Kate Elise -
Day and Night Doula
AND
How To Doula This
Testimonials
7/11/2022 Kimberly
My son was born at 26+1 weeks at 1lb 11oz in Johnstown, PA in June 2021. I'm from MN but was in PA visiting my sister when I had to deliver unexpectedly due to severe pre-eclampsia. There I was, trying to survive NICU life with a very premature baby, all by myself. My husband and three older children were in MN and unfortunately, due to a job change, the sister I had been in PA visiting moved hours away to Ohio several weeks after my son was born. My son was too fragile to fly home so it was just him and I against the world in PA. Until it wasn't.
Kate Elise and I used to work together years ago at a coffee shop in MN. A friend of mine on Facebook, she saw what I was going through and immediately reached out. She became a lifeline during a scary, isolating, and incredibly emotional time.
At six weeks old, my son was transferred to Pittsburgh Children's Hospital and while Kate wasn't there physically (though she offered to be), she continued to be a great support to me. We faced some terrible things. My son's odds of survival weren't always very good. And during those times when I thought I would burst from the stress and fear of it all, Kate's notes and messages were a lifeline.
My warrior fella was in the hospital for seven months before we were finally transferred home to MN, where he remained hospitalized for two more months before finally, the day he turned nine months old, he got to come home! Through it all, Kate was a cheerleader from the sidelines. She validated my feelings, reminded me I wasn't losing my marbles, and helped keep me sane. Even now, I still get messages from her, asking how I'm doing and checking on my little guy. I don't know what I would have done without Kate for all those months.
Hire Kate. Now. Do it. You don't have to be in a NICU to benefit from someone who is kind, professional, knowledgeable, and an incredible source of support during a really tumultuous (even if happy!) time.
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4/30/2021 Avery
My husband and I cannot speak highly enough of our experience with Kate. She is warm, nurturing, easy to talk to and a total “birth nerd” with vest research based and reliable knowledge. We instantly felt at ease with Kate and with her help we felt confident, informed, taken care of and set up for success. Armed with the most helpful tips and recommendations (but never pushy) she helped us immensely with breastfeeding, formula feeding, setting up effective and efficient organizational systems in our house (that we still use today) and was overall a great wealth of support and knowledge. We cannot recommend Kate enough...just as long it's not when we have our next child because we definitely plan to work with her again!
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2/22/2021 Stephanie
Our family worked with Kate after the birth of our second child in July 2020. From the moment we met Kate, we knew she would take wonderful care of our whole family. She was incredibly compassionate and supportive throughout my postpartum journey - helping me navigate nursing and providing me gentle encouragement any time I was struggling. She took incredible care of our son, allowing my whole family some time to rest when we needed it the most. Even as a second-time Mom, I learned so much from Kate over the 6 weeks she worked with my family and she got me through many sleepless nights. I would recommend her in a heartbeat to any family! We miss her terribly and know that any family will be lucky to have her as part of your birth or postpartum journey!
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6/21/2020 Rachel
Kate was truely an amazing doula! She cares deeply for her clients and work and it shows. When I found Kate, I was transitioning from planning a home birth to a hospital birth because my baby had health issues. I was nervous and scared about advocating for myself in the hospital. Kate helped me find confidence and helped to create a supportive and peaceful birth space for me. She took time to learn my birth preferences and supported me in them; she was very careful not to tell me what I should or shouldn't do. I felt that I would be supported by her no matter what decisions I made, before birth or during. She was a ray of light and source of strength when she arrived at the hospital. I had wanted to labor out of bed but was feeling timid about getting up. When she arrived, she helped make the space soothing for me like we had discussed - turning down the lights and assisting me out of bed. It made such a difference. She was kind and established a good rapport with the nurses. She helped me cope in so many ways - both physically (suggesting/negotiating a shower which was unexpectedly awesome at pain relief, using pressure points, and letting me hang on her in transition) and mentally (providing encouragement and being intuitive about things I was worried about that I believe slowed my labor). I could go on and on! Kate goes above and beyond in her role and very clearly and genuinely cares about the moms and babies she supports. She is reliable and deeply caring and it comes through in her work.
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From Nancy
1/31/2019
I love Kate . She is amazing . The moment i talked to Kate I feel like I am in good hands. She is very caring and listen to your concerns . I have twins and postpartum depression and she really helps me . She continues to check up with us afterward . I wish I can have her with the babies forever . She is very gentle with the babies and I can rest at night knowing my babies are well taken care of .
Kate is truley an amazing person! From the moment that my husband and I met Kate we knew that we were in caring hands. She is so warm, compassionate, and understanding. She was not just there to help our son but for me personally she was a shoulder to lean on. Kate is so easy to talk to. She listens and genuinely cares about your well being. Kate also gave my husband and I knowledge about babies ie. how much he should be eating and developmental information. Not only does she look after your child while you catch up on sleep she also did our son's laundry, made bottles, took out trash, and other household chores that might pile up while taking care of a newborn. We highly recommend Kate for all new parents!
From Jamie
4/30/2018
We met Kate at the Black and Brown Maternal Health Fair. She was knowledgeable and culturally humble. She led a great session on comfort management and support. We chose not have a doula for our pregnancy, but we did want to know more about how my partner could support me through the birth and what to expect. Because Kate had already demonstrated (literally) her knowledge at the fair we chose her for a private lesson. She is very well-versed in comfort measures and she seems to be continuously developing her knowledge and pursing professional development opportunities. It was a great private lesson.
From Sirajah
9/10/19
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