Tess-timonials

As first-time parents, we feel incredibly lucky to have had Tess by our side throughout our birth journey. From the very beginning, she was kind, sensitive, and so supportive - always providing evidence-based information tailored to our needs and preferences. She never imposed her opinions but instead empowered us with the knowledge and tools to make our own decisions with confidence and without judgment.

Her support in the weeks leading up to the birth was invaluable. She answered all our questions with patience and care, making sure we felt informed and prepared. When labor came, she was absolutely crucial. I know there’s always some luck involved in how birth unfolds, but I truly believe that we were able to have the unmedicated birth we’d hoped thanks to her calm guidance, reassurance, support and deep knowledge. She knew how to navigate the hospital environment seamlessly and gently advocated for us when needed, helping us feel safe, heard and in control.

We are deeply grateful for Tess and couldn’t recommend her more highly as a doula!

Hiring Tess as our doula was the single greatest decision we made for our pregnancy. When we first found out we were pregnant, we knew we wanted to hire a doula. We had previously experienced trauma due to miscarriages and wanted this pregnancy to be as positive an experience as possible. Tess was truly a blessing to us and we were so grateful to have her as our doula.

When we first met Tess, the thing that really stood out to us was her knowledge. Leading up to our due date, Tess met with us a couple of times to discuss and help formulate our birth plan. Tess was extremely knowledgeable about everything from pain medication to hypnobirthing. Tess also led us in activities to help prepare for our big day including body positioning to help with induction and guided meditations to help with pain during contractions. During labor, Tess moved me into the perfect positions to help ease the pain. I truly believe Tess is one of the most knowledgeable doulas available and one that truly helped us prepare for our birth.

Another thing that really stood out to us about Tess was her care and compassion. Even though we prepared all that we could for our labor, we still ran into problems along the way. Our baby's heart rate dropped during labor, which triggered chaos as a dozen nurses and OBs ran into our room to help save our baby. Although Tess couldn't do anything from a medical standpoint, she provided much needed reassurance and comfort at an extremely vulnerable time. We could have easily become overwhelmed and succumbed to the chaos, but Tess was by our side as long as she could to be our rock. We ended up having an emergency C-section, which went as well as we could have ever hoped and provided us with the healthy birth of our newborn baby. Thanks to Tess, we were very calm and collected during this chaotic time.

Lastly, we think Tess is an amazing doula because she goes above and beyond her duty to help her families. After we brought our newborn home from the hospital, Tess made a visit to help us transition to home life with our newborn. In addition to being knowledgeable about pregnancy and delivery, Tess is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in caring for newborns. She taught us more tricks and tips than any pediatrician or nurse ever taught us. Tess also helped us weeks after our last visit. We had questions about caring for our newborn including referrals to other service providers, and as always, Tess delivered.

Tess was truly a blessing to our family. She is much more than a doula. Her blend of knowledge, compassion, and dedication to her families goes above and beyond anything that we could have hoped for when we first considered her as our doula. We truly believe Tess is the greatest doula in the world and we have our happy and healthy baby to prove it!

I am a disabled individual and a first time parent. I adore my wife, but I knew the more stressed she got the more she looks for authority. What brought me towards looking for a doula in my birth experience was I knew I needed someone who would “yell at the doctors for me” if I felt I needed an advocate in labor.

More than anything I wanted a home birth but I knew with my high BMI (and later gestational diabetes) I would not be getting that with a doctor's blessing. 

Tess gave me a sense of home. She was more than someone who advocated for me - she was a dear loved one who was there when my wife needed rest after 30+ hours. She was there for me to double check “is that medically necessary right now” after the hospital team would recommend something or to tell them “not right now” when I tried to rest. 

More than anything Tess was the support I needed with my family on the East Coast. I am beyond grateful for her support and if you want someone to help make your birth story as close to your dream as possible then she is absolutely the piece of home and peace of mind you need.

