Karen Sousa -Leading Life in Love

Karen is one of the most passionate and caring people that I know! I used to be terrified of giving birth until I hired her as a doula. She explained the whole process of labor and birth and I realized that a woman’s body is MADE to give birth! I never would have thought I would give birth without an epidural but I did and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Karen gave me so many techniques and positions to help cope with labor. She also makes sure that you and your partner are fully prepared for everything that might happen in a hospital setting, because there’s lots of things that can get in the way of a calm, natural birth. She even stays for a while after birth to help with breastfeeding. Karen truly cares about her clients and wants their births to be as beautiful and smooth as possible. Birth and babies are her passion!

Being first time parents, there is something about Karen that made us feel safe and secure in the birthing process. This was not just a business transaction of hiring a smart and experienced doula, it was a relationship transaction that required our full commitment and investment, on both sides, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Through Karen’s care, coaching, and advocacy we were able to experience a life changing birth that we will forever be grateful. Karen is great at what she does because of her sincerity, service, and sacrifice. This is what sets her apart from the others. Being a doula isn’t just her job, it is who she is.

Before being pregnant I didn’t even know what a doula was! Through mutual friends I met Karen and after finding out what she did decided to give it a shot. I am so happy I did. I went from knowing absolutely nothing about birth and what to expect in a hospital to feeling so comfortable and prepared because of what Karen offers in her services. I went from not caring about a natural birth to giving one and with out any drugs. I really couldn’t have done it with out her knowledge and support. Karen was available at any questions and texts I had through out the whole process and always kept me calm about anything that came up in my birth. She was there immediately when I was going into labor and was An amazing coach and made sure everything stuck to my birth plan. I felt extremely comfortable with her and would recommend her to anyone! Thanks for making my birth experience so memorable and writing a beautiful birth story for me to have and remember all the memories!

After screening multiple doulas by phone, my husband and I interviewed four and selected Karen to be our birth doula. Apart from being a lovely and sweet person, the reasons we both preferred her included:
–the recommendation of our hypnobirthing instructor, Care Messer
–her knowledge of the local hospitals and ability to work with their nurses
–her preparation and the breadth of resources she provided us from the first moment
–her upbeat and positive manner
–her experience with a variety of different families and births
–her personal birth experiences.
She was available any time I needed to text or call and quickly made it to our home when I was in labor. She was able to support my hypnobirthing practices and was very helpful in creating a birth plan. Karen also delivered the placenta to an encapsulator.
Karen came to visit us a few days after the baby was born and delivered a sweet, thoughtful and thorough account of the birth. I wasn’t expecting her to do a write up but it was much appreciated!

Karen was my doula for my first child. She is exactly what I was looking for in a doula but also so much more. I was looking for extra support, a friend in addition to my husband to be by my side but also someone who knew what they were doing and do jt in a calm, confident and respectful way. She was all of this in a very natural way but also was so great with my husband and family. I would not change anything with my birthing experience and this was truly possible because of Karen.