Testimonials & Mahalos

Straight from the heart - Midwife Love Letters

Testimonial / Mahalo

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Our heart are filled with love and gratitude for all the gifts you have given us on this journey of becoming parents. Your guidance, strength, patience, open-heartedness, and powerful presence have helped create the foundation from which we expand our family and for that we are infinitely grateful! What a blessing that our island can benefit from all of your wisdom.

All of our love and blessings,
Kati, Nate, Mehana‘aina, Iliani

“Thank you for being with us as we welcomed our third child into the world. Your positive words of confidence and encouragement will always be with me. Being with women who assured me that I was safe and strong and that my baby was safe and strong was a great gift. Thank you for being a guardian for babies and mommies!”

— Jennifer, Kyle, Dahlia, Zinnia and Wren

With my second pregnancy I ended up switching providers when I was 20 weeks. I knew that I needed more personalized care. I contacted Dani and discussed what my options were in terms of a birth plan, and I remember crying with relief that I finally found someone that would support me. Dani is so knowledgeable and goes above and beyond to physically, mentally, and emotionally prepare you during pregnancy, for birth, and postpartum and beyond. Every visit with her was so comforting. I looked forward to our time together, I always felt relaxed and knew I was in good hands. When I went in to labor she was there when I needed her and held such a calm and strong presence the entire time. She knew exactly how to support me during my transitions and had all the tools that I never knew I needed to feel more comfortable during labor. Dani was an angel of a midwife and played a pivotal role in the outcome of my birth. I am forever grateful for her expertise and her presence in our community. My wish would be for all women to know that they deserve the high level of care and support that Dani has to offer. - Nicole Olayon

Each of us has a unique blueprint that begins from conception. The experience of birth leaves a lasting effect, whether positive or negative, and creates physical and emotional memories that last a lifetime. The body keeps the score. Our goal as midwives is to leave a lasting imprint of feeling safe and loved during these treasured moments, and to see women empowered to claim their birthright through this right of passage, as is reflected in these letters.

“All of the talks, visits and advice led to the exact birth experience I wanted. Thank you does not begin to express how much I appreciated your help in preparing for a natural birth.”

— Gen, Tauren, Sloane

From the Papa:
“Your expertise, insight, and character has made this birth such a unique and fulfilling experience. Mahalo Nui!”

From the Mama:
Mahalo palena ‘ole for being there for our growing ohana. From the first reach out, to really forever. :) Your balanced nature was so meaningful as we navigated a healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience for our little Nāholowa’a and ohana. Just a little something to celebrate your dedication to birth healthy and strong new generations. Mālama pono.”

—Shae, Kuhao, Nāholowa’a

Mahalo Nunui e ‘Anakē! We are beyond grateful for your guidance as we went through this experience with you by our side. Mahalo nui for your attentiveness, attention to detail, wonderful energy, immense knowledge and skill base. We can’t thank you enough! What a beautiful and empowering experience it was, and what finesse you had in delivery, post delivery, suturing, etc. We are also so thankful for all of the help supporting us as new parents, and your response to our hundreds of questions, etc!

We love you,
Leila, Nick, Makahanaloa

“Thank you so much for being such an amazing midwife, you made this whole experience so great. I couldn’t have asked for the whole pregnancy, labor and delivery to be any better. Thank you, thank you.”

— Tara, Tyler, Otis and Lui

“Dani, you have the absolute best timing when it comes to our births with you and Nina!!! Both times you arrived at just the right moment, and we were so happy to see you come through the door. We can’t tell you how much we appreciated your dedication to being there for our family.”

With much aloha,
Jizelle, Willie, Cruden, Hiala’a

“As I reflect this month on the things that I am most grateful for, I think of you and your heartfelt dedication to our family during Brooke’s birth. It was the most profound Event of my life and I have such immense appreciation for being able to bring him into this world in our home.”

— Kate, Tate, Brooks

“I will forever be grateful for the ways your kind, wise and patient words got me through my labor - at the scariest moments. Many thanks for the love of your work that you share, and the beautiful moments you captured.”

— Alicia, Ben, Tallulah

“We want to sincerely thank you for the best care and home birth experience! Working with you was such a dream and we are SO grateful that we feel nothing but joy when we think about the day our sweet Ella was born. You did a stellar job and then went above and behind with your responsiveness and support for the postpartum care as well. Thank you eternally.”

-Donia, Noah & Ella

Sometimes things don’t go as planned in pregnancy and birth. As experienced midwives, we work from the heart to support you through whatever life circumstances and scenarios arise, be it miscarriage, late pregnancy loss, long labors, birth emergencies, or fighting for increased access to midwifery care. Midwives care.

From the Papa:
”We wanted to express our immense gratitude for you since the birth, but we’ve been lost in babyland! Bodhi is such a joy! He’s opened our heart to new levels of experiencing love. What a precious gift, to be a parent. Your wisdom and skills as a midwife helped make that happen. You showed such compassion around the 2nd trimester loss of our first baby, gave us tremendous support and encouragement through this pregnancy, and expertly guided/suggested/directed us through the birth. Being in your care, we felt supported not just with all the physical aspects of childbirth, but also emotionally and spiritually. Thank you for everything you did for us on that journey. We are so grateful for you and Nina. You were the perfect person to help bring Bodhi into this world, we can’t imagine it being anyone else.”

From the Mama:
”I was going to write so much more, but then I read what Joe wrote and he said the essence of what is in my heart. Thank you for being exactly who you are. Thank you for your love and for being such a strong support as we navigated both death and new life. Both of our babies have changed our lives forever - and I feel like you were there with us every step of the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

-Leanna, Joe, angel baby Evangeline, rainbow baby Bodhi

“From day one, you created an oasis of caring attention, and I always looked forward to my hour-long visits where I felt pampered and listened to, as well as safe. I have long dreamed of a birth at home, and want to thank you for making that dream come true. My labor was an especially long journey, but having you provide the medical, motherly, or sisterly advice I needed at different time was what got me through the labor and allowed me to stay at home so I could have the birth experience I desired. We never questions what good hands we were in, we always felt immense trust that you would provide the best care we could possibly need. With the events that happened after the birth and the extra attention I needed, we thank you for your swift action, which allowed me to stay at home safely, despite a potential emergency. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this. And the excellent follow-up care after the birth to assist with breast feeding, baby care, and mama healing.”

Much aloha,
Beth, Jim and rainbow baby Nora

“Thank you for helping to make a VBAC possible for T and her family. I would like to commend your expertise and thoroughness exhibited as a midwife. Your experience and wisdom, married with your passion and love for birth truly shined through. It is to be celebrated when a strong birth team comes together to use their strength to facilitate successful home birth VBAC on our island. I am overjoyed with the outcome, and have a deeper respect for your style of practice and the humility you exude surrounding birth. Thank you for carrying the true ancestral torch of what a “midwife” is, and for combining the skills of what a modern day “midwife” must have to create a change in our current maternity care system. I look forward to attending more births with you in the future.”

Warmly,
Jenny Spanenberg CLD, CPD, CLSE, Evidence Based Birth

“Thank you for your generous spirit and time over the last 8 years serving on the MIdwives Alliance of Hawaii Board. Our organization couldn’t be what it is today without you! You helped to move MAH forward and bring us into this labor love to achieve licensure. Your countless hours and selfless dedication are priceless and we cherish the time we got to build our relationships with you as fellow midwives. Thank you always.”

— Lea Minton, CNM, President of Midwives Alliance of Hawaii