Birth Stories
katherine colquitt
My husband and I had the privilege of having Julia's wealth of experience, as well as depth of care during our daughter's birth (March 2017)! Julia was an incredibly valuable resource to have during the process of our labor and delivery. Both her knowledge of child bearing and constant, selfless accessibility during our (long!) labor was a great source of calm and hope for my husband and I. My husband was able to ask question after question for us during labor, and Julia's thorough understanding of my working body and the baby's progression was both helpful and encouraging! A rare combo of skilled hands and compassionate heart, I can't recommend enough the joy and comfort it is to have Julia as a part of your birth experience in any capacity.
katie harris
She made herself available to us anytime to answer questions as they arose, which they did often. She has even been on the phone with us several times since our babies came home!
2. Her partnership with my husband. Evan and I took the Bradley birth class, and Evan was trained to be my birth coach. Because of this we originally thought it was unnecessary to also have a doula, but we absolutely loved having both! Julia and Evan worked so well together. Julia did not take anything away from Evan’s role, rather her presence enabled Evan to be fully in his role as my birth coach and emotional support. Julia offered so much assurance to Evan when he needed it during our birth!
3. Her knowledge and skill. Julia has thorough knowledge of your body and how to get your baby/babies to progress and descend. She was able to help position me so that my contractions were the most productive. She also brought some great tools with her including some awesome massage oils!
I would absolutely recommend having Julia be a part of your birth!
Julia is a wonderful doula!! She acted as our doula for the birth of our twins, Foster and Charlotte, on October 17th, 2017. My husband, Evan, and I would highly recommend her in any capacity :) Three things we especially loved about our experience with Julia...
1. Her care and accessibility. Julia truly cares about helping you achieve the birth experience you want, and ultimately the overall health of your entire family! Her little touches made such a big difference…she thought of everything from bringing Christmas lights to create a soothing birth environment to bringing snacks and drinks for my husband and me.
katie cowsert
Because Julia encouraged us to take Bradley Method Childbirth classes, we felt ready as we could be going into our first labor, but had lots of questions pop up along the way. Julia was readily available to answer questions, encourage and reassure. Same went for baby #2. She was a valuable resource for us and she wasn't even in the room-I know she will be a tremendous blessing for any one she has the privilege to serve as doula.
chelsea guzman
Julia was my doula for my son's birth in October. To say that she was incredible truly is an understatement. From the very first phone conversation with her, she made me feel cared for and supported. She was a wealth of knowledge and often checked in on me throughout my pregnancy, just to see how i was doing. She made my husband feel supported and still able to be my main source of support during labor.
When i was in labor, she was awesome. The physical support she offered such as hip squeezes and massage was great, but it was her emotional support that helped get me through my fast and intense labor. My husband felt relaxed through the whole process knowing he had someone there to help him as well. He never once felt pushed out of place, but rather that him and Julia worked as a team to support me. She offered incredible suggestions and also knew when to step back and let me get lost in "labor land." Hiring Julia is well worth your time and finances! I promise that you won't regret it.
lesley & andrew maggard, baby girl claire
There aren't enough positive adjectives in the English language to describe our experience with Julia. In my opinion, having a Doula is essential to conquering natural childbirth, especially as a first time mother. However, NOT all doulas are created equal!! Julia is truly gifted and is intimately involved every step of the way. She is not another passive, hands off healthcare worker. She doesn't answer to anyone but YOU!! From the moment you sign the contract, YOU are her priority and you always feel that way, even post-partum. Her genuine love and passion for what she does transforms navigating a scary & unknown process to being empowered to conquer the biggest feat of your life. You will NEVER regret inviting Julia into your life and your birth story. I couldn't imagine ever facing child birth without her. What an incredible labor support team I had in Andrew and Julia! Andrew and I are both so grateful to her and New Life Doula Services for helping us bring our sweet little girl into the world.
Despite our medical background, we quickly learned last December how little we actually knew about pregnancy, labor and delivery. There are so many stereotypes in our culture and accepted norms about the process that you see on television or hear about in the mass media. Yet, it doesn't have to be that way and the first step is to start asking questions, exploring options and being your own advocate. This led us to Julia and New Life Doula Services.
Throughout our pregnancy, Julia was only a text, email or call away to better explain a concept for me, answer a question, share a pertinent article or birth story, offer words of encouragement and quickly becoming a very close friend. As my due date approached, I relied on her expertise more frequently helping me sort out details I'd heard from my routine care appointments and deciphering what my body was actually doing, which would become apparent on delivery day.
