We LOVE Kristen!!! We interviewed 3 midwives in our search and picked Kristen because she is a…read morecompetent nurse (has the technical skills) and also so compassionate and down to earth. She has a lot of experience and that was clear the whole way through. On the rare occasions when she didn't know the answer to a question, she would investigate and get back to us. (My wife and I are writing this together.) Her visits to our home were relaxed and really informative. We didn't realize that we even had so many questions, and she would just talk with us and they would come up. She has great diagrams and handouts the whole way along that helped us understand exactly what we'd gotten ourselves into. The birth plan meeting was great and she facilitated all 5 people we invited, getting them ready for anything. She loaned us DVDs and books the whole way through so that by the time of the first contraction, we felt ready and confident that it would all go well. The labor was everything we hoped. We called Kristen in the morning and calmly assessed the situation, coming over while I was still in the beginning stages of labor. She talked with us and we laughed and walked the house together like old friends. She has a real knack for making me feel comfortable and reminding me to listen to my body. She was completely present when the going got tough, reminding me to breathe in a way that didn't make me crazy. Her midwife assist, Eva, was also a gem. At one point the baby's heart rate went down for awhile and she gave me oxygen and showed me how to help bring it back up. It worked like a charm. When his head seemed stuck, she was an amazing cheerleader and after about 90 minutes of pushing in our bed, I delivered the most wonderful, healthy baby boy. The aftercare has been great too. My mom was so impressed with how she checked in with my emotional as well as physical state. She has taken great care of us the whole way through. Did we mention she teaches prenatal yoga, and is a lactation specialist, and a part time school nurse, and speaks Spanish, and, and, and!?! Also, we're a queer couple and she of course was wonderful and open to that, asking all the right questions with a confusing extended family. We hope to have another child someday and would most definitely ask Kristin to midwife it into the world. See was wonderful in a million ways. We could write another 3 paragraphs why, but the baby's up and we're off to enjoy him! Good luck with your search. You won't go wrong with Kristen. (ps. read the filtered reviews!)

My husband and I always knew that we wanted to have a home birth so, practically the day after I…read morefound out I was pregnant, I started researching midwives around the Bay Area. I arranged to meet with four midwives, Kristen being the last one and, almost immediately after our interview, we knew we had found our midwife! Kristen fit everything we were looking for. She is warm and friendly, very trustworthy, extremely well qualified and very open about her policy of transparency through honesty in every aspect of her care. We started prenatal care so early on in my pregnancy (11 weeks) and, because of that, Kristen was the only provider I saw throughout the entire time. The care she gave was amazing and I can't imagine having seen anyone else. For each visit, Kristen came to our home and spent time discussing the medical/physical aspects of pregnancy as well as the emotional and mental experiences we were going through. She never judged or belittled our questions and was always open to answering them fully with her own knowledge, PDF articles and the books or DVDs from her own library that she lent us. Everything was so comprehensive that we really felt like we were in control of our birth process and the decisions surrounding it. Kristen really emphasized that we were a team and active participants in our birth and that we were as responsible in our learning and preparation as she was in monitoring the growth and development of our baby and my body. That shared responsibility, and the homework and exercises Kristen gave us along the way, really gave us the means to grow both as a couple and as new parents-to-be going through this experience for the first time. Kristen was extremely flexible with our needs throughout. While she recommended certain diagnostic tests, she never forced her opinion on us. She gave us the information and allowed us to come to our own conclusion about what tests and procedures we wanted to have done. Kristen also readily accepted and encouraged a lot of partner participation. This meant that she was flexible in changing around her schedule to meet with us when my husband was home from work. Those times were extremely necessary in making sure that he was as prepared as I was for what was to come. Finally, there was never a doubt that we could always reach Kristen whenever we needed her. We always had options of getting in contact, whether it was an emergency or just a quick question. That level of availability was invaluable. For my birth, Kristen was so calm and supportive. She refocused my breathing so that I could easily birth my baby and made me feel safe and secure throughout the whole process. The immediate postpartum was precious and Kristen made sure to take care of me and my baby while still respecting the new family bonding time. Postpartum care has been equally as wonderful with Kristen monitoring my healing process, the baby's growth and our transition into parenthood. She helped us troubleshoot breastfeeding issues in the very beginning, showed Papa how to properly burp his new bundle and offered suggestions for diaper rash and all sorts of other first-time parent woes. While I could go on and on about everything we love about Kristen, the bottom-line is that she was the best choice for us personally and for the birth we wanted. We love her dearly and have come to regard her as more than a midwife; she is a friend. There is no doubt that, when baby #2 is on their way, I will make sure Kristen is there to see that baby come into the world. We are so grateful that such a beautiful, caring, gentle, qualified midwife was with us when our little girl made her debut.