An extraordinary doula by all accounts. Tess is very intelligent, exceedingly intuitive, sensitive, kind, hard-working, professional, and overall gifted in her work. She handles institutions, systems, and the individuals within them with agility, knowledge, and excellent judgment, which was super important to us as we navigated birthing within Kaiser. Very skilled at situating herself in fluid dynamics to be able to observe, participate, and advocate with dexterity as needed. Tess is great at explaining all things pregnancy, labor, and delivery. As a couple in our 40s having our first child, we were incredibly fortunate to have gotten to work with Tess and I give her my very highest recommendation.

Tess was empathetic and understanding from the first conversation we had when we were deciding on who would support us during our pregnancy. Prior to this pregnancy, we dealt with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss as well as multiple surgical interventions. Tess understood the weight of what we were carrying, and she helped us through our high-risk pregnancy with compassion and warmth. Tess was responsive to our needs, collaborating with us to personalize her visits and her on-call start date to fit with our medical situation.

During our birth, which ended up being an unplanned induction, Tess was supportive during each difficult step of a long L&D stay. She helped us share our preferences with our providers and aided us in making difficult decisions. Not only did she provide support for the birthing person, but she also was present for the birth partner during some heart-wrenching early morning hours, and then helping us celebrate and memorialize our daughter's birth when we met her at long last.

Tess's warmth and knowledge extended past our marathon labor. During her postpartum visits, she shared lots of resources about everything from sleep schedules to babywearing and was available to us via email and text. She also helped us slow down in those early newborn weeks to process our birth story which has helped immensely with mental health postpartum.

Our family wholeheartedly recommends her as a doula!

After finding out that my insurance fully covered a doula, I found and reached out to Tess about a month before my due date. We had an initial intro phone call and from there I knew that she was everything I was looking for In a doula. Just her sweet and caring tone alone made me feel comfortable. A week later, we had another follow-up via Zoom and we went over my birthing plan. I appreciated that she made some suggestions to add to my plan that I would not have thought about on my own. We set up another meeting to get together in person before my baby’s arrival...well, baby decided to come early at 36 weeks. The day I went into labor it was very early in the morning. I texted Tess and she was quick to respond, supported me and confirmed that it sounded like I was definitely in labor. When it was time to go to the hospital Tess met my husband and I there ASAP. I appreciated that she was willing to give up her time and day for us considering I was earlier than my due date. During my labor and delivery, Tess was my savior! She advocated for me when I was strict about a non-medicated birth, suggested pain remedies like taking a shower (which she held the shower head on my lower back with warm water for quite some time), did counter pressure techniques on my pelvis and used a sheet as a rebozo to put pressure on and massage my lower back/pelvis. I truly feel like without her, I may have given into an epidural which I made clear to myself that I did not want. Without her, there was nobody in the room that could help me manage the pain naturally. I absolutely LOVED my birthing experience and will be reaching out to Tess for any future births I have. I have raved about her to all my friends and given her number to plenty of women. If you are looking for comfort during delivery, both physically and emotionally, Tess is the one you want by your side.

We interviewed a LOT of doulas, and Tess was the obvious choice from the beginning. We hoped her warm, grounded energy would translate to our birth, and we were not disappointed! She met the immensity of the moment with care, calm, and a wealth of evidence-based knowledge (Tess is a doula for people who want to know what's happening!). We had a great one-on-one dynamic, and she also worked seamlessly with my partner and our midwives when we needed all hands on deck. Her endurance, firm but gentle support, and clear passion for birth made her an integral part of our child's first precious moments with us. We're forever grateful for her support!

Due with our first baby boy during the holidays, finding a doula was challenging. Even yet someone who was the right fit for our family. We are so glad Tess found us through a network of doulas. From the initial prenatal visits we knew she’d be of great help to us. She answered all of our questions thoroughly, let us talk on and on about any concerns, she’s a great listener and gave us amazing labor and pain tips. She gave us so much information on resources but never overwhelmed us. Tess respected all of our wishes and even helped us come up with a birth plan.

