Kind Words

I was trying for a VBA2C and had never experienced labour before. Jill was an AMAZING doula. Even though we were already parents, she calmed me down enough to breeze through the first part of labour, kept track of all the important information that needed to be communicated to the midwife, remembered all the details from my birthing plan (because I forgot them all!), and was a wonderful support. Looking back, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through all stages of labour so calmly without her!
-Rivka

Jill was an incredibly calming, reassuring and supportive presence during our birth.  She didn’t leave my side once she arrived until after the baby was born.  Overall we had a beautiful birth experience and we thank Jill for helping this to happen.  We would highly recommend Jill as a doula.
-Melanie and James

I can’t say enough good things about my experience having Jill as my doula! I am quite an anxious person and was specifically looking for someone who would “calm my storm” so to speak during my labour. Around 1230AM I began to feel mild contractions and immediately texted Jill to inform her. She called me back in less than a minute and answered all of my questions putting me at ease. I called her back 2 more times (lol) and each time she was patient, answered my questions in a calm demeanour and assured me that everything was normal as it should be. When my labour became more intense, my husband called Jill and she came over to our house quickly. When she walked in, I immediately felt her calm and relaxed presence and couldn’t help but to feel relaxed myself. She spoke in a low, soothing voice, massaged my back during each intense contraction and assured me that everything that was happening was normal. I had my husband and mother there as support people but I definitely would not have been as calm if Jill was not there. If you are someone with serious anxiety, especially around the unknown, then Jill is your perfect doula. During and after my labour/delivery, she made sure that I was hydrated, eating properly, getting sleep and taking my pain meds. It doesn’t hurt to mention that she is GREAT at taking photos right after the birth (we almost forgot!!) Jill was a breath of fresh air during such an intense time and I couldn’t be happier with my labour and delivery experience. If you choose Jill to be your doula, you will not be disappointed. Thank you so much Jill!
-Sahar

Jill worked with me and my husband to deliver all three of our darling babies.  For the first baby we interviewed a few doulas, and found Jill’s relaxed manner a great fit.  She was willing and able to talk my anxious self and my quiet husband through all kids of pre-birth questions.  She came to our private pre-natal class, and that was a great learning experience too.  Jill was on call and present for all of our births.  I didn’t want any other relatives present, but did want someone to support me and the hubby.  I know hubby was always thankful to have someone there with him to help me. Jill is kind, knowledgeable, experienced, caring and lovely at a birth.  She eased our minds.  I wouldn’t do it without her!
-Kimberly

It was our first experience with childbirth and we really didn’t know what to expect despite reading numerous books. We met Jill at a “doula speed dating” night at Pomegranate Community Midwives, our midwifery clinic. We liked Jill instantly and were even happier when we met again for a second interview and discovered that we shared similar philosophies around pregnancy and childbirth. Jill always anticipated what I needed during labour and helped my husband experience childbirth in a way that was more emotionally fulfilling than he had imagined. We always knew we were in good hands with Jill. Her postpartum visits and her sharing of personal experiences around breast feeding were also invaluable. I would not hesitate to recommend Jill Colpitts to any expectant mothers looking for a doula.
-Daisy

Our experience with Jill couldn’t have been better. We found her near my due date and still attended her water birth class, had two pre-natal visits and got our birthing pool. Even before the birth she helped me with a potentially complicated health situation by discussing options and attending a 7 am dr.’s meeting with my partner and I. I felt disempowered, confused and scared that I would be hospitalized unnecessarily. Because of Jill, I regained confidence in my body and about the birth. During labour, Jill was at home with me from the beginning gently guiding me through early stages of labour. We felt so comfortable that we didn’t need to call our midwife for 6 hours. During labour, Jill was by my side tirelessly offering praise and assistance. I eventually transferred to hospital for an epidural and a forceps-assisted delivery. Jill was still with us, almost 24 hours later! She knew I hadn’t wanted medical interventions, and while I did receive them, I felt that she was always there for me – asking questions, helping me stick to my birth plan and offering suggestions. She was an incredible advocate. I always felt she was on my side. After delivery, Jill went to our home to clean up for our arrival. She even visited us twice more (once giving us an infant safety seminar) and sent us a list of resources. Jill is such a wise, calm, friendly and accessible person. She has keen and quick insights and a great sense of humour. Her knowledge is vast and diverse. She is both strong and gentle, and incredibly reliable. Our midwives also enjoyed working with her. I can imagine anyone having an incredible birthing journey with Jill. You will want to have her for your labour if it all goes according to plans, and especially if it doesn’t!
-Michelle

