When I started my journey of having a natural birth I was excited to work with a doula. My husband is very supportive and I knew he would be an excellent birth coach, but I wanted a doula to support us as a couple and to benefit from the knowledge and experience that a doula provides. I had heard from several sources that Rene’ was a great doula! But, what I didn’t know was in how many different ways our experience of a natural birth would benefit from hiring Rene’.  From the very beginning of my pregnancy I was in touch with Rene’. I met her for the first time at her birth group, Exceptional Birthing, at the Red Shoes. We talked briefly at the meeting and I knew that she was the doula for me. But I still didn’t know exactly what impact she would have on my birth experience. I enjoyed going to the Exceptional Birthing group each month. I loved hearing the birth stories and being around other moms that believed in the power of a natural birth. I felt like I got to know Rene’ better each month. I knew that she believed in a woman’s ability to birth naturally and she has a gift of teaching others to see and believe in this ability.

I had reservations about delivering at Woman’s hospital because I had heard it may not be the best place for a natural birth. However, it was important to me to deliver there because my mom has worked there for over 20 years and we always thought I would give birth there. I hoped that with my OB and Rene’s support I could have the natural birth I hoped for there. Through all of the different times we talked at the childbirth meetings and our own one-on-one meeting I began to believe more in the message that Rene’ teaches so well. I knew that I could do it. I knew my body was made to give birth and that she would be there to support me.

I went into labor on the evening of March 23^rd. We called Rene’ and let her know what was going on. She told us what signs to look for and we knew she would be standing by. Around 11:30pm we knew it was time to head to the hospital.

When we got there Rene’ was there to meet us. I was very much in active labor when we made it to the labor and delivery floor. Rene’ was quickly by my side encouraging me through the contractions. I had been in labor for several hours at home. But hearing her words of encouragement through that first contraction I had with her gave me so much comfort.

I had imagined if I arrived at the hospital in active labor everything would be chaos as I got checked in. But it was just the opposite. Everyone was very calm. I could see that Rene’s presence gave my nurse complete reassurance that I was in good hands. I feared that coming to Woman’s Hospital with my natural birth plan would send everyone into a worried panic or at the least an air of annoyance. But I experienced just the opposite of those fears.

My room was filled with my labor and delivery nurse along with four other nurses setting up and filling the birth tub. But everyone was completely calm and quiet. No one seemed concerned that I had on my regular clothes, that the lights were dim, that music was playing in the background, or even that I asked not to have to sit down (because it intensified by contractions) while my IV was placed. All of the things I had hoped would be a part of my birth were there—it was happening! My birth plan was being followed line by line and everyone was completely supportive and at peace.

Looking back on it all, I now know what a huge impact Rene’ had on making all of this possible. She has worked with these nurses and this hospital for years. And in the one night that I was there, I was able to benefit from her years of passion and dedication. Her presence at my birth gave the nurses confidence that it was okay to follow my “unconventional" plan because she has proven to them that these things are safe and very helpful to a laboring woman. And all of these things were such a source of comfort for me.  I know each word of reassurance from Rene’ and all of the comfort measures I was offered helped me so much in accomplishing my goal of a natural labor. Rene’ has convinced so many around her that a woman can give birth naturally and that this is a safe and amazing process. I am so thankful that she was there to be a reminder to all of the people around me during my birth but most of all that she was there to remind me.

The birth of my daughter has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. One I know I will never forget. With Rene’s help I truly believed that my body was made to give birth. I will be forever grateful to her for working to teach us all what women are capable of.

My wife and I have now been through three births with each one unique and special. We are forever grateful that each of our daughters arrived healthy and without major incident. However, the birth of our third daughter was my wife’s first natural birth and without doubt the best birth experience for either of us.

My wife wanted a natural birth with our first daughter and we set out together to train and learn in preparation for the birth. We took classes, read books, and worked up a great birth plan. We were surprised a week early when my wife’s water broke and we went directly in to the hospital. As time passed, her labor was not progressing as rapidly as the hospital staff would have liked. Eventually, she was pressured to start pitocin. Shortly thereafter, her labor started to accelerate and we began working through increasingly difficult contractions. After an exhausting night repeating our limited repertoire of comfort measures, the doctor checked her and decided that she was not progressing quickly enough and would need to increase the pitocin. At the same time, the nurses were encouraging my wife to get an epidural to help her relax and possibly help her cervix to dilate further. The experience was turning into a more different birth than either of us had expected, and out of fear of a c-section, my wife decided to get an epidural. Fortunately, no other complications arose and our daughter was born a healthy and beautiful baby.

While the joy of becoming parents overshadowed the disappointment my wife felt about her birth, I knew that she still longed for a natural birth and I regretted that I couldn’t have done more to help her achieve that goal in the birth of our first daughter. Despite feeling like we had studied and learned enough to be ready to make the right decisions, we were thrust into circumstances that we didn’t expect. The “expert” medical staff made clear recommendations to intervene and we listened. Perhaps each decision we made was a good one, but I knew I was not as well informed as I thought I was.

