Mindful Doula Arts

Like other reviewers, my husband and I had a great experience with Beth. We decided to work with her as both a delivery and postpartum doula (she is also a lactation consultant). She met with us several times at our home before the birth to work on relaxation exercises after taking into account our «style.» Beth was a great resource to answer our questions about labor and delivery; she is extremely knowledgeable about everything from the stages of delivery to coconut water to baby mobile apps. Beth also volunteered to be with us for our early-​morning (successful!) external version to turn our baby head-​down. At the birth, Beth arrived quickly and was immediately focused on relaxing me. When the doctors wanted to put a telemetric heart monitor on our baby, she took a moment to explain and make sure my husband understood what that meant. I was comforted just hearing her voice and knowing she had attended so many births (she knows her way around all the local hospitals). Beth was on-​the-​dot punctual for every meeting, responded to emails/​texts/​phone calls quickly, and most importantly she paid attention to our preferences and never judged based on our choices. She was there to support us and we were so glad we had her! Also she gives great hugs!

My parents live out of state, so in preparing for the labor and delivery of our first child, my husband and I knew that we wouldn’t have my mom’s support and experience to lean on. I also hoped to give birth naturally, without any medication, and wanted someone with some expertise on the subject with us. So we turned to working with a doula for pre-​natal prep and, of course, labor and delivery support. We had heard rave reviews about Beth’s reputation from a good friend and from a couple of the employees at Natural Resources baby store in San Francisco, so we set out to hire her.
Working with Beth Rees was easily one of the best decisions that my husband and I made in our child birth experience. Beth’s kind and gentle manner is calming and we learned so much about the natural child birth process in our appointments leading up to our delivery date.
Beth not only coached us in preparation for labor and delivery, but she served as a tireless resource for pretty much any pre-​natal, labor, delivery and post-​partum questions we threw at her. We have an older dog at home and we weren’t sure how to introduce the baby to him. Armed with resources, Beth even provided us with information and web links on how to make your dog more comfortable with the new addition in the family!
During my labor at the hospital, Beth was a calm anchor for me. At one point, I didn’t want anyone else but Beth helping me work through my contractions. For some reason, I found my husband’s breath horrible. And just mimicking Beth’s breathing made getting through each contraction more bearable, even when I transitioned into active labor. Beth was also extremely unobtrusive when it came to working with my OB and the hospital staff. I’ve heard stories of situations where doulas and hospital nurses have some conflict in the delivery room and I am so happy to report that Beth was attentive to me and the details of my birth plan, but at the same time, she worked extremely well with the nurses.
In retrospect, I’m fairly certain that I would not have had such a wonderful, natural and unmedicated, child birth experience without Beth’s support. Our family has now grown by one, and we look forward to more additions in the next few years. I will definitely be working with Beth for the births of our children in the future.

Beth served as our doula during the birth of our first child last winter. In searching for a doula, we wanted someone who made us feel comfortable and who would help us stay calm when things got hairy in the birthing room. We chose Beth after meeting with several candidates because we responded to her warmth, her openness, and her practical side; she was the only doula we met with who sent a follow up email after the interview. It may seem trivial, but her taking the time to follow up with us showed a great deal about her work ethic and commitment to working with us.
We met with Beth a few times before the birth, and she shared her deep knowledge about birth and families with us in a way that was comprehensible and balanced. She didn’t push an agenda on us that we weren’t ready for, and she helped us create a birth plan that captured our intentions.
When it came time for our daughter to be born, Beth was by our side the entire time. She brought music, massage, and a calm and knowledgable energy to the the birthing room. She handled the nursing staff with ease and stayed focused on our needs as a family. Although things, of course, did not go according to our plan, Beth helped us make sense of our options and ultimately guided us in creating a birth experience that was a close to the intention of what we wanted as possible, given the circumstances. After the birth, Beth visited us and helped us reflect on our experience.
I can’t imagine how we would have gotten through the stress of our daughter’s birth without Beth’s support. She fit in so perfectly with our family and just created ease in every possible way. I recommend her to anyone looking for a practical, smart and warm doula to support their birth experience.

