Birth work
My partner and I had the pleasure of working with Sarah as our doula for the birth of our first child. From the very beginning, she made us feel comfortable, heard, and supported. We immediately connected with Sarah on a personal level: she’s warm, kind, and has a great sense of humor. Professionally, she has a wealth of knowledge (about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, postpartum etc), but she completely let us take the lead in deciding what we wanted for our birth.
-Lizzie
I had weeks of prodromal contractions before labor began, and Sarah supported us remotely throughout that time. On the big day, she was amazing. She knew when to encourage me to push myself, she helped my partner know what to do and how to support me, and she helped us both navigate the healthcare environment and decision-making. We ended up having an amazing birth experience, to no small thanks to Sarah.
We would absolutely recommend her! If we have more kids, we definitely plan to have her on our team again.
Sarah was hands down the best thing to happen to our birth experience. I did not know that the experience of birth is very lonely from providers without a doula. She not only supported me, she made sure my husband was taken care of as well. Sarah talked me off a ledge several times throughout the end of my pregnancy and helped me have the most amazing unmedicated experience! I left the 34 hours feeling like I had exactly the birth I had hoped for even though many things were not to plan. We were admitted due to water breaking earlier in the day and she came to make sure I wasn’t alone in the hospital. Even after our son was born, she has been checking in on me and my partner. I am so grateful we were able to find her and we will definitely be using her again for birth support in the future.
-Megan
My husband and I have told everyone who will listen that hiring Sarah Cole was the best money we’ve ever spent. I can honestly say that my birth story feels victorious and meaningful in no small part due to Sarah’s faithful support at every step. Sarah approaches her work with a beautiful blend of compassion/empathy married with complete competence and level headedness. We trusted her advice and also felt fully seen and understood by her. She took time to listen to our questions and concerns, she asked brilliant questions and gave expert advice to help us prepare for birth, and she made us feel very comfortable immediately as she took on the gritty work of labor assistance. She is good at getting to know a couple and offering tailored support based on their desires and philosophies. Because of her help, my husband was able to be an active part of my labor and delivery, something he had great fears about throughout my pregnancy; I was able to push myself and to be proud of the level at which I labored; I was able to try different positions and strategies to drive forward my labor; and I felt cared for and advocated for as I journeyed through this otherwise very scary new process as a first-time mom. She helped educate us about every step of the birth process in a way that empowered us. She helped me push as hard and as long as I had hoped to and helped me feel still successful when it was time to make new decisions. We love Sarah dearly and celebrate her important role in our story.
-Joell
We can’t recommend Sarah’s doula services enough. We were initially unsure about the whole doula thing (Was is worth it? Was it necessary?), but what we thought would be a nice ‘extra’ to our pregnancy/birth experience turned out to the most important resource for our prenatal and postpartum days. We experienced Sarah as knowledgable, validating, reassuring, professional, and empowering. After conceiving our first pregancy through IVF and carrying the pregancy during a pandemic, stress was high at times. Through it all, Sarah was responsive, supportive, and nurturing. She both advocated for us as well as empowered us to advocate for ourselves. Also, I could not have gotten through the sleeplessness and breast feeding challenges of the 4th trimester without her support!! She has so much wisdom and experience to offer. It made all the difference! If we decide to grow our family in the future, we will definitely be using Sarah’s services again. It was worth every penny! Not to mention she is just a lovely, down-to-earth person with a great sense of humor. Sarah more than exceeded our expectations and hopes for a doula.
-Hope & Aaron
We are so grateful to her and highly recommend her services to any and all parents!
I was recommended to a Brighter Birth by several colleagues of mine and I could not be happier. Sarah was available for my due date and I knew during our interview with her that she was the one! My husband and I wanted someone as a coach and support as first time parents, but also someone who was flexible and understands the fluidity of birth plans.
