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Testimonials for Stacy Ash, birth doula serving Central IL
testimonials were submitted by clients of Stacy Ash on doulamatch.net
Brodi Stearns, Pekin IL, second time mom
Stacy is an absolutely wonderful person and an amazing doula. At our first meeting with her she explained what her role would be throughout my pregnancy/labor and answered any questions we had. She always offered to meet at our home for all of our meetings. Throughout my pregnancy there were some "routine" procedures (eg cervical checks) that I instinctively wasn't comfortable with. Stacy was there to remind and encourage me that I could decline any procedure or test that I didn't feel was necessary. She gave my partner and me techniques to help manage my pain like acupressure and different sleeping positions. When I went past my due date and my OB wanted to discuss induction, she helped me stand my ground to let baby come on his own time and gave me advice on different stretches and positions that could help encourage baby to turn and start to drop - all the while reminding me to just do things that made me happy; endorphins are your friend. I started having contractions every ten minutes apart on a Sunday morning and my son was not born until Tuesday morning. By the time we arrived at the hospital I hadn't slept for over 40 hours. Without Stacy I would not have made it through my labor the way I wanted. During labor Stacy came to our home and helped me cope with the pain. We finally headed to the hospital around 3 am and Stacy arrived shortly after us. Throughout labor and delivery she helped me cope with pain using counterpressure and encouraging me to listen to my body. She took pictures during and right after the birth which I'm so grateful to have. She stayed through placenta delivery, stitches, and to make sure baby latched to breastfeed. Without Stacy I'm confident I would not have had the drug free birth I envisioned. My fiance has admitted to me that he was unsure about hiring a doula until after our birth. No he says "I wouldn't have had a clue what to do without her."
Posted 6/20/2015
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Alexis Sharp, Springfield IL first time mom
Stacy was an excellent doula! My husband wasn't quite sure the role of a doula before we met with her early in my pregnancy and she answered all our questions very well. She made my husband and I both feel comfortable to have her at our labor and helped throughout at the hospital. Stacy met at our house several weeks before my due date to go over any final questions and concerns. She was on call via text and phone in case labor started. My labor progressed pretty quickly and we ended up going to the hospital before she could arrive at our home due to the blizzard that was happening. She drove 60 miles to Springfield in a blizzard and made it just a bit after we got there.
I had back labor the entire time and she really helped with counter pressure on my hips pretty much the whole 6 hours. Stacy also suggested different positions that helped during contractions and gave me ice/water and hot/cold towels when I felt I needed them. She also used acupressure. She tooks pictures as the baby was born and stayed afterwards for the placenta to be born and for the stitches I needed. She took the placenta with her for encapsulation services via another doula. A week later, she came to our house for a follow up appointment and brought my placenta pills.
Overall, it was a lovely experience and I feel like I couldn't have had a natural first birth with back labor without a doula. Stacy was worth every penny and my husband agrees. He felt a bit lost on how to help during labor and she guided him and helped with the whole experience.
Posted 4/14/2015
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Kate Rogers Davis, first time mom in Champaign IL
Stacy was wonderful to work with. She was such an essential and calming presence during my labor, and also beforehand in helping me to prepare. I had a very long prelabor, and Stacy really helped keep me from freaking out about it. She helped keep me calm and not anxious, by communicating with me and reassuring me that everything was going how it needed to. She was very reassuring and supportive the whole time. The accupressure she did during labor was really helpful as was her reassuring coaching. My birth experience was amazing. I felt like I was doing fine the whole time. I was already 6-7 cm by the time we got to the hospital. My contractions were very intense, but never unmanageable. Stacy and my husband Matt were essential to helping me manage, and they were essential in helping me maintain a positive attitude and easily adapt to a couple less than ideal circumstances (i.e., my blood pressure was high, so I had to be on the monitor the whole time and given IV fluids, which I wasn't expecting). I'm happy to have been able to do it without an epidural and to feel everything. Having my daughter come out and be placed on my chest was the most amazing thing ever. I would be more than happy to share my full birth story with anyone who would like to read it -- too long to fit in here! Ask me or ask Stacy to share it.
Posted 4/10/2015
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Heidi Zimmerman, first time mom in Bloomington IL
I don't write many testimonials, but I was so happy to get an opportunity to share my experience with Stacy !!
Stacy was actually providing backup for the original doula we hired, but she made this transition extremely smooth for myself and my partner by knowing my birth plan and setting a calm tone from the very minute she came to the hospital! This was my first baby and my contractions started hard and fast and Stacy got right to work, after getting our call for help around midnight.
