Your Downtown Doula

We used a number of providers during pregnancy and post birth: doctors, lactation consultants, physiotherapists, massage therapists, prenatal educators, nurses, and a doula. The doula was by far the worst value and provided virtually no value. The time when we needed the doula the most neither the doula (Sarah) nor the back up doula (Eevon) picked up there phone after multiple calls. We felt abandoned and disengaged after that point only paying lip service to the process via an occasional text. To make matters worse the doula did not inform us prior to a home visit that she was a high COVID risk. She had family members attending daycare/school. Had we known this we would not have agreed to meet her in person. We only discovered this when again, we needed her and she disclosed it at that point. If you’re going to be going into vulnerable people’s homes during a pandemic you can’t expose yourself to unprotected family members. Overall just terrible value, unsafe and unreliable. It was not a helpful or useful experience. Spend your money elsewhere.

I have really enjoyed the Lactation 101 course facilitated by Dr. Sarah Winward, ND. She is extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and it was very easy to follow along. I liked how the course was broken down into sections with videos, demonstrations, handouts, and attached links. Highly recommend!

Attention DADS and other non-birthing parents: a doula is your family's best ally and support system before, during, and after the arrival of your child. Olivia Chubey, ND, was present throughout my wife's challenging labour, delivery, and first part of baby and mom's recoveries. Olivia was a constant source of calmness, knowledge, emotional support, physical comfort measures such as accupressure and body positioning, and advocacy on behalf of my wife as we dealt with medical professionals. I say attention DADS and other non-birthing parents because without Olivia, there is no way I would have been able to comfort and support my wife to the same extent, this being our first child. Everything was new to us, unlike Olivia who I believe has shared over 40 pregnancies and births. This deep experience allowed us to keep perspective and feel calm and reassured throughout the process despite its challenges. We also enjoyed Olivia's prenatal and postnatal visits and found these prepared us well. Olivia does not push any particular agenda of how to deal with pregnancy and birth, and I was impressed how unequivocally supportive she was of my wife's decisions and preferences. She asked insightful and thought-provoking questions as we prepared, allowing us to consider and weigh potential decisions in a pressure-free environment. Many of these discussions turned out to be highly relevant during labour and birth. We were able to receive 100% coverage of Olivia's doula services through our extended healthcare plans. Speak with Olivia about how to do this. I believe she offers a free phone consultation so you can learn more without making the commitment -- but I urge you to make the commitment, as this doula will make the growth of your family smoother, happier, and healthier. Olivia is a lovely person, easy to be around during long stretches of stressful time.

Olivia Chubey helped us a lot! My water broke almost 48 hours before my baby was born. Olivia was the person who helped me to birth my baby the way I wanted to despite the fact mentioned above. She did everything she could to start the contractions and keep them going (and it worked), kept me and my husband calm, kept a close eye on medical staff at the hospital and let them know anout my wishes while helping me to be aware of everything that's going on. Frankly, Olivia was the most important person there for even before the labor started. We did a private hypnobirthing course with her prior to that and it gave us not only goid skills but also an opportunity to get to know Olivia better.(in case you just like us saying "why would I want a stranger at this intimate moment of my life?") I recommend Olivia's services with all my heart, she does an amazing job in helping people and babies to turn this experience into a peaceful and a pleasant one. Thank You Olivia!!!

Olivia at Downtown Doula was AMAZING during my pregnancy and labour. I gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was able to pivot and offer a la carte services during this time - knowing she may not be allowed to attend the birth. Her support was stress relieving, and she was extremely responsive (at all hours of the night) throughout the pregnancy and during labour. Thank you for making my pregnancy so enjoyable.

Dr. Dubier was my naturopathic doctor and doula for my pregnancy and birth. She is very skilled, compassionate, and knowledgeable. Arlene was incredible and amazing in how she supported my labour. Her skills in acupressure worked wonders at relieving the pain of contractions. She was extremely attentive and caring throughout the whole process. I'm extremely grateful for her and would recommend anyone to hire her for their birth experience. She made it very enjoyable and positive for me.

I had a lovely experience with Your Downtown Doula. After seeing that my midwives were not necessarily taking me seriously, I felt that I would really benefit from having someone present who would advocate for my needs and be the support that I was not getting. Despite hiring them relatively late in my pregnancy (37 wks), they were very gracious with me. Dr. Olivia Chubey (and admin, Kerri-Ann) was incredible. From the very start, she took the time to listen to me--the first person to actually listen to my past birth story and take the time to listen and understand my birth plan. She provided emotional and naturopathic support in times where I needed it the most and ultimately helped me have the birth that I wanted. She also provided me with evidence-based information when I needed to make an important decision about a potential intervention. As a hypnobirthing instructor, she helped me get into the deep relaxation I needed in between contractions. I cannot recommend this group of doulas enough. Thank you for everything, I hope to come back during subsequent pregnancies.

I had a very positive experience with my doula, EeVon Ling. I loved that she is a naturopathic doctor and a doula as well, because her feedback is more well rounded and thorough. EeVon is a hypnobirthing teacher as well and was able to help me navigate through my fears about labour. When unexpected events took place at one of my prenatal appointments, I’m so happy I could call her right away and get her input. All I ever wanted was a positive birth experience, and I felt my second birth experience was much more positive thanks to EeVon’s help with my decision making. I highly recommend her!