I am a medical provider myself, and I was very impressed with Sarah’s immense knowledge about the process of birth, interventions, and how she became my advocate in the hospital. She had a wonderful rapport with the doctors and nurses also, which made everything flow so much more nicely. Throughout the pregnancy, she was available for any questions or concerns. As soon as I went into labor, Sarah was at my house in the appropriate timeframe and comforted me immensely. When things got intense or the plan changed, she was able to calm and reassure me the right decisions were being made for my baby and I. She took the time to ask me how I was feeling so I felt heard, and made sure to voice those concerns to my medical team. We went on to have a happy, healthy birth of my little boy!
Overall, I would recommend Sarah as a doula. She helped make my first birth experience a wonderful one.
-Abbey
I had an interesting labor adventure from a birthing center with no interventions to a hospital birth. Sarah was there for all of it and didn’t skip a beat. Sarah was like Mary Poppins pulling things from her magical bag–warm socks, Chapstick, essential oils, a hand-fan, fairy lights even. This was the most vulnerable I have ever been in my life and Sarah took great care and made me feel safe. I remember getting the epidural in the hospital and Sarah leaning me forward in a hug talking me through the procedure. I felt so comforted (also out of it a bit) that I barely felt the needle.
My husband and mom were with me during labor as well and they both kept saying how they valued Sarah’s presence and knowledge. She explained everything that was happening every step of the way and it was helpful that she knew some of the nurses and midwives from previous doula jobs. My husband asked her at one point, “How do people do this without a Doula?”
I felt as if my husband and my mom were my ship during the many waves of uncertainty and Sarah was the lighthouse guiding the way for us. Even though it was not quite the birth experience I was hoping for, it was still very positive and that in due greatly to Sarah. Hire this one… she is a keeper! She also took great photos!
-Amanda
Sarah was such an amazing part of our birth experience. I would recommend her to any parents looking to have a better birth, pre and postpartum! She is compassionate, patient, and, supportive all while being a fierce advocate and motivator. As first time parents, she helped quell any anxiety with proactive education and access to resources. The day of labor, she was an amazing coach for both my husband and me, allowing us to have a beautiful experience. She was there for us postpartum as we navigated the challenges of being new parents and learning our baby. She is a wealth of knowledge and support and makes an excellent addition to your birth team.
-Diana
Working with Sarah has been an absolute dream. Not only did she support me throughout my induction, labor and eventual C-section, she was the perfect coaching partner with my husband. With her support and the support of my midwives, my C-section felt like the right and best decision for myself and my baby. I could make that decision knowing we had done everything we could to achieve a vaginal delivery.
Her post-partum visit was such a bittersweet day. She provided us some amazing tips on feeding baby and instituting sleep shifts, but it was also the end of our professional relationship. We look forward to sharing photos of Devin as he grows and if we’re fortunate enough to have children in the future, Sarah will be one of our first phone calls.
-Ashley
Sarah is simply magical and I can’t imagine our birth experience or pregnancy without her. She has a calm, gentle spirit that is so nurturing and comforting, you immediately feel at ease in her presence. She is level headed & confident in all recommendations and decisions that need to be made especially for first time parents that are really unsure about everything in the pregnancy and birth process. Having Sarah as our doula is the best decision we made for our family and the birth of our son, we can’t even put into words our gratitude and highest recommendations for her support services.
-Krysten
Having Sarah as our doula was the best decision that my husband and I made when it came to our birth experience! Her compassionate and supportive nature just draws you in and makes you feel safe and seen. She was such an integral part of our daughter’s birth, and as first-time parents, her wealth of knowledge and experience were so helpful during pregnancy, labor/birth, and postpartum. I cannot recommend Sarah enough if you are looking for a doula! My birth experience was so empowering and wonderful, and I am so thankful that Sarah was able to help with making that happen for me. Along with my husband, she was by my side through it all, and I will forever be grateful for that.
