Portland Professional Birth Services: Rebecca Durlin Smith - Portland, Oregon

Michael B.

My wife and I sought out Rebecca initially based on her great yelp reviews. We had initially set up interviews with other doulas but there was no need after meeting her!We knew right away that she was the right one for us for our first child based on her calming warm personality in the months after we met as we prepared for our son to arrive Rebecca was always available for all questions we had, meetings, and gave us a ton of resources including connecting us with support groups and birth class options. As a first time father, I needed all the support and help I could get since I didn't know how everything worked! She was extremely respectful of my wife and my journeys in this process together and showed genuine interest in our individual experience as well. We spent a lot of time preparing for managing the contractions at home as long as possible before heading to the hospital for the birth, but as a great surprise, our son burst through the bag of waters 10 days early and in the middle of the night. We called Rebecca and she talked us through the contractions which was crucial since my wife was dealing with rapidly increasing intensity and I was scrambling to implement my "wisdom" from my months crash course in how to be a support. Since things were progressing so rapidly, Rebecca agreed to come over to our house, and ultimately decided to meet us at the hospital given that my wife was begging for the epidural in our own house shortly after we got off the phone. In the hospital, the experience was quite chaotic initially, but Rebecca arrived quite quickly and her calming presence was immediately felt. She calmly helped us make decisions throughout the 8 hour labor and I can't imagine having our first birth experience without her. Most definitely worth every five stars! She processed the placenta into pills and has continued to begin email/text contact with us in the weeks following the arrival of our new family member! Thank you Rebecca!

Alex D.

It was hard at first to grasp the value of having a doula for our first pregnancy and delivery, but working with Rebecca was incredibly helpful from day one. As a family physician in training, I found her ability to discuss aspects of our birth plan and all of the twists and turns in a way that my non-medical partner and I could both relate with. Emotionally, she is incredibly in tune and empathetic, helping us feel embraced through very difficult times. We never felt like she imposed her preferences on us, or judged what we wanted, and she was fun to hang out with in the down time during our week-long labor experience. She also encouraged us to get connected to her group's support groups which we have found incredibly helpful as well in starting to build our parent tribe. It has been an incredible journey together, and we couldn't recommend Rebecca more!

Sarah M.

Rebecca was an amazing support during my pregnancy and birth experience. This was my third pregnancy and after two induced and medicated births, I was hoping for a different experience this time. Having Rebecca as our doula was the most important decision we made towards having the natural and empowered birth experience I was hoping for. I was two weeks late and she was so helpful and supportive during that stressful time. When I finally did go into labor, Rebecca was super knowledgeable about how to move things along and offered great suggestions for positions to try at home. At the hospital she really helped keep a calm and peaceful environment in the room and made me feel empowered at times when I needed it the most. Her intuition, strength and compassion were invaluable during one of the most challenging experiences I've had. I can't imagine doing it without her! My husband and I would highly recommend Rebecca to anyone, whether this is your first pregnancy or 5th! She is truly remarkable.

Jen O.

Rebecca was such a blessing to have with my partner and I during my birth experience. Our prenatal visits were comprehensive and well paced - never rushed. I was with an OB group that I wasn't loving... and she encouraged me to champion for myself to get the kind of medical care I wanted. After some long phone calls with Rebecca, weighing pros and cons, I decided to change from the OB group to a midwife practice at 40 weeks. Without her encouragement I don't think I would've had the guts to do it, and I'm 100% confident it was the right choice for me. I felt very confident going into the labor experience even though I was almost 2 weeks late. She reassured me that it was fine to text or call any time, she came when we needed her, and stayed by my side through a seriously long labor. She helped my husband support me, which was so appreciated. Since she attended so many births, her touch and support during the process were invaluable. It was shocking how much I really needed that second set of hands. She supported me through 2 days of unmedicated laboring - on the phone, at my home, and at the hospital. She was my champion with the medical team - asked questions of them that I didn't think to ask and helped me make some tough decisions. Overall, I really trust Rebecca and felt she was an honest, supportive energy that made my birth experience a fabulous one. Would highly recommend her to any friends... especially 1st time parents-to-be!

Maia H.

Rebecca was everything we wanted in a doula and more. When any friend asks about our birth experience she's the first thing I bring up because we couldn't imagine doing it without her. From our first meeting we knew that Rebecca was that rare balance of warm and honest, strong and patient, and incredibly knowledgeable without ever being dogmatic or pushy. She answered all our questions in the weeks leading up to the birth and was there for us as a calm, experienced sounding board in the few days before when some complications arose and tough decisions needed to be made. Once labor kicked in and Rebecca arrived at the hospital she was there every step of the way either supporting me and my husband directly with breathing tips and reminders to eat and take breaks and she let us have our own personal experience and just be in the background when we needed her. We are eternally grateful for everything she did to help make the most intense and important experience we've ever had a safe and beautiful thing.

Andrea C.

Rebecca was our doula for the birth of our second child. She was so wonderful. She really helped coach both me and my husband through options for us to work through the labor together. She brought a deeply caring, lighthearted, and thoroughly helpful presence to our birth process. She helped root, normalize, and guide the process in a positive direction every step of the way. It takes a special person to do what she does so well. I can't recommend her enough.

Abby D.

We had such a wonderful experience with Rebecca. I have a medical background so having a doula that was well versed in evidence based birthing practices was essential. For every decision that we were going to face in the birth process, Rebecca presented us with all options and research to back them up, letting us decide what was in our best interest. My favorite part of our pre-birth doula visits with Rebecca was the emotional support that she provided. Most often, the visits ended up being a somewhat therapy session around our excitement, anxiety and fears about childbirth. We always left feeling informed and confident.

As sometimes happens, our birth plan went in the complete opposite direction as we had expected and having Rebecca guide us through the process kept our (or my) anxiety at ease. She then helped me process my birth experience, something I didn’t really realize that I would need. I also had Rebecca process and encapsulate my placenta which I’d highly recommend! I had no idea there were so many ways that placenta capsules could be beneficial in my postpartum journey.

One last bonus – Rebecca took some of the most beautiful pictures of our birth day. I hadn’t originally wanted any pictures but I’m so happy that I have them now.

Meghan T.

My husband and I agree that hiring Rebecca and Brooke as our doulas was the best decision we made during my pregnancy. Rebecca and Brooke are experts in the field, tremendously kind, supportive, accommodating, and skilled. Having successfully guided so many births, nothing surprises them, and the experience and wisdom they are able to impart as a result helped us prepare long before the big day of. In addition to being awesome doulas, they are well connected to other skilled and trusted birth practitioners in the community, which made it easy to manage other aspects of birth and early childcare as they came up (e.g., maternity acupuncture/massage/chiropractic work, lactation consultants, etc.). The day of our daughter's birth, Rebecca was on-call, and from start to finish she was amazing. I was able to have the unmedicated birth that I hoped for and cannot imagine having gone through that experience without her support. She helped us through home labor, and once at the hospital, she acted as a advocate for our birth plan, a liaison with our family and the medical staff, and most importantly, knew exactly how to support me and help me progress through all stages of labor. Her steady, calm demeanor helped us stay centered and assured as the process became more intense, and helped give me the faith and confidence to make it through labor. We know we would have gotten the same love and support from Brooke too had she been on call that day. We can't recommend these two ladies more highly.