Meet The Doula

My name is Tiffany Cristo (she/her), and I am a certified Full-Spectrum Doula through DTI (Doula Trainings International). The birthing process has always been something that has fascinated me. When I discovered that I was pregnant with my first child, I wanted nothing more than to have a home-birth. My husband and I tried to go through insurance, but there was so much red tape around the whole process; so we settled for a hospital birth that had a team of midwives.

Once labor started with our first son, I stayed at home for as long as I could. Once we arrived to the hospital I was in active labor, but was sent to triage without my husband for what seemed to be an eternity. They separated us so they could make sure I was not in any danger, or he was not a threat to me. I was by myself managing very real contractions with no one to help me through it. Once the midwife on-call finally arrived we discovered that I was 7cm dilated, so they immediately took me to a room and allowed my husband to come as well.

Labor was very quick after that, and our beautiful child was brought into this world. I honestly had always thought my experience was great, but after reflecting on it, it really would have been so incredibly helpful to have a doula by my side to reassure me and help me when I was alone.

With my second son’s birth, we followed the same plan. We used the same team of midwives and the same hospital; however, his birth was not so simple. Again, we stayed at home as long as I could and arrived in VERY active labor. They immediately admitted me…no triage this time. That child came into the world fast and furious style! He unfortunately had to be taken to the NICU due to low oxygen, so again I was left alone with a midwife that I did not care for stitching me up. I remember being so sad and worried about my baby, and she looked up and said “What’s wrong with you…he’ll be fine”. Not comforting AT ALL! I wanted her to leave so badly.

My son stayed in the NICU for two days, and my room was so far away from him. I was in so much pain after his birth, but my husband would walk me every two hours to the NICU to nurse our baby. I remember having to fight tooth and nail to even be able to nurse him. The whole ordeal was awful, and I was so relieved when we were finally able to go home.

Fast forward to about six years later. My husband and I found out that we were pregnant, and we both unanimously agreed that we would have the birth experience that I wanted. We found the AMAZING Nikki aka San Antonio Nurse Midwife, and my whole world was changed. I had NEVER in my life felt so cared for by a medical physician EVER! Before, when I felt like something was wrong or didn’t feel right I was told “Oh that’s not a big deal”, “Every pregnant person has that”, or “ Yep…that happens”. With Nikki, she took every concern seriously and explored things until I was put at ease. I had NEVER experienced this in any doctors office.

Our daughter was born in a birthing pool in my bedroom, and it was wonderful, but even then I wished I had someone else there to help me through my contractions. My husband was getting things set up, so Nikki had to stop what she was doing to help me through a few of my contractions. A doula would have made the whole experience even sweeter.

All of my experiences have made me realize how important doula work is, especially postpartum doula work. I am naturally a nurturer. I want to make sure that those around me feel welcomed, loved, and cared for. I cannot think of any better way to use the gift that I have than to give to other birthing people. I want to be able to advocate for you and validate that what you are feeling and going through is real, and those thoughts and feelings should be taken serious.