She was our rock. Michelle was there to help us deal with the stress, pain, questions and comforting both of us when we really needed it. We truly recommend having a doula.

We took Michelle's prenatal classes and knew 100% that we wanted to be there as part of our labour and birthing experience. She is so knowledgable and has such a calming presence. Every time I had a question leading up to the due date, she responded via text or phone call immediately. She was always available and shared super helpful advice and resources every day. Her support and encouragement really helped calm my anxiety about the labour. She helped me breathe through contractions and have a super empowering experience when birthig my baby. I would highly recommend having her as a doula, especially if your priority is to have a positive natural birthing experience.

My husband and I chose Michelle as our doula for the birth of our first baby. She has incredible knowledge and intuition and a calming presence. She knew exactly what I needed to get through each challenging moment. Thanks to Michelle, I had the positive unmedicated birth experience I've always dreamed of. I wish every mother had a Michelle in her life!

Labour was 10 times more manageable, plus you armed us with tons of good information and taught us many cool things about the pregnant body.

My partner and I took Michelle’s prenatal classes and found them extremely helpful in preparing for the birth and parenting. We especially appreciated how she presented comprehensive and diverse information as objectively as possible so that we could make our own informed decisions in the ways that suited our family’s needs best without bias. We also had the privilege of having Michelle as our Doula. Her guidance, brainstorming, support, care and kindness were a game changer for our birth experience. Michelle transformed what could have been a stressful, and potentially traumatic experience into a story of resilience, empowerment, and strength. We would recommend Michelle’s courses and support to anyone! She's magic!

Having Michelle there really improved our confidence and comfort level with knowing what to expect on a minute to minute basis. As a team, we encouraged Jess throughout and she birthed like a champ! We required no medical intervention. I'm convinced the extra confidence helped the whole process happen much faster.

My doula was amazing in helping me reinforce the positives of having a lovely baby with my wife.

Michelle was an incredible Doula. She was extremely focused throughout the entire process. Michelle was cool, calm and collected.

You are an awesome doula. Anyone who is lucky enough to have you at their birth is going to be treated very special. You have shown such dedication.

With family/spouse you may have certain inhibitions as you feel they see you a certain way. With your doula it’s okay to "bare all"

You calmed me down a few times. It seemed like you always knew when I needed someone to talk to.

The only way she could have been more effective would be to move in with us and provide support 24/7.

Michelle truly made our 'birth experience' a wonderful one and she gave me the confidence I needed!! She was like my security blanket.

Having a doula helped me focus on Jen 100%. There was not any pressure wondering what to do next or if I was forgetting anything.

Michelle was the complete package: she had the knowledge, experience, kindness and just the right amount of authority to be my birthing coach. Her e-mail response time was quick and when I called her she was always available. She was supportive, down to earth and informative.

Having professional support is priceless. The doula was great.

Michelle is the sweetest, friendliest, calmest, most creative, knowedgable and accomodating doula we could have hoped for.

Michelle showed me good pain management techniques for Christine... made me confident in my ability to help Christine, reassured me and helped me realize when contractions were starting.

I felt like I needed someone there to comfort me about what was going on with my pregnant body. To reassure me that things were normal. Whenever I had questions she was there - a true wealth of information. She was always available.

My ultimate goal was to have a natural, unmedicated birth. I read evidence-based research that having doula support greatly reduced both the risk of complications and need for labour medications. Birth Beginnings and Michelle's services were recommended on a BabyCenter message board. I felt Michelle was always availableto address any questions I had (greatly appreciated the prompt, helpfulr esponses to my sleep deprived text messages once at 2 am! The initial meetings before the big day were extremely helpful to get to know each other well as to discuss our birth plan and preferences. Through these discussions I was sure that my husband and I would feel supported throughout labour and that Michelle was the right person to advocate our needs and wants once we reached the hospital. Michelle knew exactly what to say and how to guide me and my husband, particularly in suggesting that I use the TENS machine which became indispensable as my method of pain relief as well as breathing techniques during transition which I remember was the most difficult.

