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I realize that it may be easy to hyperbolize about something as monumental as parenthood, where the stakes are high and new emotions flood every aspect of life that once required little to no thought, but I genuinely believe that our family would be in a different (worse-off) place had it not been for Martha’s presence during those vulnerable first months of life with our son. 
As first-time-parents and young professionals living half a country away from family, we looked into hiring a postpartum doula for the extra hands. But having now contracted with Martha, even if our families lived nextdoor, we would still hire her. Without Martha’s education, non-judgmental support, and empathy, our first months as parents—and those that followed, even after her contract had ended—would have looked very different. I cannot overstate Martha’s competent and confident approach to supporting parents through decision-making processes. For exmaple, I had long known that I wanted to breastfeed my son, but arrived home from the hospital with traumatized nipples and realized that my baby had a tongue tie. Recognizing that these breastfeeding goals would not be sustainable if things continued apace, she equipped me with the tools to intervene as I saw fit. (Today, I’m still breastfeeding!) She showed us the trailhead, in a way, and then let us decide whether or not to follow the path. Martha is not the type of person to make you feel obliged to do anything you and your family aren’t comfortable with; she instead provides options that allow you to make the best decisions, in light of your desires, limitations, and hopes, and then engages with that decision with genuine respect. 
Martha is at once rock-solid in her competence and profoundly tender in her approach to care. My only hesitation in writing this review is that other folks may then book her faster than us, once baby number two is on the way! 

Martha was an absolute godsend! She saw that we were tired and overwhelmed, with no experience, and immediately sent us to bed, then got us up to speed on all of the small systems that make up our new day to day lives. How do we hand this guy to each other? How do we hold him? How should we feed him? Why is he spitting up? How do you breastfeed/make bottles? Martha was our expert Sherpa that gave us our bearings, and the confidence to parent without being in a full panic.

She was always extremely professional, warm, communicative, and respectful of our needs and preferences. She brought us endless knowledge, useful items that other parents no longer needed, and even cake! Somebody who you not only feel comfortable with for hours in your space, but want to leave your new baby with, is extremely rare. Martha is that person!

My best piece of advice as a first-time Mom: hire Martha! I saw a review that called her “part parenting coach, part fairy godmother, and part baby whisperer” — and she is exactly that! It is clear Martha was born to be a doula the first time she sat cross-legged on my bed. She’s so at ease with newborns and with new Moms — she provides a calming presence and lactation expertise to every visit.

I had some trouble early on with breastfeeding, and I was so relieved to get thoughtful advice from Martha. She was so calm and so confident that she would be able to help. She tailored her advice to our little guy, letting us know what our options were (positions, pillows, nipple shields, etc.) and helped us test out a few new techniques. Ultimately she had our son breastfeeding much more easily, in a more comfortable position for me (and all without tons of pillows or elaborate equipment!). She also showed my husband what he could do to improve our son’s latch so that he could eat more easily and so that I was more comfortable (yay!). Martha continued to come help us out with other household tasks to give us a bit of a break — looking after our son, reading to him, taking him for walks, letting me nap, folding laundry — she does it all! Martha is always so open and friendly and so loving to our little boy. She’s a life-long learner, and I admire the open, reassuring and professional manner she takes to her work. We highly recommend her to our friends, and we would hire her again ourselves without a second thought!

It is impossible to describe what an incredible blessing Martha was for our family. I cannot recommend her highly enough as a post-partum doula. She is incredibly professional, compassionate, knowledgeable, and nurturing. She goes above and beyond for the babies and families she is caring for and made my post-partum experience infinitely better than with my first child (where I had no professional support post-partum).  As soon as Martha entered our home, she put us at ease, expertly caring for our newborn and instilling us with confidence and new knowledge on caring for a newborn. As a pediatrician, I was incredibly impressed by evidenced-based practice and that she partners with the family to make the post-partum experience one of bonding and healing.

Martha knew that one of my hopes was to breastfeed our son and she was an invaluable asset. I attribute our success to Martha’s help early in the process. My first son struggled with direct breastfeeding and weight gain, and I needed to pump often and supplement with pumped milk. Martha assured me that we would make sure we were on the right track, and she would direct me to a lactation consultant if needed. She helped me learn new positions to nurse and reassured me about his latch. My son thrived with the help of Martha and the time that she spent with us enabled me to rest, recharge, and recuperate knowing that my son was in her care.  Martha is also non-judgmental; she meets parents at their level and partners with them to make the experience what they want. She supports all different families and their unique goals and comes with an arsenal of skills to do so with ease and expertise. Lastly, Martha is an absolute delight. She was a ray of sunshine in our home and if we are lucky enough to have another baby, she will be the first person we call!!

