Joanna M. Bronkema, RN

I have written this review about a million times in my head since the birth of my little guy, but have never been able to fully express in words just how wonderful our experience with Joanna really was. Even though it has been a few months since the birth of our baby, and I never write Unilocal reviews, I feel that this is the least I could do for Joanna in return for her helping us to achieve the wonderful birthing experience that my husband and I envisioned.
My husband and I wanted a very intimate, natural birthing experience, with as little medical intervention as possible, and without the stress of having to cater to others. This is why we chose UCSD birthing center, and why we decided not to have any family or friends at our birth. When we were offered a volunteer doula, we were hesitant to accept. We are not the granola type couple I always associated with using a doula, nor did we really want added complications of dealing with anyone else. However, we felt that it might be nice to have someone around familiar with the hospital birth process (birthing center or not) and who could help us communicate our wishes with our hospital team. Joanna showed up as our volunteer doula for the UCSD Hillcrest Birth Center. Right off the back she won us over with her knowledge, professionalism, and calming demeanor. Her already established relationship and rapport with our midwife and nursing team put us at ease. What we didn’t count on when we opted for a doula was how natural having Joanna there was. Not many people can pull off showing up in one of the most intimate moments of a stranger’s life and fitting right in and putting everyone at ease. This is one purely incredible quality that Joanna possesses and makes her an amazing doula. In addition to helping to keep the communication with our nurses and midwives flowing from shift change to shift change, she helped encourage both my husband and I to keep going and pushing through an extremely long labor. Joanna was there with us for over 13 hours from late evening until midmorning keeping us going even when exhaustion was setting in. Even when complications occurred and I was taken on a gurney to finish my delivery in the Labor and Delivery ward, Joanna stayed with us and continued to make us comfortable knowing that while my husband and I were working hard to deliver our baby, there was someone there encouraging us and looking out to make sure our wishes were respected amongst all the craziness. For this I am forever grateful and recommend Joanna to anyone whole heartedly without reservation.

My husband and I met Joanna through the volunteer doula program at Best Start Birth Center in Hillcrest. The day of our daughter’s birth, we requested a volunteer doula and Joanna arrived within an hour of their call.
When Joanna arrived, she introduced herself and quickly got into position to support me since I was already in the tub laboring. Even though we hadn’t met her until I was already in labor, it was very easy to welcome Joanna and I was extremely comfortable having her knowledge, experience and voice in the room.
She helped me get in and out of the tub and supported me while I walked around and went to the bathroom. She used essential oils (lavender to relax, citrus to give me an energy burst) to help me through the labor and provided much needed massage/​pressure on my low back during my contractions (what a relief!). She also played photographer, snapping pictures at the right times.
One of the things that really helped me was to hear Joanna’s voice during my labor. She was great about maintaining a calming voice and would also encourage me during the tough parts — saying that I was doing a great job and that everything was going extremely well. She even helped me keep the right breathing and tones.
My husband and I agree that our birth was much easier thanks to Joanna. She offered to get us food and reminded my husband to keep drinking water or eating so he could continue to help during my labor. Joanna didn’t replace my husband’s role, but enhanced our overall experience.
We definitely recommend her for anyone who is looking to add a doula to their birth team!