Overall, my experience was extremely positive, but If I had to really pin down a few key things that Stacy did amazingly well, it was :
1) she truly made me feel that I was strong enough to have my baby by giving me constant verbal encouragement in a sincere manner
2) she did an amazing job of handling annoying hospital issues with the nurses without EVER giving me the impression that anything was wrong. I was able to focus on my baby and my body and not waste an ounce of energy on negativity.
3) Stacy was able to provide amazing acupressure assistance that made a world of difference to my ability to withstand the pain.
Ultimately, I was able to stick with my plan to have a natural birth and I doubt very much that I would have been able to say that if I didn't have her help.. I am forever grateful!!!!
Posted 3/9/2015
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Angela Guerra, first time Bloomington IL mom
Saturday August 23, 2014, 37 wks into my pregnancy and i lost my mucus plug that morning. I didn't think to much into it since labor can start anywhere from 2 to 3 wks when you lose you plug, so I continued my day as planned. Went to work around 8am and started to feel light cramps around 9am. Come noon i was off of work and on my way home. My carmps were getting more intense after i got home. My boyfriend was working out of town in San Antonio TX, so I was pretty much home alone texting him back and forth. After a few hours of crontraction i finally texted my Doula, Stacy Ash, for some advice. After texting back and forth and talkng on the phone she arrived at my place around 10pm.
The best decision I have made while getting my birth team together was hiring Stacy. Boy, what an incredible person! very polite, calm and reassuring. After arriving at my house she helped me through my contraction, by rubbing my lower back, applying pressure points in certain areas, and teaching me to breath. Her tone was soft, relaxing and being my first baby i needed all the relaxation i can get. I am not going to lie i was scared of the unknown but she helped me find the warrior side of me. After laboring 22 hours at home, we made the decision to go to the hospital around 6:30am sunday August 24.
We arrived at Bromenn only to find that i was 97% effaced and 4cm dilated and had the urge to push. My water broke. Baby's heart rate would drop from 140 to 60 in a middle of a contraction. So they but IV catheter, Oxygen mask, and continues monitering. I was so scared! There were talks of Csection! my boyfriend wasnt there, my family lived two hours away. Stacy held my hand and looked into my eyes an told me that everything was going to be ok.
Long story short, Stacy is extremely amazing! words can not express my gratitude. She is extremely knowledgable and I will hire her again for next time. She is awesome!!
Posted 10/17/2014
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Elizabeth Dawson Walsh, VBAC mom in Normal, IL
Words cannot express how amazing I think Stacy is as a doula. I knew instantly when we met that she was the right person to add to my birth team. I wanted an unmedicated VBAC and knew finding the perfect doula would be key in the success of my desired birth experience. Stacy was incredibly calm and supportive throughout my labor. She made me feel comfortable emotionally and physically. I felt nurtured the entire time - she had so many subtle ways of easing labor surges for me. She even convinced my husband, who initially wasn't on board with hiring a doula, that doulas are the key to a great birthing experience! She helped to gently remind my husband and I of our birth plan when medical personnel may not have exactly followed what we wanted. I would recommend Stacy to anyone looking for a doula - She is truly amazing!!
Posted 10/2/2014
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Mark Day, dad in Bloomington IL
Stacy is amazing! The doula we had been working with was unable to be there during labor. She asked Stacy to step in and help out. From the first moments, it felt like we had been working with Stacy for years. She knew exactly what we needed and immediately began to help. Her ability to balance everything that she does was truly remarkable. Her work allowed my wife and i to focus completely on each other and our daughter to be. Her calm, positive demeanor helped remove all of the tension, worry and panic that I would have gone through without her. When the situation warranted it, she made her presence known. She had advice on techniques, information on what was happening and helped us work through the big decisions. However, many of the things she did were so subtle that I did not even notice them until I was looking at pictures the next few days. While many of the actions seemed subtle to me at the time, they had a tremendous positive effect on the entire process. She always knew what to do to give the needed support, comfort and relief. The amazing part was that she was able to do it as such a seamless part of the process that it often went unnoticed by everyone except the person she was helping. I am extremely thankful for all of her incredible work that night, and would highly recommend her to anyone.
