needed a doula because both my husband and i thought he could do it. After all, we trained for it at our birthing class, right? Turns out we were wrong - as much as i love my husband, we both felt like i needed a maternal person by my side this second time around who knew how to massage, encourage, and support me. Keelia really has the gift of nurturing and i felt like she was always genuine when encouraging me with her words when had moments of doubt or fear during labor, especially during the transition period. I honestly felt like my labor would have been longer as well if keelia wasn't there to suggest certain positions that would speed up the labor. She was basically my advocate and was the only person who was able to care about my physical needs and comfort (my wonderful midwife was busy making sure baby and I were well and healthy and husband was dealing with logistics). Before the labor we had two meetings and practiced positions as well as discussing what type of support I'd like her to be so when labor comes around, she'd know exactly how to help me and avoided things that would stress me out like talking over me (the last doula i interviewed had that tendency). Here are a couple of highlights from my labor on how keelia was able to make a huge difference :

1. She suggested laboring in the shower and that ended up being a good amount of my labor. She also warmed up my towel for me in the dryer!

2. Keelia was really able to encourage me when my water broke and the labor started hurting a lot more because it was transition period.

3. She was able to calm me and tell me I can do it when we realized we didn't have a hose for the birthing tub, and our bathtub will still work fine! I could have easily panicked because other people were and a water birth was really a crucial part of our birthing plan.

4. This is silly but i appreciated her feeding me my sushi while i was lying down getting stitched up and holding my newborn.

5.Also, almost forgot to mention those massages during each contraction really helped minimize the pain! Some people's massages hurt (ex:my husband :), or even a midwives). Not everyone has that gift but i remember reading that keelia has a certification in massage.

Keelia also does placenta encapsulations if you are interested.

Keelia in person is a real sweet person and you can tell she genuinely loves helping mothers in this way. I think it's because she has a big heart. i remember her saying that if she could take some contractions for me, she would and i believe she would :). She is also able to be diplomatic, works well with different personalities, and has an amazing ability to stay calm no matter the circumstances. I definitely recommend Keelia as your doula because she will have your best interest at heart.

Where to even begin?

My partner and I interviewed several doulas, each time liking who we had met, but never quite finding the person we really "clicked" with to help us in our journey to parenthood. That is, until Keelia walked into our home. Her aura, presence, demeanor, whatever you want to call it is immediately and palpably calming. In the same way a puppy makes you smile without even thinking about it, Keelia's proximity is instantly calming. She's like a walking cup of chamomile tea.

The moment the door closed behind her after our initial meeting, my partner and I literally looked at each other, gave each other an affirmative single head nod and a "yup." We knew instantly she would be the person to support us through our experience with labor and childbirth.

Keelia is so incredibly kind and knowledgeable. She provided fantastic resources leading up to our due date, and once the day arrived she was on it answering my questions and addressing concerns even during my labor.

She attended our baby shower (!!!) and it was fantastic to have her there and to meet the rest of my birth team (including my sister and mom), so when the day arrived she already had built relationships with them. It made the L&D room chatter and conversation flow easily.

Keelia has become a friend and an invaluable part of our life, and if you are fortunate enough to partner with her on your journey, I can promise you that you will be in the very best hands with Keelia. She was born for birth work and it is so wonderful to be supported by someone who is passionate about and truly loves what they do.

We love you, Keelia!

To be quite honest, we weren't sure that we could afford a doula nor were we sure having a doula would help at all. In the end, Keelia was one of the best choices we made in our birth journey! After interviewing a few doulas, my husband and I both quickly knew she was our gal. Upon meeting her, we quickly felt her warmth and authenticity. After this first encounter with her, Keelia never pressured us to choose her and even sent us a ton of birth resources with no strings attached. We also especially loved that Keelia is a strong advocate for birth justice. As educators committed to diversity, equity and inclusion work, her values were very much aligned with ours.

The night before the big day, Keelia coincidentally came over for our first prenatal visit to go over our birth plan. Early the next morning, my water broke and I called her frantically as our baby wasn't due for another five weeks! She calmly let me know to head towards the hospital when I felt ready that morning. Just hearing her voice put me at ease and I was able to get it together enough to pack a bag and make a pit stop at Whole Foods for snacks and other essentials. Since we wanted to try for an unmedicated birth, Keelia prepared us on how to gently and firmly advocate for our needs, as she knew the doctors would insist on inducing me. When we got to triage, the ob gyn (as expected) did aggressively push induction. With Keelia's support over phone and text, we were able to negotiate for more time to let my contractions start naturally.

Once we got to the labor and delivery room, Keelia arrived shortly after, calm and steady as can be. Since we had not had our second prenatal meeting at the house, she gave my husband and me a crash course in what to expect and showed us massage techniques and positions to consider. Before leaving, she helped set up my room with candles and an oil diffuser (with oils she brought from her own collection)!

