Ania Raczka - Sage Birthing Service

Reviews (1)

• Review from the Spring 2023 Birthing Survey

  July 2023

  What month and year was your child born? November 2022 Review: I absolutely loved working with Ania. If I ever get pregnant again, she is the person I want by my side again. She not only helped me but my husband. Having her support put us both at ease. Leading up to the birth, she was a calm presence in my life. I was super anxious about going through labor and she always was reassuring. Every time I freaked out about some aspect of the labor or first signs of going into labor, her response was always "this is all normal." Ania was very supportive of my wishes/decisions and also gave me her personal opinion when I asked.She always provided me research on different things I was considering. She has 3 children of her own and has had natural births and since I knew I wanted a non-medicated birth, I liked that she had been through it and also supported this. My biggest fear happened when my labor started (one of her other clients went into labor a few weeks early and she wasn't available). She sent a back up doula to support me. She stayed in touch with me even though she couldn't be with me. When her other client finally had the baby and I was still in labor a day later, she came to the hospital at 11pm (5 hours before my baby was born) and supported me through the hardest part. Her dedication was amazing - she had been awake for over 36 hours not more at that point. When I was questioning if I should have the epidural a few hours before the baby was born, she was my coach and supported me to not have it since that was my goal. I know she would've supported me either way but she was a positive force I needed. She said, you're already 7cm dilated and you likely will have this baby soon, and you made it this far... All our appointments before and after the baby was born were in person. I'm sure she would've done remote, but I really the time together in-person. She supported me so much after the baby was born with questions via text and showing me how to use a baby wrap and good advice to get through those sleepless nights. She gave me information about the Safe sleep 7 if we decided to bedshare and put me at ease. I couldn't recommend Ania enough! Any advice for people who are considering using a birth doula? If you are someone who wants support and guidance this can be really worth spending the money on. The nurses and doctors are in and out and the only person supporting you will be your partner or support person at the hospital. It's nice to have a neutral person who can help you to advocate and support you when you won't have the energy to do it yourself. We interviewed 4 people and choose the person we felt most comfortable with. There were 2 people we really liked and ultimately went with the person with a little more experience and who we felt was a better fit.