She met us armed with her "bag of tricks" as I call it (twinkle lights, encouraging word cards, music and more) and her tool belt of essential oils. When I would say I couldn't do it, Julia and my husband reminded me I was ALREADY doing it!
She was a peaceful, calm & knowledgeable support person and advocate for me when I couldn't advocate for myself and Andrew was filling his own role of support.
Andrew and I know that without the angel in Julia that God sent us our birth story would have been completely different.
amanda & josh pribble,
baby girl addie
Julia is VERY knowledgeable in all things birth. We did hands on practice of movements, positioning techniques (like, rebozo and inversions!), and use of the birth ball in the comfort of our home. BUT, most importantly, she listened and got to know us both! We talked about hopes,fears, and more! She helped us make our birth plan into something that was manageable and meaningful.
When a complication arose, requiring us to consider and ultimately be induced (one of our fears!), Julia was there, encouraging, coaching, guiding, and calming our anxieties.
In the hospital, she set up a safe and peaceful space in our birth room- we had twinkle lights, birth affirmations, pictures, music, and flowers.
During our LONG labor, Julia was a constant source of emotional strength and support for both of us and she encouraged movement when appropriate, used massage, rebozo, visualizations, breathwork, use of water, and essential oils during labor for comfort. She helped keep us focused on the goal of meeting our baby girl. Her interactions with the other members of our birth team (midwives, nurses, etc.), were comfortable and professional.
After delivery, she continued to support us and care for us, including visiting us at home. She talked through our birth story, especially helping me to cope with and accept everything that happened leading up and during delivery, as some of it was a blur!
We cannot recommend Julia enough. We are so thankful she is in our lives! She is everything we had hoped for in a doula, and much, much more.
ashley & michael walker,
baby girl magnolia grace
Not enough adjectives in the English language to describe the experience my husband and I had with Julia walking with us on our birthing journey to meet our daughter, Magnolia Grace. The time she dedicated to us in the comfort of our home, getting to know us and honor who we were—she met us where we were...both physically and emotionally. The calm, balanced and yet focused and determined presence she offered prior, during and after giving birth have been a beautiful part of our birth story.
She offered consistent support and immeasurable wisdom with a peaceful voice and hands that extended from her heart. She went above and beyond because it’s in her nature...
It truly was an invaluable service to us and we now consider her part of our family...
Can’t imagine going through it without her there with us—always letting us know that whether medicated or natural—our birth story was to be beautiful...and that it was...natural and simply abundant...twinkle lights, affirmations, flowers and all.
We love and appreciate Julia...she is definitely living out her God given talents and following her calling!
jamie & chandler sharpe,
baby boy malachi
It’s hard to put into words what a joy and privilege it was to have Julia with us as we journeyed toward welcoming our 4th child, Malachi, into this world. Our journey started out in East Africa, where I found out I was expecting baby #4. We decided to come back to the States to have the baby and something I knew I wanted was a doula. The very first time I met Julia in a coffee shop to talk about birth, I honestly felt like I was sitting with a friend whom I had known for years! She has a gift of making people feel safe, valued and loved. After choosing her as our doula she was in constant contact with us, which was such an unexpected blessing.
When Julia came to our home for our prenatal education class, I remember her asking what I wanted and hoped for in the birth of our son. The two words that came to mind were peaceful and healing (as I had just lost my younger brother a few months prior due to suicide). Julia came along side of me and supported my desires 100% and did all she could to help me meet them. The birth of our son was everything I could have wished for and more. Julia always seemed to be one step ahead in helping to meet my needs during birth, making everything flow along flawlessly. She kept me hydrated, gave suggestions of different positions to labor in and spoke words of affirmation the whole time (and so much more!). When Julia does her job, she is not just a doula, she is a friend. I thank God for placing her in my life for this special time of grieving the loss of a precious brother, while experiencing new life in the gift of my son.
If you are looking for a doula, I would 100% recommend Julia!!! She truly is a gift.
From my husband’s perspective:
Having Julia as our doula allowed me to simply be a husband to Jamie during the birth of our son, Malachi. Julia was able to help Jamie in ways that I would not have been able to or didn't know how (i.e. knowing what positions to labor in and when to offer drinks and food). I like how she made the atmosphere really tranquil and peaceful. Because she was familiar with the hospital and midwife, she was a great bridge in making sure we had everything we needed in order for Jamie to have a positive delivery. I was thankful that Julia could be an added support for her.