What My Clients Say About Me
"Karen was experienced, supportive, and a wealth of resources which was exactly what we were hoping for as first time parents. Just like she says, she is all about helping you have the birth YOU want.
I wanted a go-with-the-flow approach where I and my husband were aware of all my options so the birth team as a whole (myself, doctors, nurses, Karen, my husband) could make informed decisions depending on how the labor was going. I also wanted a motherly, calming presence alongside my husband that I could draw strength and confidence from throughout the labor. I was looking for a doula who had attended more than fifty births, and wouldn’t pressure me toward either end of the “crunchy” vs “silky” spectrum but help me navigate a healthy middle so I could be as safe and comfortable as possible.
Karen was exactly this. She gave us lots of resources on pregnancy, labor preparation, labor, delivery, and postpartum. She had recipes and stretching recommendations (which felt amazing) too, and recommended a child birth class that was very helpful for my husband and I. She was a confident, experienced presence throughout the whole nine months. Through the months of pregnancy, it was so nice to be able to text her questions—especially because I experienced three weeks of prodromal labor. She had great recommendations for encouraging baby to come (different ones from what I googled), and in fact I was following her suggestion the day the baby finally 11 days past his due date.
When the day finally arrived, it was so wonderful to have her support and encouragement from text for the first few hours, and then such a relief when she arrived ready and rearing at 2:30AM to relieve my husband squeezing my hips every contraction. She was calm and gentle and brought just the confidence I needed to keep going and even enjoy the experience through the pain. This surprised me because I usually hate any kind of pain or discomfort but I was prepared well.
When we got to the hospital I was already 90% through labor, but did stall out after a few hours. When baby’s heart rate kept falling and I had given everything I could, Karen helped us feel confident about getting an epidural so we could rest before pushing. And I am so thankful we did because pushing was much harder than I had anticipated and I was so glad I had taken an hour to rest. She also helped us in our decision to break my amniotic sac to kickstart the labor again—reminding me of the risks and benefits. She also helped me be confident in telling the nurse to wait to add pitocin (we didn’t end up needing any after all!)
We are so thankful for Karen and the support she was able to bring to the birth of our wonderful son. "
- Grace M.
"I absolutely loved having Karen as my doula. She is extremely kind-hearted, warm, knowledgeable, and supportive. I cannot recommend her enough and was so grateful to have her support me during one of the happiest days of my life. "
- Rhonda R.
"Karen Guthrie was our doula for the birth of our son and we could not be more grateful! We rave about her all the time to this day, 18 months later. She was so communicative and helpful throughout my entire labor and offered so much knowledge and support leading up to it and through delivery. On delivery day, Karen was with me for nearly 12 hours (starting around midnight but you'd never know it by the way she worked) and was more than we could have asked for. She massaged me with differing essential oils for hours on end, performed hip squeezes that would have exhausted the strongest athlete, advocated for me with the hospital/birth center staff, and was all around amazing. If I am lucky enough to get pregnant again, having Karen by my side through delivery would be my highest desire. "
- Jessica R.
"Karen Guthrie was my doula for my May 2024 labor and delivery. This was my first baby, and like many mothers I had some fears and apprehension about giving birth. Karen was absolutely phenomenal, and so helpful in easing any anxiety I had during my pregnancy, delivery, and birth! She had great communication in all correspondence during both my pregnancy and during my labor and delivery. She was very knowledgable, and helped to keep me calm, cool, and collected in the ups and downs of a long labor. My husband and mom (both also were there for my labor and delivery) raved about how helpful she was during the entire process, and I know if not for her I would have felt much less prepared. Thank you Karen, you were the perfect person to help me through this monumental life experience! "
- Shannon Z.
"I feel blessed to have found Karen to help with our natural birthing. Being a nervous first-timer with pregnancy, she was very supportive and took the time to explain and be there for me every step of the way. She is very sweet and I have referred her to friends. She has over 8 years of experience and doula-ed over 50 births (and that was at the time I interviewed her!) so more now! It was so important to me to have a well-seasoned and experienced doula. Also, her rates are very reasonable. She held my hand during labor and my fondest memory was her feeding me muffins and juice minutes before I had a no-epidural natural hypno-birth with my child at the Irvine Hoag hospital suite. Honestly, it could not have gone better and I would recommend her to anyone. Thank you so very much, Karen. "
- Elizabeth K.
"Karen was unbelievable! Karen was extremely warm, comforting and informative when we met at our home, a month before the delivery. Our goal was an all-natural birth at the Birth Center in Mission Viejo, and she seemed like a great partner for us.
She did a great job explaining the process leading up to labor, and instructed us on different techniques, like spinning the baby, to ensure that our son would be in optimal position for delivery. Not only did Karen instruct us visually, but she had materials for us that we would refer to when we weren’t with her face to face. Whenever we had a question that required a call, she was always there, ready and willing to provide input, but was also very clear on what information she could readily provide, and what information should be determined by someone at the Hospital.
Our son decided to arrive 2 days early, and heavy contractions began in the afternoon. As soon as they began to be more frequent, we called Karen, and she came to our home immediately. As first time parents, there were quite a bit of nerves, but Karen helped to calm us down, provide massages and instructions as to what to do.