 When Martha worked with us  and our first baby, she made sure we thrived, not just survived, the  first 10 weeks of parenthood. We went from not knowing that postpartum  doulas existed to recommending Martha to everyone we know. Many things  set Martha apart, but to name just a few:  1) She is there for the mother just as much as the baby. The "fourth  trimester" is extremely difficult and unfamiliar, and moms' well being  often goes by the wayside as they drop everything to care for their  helpless newborn.  2) She's a teacher, and develops a "curriculum" for new parents based on  their needs and preferences. We didn't have a clue about parenting and  wanted a consistent adviser showing us what to do in every little phase.  We could ask Martha any question (any time, day or night) and she would  respond in depth. She also helped us filter through sometimes  conflicting guidance from parents and friends. What's more, her  strategies were never preachy -- rather, she helped us figure out what  was important to us and presented several options.  3) She provided support during our neediest times -- when she was at our  house at night, we could finally sleep and relax. When she was there  during the day, we could talk through our baby's progress, get our  questions answered, and take breaks to go on walks and even do simple  things (like shower and eat) that fall through the cracks in the early  days of parenting.  4) She is genuinely fun to have around! We loved getting to know Martha  and have kept in touch as our son has grown. We would definitely hire  her again for our next baby. 

 We worked with Martha for 8  weeks immediately after the birth of our son. Her support was absolutely  invaluable -- teaching us how to take care of him, helping to figure  out breastfeeding, and making sure we got sleep and took care of  ourselves along the way. Martha delights in babies and brings such a  warm, calm energy, which is especially needed during the intense early  weeks as new parents! She also helped us regularly carve out a few  minutes to nurture and prioritize our relationship, which made us better  parents and happier people. Hiring Martha was one of the best decisions  we made as she helped us start our parenting journey feeling grounded,  knowledgeable, relatively rested, and connected to our son and each  other. She was truly a godsend! 

 Hi mommies and  soon-to-be-mommies, I couldn't recommend Martha more to become your  postpartum doula. As our families live in Europe, we felt a little  nervous having no support for our newborn. I couldn't feel more lucky  that I found Martha to join our adventure becoming a family of four.  Yes-also mommies need mommies during those early postpartum days - and  Martha can definitely fill this space with her warm, caring personality.  Sometimes you will need sleep, a good conversation or just a honest  beloved hug. The saying is 'It takes a village to raise a child' and not  'mommy is on its own for 24/7 until she is exhausted and desperate' -  please respect your mindset and your recovering body and get help for  this precious time. Martha definitely needs to be part of that village  with all her knowledge about postpartum topics and her love for babies! 

 We had Martha for seven weeks after our son arrived and I can’t imagine  how it would have been without her help.  Starting the evening we got  home from the hospital, she made us feel safe and secure with her  warmth, professionalism and expertise.  She offers a perfect balance  informed views on early parenting with total flexibility to taper her  services to the goals of your family.  Among other things, she helped us  with sleep cadence, soothing technique, and even helped us diagnose a  milk protein allergy that was causing extreme fussiness early on.  We  would have extended our time with Martha if she’d had availability.  She  came highly recommended from trusted friends of ours, and we have  recommended her to several of our own friends who she has since helped  as well.  We continue to keep in touch with her on our son's development  and would be lucky to have her help again. 

 You  will be lucky if you get the opportunity to work with Martha Widing! If  you are considering hiring Martha, my main piece of advice is to hire  her for as long as you can, and for as often as you can afford. Martha  supported my husband and I with our first child. We originally planned  to work with her for 3 nights a week for 4 weeks and immediately  extended our contract to include 2 additional days per week and  additional weeks. Martha's support was invaluable as we navigated our  journey as parents. Martha met us when we arrived home from the hospital  and brought immediate calm and warmth. She supported us emotionally  (there are so many feelings in parenthood!), coached my breastfeeding,  helped us get sleep, patiently taught us to care for our daughter, and  built our confidence as parents. Martha brings a wealth of knowledge and  resources, and has the flexibility to support your family in the ways  that you want and need to be supported. We also did a pre-birth class  with Martha that was incredibly helpful. It prepared us to be advocates  for our baby in the hospital and navigate decisions related to her care  with more certainty. Similar to my "hire her for as much as you can  afford advice," I would strongly encourage you to schedule at least 2-3  pre-birth sessions. My husband and I didn't fully appreciate how helpful  our class with Martha was until we were IN the hospital and found  ourselves saying "oh, this is what Martha was talking about." We also  did a birthing class through our hospital, however, looking back, I wish  we had taken advantage of additional sessions with Martha to better  prepare. We will forever be grateful to Martha and hope we get the  opportunity to work with her again in the future.

