March 18, 2019

Amanda Volk
400 Old New Windsor Rd
Westminster, MD 21157

Subject: Recommendation for Ashley Tote

To Whom It May Concern,

It is with great pleasure that I write to recommend Ashley Tote for a graduate nursing position with the Labor and
Delivery Unit! She has been a friend for almost 10 years, and I was lucky enough to have her as my doula for the birth of
my son in 2018. In short, I would have been absolutely lost without her to help me navigate pregnancy and the delivery.

During my pregnancy, Ashley walked me through what to expect during the delivery – I wanted to try to have a natural
birth, so she helped me understand what would happen and how we would handle various scenarios. I valued her
knowledge of labor and delivery for this because I was terrified and clueless, but wanted to know everything that would
happen so I could be prepared. She went through everything from what labor might feel like to who would be in the
room with me during the delivery, and what all their roles would be.

While we were in the hospital room preparing for delivery, she held my hand, rubbed my back and kept me informed on
what was happening. Having known me for 9 years at that point, she knew that it would be comforting for me to know
exactly what was going on around me; I love learning and find the medical world fascinating, so she went above and
beyond to make me feel relaxed by keeping me informed on what the medical personnel were too busy to communicate
with me. For example, when they inserted something to check on the baby’s heartbeat, she explained to me that exactly
what they were using, how they were inserting and attaching it, and what it would tell them. There were so many
people and everybody in the room had different roles, so as they were bustling around she stayed right by my head with
a running commentary on what needed to be done and who was responsible for doing it. Looking back, I was also
comforted by the enthusiasm with which she spoke about the labor and delivery process – it was obvious that she loved
the work she was doing and had genuine passion for everything involved.

I have heard birth stories from friends, family and co-workers, and many of them found the experience to be not-so-
pleasant. Their entire birth plan goes out the window, or the doctors and nurses are cold and/or distant and not
personal enough, or they feel like the people in the room care too much about their job and not about the actual human
being going through the ordeal. With Ashley, I felt that she not only cared about me and the baby, but the process as a
whole. She was extremely informed and spoke with comfort and ease about the various activities happening around me,
and remained calm when something alarming occurred (the baby’s heartbeat dropped significantly). After the birth, she
even told me what they were doing with the baby, what tests would happen and why. She had so much more
knowledge than I realized, and I am grateful for her being there and sharing what she knew with me. Even my OB/GYN
commented that she was more informed than most doulas he had worked with, and was impressed with her ability to
essentially narrate my labor for me.

If needed, I am happy to answer any further questions you may have about my experience working with Ashley during
my labor and delivery.

Thank you,

Amanda Volk
redheadoboe@gmail.com
443-340-4122