Greetings! I'm Karisa Totah, a certified birth doula and postpartum doula (through DONA International). I'm also Spinning Babies trained and a Body Ready Method certified Pro. I live in Littleton, CO with my husband, near my best friend and her babies. I serve the Denver Metro area, usually within 25 miles of my home. Birth, babies, and parenting have been a life-long fascination of mine, even since I was little. I nerd-out over the smallest baby and birth details and absolutely adore helping and learning from each new family I meet. I firmly believe that both the research and my experience support the idea that doulas reduce anxiety. The birthing year can be such a stressful one if you don't know what to expect, don't have the support you need, and don't have people watching out for you. I love filling in the gap to educate and empower, support and love, encourage and help you find joy in this journey. My motto is: "Replacing anxiety with courage, fear with knowledge, discouragement with hope, and overwhelm with joy."
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies: Social Sciences (2020)
Birth Doula Certification, DONA (2022)
Postpartum Doula Certification, DONA (2023)
Body Ready Method Pro (2024)
Spinning Babies trained (2022)
DONA International
House of Doula Denver
English
I offer birth doula services that include prenatal and postpartum visits. I focus on preparing you for birth, postpartum, and parenting your newborn. I educate on evidence based practices and support you in whatever decisions you make for your birth and postpartum experiences. My postpartum services are daytime, weekday only and focus largely on family adjustment, feeding, sleep strategies for the whole family, emotional support, and helping you create a solid support system.
We hired Karisa for postpartum support after the birth of our first child. She exceeded our expectations in so many ways. Her services cannot be captured in one review, but I will try my best. Karisa is extremely professional, passionate, and knowledgeable and we had the opportunity to meet with her prior to our baby being born. Karisa was so thoughtful about understanding the goals for our birth and ideal postpartum set up, she even ended up supporting with recommendations and body work when I was past-due and trying to naturally induce. Karisa was very flexible and worked within our changing schedule to support us when we needed it most. She helped prepare us for ever-changing eating and sleeping schedules, lactation resources and bottle feeding tutorials, and so much more. She provided so much text to help us decide what we wanted for our daughter and provided comprehensive guides for postpartum goals and schedules for us as parents. She is an invaluable asset to any family that is navigating birth and postpartum, and I am eternally grateful that we had her in our corner.
- Jenny L.
Karisa is a incredible doula. She supported me and my husband during my pregnancy with my second born (son). I feel so lucky to have found Karisa for this journey. My son was a very stubborn breech baby. Karisa spent time explaining what that meant for my delivery and offered ideas to help flip the little guy. Karisa attended my ECV, external cephalic version, a medical procedure to try to flip the baby. Leading up to this procedure I felt fine and knew there could be risks (water breaking, emergency c-section, etc). I wanted to flip my baby! Well the second before the doctor started I broke down and Karisa stepped right in. Suggesting ways my husband could help comfort me and she helped with my breathing. I felt she was orchestrating the room to meet my needs at that moment and everyone jumped in. Karisa showed so much love and kindness throughout the pregnancy and postpartum. Unfortunately, she was at another birth when my water broke, but she was in the hospital room via her back up doula who she was texting throughout the morning. I would fully recommend Karisa as your birth doula. She is thorough, well informed, has a library of resources, and wants you, mama, to feel informed and confident during each moment in the journey. Thank you Karisa for all you did for me, Dan, baby Leo, and Lily! You will always hold a special place in our hearts.
- Lisa R.
My husband and I worked with Karisa for the birth of our first child and could not have been happier with our choice! We were late to learn about the potential benefits that a doula could offer, and wound up reaching out when I was almost 37 weeks pregnant. Luckily, Karisa was available and incredibly accommodating - we were able to have several sessions at our home to get to know each other and discuss birth prep. A few days before our baby, Karisa also came and helped guide me through different exercises, massage, and the use of a TENS unit (which I dearly loved in early labor). Throughout the labor process, she was an incredibly calming and helpful presence, and seemed to know exactly how to be helpful while also letting us guide what we needed. She helped me to feel empowered to ask questions and think about various steps during my labor, and while I ultimately did opt for an epidural, has an impressive array of pain control options at hand that helped to get me through most of the process comfortably. She also worked very well with our medical team and felt like a bonus provider of sorts! After our baby was born, Karisa has checked in on us regularly by phone and her postpartum visits have been invaluable. She has brought little gifts and beautiful mementos that add a level of thoughtfulness which has been incredibly touching. We will be sad to not see Karisa regularly moving forward, and could not recommend her more highly - if we have another baby she will be one of the first to know and we very much would hope to work with her again!
- Sarah R.
Karisa was a wonderful doula for us at our first birth! I had some complications with one of my hips in addition to inconsistent (but persistent!) contractions and Karisa was so helpful! I was in a lot of excruciating pain when Karisa came to check on me. She knew of a chiropractor I should go see and she came with us to the visit! I truly believe my birth experience would have been much different if she had not suggested I go to the chiropractor. As it was, my pain eased off an hour or so after getting adjusted and I went into real labor three days later. Karisa was also an encouraging presence during my actual birth and afterwards. She sang along with me and my husband while I was in labor land in the tub and used various methods to relieve the pain. It was always a comfort to know that I could text my doula and that I had someone there who knew my birth plan and was ready to help me carry it through. I am so thankful I found Karisa!
- Katie M.
Karisa was a phenomenal doula for us! I had a transitive pregnancy because of my water breaking around 20 weeks and being admitted to the hospital until my c section at 25 weeks. Karisa was incredibly helpful during the pregnancy, c section, and especially postpartum as I was figuring out life in the NICU, pumping, etc. She was able to stay with me in recovery after the c section while my husband could stay with our baby getting transferred to the NICU. She is a very calming personality who is extremely knowledgeable and devoted to serving others. We are so thankful for her!
- Carissa D.
We had Karisa as the doula for the birth of our fist baby. She is very educated and met with us several times before the birth to help us be as informed as we could be as first time parents. She shared books and articles to help us with specific needs. Karisa was there for us even when we got some unexpected news and birth planes changed. She came prepared and ready to serve. Karisa was very respectful to our needs and desires of privacy after the birth. At our catch up date she processed the earlier then expected birth leaving us more at peace. Karisa is so kind and easy to talk with. She makes the whole process very comfortable. I would highly recommend her services.
- Olivia C.