Posted 6/8/2014
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Brekke Day, mom in Bloomington IL
While Stacy was our "backup" doula, I felt comfortable with her immediately. As soon as she arrived, she jumped right in with emotional support, suggestions for my husband and I as well as helping with pain-control techniques (counter pressure on my back, controlled breathing, and use of the birth ball and shower in my room). I arrived at the hospital at 7:00 pm and my daughter was born at 5:00 am the next morning. I do not exaggerate when I say that Stacy stayed by my side all night. Her support and help through the most difficult parts of my labor was a vital part of sticking to my goal of a drug-free labor and birth. When I had the option of having my water broken to help my labor progress more quickly, Stacy offered her opinion and advice when it was asked for. She made sure to reiterate that everything that happened to me was MY choice and I could refuse any treatment I did not feel comfortable with.
In short, I was highly impressed with Stacy's bedside manner, her knowledge of the birthing process and how best to help me through the drug-free labor I desired. She was truly a key component to my support system during one of the most difficult nights of my life. I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking or merely considering doula services!
Posted 6/5/2014
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Cayla Weaver
My name is Cayla. Stacy Ash was a back up doula that helped me with the birth of my daughter. My doula was not able to be with me when I went into the hospital. I found out her back up was already at the hospital tending to another patient of my doula. As it worked out, as soon as Stacy was done with the other mom, she was able to join me in my hospital room. I had never met Stacy before but was very quickly at ease with her style, and her assistance. Stacy has a very calming, and reassuring presence. She helped me to focus, and helped me regain some confidence that had been wavering. I know that she had just come from another birth, but I never felt that she was tired or didn’t have full energy to help me. She helped me try different positions to help with back pain, and used a lot of counter pressure and acupressure to relieve pain. I actually felt stronger when she was in the room with me. I am very thankful she was on call and able to be with me for the birth of my daughter.
Posted 1/16/2014
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Rachael Bonnette, homebirth mom in Normal, IL
When I chose to give birth at home, I knew I would need some help to get through it, so I hired a doula. When the time came, she was out of town, so Stacy filled in. She was a huge help. She was very calming to my husband, and helped him remembered things he could do to aid me. She helped when move when I needed to switch positions, reminded me to relax, and also used acupressure to help reduce pain during my contractions. It must have worked, because they stayed manageable to the end! She also was able to help me figure out how to breastfeed that first time. I can't say enough how glad I am that she was there!
Posted 4/29/2013
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Kari Watkins, first time mom in Bloomington IL
I can't speak highly enough of Stacy's doula services. My husband and I agree that we would not have made it through my long labor without Stacy's calm, reassuring presence. She was very helpful in terms of suggesting specific positions to try to alleviate the discomfort of contractions, as well as giving me acupressure to help with the pain. Stacey was a great source of information about the stages of labor and what we should expect. She coached my husband, giving him suggestions for how he could best support me. Most importantly, Stacy was very encouraging emotionally throughout the entire process. We had hoped for a natural birth and after 24+ hours of natural labor, we eneded up delivering via a C-Section. I am so thankful that Stacy was our doula. We could not have had better support during our labor and delivery. I would recommend her to anyone, and if I were to deliver again, I would hope to be able to have Stacy as my doula. Thank you Stacy!
Posted 12/30/2013
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Justin Monge, dad in Bloomington IL
My wife and I decided early in the preganancy that we wanted a doula, and we are so happy we did. The funny thing is, we hadn't chosen Stacy as our doula. Our original doula ended up being very ill, going through some treatments about the time of our delivery, in fact. So, she set us up with an awesome backup. However, our backup doula ended up helping one of her other clients with a difficult delivery just before we checked in at the hospital. So, now what? By no fault of theirs, we'd gone through two doulas before we really got started! Then came Stacy. Stacy was the backup for our backup. So, we're on doula number three. The thing that stuck out to me most, was the obvious community among doulas. They were very willing to help each other out, and in turn, help us out.
Stacy came immediately and stepped right in. She was great! We had never met before she came, but she was incredibly kind and helpful. She coached both of us, keeping us calm and informed as we went through the process of delivery. My wife ended up delivering very quickly, in fact, and Stacy ended up being instrumental in the process. As it happened, Stacy and a nurse were the only people in the room when our daughter came! She decided not to wait for the doctor or the delivery team. So, we were very glad Stacy was there to help us because the nurse was obviously focussed on catching our eager daughter!
We are so thankful for Stacy, and we will definately use a doula next time around as well!
