Lolli Comar - The Vancouver Doula

Lolli was absolutely crucial in making our pregnancy and labour as successful as they were. The first time we met her both my husband and I knew, right away, she was the doula we wanted. She has an assertive, yet caring and fun personality. She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to pregnancy. A real guru! We didn't know until we hired her, but she has an amazing reputation in the field-- everyone seems to know her, from our midwives, to our prenatal class instructor, to family friends. Our meetings (in person and over the phone) leading up to labour provided us with a ton of resources to cope with physical pain, emotional struggles and helped us feel much more confident and know what to expect when the big day came. Of course, though, nothing happened as planned! We had a very fast labour and by the time we called her, I was already at the hospital fully dilated and ready to push. But, even though we didn't have her by our side when I was labouring, we feel that everything we learned from her and in our prenatal classes allowed my husband and I to handle it so well on our own. And I have to say, having her with me when I was pushing made all the difference! She guided me on how to breath and push more effectively, and ultimately helped me push our baby before the doctor and midwife started the vaccum process (which I had agreed to)-- really, I had like 5 or 10 minutes as they were getting everything ready for the procedure, and she and my husband really believed in me and made me believe I could push the baby on my own and sure enough, I did! After the birth of our son, she continued to provide us with incredible support, especially with breastfeeding. I can't recommend Lolli enough! She's someone who'll be forever part of our lives and whom I hope to have with us again in our next pregnancy.

Lolli is an exceptional doula - as a midwife I have referred countless families to work with her and am always happy when I hear someone has chosen to hire her. She is very experienced and is equally comfortable in both hospital and home environments, with midwives, with doctors, she has no agenda except to support you to have the most positive birth experience possible. If you are considering hiring a doula, I usually recommend interviewing at least three and then going with whoever feels the most right to you. I have rarely had anyone not choose Lolli after spending time with her, she has so much to offer - so professional, so calm and so grounded. One thing I have loved when working with her - she knows exactly when to 'call the midwife'! I have found clients to be relaxed, able to enjoy their birthing experience, and to be in the most prepared state to meet their little one. You will learn so much, whether it is your first or your fourth baby, as you can see from these other review - Lolli knows her stuff!

Lolli is a fantastic doula, and I would highly recommend her. Throughout my pregnancy, she lent me helpful books from her library, and gave me invaluable tips about labour, delivery, and breastfeeding. When the time came, Lolli was the calm, steady presence I needed to get through a very intense back labour. When I was convinced I could not carry on, Lolli convinced me otherwise. I am not sure how I would have managed without her, but I am glad I didn't have to.

Lolli Comar is an amazing doula. We just had our first child and we really didn't know what to expect with labour and delivery or with using a Doula. Lolli exceeded all of our expectations. Two things jump out for me when thinking about her care. The first was her ability to coach me through contractions. Her coaching and guidance made them as bearable as possible. She was so reassuring and experienced through each contraction which I found incredibly useful. She knew what kind of encouragement I needed and read the situation to ensure she was meeting my needs while also supporting and guiding my husband. The other thing that really jumps out for me is her incredible knowledge and expertise. Lolli is INCREDIBLY knowledgeable about pre and post natal care in addition to labour and delivery. This is something that would only be possible with her many years of experience supporting women and families during births. She is professional and takes her role seriously and was so helpful to both my husband and I leading up to, during and after the birth of our son. Thank you Lolli!

My partner and I decided fairly last minute that we could do with the extra support during labor and contacted Lolli - it was by far the best decision we made. When my midwife first approached me about the idea of a Doula, I was fairly adamant that it wasn't something I wanted or needed. Initially I felt as though a doula was going to be like having a complete stranger in the room and that my husband was all the support that I would need. However, I was 37 weeks pregnant when the reality of labor approaching hit me and I started to think more about how things may play out. I then began to realise that not only would I benefit from the support of a Doula but my husband and midwife would too. Lolli was beyond amazing as our Doula and I could not have labored the way I did without her. Lolli's support when she meet us to the labor and postpartum was something that I will be forever grateful for. She gave my husband and I the knowledge and tools needed for early labor and was there for me as soon as my labor progressed (without me even realizing I needed her). Lolli gave my partner the direction and assistance needed to adequately support me through a fast progressing labor and did not take over his role at all which I was grateful for. Lolli due to her experienced always knew when it was time to change up position and knew just what I needed when I needed it. She enabled me to feel safe within each stage of my labor, encouraging and ensuring me every step of the way. I would highly recommend her to any expecting couple!! You won’t regret it!