Dorin was one of the best parts of early parenthood. She was with us for 8 weeks and brought so…read moremuch joy, peace, and compassion into our lives as we began our parenthood journey. When I first met Dorin via a FaceTime interview, I was crying due to hormones and some post birth challenges, and she was present and kind and she wasn't deterred by my emotion. For the next 8 weeks, Dorin was up with me at night while I pumped and cared for our baby when they woke up. I always looked forward to the nights Dorin was here and we miss her already. I couldn't recommend her more to anyone who is considering a night doula. Lastly, personality fit with a night doula is really important and Dorin was a great balance of being knowledgeable without being pushy about her ideas or recommendations. She will always have a special place in our hearts.

Our family was so lucky and grateful to have worked with our wonderful doula from Bay Area Night…read moreDoulas: Dorin Chromoy. She took care of our daughter right from the day we got home from the hospital until her eighth week, coming several nights/week from 10pm-6am. During that time, it really felt like Dorin was part of our little expanded family. She would come each night and talk to us for a few minutes about our daughters day, and give us advice about any questions we had. From the get go, besides the obvious help of allowing us to sleep uninterrupted for a few nights a week, she was so knowledgeable about everything related to the fourth trimester, from baby spit up and sleep to helping me latch in the early days. She helped us through a rough patch in the early days when our baby needed to go into the NICU, providing support and kindness and also helping her to relearn how to latch after she got used to faster flow nipples in the ICU. She also gave us lots of great recommendations on baby items to help our baby be more comfortable and sleep better, including items for gas, sleep swaddles and bottle nipple sizing to help with feeding. She also helped give us tips on how to instill good sleep habits in our daughter, including getting her lots of sunlight during the day and providing us with example sleep routines when she was a few weeks older. She also helped to clean bottle and pump parts before she left which was so helpful! She also obviously loved our daughter and was so gentle and patient with her all the time. Dorin was also extremely respectful, never pushy and only provided advice and information while still respecting our decisions as parents. I also appreciated that due to COVID, she was very proactive about being vaccinated! I definitely felt like she was protecting us as a family, especially our newborn daughter. We would text her constantly throughout that time with questions that dumbfounded us from simple things like "is this little dot on her skin normal?!" To much more serious questions like "what can we do to help her sleep better?" Every time she would come back with clear, knowledgeable answers backed up with research and science which helped us understand how to proceed. She helped us instill the earliest forms of sleep habits for our daughter and now she's basically sleeping through the night at 10 weeks! Even now after she has stopped coming, we still text her with questions about our daughters sleep and feeding routines and she always takes the time to reply. We really feel like we lucked out with Dorin! We honestly were not sure in the beginning if we should hire doulas to help, but honestly this is the best investment we could have made not just in our sleep but also in our education as first time parents. We highly recommend Dorin and all the doulas at BAND for any parents who want emphatic, warm and knowledgeable "professional moms" to help in their fourth trimester!!

