When I came into labor and delivery to be induced with our second child, I was full of anxiety from our first birth experience. I was so nervous to relive the trauma and, immediately upon arriving, had an allergic reaction to one of the first medications, which certainly set things off on the wrong foot. When Nichol arrived, I was around 4cm and from the moment I met her she communicated how her only priority was supporting me in my delivery and advocating for what I wanted. My OB had not made me feel heard in my fears or given me options to help them at all. Nichol, however, went to bat for me to advocate for no catheter (which she didn’t know was a fear from childhood sexual abuse and something forced on me during my first delivery). Nichol fought for me to get low-dose Pitocin instead of the full course. Which time before was a painful trauma from the first delivery being turned up too high, too fast, and causing fetal distress. She equally supported me when I didn’t want an epidural and when I did. I was crying and shaking in absolute terror, and she held me and promised everything would be okay. I’ve never felt so supported and cared for in a medical setting. She wasn’t just saying it, or doing the minimum, she was literally letting me bruise her arm and being the calm in my storm. At no point did I ever have to worry about my safety with her, which meant more than I could ever express. She is the only reason my second birth resulted in no trauma and made an enormous difference in our experience of bringing our son into the world.