-Alyssa
One of the scariest things with pregnancy is the knowledge that eventually one has to actually give birth. For first time Mothers, like myself, all one really knows about birth is what people hear in the movies and “horror stories” from other women. My husband and I were apprehensive so we took a birth prep class run by doulas where we learned a lot more about the stages and how a typical birth goes. We felt more confident but decided to hire Sarah to help us on the actual day. It was the best decision we could have done for the birth. The day itself, or night for us, flew by so quickly and at times was a rush of questions from doctors, nurses, ect. about birth plan and medical questions. Sarah acted as our advocate in the hospital when we were caught up in the moment and made sure that we had the birth that we had planned. She encouraged and taught my husband how to be present and aid me in my labor. Her knowledge and kind spirit was exactly what we needed and we can honestly say that we would not have been able to have the natural birth that we planned on without her support.
Alexandra
“Having Sarah by our side throughout late pregnancy, during labor & delivery and beyond was the best decision we could have made. She was instrumental in helping us prepare for the birth of our son, was always available for questions as we needed her, and has been a great support overall. But, hands down, her presence during labor and delivery was truly magical. She brings calm during the most intense moments and a sense of humor when it’s needed. She stood by my side, assisted my very worried husband, and guided us both as our baby came into the world. Post-birth, she has checked-in with us and gave expert advice as a LC as well. There aren’t enough words to describe my gratitude for all her kindness, knowledge and support!”
– Amy
“As soon as we first met, I knew I wanted to have Sarah as my postpartum doula. Pretty quickly, I realized I wanted her with us for the birth of our twins too. Sarah is extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and personable. She helped prepare us for birth and was a life saver afterwards, providing tips and helping with everything from breastfeeding to house chores. Highly recommend her.”
-Jessica
“We hired Sarah Cole as our doula four months prior to the birth of our first child, and we could not have been happier with our decision. Everything about the pregnancy process was new to us, and Sarah made herself available to answer all our questions in the months leading up to our child’s birth, and she was absolutely invaluable throughout the big day. We often found her advice to be more helpful and personal than that of the medical staff we were working with.
During labor and delivery, Sarah’s expertise and experience were extremely useful, as she was able to provide reassurance, support, and guidance. She is a lovely person, and she made us feel comfortable and validated with every concern or question we had. We would highly recommend Sarah; she made the entire process exactly the way we’d hoped!”
-Amanda
Breastfeeding Support
Sarah was extremely responsive when I reached out to her and was at our house for an in-home breastfeeding consultation only 48 hours later. She was so helpful and listened to all our questions and issues. She offered great advice and thoughts and things have been much smoother since! She also checked in a few days later to see how things were going. I’m so glad that I reached out to her and am grateful for her quick help.
-N.B.
Postpartum
This is the second time that we have used Sarah as a postpartum doula and she’s just as amazing as we remember. She’s incredibly knowledgeable on so many aspects of the postpartum journey and was a wonderful resource for me when I had questions about breastfeeding, soothing techniques, and sleeping. She’s a wonderful confidant for the new mom as well. We would highly recommend Sarah to anyone looking for a postpartum doula!
-L.P.
Sarah was our postpartum doula after the birth of my daughter in August 2018, and I am so thankfrul that I found and hired her! Sarah was there to help guide me through the first weeks of breastfeeding, to show us ways to help calm our daughter during her fussy moments, and to provide guidance regarding pumping and storing breastmilk in preparation of my return to work. She is incredibly knowledgable and takes so much stress out of those first days, weeks, and months! But what I found the most beneficial was how present Sarah was. During my first weeks alone with the baby after my husband wente back to work, I knew that Sarah was checking her texts in case I had an urgent question, and that she would be able to come over and help me out if I felt like a nap was an absolute necessity or I was drowning under dishes and laundry! No question was ever silly, and no insecurity was ever dismissed. Sarah is an incredible mother to her kids, a reassuring guide to us new mamas, and now a wonderful friend. I cannot recommend her enough.
-M.P.
Sage Mama 