I truly believe I couldn’t have made it through my exhausting labor without the guidance and care from Tess. This was my first pregnancy and she reassured me through every text and phone call that everything I was going through was normal and we were progressing. One of my wishes was to labor as long as possible at home. She came over during those days and was of great support for my husband and I. She met us quickly when it was time to go to the hospital. As contractions became stronger and I was unable to talk, Tess became my advocate. She remembered everything we discussed about and gave the best massages during my labor phases. She kept me hydrated and comfortable. Tess stayed with us from beginning to end and we’ll forever be grateful for her caring, respectful, compassionate nature.

I was looking for a doula to help me have a successful TOLAC/VBAC and came across Tess through Brilliant Births recommendation. I knew Tess was the right fit because she was personable, knowledgeable, and respectful of the aspects of my history of Trauma that I needed support with. Without Tess’ grounding during my labor, I don’t think I would have had a successful VBAC. Tess is excellent with communication, personable and professional. I owe Tess an incredible amount of credit for my successful VBAC. Highly recommend Tess’ services.

Hiring Tess was one of the best decisions I made during my pregnancy. What I most appreciate about Tess is hard to describe in words. It was the quality of her presence that I found useful. Tess just knows how to be with people. When I first met Tess, I took notice to how well she listened to me. It felt that Tess was genuinely interested in getting to know me. This meant a lot to me because I was very anxious and overwhelmed during my pregnancy. Another useful thing was that Tess shared a folder with super helpful resources about hypnobirthing, medical interventions, breastfeeding, etc. I liked that there was a place where I could access more information, outside of our meetings if I needed to, and that it was specifically curated by her instead of scrolling through Google or Pinterest. She also recommended that I take a labor and delivery class (because I had very little idea about what birth looked like). I ended up signing up for the in-person one which was very helpful. My husband and I had a dedicated space for us to learn and prepare for the birth of our daughter. During my delivery we had a few very minor complications, but Tess was there to talk me through each intervention that was being offered and helped me decide what I wanted to do. She never told me what to choose. Overall, the day my daughter was born was very beautiful. I felt that Tess really helped me prepare for the birth of my daughter and it was very meaningful. Tess got along very well with the nurses and midwife. If I do have a second baby, Tess will be there again.

My husband Jonah and I had a thoroughly wonderful experience from beginning to end with Tess Waxman as our doula. At every meeting and in every communication she was so clear, thoughtful, sensitive and dedicated to us BOTH having a positive experience. Tess brings with her a wealth of information, both evidence-based and stemming from her own experiences and studies, and she generously shared her time via phone calls and texts even between our planned meetings. At our meetings she made a point of checking in with both of us in preparation for the birth, asking thoughtful questions to make sure we were both clear about our wishes and priorities during the birth experience. She was also a huge comfort and support when our daughter had to have some respiratory care in the NICU after the birth. Her presence was calm and steady through this and she helped me navigate difficult decision-making about my daughter’s NICU experience when I was very overwhelmed, having just given birth. We are so thankful for Tess’s warm and professional ways as we went through the ups and downs of pregnancy, birth and post-partum. We really felt we could count on her and would highly recommend her to anyone and everyone on the journey of pending parenthood!

We are so thankful to Tess for supporting our family during my pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Tess is such a gifted soul, and we felt immediately at ease with her in our first sessions. She was a huge support to both me and my partner - we felt like we didn’t have to wade through the overwhelming information there is to digest as expecting parents, we could instead have a focused, personal guide in Tess. I had a very long labor and intense postpartum experience, and Tess was an extremely stable force. When I wasn’t able to be with our baby right after birth due to complications, my partner was able to focus 100% on the baby because Tess was by my side. Afterwards, I was extremely grateful to process the experience with her, and she was the most supportive postpartum presence and baby whisperer. My whole family fell in love with her! I highly recommend Tess for any part of your experience.

We welcomed our first child in February and are so thankful for Tess guiding us through the process with her calming energy. We did not take a birthing class and instead, received a huge part of our birthing and post partum education through the 3 prenatal and 1 postpartum visits Tess offered.

