By Your Side Birth Services

Amazing, amazing, amazing! All I can say is that a Doula makes a huge difference during birth and Meghan Johnstone was wonderful! My boyfriend, Mark and I were referred to Meghan through our Hypno Birthing class…(also a great class). We had an initial meet and greet and I knew right away she was the perfect fit. She was well educated and calm which made for a great fit when it came time to give birth to our son. Not only was she supportive to me and my baby, but she was 100% there for Mark and kept us both focused and calm through our whole labor. Her reassurance and reminders that I could do this kept me on track with my birth plan and made for an amazing birth experience. Without her by our side I don’t think I would have had the same outcome as I did.
Another great addition for having Meghan as our Doula was her option for placenta encapsulation! Mark and I did some research on encapsulation and found so many great benefits and decided to have it done. After I gave birth I was bleeding a little more than the average person. The capsules helped slow the bleeding, resulting in a quicker recovery. However, I must say the best result from the capsules has been balancing out my emotions and giving me more energy. After you give birth it’s not a secret that you may feel some ups and down in your emotions. I definitely had some battles in that department, but with the capsules I was quickly given the boost that I needed and back to my normal self. I can definitely see and feel a difference when I take them vs when I don’t. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone having a baby… worth it for sure! Along with the capsules Meghan did a placenta print for us and dried our umbilical cord. Such a great way to have those as keepsakes for years to come.
So…if you are looking for an amazing birth experience and a great, supportive Doula… look no further… Meghan Johnstone is the best! Thank you Meghan for everything! Mark, Mason and I couldn’t have done it without you!

Us dads have it easy when it comes to berthing, but if you’re practicing Hypnobirthing dads role is just as important as the Midwife. With Meghan’s support I stayed in the zone, when my wife drifted off she brought her back into where we needed to be emotionally and mentally. She’s a great choice in Doulas.

Meghan was our Doula for the recent birth of my first child and I couldn’t have been happier to have her by my side. She is extremely calming and supportive and I looked forward to all our pre-​delivery meetings and practice sessions as I was using hypnobirthing for labor. When it came time she was there for both my husband and I from the get go since my water had broken and I had to go the hospital much sooner than I had planned. Meghan spent all 38 hours of my labor with me (giving my husband much needed breaks) and I have to say I would not have had the wonderful yet grueling experience without her by my side. From holding the shower head over me, rubbing my back and keeping the encouraging words flowing I had the strength to move through and make the necessary choices to have my son on my terms. If we decide to have another baby she will definitely be there again!

I will never regret our decision to hire Meghan as the doula for the birth of our first child. We were clients at Best Start and taking Hypnobirthing, and Meghan easily understood all of our preferences for a natural, un-​medicated birth. She also understood my husband’s desire to play an active role supporting me in the labor and worked with both of us beautifully. I still remember what I think of as her «angel hands» applying counter pressure to my back during the most challenging parts of my labor. Meghan’s presence helped us achieve the natural birth my husband and I both wanted and I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a quality doula. Thank you Meghan!!! :)

I want to start by saying that my husband and I were skeptical of having a doula at all for the birth of our first child, but we wanted to see what it was all about. So we decided to interview a few. We interviewed Meghan first. Despite interviewing 2 other doulas after her (who were wonderful), Meghan’s positive and glowing energy was infectious, and we knew it would be a mistake not to have her there for our son’s big entrance into the world. And we were right in doing so. Aside from her fantastic energy, she also has a such a beautiful way of looking at pregnancy and birth. Any fears I began feeling about the birth or being a mom were easily quelled during our prenatal sessions with Meghan… or in any of my numerous texts to her up until the day of his birth. :) She provided guidance and support through making us think of what was best for our family instead pushing or implying her own opinions or beliefs. She constantly provided us helpful information that she thought would be useful for us based on our questions and concerns. Any every step of the way, she was there for us and helped us feel confident we were going to have a beautiful birth regardless how it ended up happening… and boy, did we. We cannot recommend Meghan more. We look forward to having her as our doula for however many more babies we have!

Meghan was an amazing addition to our team. Upon our first meeting, we hired her on the spot. She consistently provided useful and cognizable information morning or night. Meghan has a great command of current birth techniques and information. As a doula, she provided unconditional nurturing and support. Meghan truly has a gift for knowing when to offer hands-​on assistance or take a step back and let mom and dad work as a team. She approached every coaching opportunity with just the right touch. Because of Meghan’s support and effort, we had nothing but a positive birth experience.

Cant’t say enough great things about Meghan! I met Meghan in my hypnobirthing class and instantly felt a connection and decided to hire her.
Meghan did an awesome job and helped me have my ideal unmedicated birth. I had a long early labor (3 days) and long active labor (17 hours). She came to see me during early labor and helped identify some fears over the labor that I was holding onto. She had a couple of scripts she gave my husband and me to read over that were really touching and brought me to tears and helped get my labor progressing after. She also helped with positioning techniques… my baby had been oblique for a bit and eventually changed to head down. She was quick to followup on any questions I had regarding pregnancy stuff.
I’m not sure if I could’ve gotten through my long labor without her. My husband and I were very pleased with her and would definitely recommend her.

I never could have gotten through my birth without Meghan! Not just for me, but for my husband also, she was amazing.
I chose Meghan because a friend had recommended her to me and once I met her in person, we instantly clicked. Also, I had taken Hypnobirthing classes and I knew she had had 2 hypnobabies of her own so I felt like she would really understand what I wanted. I met with her a few times during my pregnancy and she was awesome even before my birth, helping me with my prep for labor, both in making plans but also just mentally and emotionally preparing me as well.
I had an extra long labor (which was posterior and gave me back labor), about 27 hours most of which was at the hospital. Meghan was there the entire time, either massaging my back, reading my affirmations, playing music, or offering my husband whatever he needed while he did the massaging and reading affirmations.
At the very end of my labor, while I was in «Laborland» as they say, it was the most intense and challenging part. I remember each contraction I couldn’t help but just scream and I looked up at Meghan and she would make eye contact with me, reminding me to breathe and «Om» through it while also letting me squeeze the shi* out of her hand haha.
Even after the long labor, once the baby was finally here (8 lbs., head full of hair, healthy as can be!), Meghan stayed with us for a while longer while we got settled, she helped me breastfeed, and made sure we were all cozy and ready to be left alone. I was SO grateful for all of her help and support, and even in the weeks that followed she checked on us and the baby.
Meghan is an amazing person and awesome doula — she’s super sweet, kindhearted and just has a great energy. I totally recommend her, ESPECIALLY if you’re trying to do all-​natural and non-​medicated because she has personal experience and lots of great things to offer to help you get through it. If she could help me get through my 27-​hour back labor (which I ended up still doing natural and non-​medicated!), she can help anyone get through theirs too!