Client Review: First-time parents Christina & Michael

By Diana Snyder | January 11, 2022
Baldwin doula

Diana was our doula for the birth of our daughter in 2019 and I can’t say enough how wonderful it was to have her there. She is warm, empathetic, and completely accepting and non-judgmental. Before the birth she very thoughtfully answered all our questions and helped us understand what to expect, and it was very reassuring to have someone so experienced meet us at our level.

She was tremendous during the actual birth; Diana was by my side for the better part of my 30 hour labor and was an incredible support not just for me but my husband as well. In what was at times a very hectic environment, one thing I remember most is her calm, quiet voice explaining to me what was going on or what my options were. She offered a lot of guidance for positions and coping during labor, and gave my husband the opportunity to get a little sleep during the whole process.

For this alone I would absolutely recommend her, but I feel like she went above and beyond when she visited us afterwards. We both struggled a lot in the first few months of our daughter’s life, and she visited at what was close to our lowest point. Diana’s empathy and caring in that visit was incredibly validating, and she gave us the precious gift of a long nap while she held our baby. On a practical level she connected us with resources that helped us both get to a more steady place.

We were admittedly a little uncertain about the role of a doula before we decided on Diana, but she made believers of us both! I am so glad she was part of the start of our family.

-Christina Meyer & Michael Chen

2019 birth doula clients

Posted in Client Reviews

About Diana Snyder

A former attorney at top New York and Boston law firms with seven years of birth advocacy experience, Diana is the founder of Matrescence, a private doula service serving women and families in the Twin Cities and Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley. She is the architect of the landmark California lawsuit, Turbin v. Abbassi, in which mother and rape survivor Kimberly Turbin sued her obstetrician for battery following a 12-cut episiotomy performed after he berated her for saying, "No". Diana previously served as outside counsel to the Bay State Birth Coalition, a consumer organization advocating for legal recognition of certified professional midwives in Massachusetts, and helped author proposed legislation for CPM licensure in the Commonwealth. Today, she resides in Western Wisconsin with her husband Mike, son Bennett and beloved vizsla, Rocky.

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