It's 8pm on a Saturday night and I am relaxing on my couch having a glass of wine. My little man…read morehas been sleeping in his crib since he fell asleep there, ON HIS OWN, SEVEN minutes after we put him down - without a peep. You read that right. Since I have such ample time, this review will be a long one. I gave you fair warning. I'm not so rigid to think or expect that every night will unfold like tonight. There will be teeth! walking! talking! more regressions to come. However, a month after starting this process, it has become a reasonable reality for me to expect that on more days/nights rather than not (meaning NAPS and bedtime), he will go to sleep. It is a work in progress, but Dahlia guided us through it with the confidence and clarify we ourselves needed to provide to our son for the process to work. The backstory: At 11 weeks old, my son morphed from our lovely sleeping newborn waking twice a night to waking EVERY HOUR, needing to be soothed back to sleep...while sleeping in our bed. As the weeks dragged on, it became clear he was not going to outgrow this hiccup in an amount of time that would preserve my sanity (or marriage lol), and things were snowballing from bad to dreadful (more on that below). He eventually settled on a pattern of waking 4-7 times per night; however, he started having negative sleep associations to most every soothing trick in the book. I won't waste time listing such strategies or the gimmicks I bought on Amazon. Well-meaning folks always shared their soothing strategies. Well, if you can envision it, we tried it. Don't start to tell me about white noise and black out shades. Eventually, NOTHING WORKED except the boob. So sleep - meaning all naps and bedtime plus the night wake ups - became an hour long battle with raging, screaming, kicking, tears. All of which did not guarantee an outcome of sleep in the end! This was a vicious cycle on repeat at least 4 times daily which went on for almost two months (give or take some days where baby was so exhausted he slept well for a night or two). On top of this, I had impending abdominal and oral surgeries. Just icing on the cake. We knew we had to sleep train. After pouring through blogs and books about the various sleep training techniques and studies, I still had reservations (and extreme anxiety subjecting my baby to this), and needed someone to lead me through its ups and downs. Alright I'll be honest - sleep training is mostly down. It is painful. Gutwrenchingly PTSD painful if your baby is anything like mine. Enter Dahlia. She is honest, positive, supportive, respectful, and above all, will use her knowledge to SEE YOU THROUGH IT. She makes herself available and genuinely wants to help you. I cannot thank her enough and I definitely promise you will not get that from a blog. So dread. I used to DREAD naps and bedtime. The clock would hit 5:30pm and my heart would sink a little. My soul would wail a sad song. Now, I think about the time I can spend writing long reviews and blogging while he's sleeping. And the biggest plus? The little man wakes up RELAXED and RESTED and happy to see me. THANK YOU DAHLIA!

Dahlia is the BEST! We hired her for 3 months of postpartum work, which is no small task with…read moretwins! She was so caring, nurturing, and gentle with our babies, her experience was only outweighed by her sweetness and profound gift for "twinning". I feel so lucky to have had her work with us, she taught us (first-time parents) so much, from swaddling to bathing to infant massage! Every morning when Dahila arrived it was a ray of sunshine and positive energy, my babies responded so well to her songs, her feeding techniques, and her cuddles. We were so sad to say goodbye to her when it was time, and are almost jealous of the next family that gets to work with her! :) :)

My husband and I are SO glad that we decided to engage Lila as our doula for both birth and…read morepostpartum support. In the months leading up to our due date, she helped us develop a birth plan, and documented it with the utmost care to ensure that things went smoothly at the hospital. Even just the process of thinking through the details helped us prepare mentally for how labor and birth would unfold. There were A LOT of choices to make that would just have been decided for us (or where we'd have to make a rushed decision in the moment) had we not been thoughtful about our preferences ahead of time. The day I went into labor. Lila was in touch with us constantly, and knew exactly the moment when she needed to come and help escort us to the hospital. For both of us (the birthing parent and partner) having her calm and confident support made the entire process stress free, despite that we were diverted to a different hospital at the very last minute. Checking into the hospital while in labor meant I was NOT in a state of mind to answer the nurses' and doctors' questions. Lila made sure they had the right information, and were respecting our choices at every step. Post partum, Lila's support evolved in the 8 weeks that we had her with us. From breastfeeding training early on (critical to our sanity and mental health, not to mention the health of our baby!) to making sure we, parents, were fed/ got naps, to teaching us safe infant bathing techniques, Lila imparted her wisdom and supported our needs with her practical and kind demeanor. To top it all off, Lila was so sweet with our baby, holding him and talking to him with a deep sense of care. She set a great example for us, and she now feels like an aunt to our son. We are so thankful to have had her with us during this special moment in our lives.

