Katelyn at Vashon Island Midwifery was an absolute godsend throughout my pregnancy and the weeks following my baby’s birth. She was thoughtful, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. She took the time to get to know us and our situation and gave really insightful advice and care. I truly could not recommend her and her team more.
Vashon Island Midwifery is exactly what our island needed! Katelyn was our midwife for the birth of my second baby here at home on the island. Katelyns knowledge, skills, demeanor, and wisdom were an incredible gift for my pregnancy and birth and postpartum journey. She was professional, attentive, kind, communicative, and deeply caring throughout. Her practice is family friendly - in fact my older son said after birth - can you have another baby so I can go to Katelyns office again?Katelyn is very talented at serving women - she offers a wide breadth and depth of information, is supportive and judgement-free, and supports you in every dimension - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.VIM also continues to go above and beyond standard midwifery care with the building of a network of providers for holistic care (nutrition, doula support, mental health, pelvic floor, etc.), a financial model that supports different income levels, and various other ways you can tell this is not just a business for its own goals, but one that deeply cares for the health and vibrancy of our community.If you want to have an empowering and well-informed pregnancy and birth experience, work with Vashon Island Midwifery! I am honestly a better person for having the opportunity to get to know and be supported by Katelyn this year.
We hired Katelyn for both doula & postpartum care for mom/baby, and we couldn’t imagine our birth story without her. Throughout the process she gave so much more than she had to, really taking the time to get to know us and answer all our questions. The way in which she shared resources felt very open ended, never as though she were forcing a point of view. When it came to the actual birth, she was vital in guiding me & my husband though labor. Since we live on an island, her expertise around when to take the ferry & go to the hospital was vital. She knew exactly when they were likely to take me. At the hospital, she was clear in communicating what was going to come next, how things were going to go, and helped me to feel very safe and in the know. After helping me get acclimated to baby, she finally went home to her family, it was Christmas Eve after all. But that wasn’t the end. We hired her for postpartum care which was the best decision! Our baby was a bit small, so the hospital midwives wanted an early weigh on him. Katelyn came over to do a check-in early and was able to confirm baby was gaining weight just fine (we didn’t even have to leave the house!). Our subsequent visits were at the cozy Vashon Midwifery Clinic, just up the road - no boats! Katelyn was easily able to take in the hospital records and continue our care. As new parents we were full of questions (breast feeding anyone??), and felt very grateful for the open line of communication. Anytime we texted, we heard back within the hour and got very clear, helpful information. I don’t know too many midwives you can text... We also found an amazing on-island massage therapist through Vashon Midwifery and have thought about utilizing their mental health services. Overall, this is an amazing resource on the island, and the quality of care is outstanding. Will be coming back when we’re ready to have our second.