Soon after she left though, my contractions kicked in and gradually became stronger over a few hours. We did what we could on our own and when it felt like I needed Keelia, my husband called her and she arrived quickly. The pain was crazy intense at this point, and I have this foggy memory of reaching out in front of me, feeling for Keelia's hand. She coached me through the toughest parts, giving me positive affirmations, massaging my back, and feeding me ice cubes. When it was time to push, she and my husband were on either side of me and I could not have felt more held and empowered. With her coaching, I was able to have the beautiful natural hospital birth that I had planned for.

The next day, Keelia checked in with us by phone and offered to come see us. Our baby, being premature, had some complications so we decided to have her visit us at home when we returned. We still had to make several decisions around his hospital care and Keelia was with us every step of the way by phone. At this point, everything felt so scary and uncertain to us, and we couldn't have been more grateful to have her support beyond the birth.

A few days later, in her gentle and loving way, Keelia came over and helped us pick up groceries, cook up a delicious post-partum stew, bathe our baby, and show us how to use our baby wrap. When my husband went back to work and I was an emotional, hormonal, sleep-deprived mess, she came over again, scooped our baby up and sent me off to bed while she cooked up another meal and took out our trash. It was exactly what I had needed.

Two months later, our once teeny tiny baby is now a chunky little guy, thriving and healthy! And while we are fine right now, we know that Keelia is still just a text, phone-call, or email away should we have any postpartum questions! We are so grateful that we found Keelia and absolutely love that we will always think of her when we think of our son's birth. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Keelia!

After my initial interview call with Keelia, I felt an instant connection and knew she was the right fit for us. She has a very reassuring and calm presence, which I couldn't find in the other doulas we interviewed.

During my pregnancy, Keelia was available via text/calls to address any questions that arose and responded right away with her advice and support. I knew I could reach out to her for anything at all. When my grandfather passed and I was concerned about my grief during the pregnancy, she helped my calm down with one quick phone call.

During my labor process, she was truly amazing. I wasn't able to communicate much during my active labor contractions but it seemed as if Keelia knew exactly what I needed. In terms of pain management, I was able to reach 9cm in dilation with Keelia's massage techniques alone. In retrospect, I would have had a much more difficult labor experience without Keelia's constant words of encouragement and support throughout every step of my labor process. Keelia truly embodies everything you would want in a Doula and I highly recommend her!

Keelia took our care of newborn twins in their first six weeks home from the hospital. She was absolutely amazing at caring for them. Even if they had been fussing all day, they would calm down once she took over. Our boy--just 4 lbs at the time--was still struggling to eat, but she'd almost magically be able to coax to finish his meal.


Keelia was also a treasure trove of knowledge, resources, and experience. We're first-time parents and had to learn the skills from the ground up. She showed us ingenious ways to carry and care for our babies. She offered practical advice when I was struggling with breastfeeding woes. We're figuring out our own "parenting philosophy" as we went along and often consulted her advice. She was always encouraging and practical and gave honest answers, but never pushed her own agenda. She always managed to be very supportive without being patronalizing or judgmental.


In additional to being a wonderful caretaker, Keelia is basically Micky Mouse in Fantasia. Between doing dishes, cleaning bottles, endless rounds of laundry, she kept our place and running when we were too exhausted to keep up with the daily necessities. Her presence brought sanity to our household. When we were struggling between her visits, I'd tell myself--I just need to make it through today. Keelia will be here tomorrow! She would bring a kind and thoughtful presence to our home--which is particularly helpful when we were sleep-deprived.

Keelia is one of the most supportive people I've ever met. The world is lucky that she decided when she was a kid that she wanted to be a birth worker when she grew up. And I feel blessed to have had her as my doula for my very first birth, which I had at home.There are many things I could share of how specifically Keelia was a great doula, I'll just share three of my favorites.

1. During my labor, I had my eyes closed for 95% of it and yet I knew I was fully supported, Keelia was right behind me at every moment for every contraction ready to press my hips or my lower back, which alleviated so much of the pain!

2. After the birth I recall seeing Keelia typing into her phone, to which she shared that she was taking notes about the birth. I so appreciated getting to hear her recollection of the birth a couple of weeks later and receiving those notes!

3. Finally, I remember when breast-feeding was feeling so impossibly painful and I texted her, she responded with a long and beautiful paragraph of why I was doing so great and that my baby would appreciate me for all that I was already doing for them.

Basically she's the best cheerleader you could hire in my opinion, And I'm forever grateful that she was on my birth team and a part of me and my baby's first few months of life together (and many years to come I hope).

Thank you so much!