Royal City Birth (Doula)

Nikki was a vital and fundamental part of my pregnancy and birth team. As first-time parents, my partner and I really valued how Nikki walked us through every step and shared heaps and heaps of knowledge, resources, and tips to help us navigate the pregnancy, the birth, and also our parenting anxieties with our new and precious little human. Nikki also helped me to make a late switch to a midwife as my caregiver, which was also a huge help. Having Nikki along on the journey was amazing, and all the great preparation she provided helped me to really advocate for myself in actively shaping the kind of birth I wanted to have. She was always available for questions and checked in many times before and after the birth. I had a very long labour, and there were a number of unexpected bumps along the way, and I felt informed enough to make the best possible decisions for myself and my baby. Nikki truly went above and beyond during the labour, helping me through contractions, helping remind me of the benefits or risks of various procedures at the hospital, helping my partner with his stress, sticking with us both through many, many long hours. It is a credit to Nikki that I was able to have a vaginal delivery, as I’m fairly certain that without her support I could have been pressured into more intervention than I wanted, or than was really necessitated by my situation. Despite the hiccups along the way, I was able to have a beautiful birth experience overall, and that was hugely thanks to Nikki. Nikki is also just a delightful person – not only deeply knowledgeable about pregnancy, birth, and parenting – she is also a lot of fun, with a great sense of humour and creativity. Her personality and her honesty made her a delight to have around, and the trust and reassurance she made me feel helped me to be fully supported throughout, and especially during my difficult labour. I am really grateful my partner and I brought her onto our team, she was worth every penny and then some, and it was truly a blessing and a boon to have her there to help, support, and share with us during such an important moment in our lives.

We are so happy we chose to have Nikki by our side on our life changing journey.Nikki had plenty of resources on every birth related topic, was always there to answer any questions and helped us to feel calm and confident. Her mental support during the labour and delivery was priceless, truly can't imagine going through those challenging moments without her.Also, our postpartum meeting was awesome. Nikki taught us many things that we can incorporate into the care of our baby and again, was so supportive during the whole transition into the parenthood.Nikki is amazing as a doula and as a person and we are grateful we got to know her.

I loved how my son came into the world, and Nikki played an invaluable role in that. From our first meeting, I knew I wanted Nikki to be beside us as we welcomed our son into the world. She is extremely knowledgeable, personable, comforting, and resourceful. She played an instrumental role in supporting and encouraging my husband and I to think critically, and advocate for the choices/care we wanted to prioritize during our prenatal care, and delivery (this is something we continue to carry with us to this day). She was flexible, accommodating, and reassured me throughout the process whenever I was anxious or worried. She took excellent care of my husband and I during and after my son’s birth, attending to my physical and mental/emotional needs especially. I couldn’t imagine going through my pregnancy and delivery without her…even my parents commented on how wonderful, and supportive she was! I can’t speak highly enough of her, nor thank her enough for her dedication to our wellbeing during a special, and precious time for us as a family.

Nikki was incredible to work with before, during, and after our birth. She made me and my husband feel calm and prepared at every meeting. She was available and helpful through a very long and difficult labour, and helped us make clear and informed choices throughout the process.

Nikki was a delight to have as our supportive and well informed doula. The prep sessions were essential. She listened to our needs throughout the journey. Nikki respectfully, let the doctors converse and inform me as we went. She helped us understand information in order to make the right decisions for us and our baby. Nikki encouraged me to try elimination communication (potty training), once my son was born, which I found was a good fit for me and my baby. I would recommend Nikki to other expecting families.

Nikki is worth it. If you're on the fence, pull the trigger. I did not have a doula for my first birth, but for my second I thought it would be a good experience. She coached me through the most intense back labour and helped give me the most beautiful water birth at home for my delivery. I thought at one point I was going to give p and go to the hospital, and her support got me through to a place where I was sleeping on the couch while in labour. My husband and I felt fully supported by her throughout my entire pregnancy.

Nikki was absolutely the best person we could have asked for during a life-changing event. We knew from the beginning that she would be engaged, encouraging, and supportive, but she ended up being so much more than that!Our birth ended up being very different than envisioned due to medical complications, but Nikki was extremely supportive, and a true advocate through the entire delivery, stepping up every time in ways we didn’t even know we needed. She stayed by our sides after an unexpected c-section, and we truly believe it was her unyielding positive support and encouragement that enabled us to bond with our newborn right away, and to ultimately have a very successful breastfeeding journey. Nikki’s adaptability, humor, and calm demeanor cannot be overstated.Nikki’s post-delivery visit was so incredibly supportive, giving the emotional space and validation to debrief the entire birth. Nikki also provided us hands-on training and education on elimination communication, cloth diapering, and baby lead weaning, all of which have been incredibly useful! Writing this review with our now 1 year by our side, we still feel so incredibly grateful to Nikki for the energy and support she brought to our birth, and privileged to have worked with her.Nikki was there for both of us in the most difficult moments, and as first time parents without family in Vancouver, we truly could not imagine going through labour without Nikki by our side.

Amazing! I could not have delivered my baby boy without Nikki being by my side. She was encouraging, super hands on and helpful.When I had questions and I needed clarity on any topic Nikki was always ready and available to speak with me and to provide the needed information.The moment I told her I told her I was having contractions she guided me on what exactly to do until she arrived. My husband is currently stock overseas due to the pandemic and I had no family members with me during the delivery . Nikki went above and beyond to ensure I was comfortable and was in the right mindset to deliver my son.I have said this to her many times,that I don’t believe I could have delivered without her. She has such a kind and caring spirit to her.I highly recommend!!!

I was introduced to Nikki by my friend who experienced her kind help during pregnancy and labour, and with no doubt Nikki is among the best. As a newcomer to Canada and first-time mother, I really needed some extra help and knowledge in BC medical system and child birth in particular. Nikki walked me and my husband through every step, shared knowledge and tips to help us to go through the pregnancy and the birth. Once you know what to expect, things seem easier. Nikki extended her help to switch my caregiver to a midwife. She was always available, always supportive and always fun during whole this time. She knows a lot of techniques and has a lot of fun devices to soothe contractions. I still hear her words “it is safe (pain), you are doing amazing, breathe, relax your body, go through it”. I had amazing people by side during labour who helped me to bring my amazing baby boy into this world and Nikki was one of them. If I ever go through labour again, I definitely do it with Nikki. Thank you for all the positive vibes and hugs. We love you!