It was wonderful being able to talk about and prepare for the birth before it happened with someone that had been through it before and has extensive knowledge in the field.

She helped me stay as involved and helpful as possible… With our previous pregnancy, I felt so hopeless. I didn’t understand what was going on or how to help in a way that was meaningful for (wife’s name).

You were such an integral part of my birthing experience. You helped me through the birthing experience, both beforehand as I geared up for the unknown and during the moments before I accepted and prepared for the inevitable reality of an experience contrary to my ideal.

Michelle was always very open, very receptive and respectful for our feelings about the birthing process. Her experience and expertise were invaluable.

This was our first birthing experience, and we didn't know what to expect. Jocelyn was really terrified, so I was willing to do anything to ease her through it...The medical staff at Credit Valley couldn't be there for the whole process, so having someone with an incredible amount of knowledge of what we were going through really helped. She had a perfect, calming voice and explained and encouraged so much.

You taught us how to communicate with each other.

I really enjoyed the structure of the class. I was comfortable with sharing and asking questions, we didn't waste time and got to try different things. I feel better prepared in the sense that I can look at the pros and cons to different interventions and techniques. Even though the class brought on some anxieties, it also helped me to prepare and deal with them.

Thanks so so much for the wealth of info you’ve been able to equip us with over the last few Thursdays. We are so thankful of how great and entertaining your classes were..made missing out on the Thursday-after-work-drinks not so bad at all =) Thanks for being so supportive and open minded - it really made for a comfortable learning environment.

Highly recommend taking prenatal classes with Michelle! My wife and I are first time parents and had almost zero baby experience, so we wanted to get prepared by taking a prenatal class. Michelle was so knowledgeable and helpful on so many different topics, and she gave us so many tips and resources to be able to navigate the process of labour and caring for a newborn. Michelle also really takes the time to get to know you and caters her lessons to what fits your lifestyle and your values. Also, no question or topic is off limits. We're so glad we took the class and it's safe to say we feel so much more confident as we head into delivery and parenthood. Again, highly recommend the class, you won't be disappointed!

I really enjoyed the structure of the class. I was comfortable with sharing and asking questions, we didn't waste time and got to try different things. I feel better prepared in the sense that I can look at the pros and cons to different interventions and techniques. Even though the class brought on some anxieties, it also helped me to prepare and deal with them.

I liked the activities that involved role playing and communication incorporating questions/scenarios. I really enjoyed hearing what Simon (husband) had to think and his opinion on certain things.

It's a great way to gain a lot of insight into many unanswered questions, rumours, speculations, old wives tales that everyone tends to share. Learning about the whole process from beginning to end really puts your mind at ease and makes you feel better prepared.

We absolutely loved the classes! We ended up taking the 3 week course and highly recommend it! Michelle is so knowledgeable, she could go on for hours! The longer sessions allowed for more interaction between the students. There was never a dull moment. She creates a warm, inviting, comfortable experience that gets you looking forward to the next class and sad when it's all over.

It was apparent that through her work as a doula, instructor, etc. that she had enough hands on experience to be able to apply the theories taught to real-life experience through her work. Michelle also had a way of explaining the material in a very common sense manner that was easy to understand and remember, which is important.

I would totally recommend Michelle's classes. It is really beneficial for the Dads. I have been reading about the whole process since I found out I was pregnant but for the guys, I think, they need a much more hands on practical "need to know" information session. The classes are perfect and I know it has helped my husband understand. He quizzes me now!

Everything was excellent, we felt that our time and our money was well spent. Every topic was relevant and explained clearly.

She has a good sense of humour, flexible presentation style, is open to questions and makes you feel at ease.

She is passionate about the process of both education and childbirth in addition to being highly informed and organized.

I would definetely recommend 'Birth Beginnings' as I found the information was 'real' and useful, as compared to the info we got from prenatal classes five years earlier, which was very textbook.

I was very, very impressed about the manual and the handouts during class. You cannot find such well put together information in this detail. Thank you for that. The manual alone is worth the price of the class.