“Before meeting Chelsey, my idea of a quintessential doula was a crunchy hippie who smelled like essential oils and shrieked when you said the word epidural like you mentioned Voldemort. I wanted a medicated birth, and because of that alone, I never thought I'd have a doula. Little did I know, a doula that is truly doing her job is supportive of whatever birth plan the mother wants. It is primarily her (or his) job to support the mother, including if she wants medication.
Chelsey provided me with valuable information to support my entire pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. She helped me with my diet, my baby registry, my mental health, and frequently checked in after my doctor's appointments. She educated me on what to expect during the birth, so that I had less anxiety surrounding what I knew nothing about at the time. She also met with my husband and I on how he could help me through contractions at home before I went to the hospital.
While my husband would have loved to play the traditional role of my birth coach, he was extremely grateful that Chelsey filled that responsibility and took the pressure off of him. He was able to stay "above the action" and just focus on becoming a Dad. She was also able to take pictures that we treasure more than she could ever know. We went from thinking we would never be the type of people to hire a doula to bonusing her after my daughter was born, and that was my husband's idea. She was supportive of my birth plan no matter what that looked like, and she was sorely missed at my 2nd birth, which she would have been unable to attend due to Covid restrictions at the hospital.
If you're thinking of hiring a Houston area doula, waddle your way to Chelsey. You won't be sorry you did."
Brittany Frase, January 25, 2021, Reflecting on her birth experience from December 4, 2018
"Chelsey was a wonderful addition to my birth team, I got exactly the pregnancy and home birth/water birth I wanted. I knew instantly upon our first interview she was right for me. She stayed in touch to make sure all my questions, concerns, and changes were being addressed throughout my pregnancy. At 40.5 weeks, I worked to bring my daughter into the world she helped me stay comfortable and supported, especially when my labor stalled and I felt hopelessly lost and exhausted. She was the first to stay and last to leave during my many, many hours labor! If we decide to add another little one to our family, we will be guaranteed to use Chelsey's services again!"
Madeleine Moore, June 18, 2019
"Chelsey and I go way back to our college sorority days, as members of Alpha Chi Omega at Houston Baptist University, so I know her passion for everything she does would shine in her work as my doula. From the first time I spoke with her about a doula's role in my pregnancy to our postpartum visit, she has been a wealth of knowledge for me and my baby. Going into my first pregnancy, I wanted a natural birth, but due to preeclampsia, I had to be induced at 37 weeks, which honestly scared me. Chelsey kept sending me tons of resources and checking in on me daily. When it came time for the induction, the plans changed again, due to hospital policy, and Chelsey sent me evidence-based articles to help support my decision when I didn't agree with my OB's drug choice for induction. During labor, she kept telling me our agreed phrase, "Five more minutes, you can do this for five more minutes" to encourage me to push through my contractions and assisted me into different positions to promote labor progression. She worked so well with the hospital staff and was such a blessing to have during my labor and delivery, especially since my husband and I did not know what to expect at all! She even took pictures immediately after the delivery of our new family- pictures that I still cherish and show to everyone. I couldn't imagine my birth without the love and support Chelsey gave to us! I HIGHLY recommend her and can't wait for her to be a part of our next pregnancy!!!
Laura Shepherd, October 19th, 2018
"My home birth midwife recommended Chelsey as a good doula for me in my 7th month of pregnancy. When I went into labor, Chelsey went above and beyond my expectations of her as a newly trained doula. She was so intuitive and knew exactly what I needed when I needed it without me having to say anything at all. I remember her speaking my birth affirmations to me and quoting Bible verses I had picked out to focus on. The support I felt from her was 110%, and I can't imagine my birth without her now. Even my husband was amazed at how helpful she was, and he is very hard to impress. I will definitely be using Chelsey again when we choose to expand our family in the future! She has become an integral part of my birth team!"
Jessica Johnson, July 22, 2018
"My husband and I had the benefit of working with Chelsey as our Doula for the birth of our first daughter. I was able to meet with her ahead of time to discuss our birth plan and our goal to deliver as naturally as possible. Chelsey also had experience with The Bradley Method from her own delivery, which was important to us. Unfortunately, my water broke early and we had to start adjusting our birth plan from there. Chelsey was very helpful in discussing the options given by our doctor and letting us choose how to proceed. During the labor process, I found the extra support to be crucial to the process. Chelsey helped coach my husband in ways to provide counter pressure and other support as my contractions increased in intensity. When presented with pain relief options from the nursing staff, Chelsey helped provide clarity and reminded me of potential effects on myself and my baby, so I could make an educated decision on how to proceed. She was with me through the actual delivery process and was able to assist me with helping the baby latch for her first feeding. I am so grateful she was there to help us. While my birth process didn't go as planned, I felt I was able to make adjustments [much more smoothly] than I could have done on my own."
Deanna Krapf, March 21, 2018
"My wife and I recently worked with Chelsey Hernandez, and I must say, WOW!!! I had never met Chelsey before and the first time was when we were in the labor and delivery room. Chelsey came in calm, cool, and relaxed, and stayed that way for the next 18-24 hours. Chelsey provided much support, wisdom, knowledge, strength, ideas, and communicated very well with [me and] my wife throughout her entire stay. She was a breath of fresh air and I feel so blessed to have had her in the room with us during our delivery. Her constant, positive support and continual reassurance on how good a job my wife was doing was amazing to witness. I was doing everything I could to help out and be supportive, and I feel like I did a great job, but it was definitely so important that Chelsey was there with us. Words cannot express my thanks for having her in the room with us and [she] was definitely the coach we needed. She was a trooper! Checking different resources, recommending different ideas, and referring back to her training. She was a great support to not only my wife, but also to me. She coached me through some different aspects and gave advice on how to help my wife. Chelsey also was able to give us suggestions on what questions to ask our nurses, as well as explain different medical terms we were not familiar with. She was prepared mentally and physically! I told her a few different times that we would not have been able to do this without her help and guidance and I still feel the same today, 2 weeks after the birth of our beautiful daughter. Thank you so much, Chelsey, for being a part of this amazing experience and forever putting an imprint on our lives."
Matt Krapf, March 22, 2018
"I knew Chelsey before she became a doula, so she was not there for my birth, but Chelsey has been incredibly supportive and resourceful throughout my entire pregnancy and post-pregnancy! Anytime I had a question or concern regarding my pregnancy or the baby, she was my go-to person to get all of my questions answered. She not only helped answer all my questions via phone/text anytime of the day, but she also always sent me supporting documents and articles that I could look over to further give me confidence in the answers she gave me. She truly cares in helping moms feel comfortable and happy with whatever decisions they want to make. I am confident to say that any person who reaches out to her will not be disappointed with the help they receive! Even after I had delivered my baby, Chelsey was always there for late night baby and breastfeeding questions! She helped guide me in the right direction on the nights I was so close to giving up! I found her support so helpful!"