You want your birth team to be filled with skilled, compassionate, non-judgmental people. It has to be a good fit!
Meet the Doulas
Emily Retzlaff, CD(DONA)
Birth Doula | Birth Photographer | Placenta Specialist
I dream of being one of those super-crunchy moms raising my kids on a farm and homeschooling, but for now I'll settle for a vegetable garden and sending my kids to farm school.
I believe Mint Chocolate Chip is the perfect ice cream flavor and will choose it whenever available.
I love a good audio book, but I can't finish a hard copy to save my life!
I tell my kids “I missed you” whenever they return home. My hope is that they look back and never question how unconditionally loved they are.
I spend way too much time worrying about what other people think of me…seriously way too much time!
My perfect day would include coffee, rock hunting on the beach, horseback riding, and pizza.
I'm notoriously messy and have an endless supply of empty La Croix cans in my car.
I believe in science, nature, intuition, and empowerment through information.
Lindsey Shigemoto, CD(DONA)
Birth Doula | Birth Photographer|Postpartum Doula
I am here to help you find the information you need and to support you emotionally and physically without judgment. I grew up in West Michigan and I am proud to assist the families of this area during pregnancy and birth.
I am a wife, and mother of two sweet kids. Through my personal birth experiences, I came to realize my love for birth work and empowering families. My husband Vance and I laugh about my time in labor, saying Murphy’s law (what can go wrong will), was working overtime both times, first in a hospital birth and the second time in a birth center. We didn’t have a doula at the births of our children and agree that a doula would have been very helpful. This led me to begin my birth doula training in May of 2019.
I am a lifelong learner, earning my bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, and going on to earn my master's degree in adult education and training. I coached gymnastics for seven years while in college and have found that doula work ties in beautifully with my passion for learning and coaching.
I will support you in any type of birth, whether you feel safest in a hospital, at home, in a birth center, medicated, or unmedicated. I provide professional birth and labor support that helps your birth team put you at the center. I bring an encouraging and calm energy to support your wishes, and I would love to be there for you on this journey.
Here’s what our clients are saying about us.
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“This woman helped Erik and I navigate some of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make. I honestly have no idea what we would have done without Emily. I don’t have enough words to string together to say how I really feel. Emily was with me from the beginning, managing my pain with contractions, holding my hand for the unplanned epidural, all the way until I felt her hand on my forehead in the OR. Make a Doula a part of your plan, because if your plan does fall apart, you have no idea how much you or your partner may need the extra support. Emily and My Doula GR LLC made me confident that I asked all the questions. She was an angel to us, and our family will never stop loving her for the role she played in helping me safely get our baby to this side of her journey”
-M.L
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“I am so thankful to have had Lindsey as my doula!! She is very personable & always made me feel like I'm a priority to her. She gave me resources (like books & podcasts, showed me & my partner comfort measures) to help me prepare for my natural birth & calmed me down when I was feeling anxious. She was never pushy about what I HAD to do and was very supportive of whatever choices I made. She really listened to what my needs are & made sure it was followed through during labor & delivery & responded intuitively & gently to my needs. She made me feel empowered & nurtured & cared for, something EVERY mom should feel!”
-R.L
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“Where to even begin...
Emily is hands down the best doula I could have ever asked for. She is all the things that makeup what a doula should be. From my pregnancy to labor and now in postpartum, she is there and full of information and help. I was pretty scared going into my 2nd labor because my first was pretty traumatic for me. She was completely calm and collected the entire time. She always had a new idea to try and ease my pain or get my labor moving. She even was there in the best ways after my epidural. Couldn’t do too much considering I’m tied to a bed but she came and massaged my hands and relaxed me a ton. I could go on and on. She was there in the best ways and helped my 2nd labor be a brand new experience for me. I recommend her to literally ANYONE.”
-A.A.
