I am eternally grateful to have connected with Keli during the most difficult time of our lives. She helped my husband and I navigate many stages of grief with such compassion, tenderness and knowledge. Support was always tailored to our sensibilities and evolving needs. Her calm, radiant energy offered us a truly safe space to share, be heard, and process our grief. Keli’s services filled a major gap in bereavement care that my therapist or doctors were not equipped or designed to address. I would strongly recommend her to anyone going through the unimaginable.

Keli was an incredibly supportive and knowledgeable doula. My birth story at Providence Hospital would not be the same without her support, millenial humor, experience, and care. She really got to know me and my wife and our values, and was able to provide valuable insight on a queer experience of giving birth. She advocated for our wants and needs every step of the way, and worked perfectly in line with the medical team at Providence to make sure my wife and I were really seen and heard. When things got a little scary, she was right by my side to explain what was happening and reassure my worries. She stayed by my side when my wife and son took a little trip to the NICU, being the rock I needed to stay calm. She herself is a pillar of calm, strength, and advocacy. She felt like not only our doula, but a treasured friend and a relationship that will far surpass this birth! Highly highly recommend, especially for queer couples who are looking for a doula who understands the nuances of the queer experience and advocates for your needs.

Having Keli as our birth doula was the best decision we've made on our pregnancy and postpartum journey. Keli is a perfect balance - she tactfully and assertively advocates for you during labor and delivery, empowers you with the right education to advocate for yourself both pre and post delivery, while also encouraging you to let go of your anxiety about some procedures that do more good than harm. It never felt like she brought in any preconceived notions of what's ideal and not, and completely built off of our preferences. She made us feel so reassured, met with us several times to prep us, was with us every step of the way and was the greatest strength to me during childbirth and postpartum. She truly cares, is always so proactive and reliable. She feels like my baby’s aunt now :) - you can't go wrong with having Keli on your team.

We really appreciated working with Keli Schurman-Darby. She is brings experience, perspective, expertise, and positivity to the pregnancy and birthing experience, and we were really grateful to have her support us during labor. We had some complications pop up and we ended up getting started much earlier than we had planned, and Keli was with us to help us focus and relax. After the birth, she answered our questions and offered reassurance and additional guidance. We highly recommend working with her!

We interviewed four different doulas and immediately knew Keli was the one. From our very first conversation, we felt an instant connection — she made us feel comfortable, heard, and deeply aligned with our family values. That sense of trust only grew from there. Before the birth, Keli met with us multiple times to go over our birth preferences and walk us through what to expect at Overlake Labor & Delivery. She helped us feel truly prepared and confident, while also reassuring us that our wishes would be respected. Knowing she would be there not only for support, but also as an advocate and mediator with hospital staff, gave us so much peace of mind. Once labor began and we called her in, Keli was an absolute calming godsend — and truly a labor positioning guru. As a first-time mom planning an unmedicated birth, I faced some intense and scary moments, including baby decelerations. Through it all, Keli helped both me and our baby feel safe and well cared for. Whenever I needed a hand to hold, a grounding touch, or encouragement, she was right there reminding me that I was strong and capable. During particularly stressful moments — including when the hospital team seemed slow to respond and my OB wasn’t present when I was ready to push — Keli remained calm, steady, and supportive, helping keep my husband grounded as well. Her presence made an enormous difference in how safe and supported we felt during the birth of our son. We also asked Keli to capture photos during the birth, and we are beyond grateful for the beautiful, emotional moments she documented — they are memories we will treasure forever. As if her birth support wasn’t incredible enough, Keli has continued to be an invaluable part of our lives as our overnight postpartum doula. In the midst of sleep deprivation, feeding challenges, and all the unknowns of first-time parenthood, she has provided endless support, practical guidance, and thoughtful resources to help us overcome hurdles and feel more confident as parents. We could not be happier with the care, compassion, and expertise Keli has provided — both in bringing our baby boy into the world and in caring for him afterward. We are so incredibly grateful to have her in our lives and cannot recommend her highly enough.

We hired Keli as an overnight doula for our newborn, and she was amazing. From our first meet and greet, we could tell she would be a knowledgeable and gentle source of support for both us and our baby. Once our daughter arrived and her overnight work began, we always felt she was in safe, loving hands. Keli fully supported our preferences and our feeding journey, and she treated all of us with such care. Each morning, she provided a thorough update on our daughter’s feeding, sleeping, and diapering, along with helpful suggestions to support better sleep. We slept better knowing our baby was with her, and we appreciated the extra rest her support made possible. We highly recommend her and are so grateful for her time with our family.