As a person who didn't even know what a doula did only months ago, I feel incredibly lucky to have been referred to Lolli for our pregnancy, labour & delivery. Both my husband & I knew right after meeting with Lolli that she was a perfect fit, in fact we both knew after the first few minutes of meeting her. I thought Lolli was especially impressive in talking to us as individuals, asking us questions about ourselves & really listening to the answers, which led to her really thoughtful insights for us to hear, as well as very meaningful conversation for us to be a part of. This was especially refreshing to us as we felt that was lacking in our standard prenatal care elsewhere. We finally started to really 'learn' about pregnancy, which was so interesting coming from someone with so much experience, positivity & boundless enthusiasm. Lolli was able to provide superb resources that I would never have found on my own, and that really changed my approach to thinking about labour & delivery. We were also extremely fortunate to have our second meeting with her just two days before I went into labour (I was early) to go over different ways to work through labour at home, as it was our preference to stay at home to labour as long as possible. I think the single most important aspect of a wonderful labour & delivery for us was the fact we were able to labour at home with our doula. If Lolli wasn't there to help support us, I would have been in the hospital long before, for no good reason, and I know I wouldn't have had as successful & as enjoyable of a labour & delivery. Lolli's cues & hands on approach was immensely comforting & made me feel completely confident that I was doing all of the right things, which left me free from any fear which would have negatively affected my labour. Even during delivery, the only people I heard or listened to in the room were my husband & Lolli. She was a quiet presence immediately supporting initial bonding & attachment with our new baby, and was the most sensitive person to help with initial attempts at latching & breastfeeding. It takes a special person to navigate this very vulnerable time & she did such an amazing job. Being able to meet with Lolli after we had returned home was an immeasurable support as we had many questions, needed help with breastfeeding, and also wanted to talk through the whole process of how our labour & delivery went. It is a huge life event & it was very useful for us to be able to have Lolli explain everything that had happened, because as first time new parents, it was a lot to take in all at once. I would absolutely recommend Loll to anyone wanting or curious about having a doula, & feel that people would be very fortunate to have her as their doula. We certainly did. Our transition from expectant parents, through labour & delivery, to new parents with a beautiful brand new baby was seamless thanks to Lolli.

Lolli is a wonderful, incredibly dedicated doula but she is far more than that. She is the centre of the entire metro Vancouver birthing community and someone with over 20 years of experience accompanying families through pregnancy and birth. Her vast experience made all the difference to me in my own journey. When I first looked into getting a doula, I was only thinking of someone who would help me through labour and birth. I was not expecting all the support Lolli ended up providing me throughout what my pregnancy and postpartum period. Lolli pointed me to very useful, well-informed, evidence-based articles and resources and by offering to listen to me and to talk through difficult decisions and accompanying emotions. I found Lolli’s experience to be invaluable. Because she has been doing this work for so long, she had excellent referrals for everything (such as midwives, chiropractic, acupuncturist, LC, prenatal classes, infant development workshops, you name it….). Lolli was available for questions and chats at a short notice—even calling me on her vacation from Mexico once! Most importantly, she was the one person who always knew exactly what to say to both calm me and renew my confidence in the process of becoming a mother. I simply could not have done it without her and now consider her part of our family.

Lolli was invaluable to our preparation for and delivery of our first baby boy. Lolli is professional, caring and compassionate and we were able to have an incredible safe and nurtured home birth as a result of her coaching. Labour was not as expected (is it ever? I don't know, I've only been through it once) and as two "planners" our expected labour, leading to a Plan A hospital birth turned into a Plan B home birth; without Lolli's unwavering support I don't know that we would have had the confidence to trust that we were safe and capable of bringing baby safely into the outside world at home. We are so happy that Lolli (and the rest of our team) supported us, educated us and empowered us to be open to different labour experience and delivery options. Lolli is so much more than a birth coach or support person. She has shared so many resources with us, both pre and post natal, that have made us feel more confident as we step into this wild world of parenting. We would recommend Lolli to anyone looking for a doula's support at any stage of pregnancy or beyond.