Tess was a wonderful source of support and reassurance through a couple complications we had during pregnancy, including a breech baby and the procedure to turn the baby. We felt that she was always reachable, communicative, took the initiative to check in, never overbearing with her advice, and super prompt to every meeting. I had prodromal labor for a week leading up to the birth, so every night was an adventure with contractions peaking at 2-3am. Tess was always available even in those middle of nights to answer our frantic calls and questions.

The hospital setting is frequently stressful, and interventions are pushed onto patients who are often in a vulnerable position or too stressed to push back. Tess was an excellent advocate for us, and it was thanks to her that we kept to our birthing plan as much as possible and had a positive birth experience.

If we have another child, we wouldn’t want anyone other than Tess to attend the birth as our doula again.

We can’t recommend our birth doula, Tess, highly enough. We worked with her for both our first and second births, which were very different medically—the first was full of unexpected complications, while the second was much smoother. Tess was an incredible presence in both situations. She is deeply knowledgeable, calm, and reassuring, and having her in the room made a real difference, especially during the more difficult moments. Working with her before and after each birth helped us feel prepared and supported every step of the way. Another huge plus was how comfortable my husband felt with her—she made both of us feel at ease and supported as a team. We also genuinely like Tess as a person, which made the entire experience even better. A huge thank you to Tess for being such an awesome support through both of our births!

Tess was invaluable to us and helped us prepare for the birth of our child and navigate a very long labor when the time came. She helped us understand labor and post labor from both a medical and process perspective— walking us through the potential scenarios and our options. From helping communicate and advocate for our personal birth preferences to the medical team to just being a comforting presence and coaching us through the birth, we can't imagine how much harder it would have been without Tess by our side. We can't recommend her enough!

Tess was an invaluable partner in the birth of our first baby. She listened closely to our hopes and goals for our birth experience and when we were unsure or curious, she was a fantastic coach. While it was clear she had a portfolio of tools she could offer, we never felt pressured to subscribe to any agenda or philosophy. Instead, Tess focused on getting to know us so we could all be comfortable during the birth. She was an excellent communicator through the whole process.

Her presence and experience helped make a chaotic experience easier. On the night of the birth, she provided great comfort for Sonja, and helped Jack pack last minute go-bag items. In the delivery room, she was calming and soothing, and helped bring our incredible daughter into the world. We highly recommend Tess as your doula!

Tess was my birth doula for my second unmedicated birth and I’m so grateful for her kindness, patience, and wealth of knowledge! For the second time around, I didn’t have as much time or energy to prep as much as I did for my first, but Tess was so knowledgeable that I actually learned more about birthing than I did the first time through our prenatal sessions. She helped me prep my birth plan, was a calming presence during labor and delivery, and was a validating partner postpartum. I feel more empowered as a new mom of two because of her. I highly recommend Tess!

I was looking for a doula specifically because I wanted to have a VBAC. I came across an agency that set me up with Tess for an interview based on the criteria I was looking for. I immediately knew Tess was the right fit because she was personable and very knowledgeable. I emphasized the importance of a VBAC with my second pregnancy, because of my age I was a high risk pregnancy and was told I had a 20% chance to have a successful VBAC. I also loved the fact that Tess specialized in lacation. I wanted to try my breastfeeding journey again and received encouraging words from Tess on how to start this journey. Tess will guide you every step of the way, promptly responds to calls/texts and is very professional. Even the hospital staff was impressed by her skill set and asked where she received her training. I truly believe 100% in my heart that if I didn't hire Tess I would not have had a successful VBAC. Tess was hands on, we did many exercises (spinning babies) to help me dilate more and provided the nurses with suggestions on what to do next. Yes, that's correct the nurses didn't make suggestions on how I could achieve my VBAC but my doula was my advocate. Please hire her.

Being a first time mom, I always heard about how painful labor is and it terrified me at first but I did lots of research and met Tess who helped calm my nerves, answered all of my questions, all whilst helping me learn more about childbirth. When I had to go to L&D (due to high blood pressure) I was nervous, but Tess reassured me that everything was gonna be alright and that I got this. During labor, she was also there to support me, encourage me, and comfort me. I will always appreciate Tess for her kindness and unconditional support. I recommend her to all moms!