I cannot say enough good things about Venessa. She was awesome and I recommend her to anyone seeking a doula as part of their birth team. Venessa was amazing during my marathon labor that spanned over two days. I don’t think I ever had to go through a contraction without her there supporting me, cheering me on and helping me stay calm and collected. She always had a sip of water, a hot compress for counter pressure on my back or cold wash cloth for my forehead. She was such an essential part of my birthing experience and she always made me feel like I was doing a good job. She was everything we could have hoped for in a doula – knowledgeable, kind, comforting and a calming presence. She always knew exactly what to do and say and had great suggestions for comfort measures.
I absolutely owe the fact that I had a completely unmedicated, vaginal birth to her. I had planned a home birth but after nearly two days of laboring and not sleeping, I was exhausted. It was about 10pm when I thought I wanted transfer for some help to try and get things progressing – Venessa sat with me and told me I still had options and I COULD push my baby out – exactly what I needed to hear. I decided to stay home and try pushing my baby out. Looking back, I know that if I went to the hospital at that point in the night – I most definitely would have ended up with an unnecessary and unwanted cesarean section. I could not have done it without her.
I absolutely will have her present at all of my future births and I HIGHLY recommend her!
-Mama to Theo
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Venessa is an exceptional person – knowledgeable, compassionate, capable and kind. I am so glad we hired her to be our doula.
My son’s birth did not go according to our list of preferences. I was induced two days after my due date for health reasons and spent an emotional, exhausting two days in the hospital, being subjected to interventions that I’d originally hoped to avoid. Venessa came with us when we checked in, even though we knew there would be no “action” that night. She sat and talked with me and comforted me. I think she gave me a foot rub, which was awesome. She came back the next morning, and hung out with my husband and me as we waited all day for the drugs to take effect. No action that day, either. The next day, again, she was there in the morning – and finally, that afternoon, I went into labor. I have nothing to compare it to, but it was pretty rough, and I had very few options for physically coping with the pain myself because I wasn’t able to sit up, or roll over, much less stand or rock or any of the other things they tell you might help.
Thanks to Venessa, I never had to go through a contraction alone – she and/or my husband were always there. They dealt with the pain right along with me. I like to think that they coped on my behalf. She helped make it possible for me to have a vaginal birth with no pain medication, even after being on pitocin (and a host of other drugs) for so long.
After the birth, Venessa encapsulated my placenta and had it ready for me within two days.
I highly recommend Venessa.
-Mama to Evan
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Venessa is wonderful! She has a calm, comforting presence. During our pregnancy, she was a great resource. She was always helping us think of the next steps for preparing ourselves. She provided us with lots of information and options, often times without my husband or I even asking for it. A great example is when I entered my third trimester. She asked if we had started looking for pediatricians. I hadn’t gotten past birthing our child! She also brought up an important point of whether or not we wanted to circumcise, should we have a boy. She did not give her opinion of what we should do but always helped provide resources so that we could make the right decision for our family.
On the day of our birth, I texted Venessa at 5:30 am to let her know that my contractions were 15 minutes apart. I asked her when she would come over. She said whenever I wanted her to. She came around 10 am and stayed til 2 am the next day!! The WHOLE time she was with us, I felt calmer. She sat with us, kept me hydrated and explained things as we asked. She also suggested an inverted position to help speed up my contractions because I wasn’t progressing in my labor for a while and I was getting tired.
I highly recommend Venessa. She’s the knowledgeable, peaceful presence you want during labor. We will definitely have her at all our future births.
-Mama to Michaela
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Venessa was awesome! She knew exactly what to do and has the perfect touch. Venessa took the time to make sure that she knew exactly what kind of birth I was going for and helped to ceate a framework the would work for my family. My first birth was not exactly as I had hoped it would be and I had to work through some of the hang ups that resulted from it espescially since I was aiming for a VBAC. I actually had to change prviders at the last minute and she was a great ear and helped me feel comfortable with some of the hard decisions that had to be made. All of it resulted in a perfect VBAC. Venessa is a true womans advocate. I would highly recommend her!
-Mama to Lorelei, 10/19/10
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Venessa Tarbell attended the labor for my second son, Finn. Though the previous birth of my first son, Beckett, was more “conventional” and included an epidural, etc. I had become more interested in the later part of my second pregnancy in a med-free birth. In fact, I think I contacted Venessa ON my due date to inquire about her services. I spoke with a few doulas on the phone and I liked Venessa’s attitude and nature. She was totally excited and up for the challenge of assisting me in the 11th hour.
We had an introductory meeting the next day where she brought a ton of literature and answered all my questions. Even though I did want a med-free birth, she had an open mind and her main goal was to be a support and advocate. I spent the next couple days (Finn was born a week late) immersing myself in the books she brought and was becoming very excited.
The day finally came and I went into labor at 4am and Venessa arrived around 10:30am. I was pretty deep in the trenches, and she offered some hip pressure when I was contracting, which felt really good. Her calm presence also gave me the confidence to get through each contraction. Around noon, things got pretty intense. Long story short, we left for the hospital at 12:30, arrived around 1:05 and Finn was born at 1:15! Venessa drove seperately b/c we didn’t realize how far I was and missed the birth! She arrived shortly after and calmed me down a bit when Finn was being examined.
In the end, I did get the natural birth I wanted, albeit a little chaotic! I am confident that with Venessa’s own four births (three of which were med free) and her continued experience, she will be a fabulous doula. Her assistance both before and during the birth contributed to my achieving pretty close to the birth experience I wanted and pictured.
-Mama to Finn, 7/27/10
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Having known Venessa and her family on a personal level for a few years now, I would recommend her as a doula in a heartbeat. She is warm, compassionate, respectful, informed and patient, everything I personally was looking for in my own search for a doula. I used Venessa’s professional services to have my placenta encapsulated. The process was easy as pie for me. I handed off the plastic container given to me at the hospital and within a few days, I received a giant jar of perfectly normal looking, absolutely non-intimidating capsules that didn’t even make my husband squirm (and he had a hard time wrapping his head around the whole placenta thing). No mess, no fuss, I didn’t even have to look at anything if I didn’t want to. I believe that ingesting my placenta had a very positive effect on my post-partum period; I had loads of energy, was in a terrific frame of mind and was an honest to goodness milk making machine. This post-partum experience was night and day compared with my first one, and though I’m sure there were plenty of factors all working together, I’m confident that my placenta was one of them. Well worth the money! Hurray for Placenta Power and big thanks to Venessa!
-Mama to Beckett 7/19/2010
