We came into this process excited to work with a postpartum doula, as friends and colleagues had highly recommended it as a lifesaving experience. Unfortunately, our experience with Amber left us feeling unsupported and disheartened. This was a vulnerable time for our family, and instead of receiving the support we expected, we were left with stress and regret. Initially, Amber seemed like the right fit. During our interview, she shared thoughtful insights about supporting partners and siblings during the transition of welcoming a new baby. She appeared flexible and understanding, which made us excited to work with her. She provided helpful advice during the first two phone calls, but as we began working together, things quickly fell apart. When we decided to book with her she was a bit dodgy about pricing, but we were eventually able to get pricing on an email. We had to book all the days in advance and in the email she never agreed on the times, just sessions being either in the evening and the others being in the afternoon. Later we also find this is deceiving when asking to reschedule a session. First sign of discomfort was requiring payments through Zelle, which doesn’t offer consumer protection. We brushed that off because we thought we did our due diligence (highly recommended you use a payment method that protects you, especially for crucial services like this). When she shared all the paperwork with us, there was no contract or anything clarifying there will be no refunds (highly recommend you get a contract and challenge any terms that don’t feel right). We proceeded in good faith which we later regret as well. The first visit she asks me the time she should come which gave us a false sense of flexibility. We didn’t know what to expect the first visit as this new to us and we thought she would have a better idea on how to help us since we were already exhausted and felt vulnerable. However, first visit did not go well, she couldn’t seem to interact well with my older child in a way that made me feel relieved. My older kid is such an easy toddler so it was a surprise she wasn’t able to interact with her meaningfully, especially when she said she had preschool experience. I ended up staying around her after seeing her interactions with my child to make sure she got help, which isn’t what I wanted to nor what I thought I was getting—I thought I’d be able to take a moment to recharge while she helps. Additionally, she was having long conversations with me instead of springing into action which drained my non existent social battery making me feel awkward. She admitted feeling like she wasn’t being helpful and asked what we needed, at which point the visit felt like a waste and I was made to feel too tired to delegate. I was watching the clock until it was time for her to leave. After that visit I felt like I didn’t get anything out of the service and began to actually stress about her coming for the next visits. I canceled the two following visits because I wasn’t in the head space to deal. What we liked about her (understanding, flexibility, feeling comfortable with her, her supportive tone with us) started to quickly fade away. When I wanted to give it another chance for the next visit my newborn had an appointment in the morning. I asked her if we could do the visit after the appointment that was at 11:30, she told me she couldn’t even though we never agreed on a time for that visit and in her email she said afternoons for those days. She clearly stated we had an afternoon session that day and still didn’t show up as we requested. She never offered to reschedule and at this point it was obvious she was over it and did not want to be a source of support for us. This is when we started feeling that she’s taking advantage of our distress and taking our money without providing the support and services she promised. I just ended up feeling like we weren’t getting anything out of this service and, at best, it was a source of stress. Her services were no longer necessary or helpful. We asked her to cancel the remaining visits and process a refund for those remaining days. Not a full refund or not even a refund of those days we cancelled or didn’t show up at our requested time, just the remaining days. And we requested this a week in advance. The refund would’ve been less than half what we paid upfront but it was still a $1,000. Unfortunately, since there was no contract and we already sent the money she refused to give us a refund and said she could credit us with calls or different visits instead—which we absolutely didn’t want. The most insensitive and disheartening thing was her reasoning for refusal was about “caring for her family” — having no regard to our growing family going through one of the most vulnerable milestones of our lives. Not only did she make things more difficult for us, she took from us and damaged our ability to provide for our family. Despite us asking for a refund a week in advance, her response wasn’t until days later. Her response was the opposite of what we expected, it was inflexible, lacking empathy, and made us feel like our vulnerability was taken advantage of. And her response to our request was an obviously fake “automated message” that said we were reaching her outside of “business hours.” This was laughable because her typos made it obvious she wrote it out, and also made it obvious she was trying to get rid of us because she would text us during weekends before. This is when her lack of professionalism became very evident. We’re now pursuing other avenues to try to get our money back, which is a continuous source of stress during an already hectic time. So she’s still causing us stress even after we discontinued her services. We honestly feel scammed and taken advantage of. It was such a frustrating and disheartening experience and I would not recommend her if you’re looking to be fully supported in a vulnerable state with your family. We didn’t feel we were supported and felt lack of empathy and professionalism from a doula, which is someone meant to provide support in very sensitive milestones. For those considering a postpartum doula, I urge you to carefully review all your options, ask detailed questions, get a clear contract, and ensure the terms protect you as a client. We regret not doing more due diligence and hope sharing our experience will help others avoid the same frustration and heartbreak.

From start to finish, Amber’s care and expertise were evident. She made our journey into parenthood a beautiful experience!

As a new dad to twins, I was hesitant about what to expect from a doula but I was beyond impressed with the support the whole family received. She was there for us every step of the way and I could not imagine going through such an intimate and beautiful but overwhelming birth without her expert guidance. She really was so present for my wife and guided me through supporting the mother of our children through every stage of labor. It's too soon to think about future babies in our family but we'll be reaching out to her when we do! I've already sent her information to my brother who is expecting his little one this summer!

Dr. O'Neill Smith is kind, caring, compassionate, and an excellent communicator with a wealth of knowledge and resources. She has decades of researched backed experience and we plan to request her for our next baby! I've already referred her to all of my family and friends and I look forward to hearing how much they all love her too.