Lila was so wonderful and caring.  She made me feel completely at peace and I trusted her with our…read moreson implicitly.  The hours I had with Lila in the house were the best hours postpartum.  Like having the best kind of friend with you.  I cannot recommend Lila enough.

We worked with Erin and Julia to welcome our 2nd baby and had a wonderful experience. Even though…read morewe were second time parents, it was our first time using doula care (thank you Kaiser!) and I can tell you that doula support made a huge difference. We met together as a birth team 3 times prenatally and then had post partum support as well. Our prenatal meetings were very informational and a great refresher as we prepared for our 2nd daughter. I had a c-section due to a breech position the first time around, and having a toddler at home, I knew I wanted to try for a VBAC. Erin and Julia listened to our wishes and helped us prepare for a realistic birth plan with our end goal in mind. Baby sister ended up being induced at 41+3 and Erin was an incredible support during the birth. She had suggestions for pain management that I wouldn't have thought to ask for during the long induction process. She supported me during hours-long intense contractions, and was an amazing advocate during the whole process. I'm so happy to say that I had a successful VBAC. Postpartum, the lactation support from both Erin and Julia was unmatched. My first baby had struggled with oral ties and body tension, and when my 2nd was born with the same oral ties, I cannot tell you what a sigh of relief it was to have Erin and Julia on call to set us up for success. Having postpartum doula support with a 2nd child also allowed us to have some special moments with our toddler to support her transition to being a big sister. Julia came over to cook us a delicious meal, and held the baby while we could spend some time with our toddler. I full-heartedly recommend the support of Erin and Julia to be part of your birth team. We had a wonderful experience working with them, and just reflecting to write this review is making me want to have another baby just so I can work with them again! Any family would be so lucky to have Erin and Julia's support.

Hiring Erin was one of the best decisions we made as first-time parents. From day one, she brought…read moreso much knowledge, warmth, and reassurance. She helped us understand our newborn's cues, feeding, sleep, soothing techniques, and so much more. No question was ever too small for Erin. She gave both my husband and me the confidence we needed as new parents. Her support during my breastfeeding journey was truly amazing. I went through mastitis that eventually developed into a breast abscess requiring surgery, and it was one of the hardest parts of my postpartum recovery. Her experience with lactation, practical advice, and constant encouragement helped me through one of the most difficult times. She also cared for our baby girl with so much love and tenderness, which gave us complete peace of mind. On top of that, she prepared the most amazing homemade meals. Her chicken recipe was so yum! We are so grateful for everything Erin did for us. If you're looking for a postpartum doula who is experienced, compassionate, professional, and truly passionate about supporting new families, I cannot recommend Erin highly enough.

We hired Melissa as our night doula for our second child, and it was one of the best investments…read morewe've ever made! From our very first Zoom consult, we just clicked -- her approach matched exactly what we were looking for, and she didn't push her own agenda. During our time together, Melissa was always super reliable and communicative. She showed up on time, gave us updates about how the night went via a shared doc, and provided the option of backup doula support for the few instances she was unavailable. She did baby laundry, washed bottles and pump parts, and unloaded our dishwasher so we were set up well for the following day. But what we loved most about Melissa was her steady, reassuring presence. From the get-go, she made it clear that she would center her care around our unique family needs and wishes. We had many practical, down-to-earth conversations about feeding and sleeping routines, always taking both evidence-based information AND our mental health into consideration. And with a healthy dose of humor, we were able to zoom out instead of sweating all the small stuff. It's this thoughtful and holistic approach that really made us feel supported and seen. Thanks to Melissa's support, we can confidently reflect on this postpartum time as one of joy and ease. We feel incredibly lucky to have found her. And if you're expecting ... do yourself a favor and book her!

Melissa was an incredible night doula to have by our side. She helped my wife with lactation…read moreexpertise and supported us through through the first weeks after our son's birth. Her calm presence and steady guidance made all the difference! She showed up for us with so much care and reassurance during a time that could have felt overwhelming. We can't recommend Melissa enough to any family looking for a doula who will truly show up for them!

