Nurul Hasanah

7/24/2022

We were 1 wk passed the due date and was a bit anxious about the situation. I am the husband and we were hoping for a vbac, but time was against us and the doctors recommended an induction. We ended up cancelling our first induction appointment and decided to wait. After another sonogram appt, the doctor again recommended that we head to the hospital today bc the bio phys didn’t score perfect. My wife insisted on waiting. That’s when I decided to find a doula to help us. Right away I felt relief bc shamika wasted no time and scheduled a zoom video chat with us. She answered alot of our questions that we had and gave us alot good vibes and reassurance. The next day we planned another zoom chat to formally get all questions answered so that we could hire her. We made a group chat. That’s where she continued to assist us with useful tips. She never claimed any knowledge that she didn’t know and told us she would confer with more experienced doulas which made us trust her and comfortable enough to use her services.  After getting a bit more acquainted, she was asking my wife some more questions which made me a bit more worried about the situation. The signs were there so I left work and went to my wife, she seemed fine and I asked her if she was happy and she was. We took alot of time just preparing ourselves for the hospital.  Shamika was there assisting as much as she could, but ultimately my wife felt the decision seemed rushed. Already 41 wks and only saw shamika once. We decided to just trust the G-d Almighty.  We are Muslims and shamika was very accommodating. I am certain that if we met shamika earlier we would have used her full service. No doubt she helped us alot with navigating through the burdensome uncertainty that was to come at the hospital.  She gave us the confidence we needed and she still showed us her concerns like a friend would, for that we are grateful. Indeed in the end we got the successful vbac we wanted.

Erika

7/23/2022

I can’t recommend Shamika enough. I have an 18 month old and she was breastfeed for one year pretty much exclusively pumping! And if you know anything about pumping it’s probably the hardest thing ever to do! She helped me with supply issues, equipment, pumping routine, everything! Shamika has also helped me find ways to maintain a breastfeeding relationship with my daughter when she was still a baby when possible/desired — without any pressure or judgement! She is very knowledgable and goes above and beyond in her time and assistance. And she did this through the kindness of her heart and willingness to share with me. I’m so grateful!!!

Clarice Hassan

7/21/2022

Shamika is the BEST!! I’m a first-time mom who recently moved to the Hudson Valleys from NYC, and was struggling to find a birth doula as I literally knew nobody up there. I was able to match with Shamika online and we worked out this virtual doula regime, kinda last minute (I was already 38 weeks+ pregnant when I finally found her!).

Now, I’m a psychotherapist who also provides online/virtual sessions, but I was so very unsure about virtual doula services at first – after all, online doula was still pretty unheard of. But Shamika TOTALLY blew my mind about how accommodating and creative she can be to work around the virtual situation. We had frequent Zoom and FaceTime chats, she was always responsive and resourceful, and she really went out of her way to understand my situation, needs and preferences. I learned so much about breathing, relaxation, birthing positions as well as my options for delivery. As I found her at the very late stage of my pregnancy,  Shamika wasn’t able to attend my prenatal visit, however she was present, supportive yet not intrusive at all when I was in labor – just the way I needed! I do want to mention that with her help I prepared a birthing peanut in advance- and that thing was a lifesaver throughout 20 hours of dielation.

I also deeply appreciated and enjoyed Shamika’s calm and warm presence. I was having a lot of questions regarding breastfeeding, and a short period of baby blues for 2-3 days (which I expected as a mental health professional myself), and I have found Shamika so helpful- her warm check ins, reassurances, and suggestions really eased the sense of isolation and anxiety, and that has deeply re-anchored me. I full heartily appreciate Shamika and will strongly recommend her to anyone who wants a doula that’s knowledgeable, calm, responsive, caring and capable- don’t forget virtual is a plus!!