Amelia Thurston

We had Amelia (Amy) as our labor doula and also for some postpartum support, and she was fantastic on both fronts. She is incredibly caring, supportive, knowledgable, and professional. She’s also really fun to be around. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
In the weeks leading up to my delivery, Amy was extremely helpful and supportive. She advised me on my birth plan, and checked in with me multiple times daily to see how my contractions and other early labor symptoms were progressing. She was extremely responsive and accessible, and always gave me great, spot-​on advice.
Once the big event got underway (finally), Amy was amazing. She arrived at the hospital within about 30 minutes of my summoning her. Despite hoping for a fully natural childbirth experience with minimal medical interventions, I was induced with pitocin and was begging for the epidural after 2.5 hours of strong contractions. The epidural took most of the pain away, but I found the sensation of numbness in my legs incredibly uncomfortable — in fact, it was driving me insane — and I wanted to have my feet and legs rubbed the entire night. Amy was amazing and massaged my legs and feet for hours on end, all through the night, allowing my husband to get a few hours of sleep. She was a fantastic support and cheerleader during my delivery. I couldn’t have done it without her.
Amy’s postpartum support was equally fantastic. She visited our home several times after birth and helped me with breastfeeding and pumping… an area where I was really struggling. She helped me with the baby, giving me the opportunity to take a bath/​shower (a true luxury!), and prepared the most delicious lactation cookies, lactation banana nut bread, and fruit & yogurt smoothies. Amy is a mom herself and very knowledgable. I learned so much from her!

If we could give Amy more stars, we would…
When we were planning for our baby, we knew we wanted a doula to ease some anxiety and help make this experience as pleasant and natural as possible. Amy did just that. From the moment we met, she had a professional, kind, knowledgable, and calming demeanor.​A great balance that we appreciated every visit. During the 2 prenatal visits, we developed a birth plan, practiced breathing techniques, were given movements and stretches, instructions of using a rebozo and birthing ball, among other things. She also proactively sent us various articles and let us borrow a couple books. She was always available via email or phone.
Her balanced approach was especially felt throughout the labor process. She consistently knew when to step forward to help and step back to give us space. We informed Amy we were admitted, but asked for a few more hours alone, which she completely understood. As Terri’s contractions became stronger throughout the night, Amy was on-​call and quickly arrived at the hospital with snacks, massage tools, a birthing ball, and most importantly, her passion and excitement. As Terri’s partner, I don’t know what I would have done without Amy; we worked as a team, and effortlessly found a groove. We would work together massaging, coaching her breaths through each contraction, and simply holding Terri’s hand for hours. She reminded us of certain pressure points, breathing exercises, suggested walks throughout the hospital hall ways, a warm shower, etc, etc. Having Amy’s professional, expert knowledge of «everything from the waist up» helped ease the pain and nerves. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for guidance through this positive life changing event.
Thank you Amy!

I got so much more out of hiring Amelia as my doula than I ever thought possible.
I was pretty anxious about my first labor, but Amelia’s knowledge, confidence, strength, experience and kindness all helped to reassure me that everything would be ok. I labored at home for 30 hours before going into Redwood City Kaiser. Amelia was great at checking in with me, and when I finally decided I wanted to have her with me at the house for support, she was there in twenty minutes. My contractions were getting a little harder to handle at that point, but she had the ability to make them completely go away with her counter pressure. My husband, god love him, tried to provide counter pressure, but only Amelia could really get the job done. On top of being a really knowledgeable professional, she is also a very fun individual and helped take my mind off of things. Once we got to the hospital things continued to go well. I had a serious panic attack at one point (as I am known to do from time to time) and Amelia knew exactly how to handle the situation. She worked very well with the nurses and doctors without standing on their toes, so they also seemed to like her a lot. My husband appreciated having the guidance that Ameila provided.
My labor lasted 9 hours after we got to the hospital. Ameila proved invaluable to us.
I want to add that a few days after the labor, I was having a really hard time. I was getting hot flashes and dizzy spells from breastfeeding and my daughter wasn’t having any of it. My husband, aunt, mother and brother-​in-​law were all there trying to help me, but nothing was working. Amelia showed up for our postpartum visit and immediately knew what needed to happen. I wasn’t eating nearly enough (even though I thought I was) and was having dizzy spells and shakiness due to low blood sugar. Amelia knows a great deal about breastfeeding as well. She sent my brother-​in-​law and husband to Costco to get food, sent everyone else away and took Lily for me. She just knew exactly how to make the situation perfect. I went from feeling frazzled and panicked to feeling confident and safe.
I can honestly say my entire labor was an amazing experience. I really can not wait to have our second baby. And we will definitely be hiring Amelia for that as well. I really can not sing her praises enough. She means so much to me and my husband. She gave us a wonderful birth experience. I mean, how can you even put a price on that?

I cannot recommend Amelia enough as a doula. Her personality and presence are very warm and calming. She was so helpful in prepping my husband and I for the overall experience and what to expect with our birth. She walked us through a variety of techniques and tools that we could use while laboring.
During labor itself, she provided great comfort to me with a variety of physical measures and lots of moral support for my husband. When things escalated and I ended up needing an emergency cesarean, she was great at keeping the mood elevated and helping us to make the decisions that needed to be made with no bias or judgement. After the fact, while I was in recovery, her wonderful presence kept my spirits up. She was a great sounding board and helped me to keep track of all that happened through the whirlwind of events and emotions my family experienced.

Amelia was incredibly helpful in helping me prepare for the birth of my first child. She is very warm and easy to be around, with a great sense of humor. She took the time to really show me excellent breathing and relaxation techniques which were invaluable in the delivery room. We also were able to get to know each other which made me feel especially comfortable to have her be a part of my birth.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Amelia was not a part of the actual birth. However, having her help me prepare beforehand helped me stay calm and feel better throughout it.
I would recommend Amelia to anyone looking to hire a doula. She is straightforward and very easy to be around — characteristics you really want in that situation.

Amelia was our nanny for our two boys, starting at 4 months. For an intents and purposes, Amelia was our co-​parent, helping us navigate the waters of being new parents. She offered advice while respecting our wishes, allowing us to find our way as parents. Through her influence, support, and care, we are raising thoughtful, intelligent, and loving young men.
Amelia is trustworthy, reliable, and amazingly knowledgeable about children. Her decision to moving into doula support is a logical extension of her already strong foundation of childcare. I am certain she will be an excellent partner in the birthing experience.

We were so fortunate to have Amelia in our lives as a nanny to two of our sons. As busy parents both working full time, we knew that our young sons were consistently loved and cared for. She was reliable and full of energy and excellent ideas about how to make the most of her time with our children. When we heard that she was training to be a doula, we knew she would take the same committed approach to this important role. We can only imagine the comfort and guidance she will give to the lucky mom embarking on this parenting journey.