 Martha  worked with us in the capacity of a post-partum doula for 8  weeks after the birth of our son. I can't write enough kind things  about her. She was always punctual, friendly, hard-working,  compassionate, and attentive to detail. She gave me tips on  breastfeeding, and helped me greatly with positioning and latch. She  made sure my water bottle was full, that  the laundry was folded, and I could go on and on. I felt  comfortable being honest with her, which is so important when having  someone in the house overnight. She had such a lovely way with our boy,  and took such wonderful care of him, allowing me to rest, which was so  crucial. We will miss Martha, but we will stay in touch. 

Martha  is part parenting coach, part fairy godmother, and part baby whisperer.  I had no idea what a postpartum doula could do for me or our family. I  felt fully prepared to welcome baby, and had a great support network  lined up for our first weeks home from the hospital. Honestly, it was  more stressful than I realized it would be. Figuring out newborn care,  breastfeeding, and our "new normal" was a lot to take on. My friends  provided advice, but from their own individual experience, and my family  members were helpful, but hadn't had babies recently to know the  "latest"! Martha brings a professional approach and a depth of  experience, as well as a focus on the mother and the baby that you  simply can't get from a friend or relative. A piece of advice that many  people gave me before baby was to accept help. I'm SO grateful that I  accepted Martha's help, and believe that every new mom should.

Martha  came into our home, and without any judgement, helped to troubleshoot a  challenge my daughter and I had with breastfeeding, helping me  understand how I could make breastfeeding a more meaningful experience. I  had set a breastfeeding goal for myself, but was quite honestly close  to quitting the breastfeeding all together before Martha stepped in! She  has such a lovely approach to newborn care, offering suggestions and  helping build my confidence in caring for our daughter. During our  ongoing visits, Martha consulted on our breastfeeding, my recovery, and  my daughter's development, changed our sheets (!!) (an incredible gift  for a new mom spending tons of time in bed), did some light housework,  and helped me think about what was ahead in my baby's development. Each  time she left our home, I felt confident in my own parenting and also  felt a sense of relief, with my home being a calm place to care for baby  and not a to-do list. THANK YOU, MARTHA!!! 

 Martha was a complete blessing for our family. She helped me so much as I  became a new mom. She always brings joy and calm wisdom into our home.  This was particularly helpful since this was a very stressful time for  me. She is so knowledgeable - which was amazing since I seemed to have  daily questions that I did not want to bother my pediatrician with.  I  would recommend her to anyone transitioning into parenthood.

Martha was there for my family  since the day I met her on "meet the doula" event at my yoga place. On  the day we came back from the hospital she was waiting on the front  steps of our house. We were lucky she helped us with taking  out the car  seat with the baby from the car (we couldn't figure out how to do it  ourselves :)
She helped me navigate through first two months of  motherhood. Always supportive, calm, realistic and  encouraging she made  me feel safe and very optimistic. I was able to focus on my baby and on  my healing.

 There are not enough words to describe how wonderful Martha is. She is  truly the epitome of what a postpartum doula should be. After the early  birth of our daughter, Martha supported us a few times a week for  several months. She organized, did newborn laundry, prepared light lunches and encouraged naps for mom and dad.  When asked, she offered advice on topics unfamiliar to us, which  was especially helpful since our daughter came early. She helped coach  me through difficulty nursing, always respectful of my wishes and goals.  She is always available through text for encouragement or questions.  It's really the intangible qualities that set her apart. She just "gets  it". She understands what it's like to be a new parent with strong  preferences for how things should be done (in my case bottles and  diapering) and always asked what I wanted. She is an excellent sounding  board, politely and lovingly sitting with me to listen as those  postpartum emotions would suddenly turn a wave of joy into grief or vice  versa. Having her to simply talk with was sometimes more important than  getting chores done. I was entirely comfortable with Martha and trusted  her completely-- in our home, with our daughter, to give great advice,  and to recognize our needs and meet them. It was a sad day to have to  say good bye to Martha as our doula, but she helped us get to a place  where we were able to handle this new way of living and is still only a  text away. Should you decide to hire Martha, I have no doubt you will  truly be blessed.