My husband Jesse and I have told our birth story numerous times, and whenever we come to the part where I started to have difficulty with my contractions, where I turned a corner, where I transitioned, where I yelled “Call Jill!”, Jesse takes over the story. He recounts it by saying that a very calm Jill arrived at our door and in the time it took him to boil the water to make her a cup of tea, she had my contractions under control. Her hands were on my hips, swaying back and forth, and the colour had returned to my face, and I was in the rhythm of my body. Jill helped me go from feeling like I was drowning in the contractions, to feeling like I was meeting them head on. And it stayed that way throughout my labour until I had my little baby boy in my arms, in the comfort and safety of our own bedroom. What a magical experience. And Jill was instrumental in that magic.
-Heather and Jesse

We had a good feeling about Jill right from the start when we met her at Doula Speed Dating. We felt comfortable, relaxed, and we had trust in her abilities and the ideas she shared during our first meetings.  Labour for our first child started about 2am, and began to get intense around 4am so we called Jill.  When she arrived about 4:30am Melanie was in bed. Rnold had suggested that maybe she should move around, but Melanie flatly refused. Having absolutely no authority to make any suggestions on this matter, Rnold acquiesced and did his best to offer some comfort.  Of course, the first thing Jill asked Melanie to do was to get up and move around, which Melanie immediately did, and that helped with the pain.  Melanie says “I remember feeling so pleased (and relieved!) to have someone there to support Rnold and I. It was a comfort to know Jill was with us and that she had been through this many times before. I think it is so tough on the husband to see their wife through such pain, and I was glad Rnold was not alone. Jill had so many ideas which I tried trusting they would help.”  Throughout the morning Jill had several suggestions to help manage the pain, and help set the baby into the correct position for arrival into the world. Melanie had back labour which Jill had experience with, so she knew what to do. The main thing that helped was a firm pressure on the small of Melanie’s back; doing this several hours at a time is very tiring, but Jill and Rnold switched off for the duration of the labour. Rnold says “It was so incredibly helpful to have someone knowledgeable there to coach me how to take care of my wife.  I would have been a useless wreck without her, but instead I found that I could actually be helpful to my wife.”  Jill was also incredibly helpful in liaising with our midwife during early labour at home, and throughout the hours that followed. We contacted our midwife around lunchtime, and Jill was there to back up our request for her to come. As it turned out, the midwife checked Melanie and then went home for lunch. We felt thankful that we had Jill there as a constant presence with us.  We finally went to the hospital at 2:30pm and the midwife met us there. Jill rode with us in our car, offering Melanie support as Rnold drove. It would have been hard for Rnold to drive to the hospital safely without having Jill in the backseat with Melanie!  Mama-to-be thought that going to the hospital meant that the baby would be arriving shortly, but it was a long afternoon and evening for everyone.  Eventually at 5 am, 27 hours after labour began, we decided to get an epidural as contractions had been about 2 minutes apart for almost 12 hours.  Finally at 6:45am our daughter was born!  Jill took photos of our first moment with our daughter, when we were far from thinking clearly about capturing it on film, and she was there until our baby latched on the breast successfully.  Jill stayed the entire duration of our labour and never once made us feel like we were putting her out, or that she was going above the call of duty.  She just said, sometimes this is the way it goes.  After the fact, we found out that her day with us was actually her husband’s birthday, and she had missed all of the celebrations!  A few weeks later she came and taught us infant first aid. An absolute must for first time parents, and the icing on the cake of our journey with her. She answered breastfeeding and positioning questions, and truly led Melanie down the path of being, as Jill explained,  a “lactivist.”   We recommend Jill as your doula without hesitation.  Jill is a competent, pleasant, and caring doula who is going to make sure both mother and father have the support needed. Melanie shares “Jill held my hand, comforted me, reassured Rnold, worked alongside the midwives and nurses, and was an invaluable contribution to our labour. I cannot imagine living through such an experience without Jill’s calm and gentle presence.”
-Melanie and Rnold

The depth of knowledge that Jill has of all things pregnancy and birth is beyond exceptional. She offered more practical advice and helpful suggestions than even the midwives. She came for a quick visit and dropped off TENS machine as soon as I called her in early labor. And she came to stay within 40 min at our first request when labor progressed. I had many unexpected complications and Jill stayed with us for over 30 hours offering wealth of information and incredible support. We really felt that she went above and beyond “the call of duty” or what we expected. Despite my birth not going as smoothly as I hoped and expected, and despite some pretty dramatic (and traumatic) moments we felt very well supported trough it all and think of Jill’s help as a major component of our overall birth experience. I would definitely recommend Jill to all expectant parents, and especially to first time mothers. As much as we all want to hope that everything is going to be great, when complication arise the more information you have the less “freaked out” and helpless you are going to feel.
– Olga

We had an amazing birth experience with Jill in January of 2017. Jill provided amazing support both at home and in the hospital during labour and delivery. Her experience and knowledge is unmatched, and her guidance was essential to our birth being a positive and transformative experience. I can’t recommend her enough!
– Ashley