Posted 3/30/2012
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Christina Monge
We decided to have a doula because my desire was to have a natural birth, and my husband and I both felt that extra support would make a huge difference, especially since it was our first child, and neither of us knew really what to expect! We actually hired a doula, who I knew previously; but she ended up becoming ill and couldn't make it to the birth. Her back up doula was the teacher for our birthing class, who ended up having another birth the same night... so Stacy came to the rescue! Even though we had never met prior to that night, Stacy was a great fit for us. She kept us calm and talked us through each stage of labor - as they happened rather quickly in our case. Besides my husband, she and the nurse were the only ones that were actually there for the birth of our daughter. The doctor didn't even have time to get there before she was born:) Having someone that never leaves your side throughout the process of childbirth, who knows what's going on and can help you understand what your body is doing and also educate you on decisions that need to be made, was invaluable. I would definitely recommend having a doula, and Stacy was amazing!
Posted 3/29/2012
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Heather Meriman
I wasn't sure about having someone that I didn't know involved in my birth experience. My husband would be with me, and I felt confident we could learn all that we needed and he would give me all of the support I needed. My husband was the one that encouraged me to talk with Stacy. She had been referred to us by one of his co-workers. I met with Stacy and felt at ease with her. She explained what a doula does, and how she would work with both me and my husband - helping us to work together, and provide us with support from the time I would go into labor until after our baby was born. She talked with us about our birth goals, and we talked about what I envisioned for my birth experience. I felt that she gave us great information, and answered questions for us to help us understand how the birth would work. She didn't try to steer us in one direction, or away from our goals. But what I really appreciated was her time with us while I was in labor. She was in constant contact with me until I asked her to join us. She responded quickly, and when she arrived she began helping us right away. She helped us labor at home and then at the hospital. Stacy showed my husband how to help me by supporting me in different positions, and to use pressure in certain spots to help with contractions. She used accupressure to help with pain, and I ended up needing no pain medications at all which was one of my goals. I appreciated the constant encouragement and felt very relaxed and confident having Stacy with us.
Posted 3/12/2012
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Sara Newburn, second time mom in Bloomington IL
I delivered my second son in Feb 2012 with Stacy assisting as my doula. She had helped me in my delivery of my first son and I was very calmed and reassured by her presence and asked for her to help us again. The difference between the deliveries was I had said I wanted to stay home longer than I did with the first one and Stacy was available by phone at all hours of the night and came over to our house at 4:30am. She again calmed me and reassured me that I could do this when I started freaking out at home and we had a very quick delivery once we got to the hospital. She listens to what I wanted and helped me have the birth experience I wanted as well. I highly recommend Stacy as a doula.
Posted 2/25/2012
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Sherry Reid
Stacy Ash was my birth doula. I was a single mom and Stacy was very supportive while I was pregnant and helped me greatly while I was in labor. She really helped me to understand what was happening, and coached me in a way that helped me to relax and feel strong. I really wanted to not use any pain meds unless nothing else worked and Stacy was able to use accupressure to help me through my contractions. She stayed with me until I felt settled after my little girl was born. I even needed some help with breastfeeding and her reassurance and suggestions really helped. I can't imagine going through childbirth without a doula, and Stacy was wonderful.
Posted 9/30/2011
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Sara Newburn, first time Bloomington IL mom
I birthed my first child, Christian Samuel, on 9/11/09 with Stacy's help as my doula and can say the experience was so rewarding. It honestly a lot easier than I feared it might be. Stacy was so calming and reassuring and supportive that I never felt out of control or at a loss as to what needed to happen next. My husband felt very reassured with her there helping and felt empowered to know what to do to help me. I highly recommend her services.
Posted 8/26/2011
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Michelle Watson, first time Normal IL mom
With Stacy's help I achieved a better labor and delivery experience than I ever could have imagined. I did not realize how invaluable she would have been to us. Stacy came to my house to help me through the early parts of labor after my water broke. She helped me feel in control and knowledgeable about what was happening to my body. When we got to the hospital she stayed by my side and again helped me through the contractions. The reminders to breathe and the accupressure she did kept me calm and managed my pain in a natural way. I did not want any sort of pain medications and without Stacy's knowledge and presence I don't think I could have managed the pain. She was reassuring and motivating through all the stages of labor. Stacy helped guide my husband about how he could support me. I ended up having a beautiful baby boy in the birthing tub completely naturally so no medication. Stacy's presence after the birth was also invaluable so that my husband could be with our son and I had a comforting person by my side while my placenta was delivered and I received stitches. I, along with my husband, highly recommend Stacy as a doula no matter what your birthing plan looks like.
Posted 4/19/2011