Meet Kelly

“Had my second baby this year and had been debating about whether or not to have a doula the second time around. I had wanted one with my first, but during Covid I was only allowed +1 in the labor room, so I chose my husband. I thought maybe since I had already gone through the process that I might not need that extra guidance the second time around. I’M SO GLAD I CHOSE TO GET A DOULA! Kelly was amazing. She has a very grounding energy and knew exactly what to do in different moments. During labor she suggested trying different positions that were very helpful, she employed counter pressure and massage techniques to help with pain management, and she even sat in the bathroom with me for a half hour while I just stood under the shower. It was so nice to let my husband be there for the experience and have a professional help me, do, and say all the right things. A week before I went into labor, I had a very convincing false alarm (contractions all night that got closer together and then just petered out in the morning). I was on alert and Kelly was on alert for that whole week. She checked in on me frequently and let me know to call whenever. On the actual day, when I reached out in the wee hours, even though I woke her with my call, she answered the phone like she had been awake and totally expecting a phone call. Like I said, very grounded and steady. I felt so supported through the whole process. After the birth, she came to help me at home a few times, and had some great advice. If you are debating whether or not to get a doula, do it! Kelly gets 10/5 stars from me.”

“We went with Chicago Family Doulas for our birth and postpartum doula and night doula and I couldn’t recommend them more highly. All we needed was one great call with Anna who right away paired us with Kelly, who was PRECISELY what I wanted in a birth and postpartum doula, and with Yasmine, who was the perfect night doula. Kelly was warm but still firm in the hospital with us. She took care of me while my husband and the NICU team cared for my newborn – very scary time! Yasmine not only let me get some much needed, worry-free sleep but helped me with breastfeeding and better understanding my newborn and my postpartum journey.“

“I had a wonderful experience with Chicago Family Doulas.  During the intake consultation, Anna gave a thoughtful overview of what I could expect and diligently reviewed my requirements to give me a great doula match.

I absolutely loved working with Kelly S.! She instantly made me feel comfortable and informed. She has a warm personality, is a great listener, and made me feel at ease from our first meeting.  Kelly balanced making recommendations on my vision and providing additional feedback to make me consider other options – I felt empowered. Kelly’s superpower was being able to anticipate my needs and support me in ways I didn’t know I needed – from foot massages during labor to postpartum referrals. She provided recommendations for me and my son (and my family!) to have a successful and wonderful first few days at home.  I appreciated her insights here the most. She challenged me to think through the process about what would make me feel best at home; which is something I might not have given much attention to otherwise. Kelly was intentional about making sure my husband was still involved in the process. She acted as a trusted advisor and pillar of support on our team during such a special time for our family. Can’t say enough about how much I appreciated Kelly’s support for me and my family!“

“We are first time parents and our experience with Chicago Family Doulas was amazing from start to finish. The process to get paired with a doula was easy and we really felt supported throughout. We also have so many great things to say about our doula, Kelly. I had a lot of anxiety about pregnancy, labor, and postpartum, and she was such a help in every stage. She is very knowledgeable and offered wonderful advice and guidance. She is also extremely personable and calming, which I really needed. My husband also loved Kelly and said she made a huge difference for him as well. We both felt extremely comfortable with her, and would recommend her to any mom in search of a doula!“

“Kelly was an amazing postpartum doula. She arrived early every night and was so helpful with household things including laundry, food prep, and cleanup. She cooked for us at times as well 🙂 Don’t know how we would have survived those first few weeks without her.”

“I’m incredibly grateful that Kelly was my doula during the labor process for my first child! My labor was looong and Kelly was the grounding, supportive presence that I needed throughout it all. When I was laboring at home, we were in touch via text and phone calls as she gave me tips for positioning and speeding up contractions. Then in the hospital, she was right by my side the entire time, supporting me physically and emotionally. She was an expert at the big-picture things – like helping me into different positions and helping me and my husband consider the decisions we had to make (like whether to start Pitocin) – and also made me feel cared for in so many little ways, like anticipating whenever I needed a sip of water, stroking my face, offering essential oils and a toothbrush. She’s also just a really cool, sincere, fun person to talk to. I was also impressed by how well she seemed to integrate into the healthcare team, and she had a great rapport with my main nurse. After my baby was born, Kelly stayed with me for a couple of hours at the hospital and gave me advice for my first breastfeeding attempt. Since then, she came for a wonderful postpartum visit at home and has been texting every few days to check in on me. Kelly is truly a gifted doula and I can’t imagine having gone through this process without her!!”