Beth was a great asset for my husband & I before, during and after the birth of our daughter in 2011. We weren’t exactly sure what a doula was but after we took a hospital tour we knew we didn’t want to be alone in a Labor & Delivery room!
As the days then weeks passed our due, date Beth was a calming presence. I had done yoga, acupuncture, meditation, everything for a natural birth. When it came time to finally ask the baby to come out I was induced. Beth was a great advocate for me and a huge help to my husband. She made sure we were hydrated, fed and comfortable. She gives great hand and feet massages.
After 2.5 days of labor I had to have a C-​section. She assured me that we had done all we could and it was time for baby’s arrival. She was there in the operating room when they stitched me up and when they finally brought me my daughter.
In the weeks after the birth Beth continued to work hard for our family. She took the placenta to be processed, recommended a lactation consultant who makes house calls and held the baby while I took a bath.
I would absolutely hire Beth again and recommend her to all my expectant friends.

Beth was my doula for the birth of my first child in November of 2011. I obsessively researched a ton of doulas, and ended up with a «short list» of doulas with the qualifications and credentials I was seeking, and Beth was one of them. When I started interviewing, I quickly realized I was going to have to trust my gut on the decision — there was just something about Beth that filled me with a sense of peace and security. I could relax and laugh so easily with her! She ALWAYS responded quickly to my texts, emails and calls (so very reassuring) and she was full of useful information and resources for whatever questions I had. She is just the right balance of intelligent professionalism and accessible warmth.
I ended up being one of those women who plans and prepares for a more natural birth — yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture, massage, the works — and ends up with every medical intervention known to womankind, including a C-​section. It’s hard to express how important it was to have Beth’s support. I thought, «it will be great to have a doula for my goddess-​like natural birthing experience!» but I had no idea how much it would mean to have a great doula for a birth that didn’t go the way that I had expected and hoped. Beth was an invaluable source of comfort and support, not just for me but for my husband and my mom as well. She helped us all navigate some rough waters.
I highly recommend her post-​partum doula services as well. She was there to help me in whatever way that I needed after my challenging birth experience. Sometimes I needed some help with the dishes or the baby, and sometimes I just needed someone to listen to how I was feeling about the whole experience of becoming a mom. Another one of Beth’s clients quoted her mom as saying, «Thank goodness Beth was there,» which is EXACTLY the same thing my own mom said, many times! I couldn’t agree more. Beth Rees is a wonderful companion and guide through the rich and complex territory of pregnancy, birth and new motherhood.

Beth was one of the best choices we made to ensure a smooth and awesome natural childbirth. We first saw her at the «Birth and Baby Fair», where Natural Resources was hosting a meet the doula event. She exudes this calming, knowledgeable aura and could answer any and all questions we had. Choosing a doula is a very personal thing, and somewhat of a gut reaction, and as soon as I spent some time talking to her I just thought, here’s a woman that will be able to help me get through this! I think the most valuable part was how she made my husband feel more confident about the whole process because he knew we had this incredibly knowledgeable person who had come to know us with us the entire time at the hospital. She also knew when to sneak my husband a helpful «that’s not helping» look when she could see he was getting on my nerves :)
Beth also made sure our post birth experience was what we wanted it to be. She made sure our desire for quiet family time together after the birth was respected and she even took some unobtrusive first family pictures while we met our baby, then slipped out unnoticed. Her postpartum visit was wonderful as well and my only regret was not hiring her for more time as a postpartum doula. Not a mistake I will make the second time around!

Beth is a perfect doula. She worked with my partner and me in 2009 as we prepared for the birth of our son, and she couldn’t have been more sweet, open, and helpful. She’s earthy and warm, without being too intense for us. She’s the rare person who you know it’ll be ok to poop in front of, which of course is not far from any of our minds. Beth supported my decision to have an unmedicated, natural birth. Before my due date, she came over more than once to talk with us about our birth plan, and to show my partner various massage points and movements that might be helpful to me while in labor. While my partner and I got acquainted with our new boy, she subtly got our hospital room ready and comfortable for us (for example, she made up my partner’s bed for her), without us even noticing until after the fact. Postpartum, she came by to make me tea, offered to do our laundry and dishes, and generally just be a wonderful, supportive friend during that bewildering time. She’s made for this work, and I’d recommend her without hesitation.