Practice overview
I’m Katy Gladwin, I’m a mother, wife, doula, wellness coach, childbirth educator, woman advocate, medical advocate, and activist of various sorts. I have been providing doula services for mothers in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area for over 7 years, and have attended over 100 births. I have a passion for supporting women have healthy pregnancies that lead to beautiful births and healthy babies and children. Over the years, I have had the privilege to witness the vast spectrum of normal birth. I trust a woman’s body to birth her baby if allowed to move through the physiological process unhindered. However, in our busy and intense world, actually attaining the environment for birth to work best is hard to do. I see my job as first, creating and supporting an environment that can carry a mother through birth, feeling supported and allowing her body to open as it’s made to do. I then, use my knowledge and experience to ease the mind and body of the laboring person, as well as the rest of the birth team.
Terese
January 11, 2023 at 10:44 am | Client reviewKaty was our birth doula for all three of our children – an unplanned s-section, VBAC, and sort-of-planned c-section. I’ve said that I could’ve given birth without my partner, but not without Katy.
She prepared both of us for birth and provided invaluable knowledge and supported our decisions. Perhaps most importantly, Katy kept me grounded in the work to be done. She was reassuring and comforting while still empowering me to feel strong and capable in my own body. Katy’s gentle encouragement helped me believe in the birthing process and that I was in control. She helped me confront and heal from conflicted feelings I had from my first birth. She has the perfect balance of informed, fact-based knowledge with kind and gentle support. She was a true advocate and partner in our birth experiences, and I would recommend her wholeheartedly, without reservation.
Rachel
January 11, 2023 at 10:49 am | Client reviewI came to Katy at 7 months pregnant, full of fear and questions. Each time my husband and I met with her, we grew more informed and more confident. By the time my due date came, we felt unexpectedly ready for first-time parents. We felt reassured to have someone to call for support when it was time to deliver our little one.
I, one hundred percent, attribute Katy’s guidance to the very smooth delivery with my first child. She is a helpful medium between hospital and natural birth, and because of this I was able to seamlessly combine the benefits of both. Also, the postpartum care that Katy offers is invaluable as the medical system often provides little support for the mother to deal with the magnitude of postpartum recovery. Katy is calm, thoughtful and wicked smart.
The most important thing I gained from my experience with using Katy as my doula was that I felt in control of my own decisions during a confusing time, that could otherwise feel very chaotic. I consider it the best money ever spent to bring our daughter into this world with the support of Katy by our side.