“Chicago Family Doulas helped me have the best first birth experience I could ask for. We chose Kelly as our doula to support us with an unmedicated birth. Kelly spent over 2 hours at our pre-birth home visit guiding us through what to expect. The birth plan preference checklist made it super easy to discuss my preferences for an unmedicated birth with multiple doctors in my OBGYN group. When I went into labor, Kelly came over early when my contractions were still manageable and helped me get moving to speed things up. She helped me stay positive despite being only 3cm when I arrived at the hospital and was an invaluable source of comfort and expertise through the toughest parts of labor, guiding me through different positions from Spinning Babies. Kelly really emphasized that I should let my body and intuition lead the pushing phase – I followed that and ended up having only 1 hour of pushing and hardly any tearing (no stitches!). My labor was 31 hours in total and I could not have had the beautiful, natural and unmedicated birth of my dreams without Kelly’s support. She was also very helpful postpartum, checking in on my often via text, Facetime and the home visit and her advice has been a lifesaver as I adjust to motherhood. Highly recommend Kelly and Chicago Family Doulas!”

“Getting matched with a Doula was really easy proccess. I interviewed with 2 doulas before picking Kelly to support me during my birth and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Having a doula as a first time mom trying to have an unmedicated birth really helped me to be successful. Kelly was so caring and helpful during labor, helping me to manage the pain from my contractions by talking me thru my breathing, feeding me juice/water/ice, stroking my hair etc. She also stayed in touch afterwards to make sure I was recovering well post-partum. I would 100% reccomend this company as well as Kelly specifically to any pregnant moms out there. You won’t regret it.”

“I’m so relieved we reached out for labor support and had Kelly by our side the whole time. I ended up having to be induced which was not part of my birth plan. But any feelings of panic disappeared when Kelly arrived. She was exactly the calming presence I needed and she helped guide my husband so that he could comfort me throughout the 14 hours of labor and 4 hours of pushing. She knew exactly when to advocate on my behalf and inform me of my options. My husband, who was initially ambivalent whether we needed a labor doula, was so relieved we did and that it was Kelly with us. She also checked in on me several times during the postpartum period and offered to do a video call and then visited me in person. She gave me several recommendations for both myself and my baby for follow-up care. It was so helpful knowing I could lean on Kelly during this very vulnerable and overwhelming time. I don’t know what I would have done without her!! Highly highly recommend Kelly and Chicago Family Doulas–Anna was a great resource throughout pregnancy and postpartum!”

“Before diving in, I’d like to start off with my overall feeling of Kelly and her work- simply put she is an amazing doula who is incredibly kind, understanding, and educated and we will definitely be hiring her for our second child. As my husband and I were preparing for our first child, we were interested in hiring a doula to help provide support for labor + delivery and postpartum. We set out on our journey to find one and thank goodness we did! Our search took about a month, but in December 2021, we eventually met Kelly – and after our first 5 minutes of conversation, we had made an instant connection and knew that she was perfect for us. Kelly has a calmness that made my husband and I both feel comfortable right from the start (this was our first child, so we both had MANY questions). Kelly was always incredibly thoughtful and kind, and she brought a necessary depth of knowledge and understanding that frequently helped guide us to make informed decisions that best fit our family goals. Kelly remained flexible and supportive of “our plan” and stood by our side every step of the way – even when plans fall through (and they do). For instance- I was hoping to have a natural birth (one without medication) and Kelly was fully supportive of this (and even excited to help me through this journey). However, as with most “birth plans”, things did not play out as expected. Because my water broke and my contractions didn’t start, my medical team put me on pitocin, which meant I would likely need an epidural. I held out at first, but as the contractions continued and night fell upon us, I wanted to understand the pros/cons of getting an epidural, which Kelly explained and made me feel supported and comfortable regardless my decision. When I decided to get the epidural, she was fully on board. As the night turned to morning, it became time for me to push. One thing that was important to me was to be able to push in alternate positions, and Kelly was my #1 advocate in the room. It’s so hard to put into words everything Kelly did for (and meant to) us along our journey. She is so approachable – she fielded literally every and any question I had with professionalism and candor (no matter how silly I probably sounded at times), and if she was unsure, she would research or recommend a resource where I could find help. I appreciated her honesty and ability to listen. We were lucky to also continue with Kelly into postpartum, where she primarily helped us overnight as we started adjusting to our new life. This was a game changer for us. Beyond the obvious and irreplaceable help she provided for us and our newborn, she was there with countless parenting tips, lactation advice and amazing bedside talks to put our mind at ease, when needed; it was natural inviting Kelly into our home – she quickly became an extension of our family, and looking back on it all, I would not have wanted to do this without her.”