Jesse Pournaras
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Reviews (11)
Review Submitted May 2024
I wasn't sure if I should obtain doula services, but investing in support from Jesse was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Jesse is kind and extremely knowledgeable, and she is an excellent communicator. Her support was transformative in three ways: 1. She gave us so much peace of mind in the months leading up to birth by previewing what was ahead for birth/newborn care and by answering a wide range of questions thoughtfully. I found this particularly helpful after struggling with the limited information/attention provided during prenatal visits. I also appreciated knowing that she would be present during labor if my preferred OB wasn't on call. 2. Jesse was an incredible resource to me and my partner and the whole care team during the birth of our son - she was informative and hands-on, helping us understand what was happening and helping us to be as comfortable as possible throughout labor. Jesse was absolutely one of the reasons I walked away from birth with a great experience (along with luck and a great partner/doctor/nurse team) 3. Her lactation expertise was enormously helpful when I was struggling with breastfeeding in the week after birth after the guidance I received from the hospital was extremely overwhelming. She helped me get to a much better place quickly and thoughtfully. We feel extremely fortunate to have worked with Jesse.birth doula recommendation
Jessie Pournaras was incredible (http://www.jessepournaras.com/). She is extremely knowledgeable, patient, supportive and kind. Jessie really helped my partner help me during labor, which was very important to us so that my partner could be involved. She balances being a strong advocate with being very chill and a joy to be around.JESSE POURNARAS
We had our first baby in September 2020 and Jesse was our Doula. We cannot overstate how fantastic Jesse was, not only as moral support and someone that could guide us through the process, but also as someone that would always be there to help with random questions, to teach us, and to explain all the different elements associated with birth giving and caring for a newborn. We are confident that Jesse’s presence at the day of giving birth played an important role in having the delivery we wanted. She helped us get ready for the day through frequent touchpoints prior to the birth where she really helped us understand what decisions we’ll have to take, and where she tried to understand us and our priorities. On the day of the birth she stayed with us from 4am until 11pm that day, all the way from the water breaking to the point where we went to bed. She actively helped me with positioning during labor (which was praised by the OBGYN when we got to the actual birth), and she helped us understand where we are in the process, what is happening, etc. She also helped us when it came to defending some of our decisions that were challenged by the OBGYN. Specifically, we did not want our baby to get the eye ointment post birth (as we saw little benefit in it), and Jesse was on top of the most recent regulatory frameworks in NY State which allowed us to push back against the hospital staff and doctors that were not aware of the fact that we can exercise our right of informed refusal without any consequences. She was our advocate during times where we had little understanding of the options and where we could have been easily convinced by the medical staff to go a different route than we originally wanted. That in itself is invaluable when your mind is focused on the birth giving / your baby, and everything is new. Since the birth we’ve stayed in close contact with her for all sorts of newborn guidance, lactation consulting, and general questions about fun topics such as frequency of poops etc. Overall, we can not recommend Jesse enough. She is very diligent, reliable, well organized, responsive, professional and always well prepared, but also very friendly, personal, very flexible and incredibly knowledgeable. To know that we had her by our side was instrumental in avoiding a lot of potential anxiety associated with this experience. We have no doubt that should we get another baby, Jesse will be the first to know...Review from the 2020 Birthing Experience Survey
Jesse was also my lactation consultant. Immediately after birth, she was able to guide the baby to latch. She also came to do an in-home check-up a few days after to make sure that the baby was latching correctly and guided me through first few weeks of feeding. She was always there to advice me on those difficult initial feeding period.Review from the 2020 Birthing Experience Survey
I can't say enough positive things about Jesse. She guided us through the insane COVID times and was able to prepare us. She joined us in the laboring room and guided me through the active labor. If it wasn't for Jesse, I would not have had such an easy and quick labor. She is also very active in the community and she is super knowledgeable about pregnancy, laboring, and postpartum.Review from the 2020 Birthing Experience Survey
I took private prenatal yoga classes from Jesse throughout my pregnancy, both in person and via Zoom. She worked with me at my level and also helped me develop a short routine that I could perform on my own. I highly recommend her.Doula recs?
I highly recommend Jesse Pournaras. My 2nd child is due this August and I would not have anyone else by my bedside. She also advocates for mother rights. She launched the petition when NY hospitals banned birth partners back in March.2019 Birth Survey
Amazing. 5yrs experience. Over 100births. Highly recommend. Was a lifesaver.Review submitted via the PSP Birth Survey
To put it simply : Jesse is THE best. I was very lucky to have her and I could not have delivered my first baby boy without her. I was really not into doulas until I attended her prenatal yoga classes at Area Yoga.-, which are real workouts for mamas to be. Her services include a prenatal visit, a private prenatal yoga class for mom and dad, delivery, support for 2 hours after delivery and postnatal visit. I wanted to try to have a natural birth and when the hospital could not give me the epidural I asked for (labor in triage + change of shift!) she was able to keep me focused and helped me managing the pain and delivering my baby naturally. I have learned so much thanks to her! Based on a June 2017 birthing experienceReview submitted via the PSP Birth Survey
We talked with 4 to 5 doulas before talking to Jesse. But within the first 5 minutes of our conversation, I knew she was the one. It was important to me that our doula and my husband had a good report, so it was really up to him to make the decision. We appreciated how she explained things with clarity, and provided clear direction and guidance. She alleviated any of our anxieties, and was an amazing birth coach. Based on 8.2016 birth experienceReview submitted via the 2016 Birth Survey
Jesse was wonderful! I was looking for a doula to provide practical support to me and my husband during my unmedicated labor and delivery. Jesse shared her wisdom with us about various things to expect and how they could be managed to help me achieve my goals. She provided some background on testing that I needed and her information perfectly aligned with the info from my midwives. It was nice to have another resource though to discuss things because it's a lot to take in at once! She actively managed me during labor and also kept my husband calm (the extra person is essential!). The counterpressure she provided helped a lot. Then when my water broke and I was ready to push while still standing in my kitchen she calmly told us that it was time to go and then she coached my breathing through the hour it took to get to the hospital. I have no idea what would have happened if she hadn't been there, but it wouldn't have been a calm experience! She advocated for me at the hospital so I didn't need to think about a thing. (She forcefully told the on-call doctor that we were waiting for the midwife - respecting my wishes that I have minimal exams and only by caregivers known to me. Thankfully the midwife showed up moments later so we didn't need to argue too much!) She encouraged me through the pushing and was a nice compliment to the midwife and nursing staff. I believe she would have been equally supportive regardless of the outcome of my delivery, but she was a HUGE help in making my daughter's birth experience a wonderful event. Member notes about insurance: No insurance, but I blame the insurance industry for that! Based on a February 2016 birthing experience
