Serving LA & surrounding areas for 18+ years

Laura was my doula when I was pregnant with my first child. She came highly recommended from a friend and from our first meeting, I could see why. Her calming presence and incredible experience instantly put me at ease. Throughout my pregnancy, she helped my husband and I develop a birth plan,  equipped us with strategies for labor (I wanted a natural labor and delivery) and referred me to an acupuncturist who helped flip my baby when she was breech (and also provide labor stimulation techniques to help me avoid an induction). I went into labor at 41 weeks and 3 days, and Laura came to the house to let us know when it was time to go to the hospital. She coached me through every intense contraction, was the liaison between me/my husband and the nursing staff and offered priceless advice throughout labor that helped me deliver a beautiful, healthy baby in exactly the way I’d hoped and dreamed. It’s an absolute privilege to have a doula during birth and an even bigger one when it’s someone as wonderful as Laura.   

When my wife became pregnant, I knew I wanted to do everything I could to make her life/labor/delivery easier but I wasn’t sure where to start. Laura acted as our guide for the entire pregnancy and answered every question I had with kindness and humor .She and I were in constant contact during my wife’s early labor and, once at the hospital, she helped me feel confident and calm during an intense time. She took the most amazing photos of our daughter being born, and honestly felt like part of the family by the time we left the hospital.

June 15th 2018

Every birth is a gamble. Despite best efforts and obedient preparation, a mother’s birth journey is a shot in the dark. I wanted a doula to help me navigate this unpredictably, especially being a nervous VBAC Mom. I soon realized that even hiring a doula was going to be a leap of faith. Luckily for me, all roads led to Laura De Sesa. My doctor, a friend and a midwife all referred her to me. I didn’t know what to expect but I was reassured by her experience, her confident manner, but mostly her lack of hostility to the medical world whilst still clear on what boundaries could be set within it. For example, asking not to be constantly internally examined, made a huge difference to my comfort. It’s near impossible to describe the many roles Laura would adopt during my labor – which spanned more than several days - and my birth. It’s the small things that make a big difference to a vulnerable laboring women, and Laura understands these implicitly – she massaged my ankles for probably seventeen hours, used soothing aroma therapies, fed me honey for energy, lit candles and arranged pillows. She knew her way around the hospital room. She could translate medical terminology and help my foggy head make decisions about my birth, empowering me all the way through. But it was also the big things, the frightening things, the things that happen when nurses and doctors have left the room, that reliance on Laura became vital. When I started to wane she pep-talked me like the best sporting coach, motivating me to re-focus, dispel fear, carry on. Though she was too humble to later admit it, were it not for her holding my leg in a certain position, to stabilize the baby’s heart rate before delivery, I would not have had the natural birth I wanted. 

Birthing is the ultimate synthesis of physical and mental endurance. If either one slips, things can get hairy. If both body and mind are aligned and if she’s lucky, a woman may enter the magical, ancient, exquisite experience of natural childbirth. Hiring Laura made me lucky. She oversaw and maintained both my physical and mental health. My own mother gave birth to me, but Laura gave me the gift of birth. I will be eternally grateful to her, and only wish all new mothers could receive such rare and precious care.