I can't begin to thank you as much as I would like. You were so much help & do your job so well.

Thank you so much,
C & T

Thank you for all you did to make M's birth so wonderful. You touched the hand of our daughter and the heart of our family.

God Bless you,
L & M

Thank you so much for your help. You made us confident that the home birth was OK. And since things turned out they did your help was invaluable.

R & A
[Unplanned, unassisted, precipitous birth of 36 week TWINS followed with immediate transport to planned birth place by EMS team.]

Thank you so much! Having you with me definitely helped to make my experience the best! You're going to be an awesome midwife!

Deborah performed services as a Doula for us the Spring and Summer of 2002 when we were pregnant with our daughter Zoe Sage. We sourced Deborah through DONA.org and feel lucky and privileged to have connected with her. Deborah worked closely and lovingly with us from the second trimester through the childbirth expereince and on 2 months or so after childbirth. We still consider her an extended family member and an angel in human form!

Deborah helped us to approach and achieve a 100% natural VBAC which was against wishes of our OBGYN. Our OBGYN had gone so far as to schedule us for a C-section surgery on a specific birthdate because (1) she was going on vacation, and (2) our first child, Tyler, was delivered by C-section at a large and prestigious hospital. The western medical field had been pushing C-sections especially for those women who had them previously. We were against this and knew that there was a way to have a natural childbirth but we needed an expert to support our view with a plan.

Deborah was that expert and from our first call to her she provided us with loving, nurturing and supportive factual information about doulas, midwifery and all types of childbirthing practices. She provided literature, reference web sites, books and videos. She also told stories in a sort of shamanic way. At one point we cried upon realizing how simple and glorious natural childbirth can be.

Deborah embraced our family, our needs and very importantly she gently corrected any misconceptions or negatives we heldover from our first traumatic C-section birthing experience. She provided us with a balanced, holistic view that allowed us to embrace both the old-world natural approach to childbirth and the modern western practice. Deborah was healthy for us in many ways.

Deborah helped us to develop a practical birthplan, mentored us in what to expect, what our legal rights were and how to interact and request facets of our plan with our hospital birth team nurses, administrators and doctors. She balanced emotional needs with medical realities. She was 100% present and knowledgable about every step of the way in the hospital room, so much so that the attending birth doctor did not feel the need to be present much. Deborah worked closely with our attending nurse and we feel that Deborah even eased her mind. Deborah had so gently positioned us in such control at the time of birth that our son who was about 3 years old at the time watched comfortably. Deborah had prepared him so well for the moment a month of so prior that he simply smiled and said, "yep, there's a baby," when our daughter crowned. We feel that her enabling our son to be part of the birth experience has strenghtend our overall family dynamic. Deborah even took pictures as I sat with my son and watched in awe and joy as my wife birthed a healthy baby girl without an ounce of chemical aid.

Deborah continued to work with us post-natal with a breast feeding complication that she and a colleague of hers directed us through once again with accurate information and support every step of the way.

We know now that our son did not have to be born by C-section and had we been working with a midwife or doula, we could have had a natural childbirth at home or in the hospital. We are healthier, happier and more complete having known and worked with Deborah.

Furthermore, we believe that midwives and doulas are important to society/community and everyone should have access to information about them and access to them if desired. Deborah is a stellar example of an almost lost but very necessary art and practice that directly supports humanity. Natural birthing knowledge should be passed down from generation to generation and wonderful people like Deborah are working hard to keep the option present.

We whole-heartedly and highly recommend Deborah as either a doula or midwife.

Sincerely,
P & M

There are mothers and then there are earth mothers.

As mothers it is in our primative nature to bestow upon our offspring selfless love and endless devotion. While we nurture and tend to our own children there are women who choose to dedicate a life-time of love and compassion to an entire world of children. These selfless souls are our earth mothers.

Earth mothers instictively find a place in their hearts for every child that they help to bring into this world. They find time in their lives to not only welcome these babies unto earth, but to enjoy with them their first days here. They find time in their lives to not only prepare mothers for their day of birth, but to care for thse mothers just as a 'mother' would. These earth mothers are midwives.

My midwife and darling inspiration, Deborah, walked into my home and into my life when I was pregnant with my second son. Already within my third trimester, I was just beginning my research on homebirth and I was meeting with midwives for the first time.

At that time, Deborah was an apprentice assistant to two other midwives. Upon meeting with her, I was quite surprised by her wealth of knowledge on home birth and by the fact that she was extremely comfortable within her place amongst the other midwives. Her experience, her confidence, her kind heart, and her sensitive spirit proved to me that she was truely more than an assistant midwife. Her presence in our home was undoubtedly a blessing. After that initial introduction, my husband and I had determined, with great confidence, that Deborah would indeed play a significant role in welcoming our son into this world.

Being eight months pregnant at that time, my husband and I faced a number of anxieities: our hopes for the safest and most comfortable delivery for the baby, the question of whether or not we had significant time to prepare for a home birth, and the question of whether or not we were ready for the "challenges" of home birth (with our first son we experienced an extremely tramautic, unhealthy, and unhappy hospital birth).

Within a short amount of time, Deborah played a valuable role in easing these anxieties. In these two months which we were given before the baby was due, to learn from and to connect with Deborah as a friend, as a midwife, and as a professional we were able to determine without a doubt, that our son would in fact experience the safest and most comfortable journey out of my womb and upon my breast.

With Deborah's assistance, my husband and I, along with our eighteen month old son, Siddhartha, prepared ourselves to welcome a new baby into our lives in the living room of our quiant apartment. This preparation process began and was literally completed within those final months of our pregnancy: gathering necessary supplies, exploring actual birthing options, exposing home birth to family members, understanding the limitless potential of a birthing woman, and most importantly, developing a spiritual and natural relationship between mother and midwife. With Deborah's consistancy to inspire within our home and her faith in our tribe, we were able to naturally adapt to the idea of home birth at thirty-two weeks of pregnancy.

Her gift of enlightenment and empowerment allowed for an ultimate understanding of our capabilities. Amongst simple dialogue she expressed to me her belief that, "the easiest thing I've ever done was to give birth". By adopting this mantra I gathered a complete sense of confidence while approaching the day of birth. At this point, all fear and anxiety I would allow to slip away, certain that Deborah would bless not only this birth, the birth of Sahaj Jahson, but others as well.

December ninth of last year, she did just that. Once again my family relied on Deborah's strength and sensitivity in helping us to experience the most harmonious pregnancy and in helping us to create the most tranquil environment for us to give birth, once again at home, the birth of Mahatma Judah.

Within six years, my life came full circle: a complete trinity of young men to nurture and mature, an integral and devoted young father to tend to these new souls, a friendship with a mentor, a sister, and a midwife, and the extreme boost of confidence and conviction every young mother deserves when approaching the divine realm of motherhood. Mere words could not describe the totality of Deborah's influence in my world. She is of a sisterhood of women who possess limitless abilities. Deborah's many blessings upon this young family have graced our process of creation and self evolution.

There are mothers and then there are earth mothers.

There are women who posess an essence far beyond, selfless and endless. Beyond limits, beyond time, and beyond this world. Sisters, daughters, women who live for all of us mothers. Deborah is my earth mother.

A & A