When the contractions were every 3 minutes, we went to the hospital, but when we arrived, it was determined that the cervix was not dilated enough, and that our son was not in the correct position, which could lead to a C-Section. This made sense as to why I had pain in my back. We had the option to labor at the hospital or at home, but we elected to go home, and labor there because we felt most comfortable there with Karen.
When we got back home, Karen immediately went to work with spinning baby techniques. One maneuver lead to an immediate release of pain and a few minutes later, my water broke. We continued to labor a few more hours at home, and then headed to the hospital.
When we got back to the hospital the 2nd time, the cervix still need time to dilate to the 5cm Birth Center admittance threshold. So we labored again in a normal hospital room, Karen still by our side.
Finally at 5 in the morning the cervix was dilated enough to get admitted into the Birth Center wing of Mission Hospital, and we were able to begin pushing. The pushing was long and intense (nearly 7 hours), but Karen was there the entire time for us. She gave me the necessary motivation to get me through with a natural birth. If it was not for Karen and our midwives (Laguna Beach OB GYN), a C-Section would certainly have happened.
Karen made sure to keep in contact with us postpartum. We were having some issues a few weeks after delivery and she came back over to the house to help us, providing fresh, unbiased insight as to what life was going to be like for new parents.
She is THE BEST! We will undoubtedly work with her when it’s time deliver our next child in the future and have referred her to a number of people. Again, it was an amazing experience and she certainly helped avoid a C-Section. So grateful for her! " (Note from Karen: "I did get to help with their second baby! It made me so happy!"
- Elwira R.
"Where to begin, Karen was amazing! I mostly labored at home and continued on to my local birth center, where Karen was present and active at both. Thankfully she was super attentive to my husband's middle-of-the-night weekend call...the most inconvenient time for labor did not deter Karen. While I was hesitant to have her come over just yet, thinking my labor would be long as a first-time mama, my husband and she thought it best to proceed. Boy was I relieved to see Karen when she promptly arrived. My contractions sped up faster than anticipated and she was prepared right away with heat packs for my lower back and counterpressure massage. Although my husband had been helping in the couple of hours prior, she knew exactly where to apply the pressure. Equipped with various essential oils, she utilized those to help me relax. Karen proposed different positions and techniques that I wouldn't have thought of at the moment. Had she not been present, my husband and I would have thought I was hemorrhaging due to all of the fluid loss prior to birth, which I didn't realize was normal in my case. She also worked at keeping me hydrated, calm, and timed my contractions. Karen met some unexpected challenges from the midwife head-on. She was attentive, coached, and made appropriate suggestions for the various stages of labor. Towards the pushing phase, Karen once again had her hands full and may have very well almost lost her hands due to all of my gripping and grunting! She was a trooper, never complained, and was by my side from beginning to end. I would highly recommend her and her team. I too once thought I wouldn't need a doula or that maybe it was an extra or luxury, but don't be fooled, doulas are extremely helpful. Note to all first-time parents, classes are wonderful, but when it's go time, you're essentially showing up for a game that you've never played and you'll want the help by your side!"
- Krystal C.
"We're grateful to Karen for all her help in our birth story. We were sort of last-minute clients and she really made herself available to help us. We had a lot of questions prior to birth and not only did she answer them but she also gave us research and helpful tips to get us ready for the birthing process. I was two weeks late with my little one and she continuously kept in contact with me and was very thoughtful and helping me to relax to help me get the baby out. She got a call from us in the middle of the night to meet us at the birthing center and then we ended up having to go to the hospital and when she helped us in getting there and keeping me comfortable. I was very appreciative of her motherly touch and because I was in back labor I was in need of support for my back and she helped me by rubbing my back and helping me use my oils. She also was very supportive of our birth plan and personal choices due to our beliefs. We were just so appreciative for her loving helping hand and in keeping us calm and keeping me hydrated and as comfortable as could be in the circumstances. She went above and beyond for us and we are so appreciative to her to this day. And she got to share one of the most important days of our lives with us."
- Heather O.
"Karen attended the birth of my first son and I'm pretty sure she saved me an unnecessary C-Section. My son was 8lbs 2oz, with a 98th percentile head size and he was sunny side up. She was so supportive and helpful. She helped us decide when to call the midwife and ask about getting me checked (my contractions were not regular, so it was hard to tell). She did a lot of counterpressure and hip squeezes that were very helpful for my back labor. I distinctly remember when they decided to give me a catheter I started to freak out and she just said "Hey, look at me." so I did "Knowing everything you have been through tonight, this isn't going to be a big deal" and she just said with such complete conviction that I had to believe her. I calmed down more quickly than I would have thought possible (and she was right, it wasn't a big deal). I did Hypnobabies and she was the only one in the room who remembered to transfer to the "pushing" track when I started pushing. When I pushed my husband was holding one of my arms and Karen was holding my leg and my other arm and I would pull on them with all my might. This went on for quite a while and she never tired out. I must have made her so sore."
- Chelsea C.
"Karen was a wonderful help at the birth of my son. I know she was of tremendous assistance to my wife (and she wrote about it, so you can too!) and for me she was great about making sure I had the things I needed to keep supporting my wife. I can say with near certainty that Karen was the only reason I remembered to eat and drink anything the entire time we were at the birthing centre.
I felt confident that I didn't have to worry about anything other than my wife and child with Karen there, and I think that that is universally important to anyone supporting their partner during their birthing time.
I can't say enough good things about Karen, or all the help she provided us with."
- Spenser C.