Keli is a warm, kind, calm, and happy presence which helped me through my pregnancy and birth. I had significant fear surrounding this pregnancy due to previous losses. Keli helped me navigate these feelings, and reminded me frequently to let myself feel the joy of the moment as things were going well this time around. I appreciated her clear and direct communication. Whenever we had a call she was prompt and professional, which gave me confidence. Keli is also continuously learning. She was able to answer my (copious) questions in detail, as well as gave me questions to ask my medical team when I didn't know what I should be asking. During my labor and eventual c-section Keli was a strong, calm advocate. She worked well with my Dr and nurses. She helped me voice my preferences, and took the time to make sure I knew what was going on at each step. She was exactly the person I needed in the moment.

Keli exceeded all expectations for what we thought a doula would be like. We hired her for birth and 2 weeks of postpartum support. We almost didn't hire a doula at all, but I am so glad we did. The birth process would've been much scarier and more traumatic many times over without Keli. My wife and I are not the kind of people who like things most people would consider "soothing". Hushed tones, positive affirmations, gentle massages are lovely, but when my wife is stressed and/or anxious (high emotions during a birth), they would actually have the opposite of the intended effect. What we find soothing is somebody who knows what's going on, has the tools to help, advocates for us, and does it all with ease. Keli comforted us with her expertise, techniques, and friendly banter. Though I have absolute confidence that she would be great at positive affirmations and gentle massage, she was able to read us and what we needed, and she tailored the experience accordingly. By the end of all the time we spent together, Keli was not just an expert that answered our questions and eased our anxieties, but legitimately our friend. She is helpful, knowledgeable, and immediately puts us at ease with her humor and good energy. Even our dog, who is terrified of most people, loved Keli pretty much immediately. We heartily recommend Keli to anyone looking for doula support, regardless of if you share our opinions what we find soothing. I cannot imagine anyone finding Keli anything other than a delight. You will miss her when your time with her is over.

Working with Keli has been an absolute joy and a privilege we hope every parent has access to. Choosing a Doula seemed like a daunting task at first, but the moment we met Keli we knew she would be perfect for us. She has provided thoughtful advice, has extensive knowledge on every aspect of the process, and provided care at every stage of our journey to giving birth to our first baby. She gave us space and encouraged us to talk through our worries and concerns, and reassured us of our decisions along the way. Keli was always accessible to us and responded extremely quickly to any questions that we had. Her communication skills via email, text message, phone call, virtual call, and in-person are second to none. Her calming presence and always positive demeanor helped us feel comfortable, confident and supported when things of course didn't go to plan. Through it all, we knew she had our backs and we were making informed decisions together. We felt so very lucky to have her in our corner on delivery day and are so thankful to have met her! Thank you for everything Keli, we can't imagine having done this with anyone else!!

Keli was my birth doula. From our first call in January 2025 to the birth of our son in July 2025 and beyond to the postpartum period, she has provided invaluable support in both big ways and small. While interviewing doulas, we were immediately struck by her warmth, knowledge, inclusivity, and non-judgmental nature. Throughout my pregnancy and even now (eight weeks after our son's birth), she has sent us countless resources and referrals and checked in about everyone's well-being. Originally, I was aiming for a low-intervention vaginal birth, but everything went sideways when a long induction followed by stalled labor resulted in an unplanned C-section. However, I didn't experience the birth as traumatic and don't regret the way things went, largely due to the support we got from our care team – and Keli was a huge part of that. During our hospital stay, she helped us think through our care options, ask questions of the various providers who cycled in and out of the room, and ensure that we had informed consent for every decision, including asking everyone to leave so my husband and I could have some time alone to discuss. After I made the decision to have a C-section, she stayed by my side the entire time in the OR and narrated everything that was happening, including the clamping of the cord, weighing of the baby, etc. This means that I was never alone, even when my husband went to the weighing table with the doctors. One of my fondest and most satisfying memories is seeing Keli hold our son after 24+ hours of labor. Last but not least, Keli is just a good person. The care and empathy she has for her clients always shines through, AND she's funny and fun to be around – which is key for those long hours at the hospital. Our unhinged conversation topics ranged from astrology to romance novels, fanfiction, pets, tattoos, TV shows, and more. All in all, hiring Keli as our doula was one of the best decisions we made during my pregnancy and we wouldn't hesitate to do so again. We definitely intend to keep in touch!