I honestly didn't know exactly what a doula did until I spoke to one of my mentors and she…read moreenlightened me (and thank God she did!). I quickly asked fellow moms in my area for referrals and after meeting with a few over zoom, I felt this deep connection with Nattasha and decided to go with her. I was planning a VBAC and Nattasha supported my decision from day one. She was kind, attentive, warm and knowledgeable. I did have a traumatic birth experience with my first born and Nattasha was always very eager to listen to my fears and my hopes for my second birth. To prepare for the birth, she came over to our house a couple of times to discuss the process of labor, practice comfort measures, and generally talk me and my husband through our plans and emotions. I was especially grateful for how she worked with my husband, gently teaching him ways to support me in and around labor. It was nice that she included my partner in the process because they also need support to navigate all of this. From 37 weeks on, Nattasha was always available if I needed her. We exchanged texts and I constantly felt supported by her. When I went into labor at 39.5 weeks, she was ready to meet me whenever the hospital let her. During labor, my husband and I felt extremely supported by Nattasha. There was a lot of waiting and decisions to be made and Nattasha reminded me of all the things we talked about and never forced a decision on me. She took care of me like a mother would and I'm forever grateful. My husband was able to be fully focused and present because he was somewhat rested and had the support from Nattasha as well. In the end, I did have the most beautiful birth experience and we know that Nattasha was a huge part of it! After giving birth, Nattasha continued to support us by coming over to the house to talk and check in on us. We talked about my concerns and she provided a wide range of information that really helped me. If you are on the fence about hiring a doula, don't be. It was the best investment we did during this pregnancy and we highly recommend Nattasha!

I had always heard that having a doula throughout one's pregnancy and birth would be beneficial…read more But, I didn't realize how much of a difference it would make until I met Nattasha. I interviewed several different doulas and went with Nattasha because of how open and straightforward she was during our initial conversation - her warmth coupled with passion for creating a memorable birth experience drove me to choose her for our journey! Nattasha is incredible, to say the least! She was so caring from day one and provided so many insights for all the questions I had during our prenatal visits to ensure that my husband and I felt empowered to make the best decisions for our family. The prenatal visits were not only educational, but also provided an opportunity for us to develop a relationship that felt comfortable. With Nattasha, I felt cared for and supported 100%! She was a true advocate for what was best for me and I can't begin to express how important that was for me to feel ready to give birth. I can't emphasize how useful it was to have Nattasha in the room with us during labor -- her presence was calming and energizing at the same time. As soon as she thought I needed her physically present with me, she joined my husband and I at our place (and later in the hospital) to help me get through the hardest part of labor. And, for that, I'm forever grateful. Since this was our first pregnancy, I was overwhelmed and anxious throughout the process, but Nattasha eased my nerves not only during our prenatal sessions, but also during birth. I felt empowered, connected, and present throughout the experience, which is what I had visualized. Thank you Nattasha for being so phenomenal in every way -- we could not have had such a beautiful experience without your varied support. If/when my husband and I decided to have a second little one, I would, without a doubt, want Nattasha on my care team again!!

Having Myra as our doula for the first 6 months of our triplets lives was a true blessing. She…read morehelped us adjust to life with our babies. Her knowledge about postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, and newborn care is extensive. Her calm loving personality was a perfect fit. I am forever grateful to all she did to ease our transition to become parents of triplets!!! Jamie T

The Town Doula assisted me with placenta encapsulation after my second sons birth. I knew I wanted…read morethe service but felt completely unprepaired. Myra was very informative, from giving me a prebirth list of items needed for the plasenta storage, to the types of encapsulations and helping me choose the best service for my needs. She picked  up the placenta then returned it the very next day with a simple print out of storage information, and how these pills would effect me. She also told me now that I have her contact information to feel free to contact her with any questions. She was very pleasant, professional, and responsive to my needs. I would highly reccomend using town souls for any services she approves. This is a lady who you want in your corner the day of and thereafter. Thank you so much Myra for your help.  Sincerely,  Sara an Jason Will be using again for future services!