While preparing for the birth of our second daughter, I think we both felt conflicted. On the one hand, this was another chance to experience the birth we had hoped for the first time. However, my wife’s first epidural had gone relatively well and we did end up with a healthy baby. My wife went past her due date and ended up scheduling an induction. Because of the intensity of her previous labor with pitocin, she decided to get an epidural early in labor and the rest of her labor was quiet and uneventful. In fact, we still joke about me reading the newspaper and taking a nap during her “labor.” After several hours, the doctor came in and told us it was time to push. My wife listened and just a short time later we were holding our second beautiful, healthy daughter.

As with our first daughter, the joy we felt from having a healthy baby overshadowed any second thoughts about the birth experience in the short run. But, as time passed and we continued to talk about the birth, I knew that something was missing. Our second birth had been so uneventful that it almost seemed as if we had missed something. Rather than us have much of a role in welcoming our new baby into the world, the room dedicated to labor and birth felt more like a waiting room and the doctor walked in and delivered our baby.

When we found out we were pregnant with our third daughter, we set ourselves on a different course. My wife still longed to experience a natural birth and didn’t want to let another opportunity pass us by. We had learned a great deal from each of our previous births and wanted to create an atmosphere of support and encouragement to aide us on this journey. We had moved since our last birth and so we were careful to find a doctor that was very supportive of natural labor. But, because even a supportive doctor is not there for all of the hours-long laboring process, we also decided to hire a doula to assist us.

I must admit that I was a bit reluctant at first to go along with my wife’s idea because having a doula is not the standard thing to do. However, I knew that it would take years to accumulate the knowledge of a good doula and I could never gain the experience of a seasoned doula. Reflecting on our first birth, I know that my lingering doubts about the decisions we made or the support I gave would be gone if we had been able to get the advice of an experienced doula to help us make an informed decision.

From multiple recommendations, we found Rene’ Johnson. We took Rene’s class and began to prepare in earnest for a natural birth. As I learned more about what a doula does, I quickly realized two other significant benefits that we would gain from having Rene’ there to assist us in labor and birth. First of all, the unmedicated part of our first birth was exhausting and unnecessarily repetitive. Having only studied from books and class, we had a relatively short list of ideas for comfort and relaxation during contractions with the labor for our first birth. While they seemed to work at the time, I quickly realized how helpful it would be to have someone with so much experience there to recommend different techniques, which would add variety and therefore help my wife and I to move through labor with less difficulty. Second, a doula helps to create a presence in the labor and birth room that helps a woman progress through labor naturally—this includes recommendations for the environment itself (such as lighting or music) and for the interactions with the staff (having a doula and partner in the room is a tremendous help so that one can always be with the laboring woman while the other interacts with staff).

When my wife’s labor began with our third daughter, we felt a greater sense of peace and confidence knowing that Rene’ was there to guide us through. While we were still at home, we called Rene’ to keep her updated and she reminded us what pattern we wanted to see before heading to the hospital. When we made it to the hospital, she was there to meet us. As we progressed through labor, she provided recommendations and words of encouragement. I was still by my wife’s side as her primary support, but Rene’ was incredibly helpful both in her recommendations and merely in her presence. Because Rene’ has attended so many births, the staff was reassured that we were in good hands and did not interfere or intervene outside of the minimal checking required. As the partner, I really appreciated having Rene’ there because I could remain completely focused on my wife while she dealt with the birth tub and communicated with staff. When it was time for my wife to push, we notified the hospital staff and doctor. But, before they could all make it into the room, our third beautiful, healthy daughter was born!

After our third daughter was born, I could immediately see the joy in my wife’s eyes to not only have a new baby in our family, but to know that she accomplished her goal of having a natural labor and birth. I also immediately felt an incredible sense of pride and admiration to have been just witnessed my wife accomplish her goal of experiencing birth in the same way as countless women before her. As the weeks have passed and we have both had time to reflect on the birth, I know that it has been the best birth experience yet for both of us. Not only do we have the joy of another healthy baby, but my wife was able to bring her into this world with no interventions beyond my support. We are both grateful for Rene’s support because she also played a key role in helping us to achieve that goal.

I am sorry for getting back so late, but time is passing by so fast and it is hard to find the right moment for the right words which you deserve.

First of all, I thank you so much for being with us and giving us this moment of security, strength and taking all the fears from us.  When we met the first time we were right away sure that we made the right decision to let you be our doula. We got every information, tips, facts, etc. we needed to be prepared and in a very professional way.

You were the beacon through the birth process of Jonas and during the whole night I felt safe and Heike too. Finding the right moments for relaxing, laughing, pushing etc. you knew exactly what, when and why to do. I cannot express enough how helpful that was.

Now, you are a part of our family and every time when we are telling the story how Jonas came to this world, you have a huge part of that story.

Whoever is not sure what to do, he or she can call me or Heike at any time and we are happy to tell them what a great and important service you are offering.

Thank you so much Rene',
Uwe Gruening