We took Rachel's class as second time parents after a difficult birth of our first child. She took…read moreextra time to talk with me about my previous birth and helped me understand what happened. I cannot thank her enough for her expertise and kindness and I left her class feeling so empowered. I was able to achieve the VBAC I so badly desired and I credit so much to Rachel's class. Cannot recommend her and her hypnobirthing class enough!!

Rachel's hypnobirthing class is amazing! Even as second time parents we learned sooo much (we wish…read morewe took the class before our first birth) and feel so much more confident and knowledgeable going into this second birth. The classes gave us such great tools to have in our toolbox and helped us understand so much about the birth process so that we feel more empowered. We would recommend this class to all expecting parents!

I can't express how much Liza's Bradley class shaped our pregnancy and birth experience! I walked…read moreinto class thinking, I don't know anything about birth and there is no way I'll be able to do it unmedicated. And I walked out of the class with so much knowledge and confidence, and my husband and I were able to achieve the fully natural birth we had hoped for! She was the perfect teacher and I would recommend this to ANYONE AND EVERYONE!

We took the very intensive Bradley Method class in person. It was a great class, but I ended up…read morebeing 15 days past my due date even though I ate a disgusting amount of dates and drank more raspberry tea than anyone should drink. I walked, I saw a chiropractor twice a week, I did acupuncture, I did spinning babies daily, and everything else Liza recommended. I ended up getting induced and being in labor for 3 days which led to a c section. Trust me I did everything to avoid a c section. When Liza called to ask how it went and I told her, she scolded me for not doing more. That was so upsetting after such a traumatic experience. Also in 8 weeks of 4 hour classes, we never once touched on inductions and all the choices that come with that. I felt completely lost without the help of my doula (who only would come once you are dilated 8 cms), and without the guidance of the birth class. I spent so much time preparing for natural childbirth, that the medical induction and emergency c section that resulted left me feeling lost and unprepared. I wish someone had offered me some guidance for that scenario, and not guilt as though it was my fault for having it happen that way. I recommend her class if you know you will have a natural childbirth (which no one knows- the only thing predictable about birth is how unpredictable it is.)

Within minutes of meeting Kylie, my husband and I knew that we wanted her to be part of our birth…read moreexperience! As a first time Mom I was nervous about the process and had my doubts of whether or not I would be able to deliver naturally. Kylie taught my husband and I "hypnobirthing" techniques, checked in frequently, and was there every step of the way to reassure me that everything I was thinking and feeling was normal and OK. She has a very calm, non-alarmist demeanor which allowed me to remain fearless throughout the process (from pregnancy to delivery). My goal was to delivery naturally, which not only did achieve, but more importantly I had FUN doing it! Thanks Kylie, we love you and will see you for kid #2.

Kylie is so skilled in her line of work as a doula and hiring her was one of the best decisions my…read morehusband and I made. I recently gave birth to my first baby, a beautiful son, at Scripps Encinitas with Dr. Cap. With Kylie's help, we had a smooth, stress free, intimate and beautiful birthing experience. She provided valuable pre and postnatal information as well as helpful tools to prepare for labor & birth. Being a hypnobirthing instructor, she is an expert in comfort measures and creating an environment of trust & deep relaxation. We immediately felt a connection with Kylie from the moment we met her. She is outgoing, funny, open minded and excellent at reading emotions and anticipating needs. She cracked a joke when one was needed. She took over when my husband needed to rest. She provided us with comfort, reassurance and confidence during the labor process, which allowed us to stay home much longer than we would have had it just been my husband and I. She helped my husband be the best birth partner possible. Her communication was excellent- from answering questions during pregnancy, checking in with my husband via text during early labor, providing words of comfort and reassurance while laboring with us at home, and during the birth process to make sure we were fully present and did not miss any of the magic. She advocated for our birth preferences and spoke up to the nursing staff to make sure I was laboring in the best positions possible. She even handled everything with the placenta encapsulation. Because of Kylie I was able to have the unmedicated birth that I had dreamed of. We highly recommend Kylie and hope to work with her again in the future. If you are considering hiring her as your doula, do yourself a favor and say YES!a

I am so glad that I chose Beautiful One Midwifery for my care during my first pregnancy and birth…read more Kelly, Tiffany, and Christina all gave wonderful care, took time to answer all my questions, and never pressured any decisions. I always felt informed and supported in my decisions. After a long labor and successfully delivering my baby at home, I required a hospital transfer for extensive stitching. Tiffany drove me to the hospital and stayed with me the whole time, advocating for me and providing emotional support during the procedure. The postpartum care (in my home!) has been invaluable as I have navigated these first few weeks of having a newborn. The ladies would check on me and my newborn, provide breast feeding support, and answer any questions or concerns.

I had a baby in June of 2014 and decided that having a doula for my first baby - one I hoped to…read moredeliver naturally - would be helpful. I asked a friend who is very well connected in the birthing community who she would recommend of the names Id heard and she immediately said Kelly was outstanding. I was leaning that way already - her website was so thorough and she clearly cared about being thorough and stretching to extend all of herself and the resources she had to support her clients - but also just to be a resource to anyone visiting her page which I loved. I also wanted placenta encapsulation and she was able to offer doula services as well as the placenta services - and she also teaches a birthing class which I was able to watch online - so great!! I came to realize that my biggest need was someone to talk to prior to the birth to learn about exactly what was going to happen. Also - I would find myself with free-floating anxiety. The initial meetings with Kelly and my husband and then the availability to text or chat when stress or fear hit was honestly one of the best things I got out of our Doula relationship. Kelly was so able to validate and yet present either her experience, observations, or just a way to think about giving birth that removed the fear I didn't expect to have. I ended up being induced - during the two weeks "overdue" I was especially anxious and Kelly was again a helpful calming voice. The day I went in for the induction I was terrified. She had given me a link to online meditations Id been listening to for the last month and I was able to listen to them there while the contractions started. It was the perfect way to begin labor. It was also cool to have subtle but definite encouragement to go into myself and not worry about holding conversation with the others in the room. The labor ended up being awesome - no epidural, I was stronger than I expected and Kelly was there encouraging me but not "coaching" me. As the pushing continued and it became clear that I was going to need a c-section, she was again a good counterbalance to look to as my husband and I reconciled that it was indeed the way to go. While the crash c was happening, Kelly was there talking with my husband while they waited. After the baby was delivered, Kelly was there in the room to ensure my skin on skin feeding request was granted and Im really grateful that she took photos in case I wanted them of my first moments with baby. I was still under anesthesia and everyone else there was meeting the baby and stabilizing him. I'm so grateful to have those pictures to see what I couldn't experience consciously. Kelly came over after the birth to check in and see our baby again and chat through the day. I had some residual questions about maybe had I squatted longer, I could have delivered naturally etc. Kelly was quick to share her perspective having been there and to also encourage me to get the medical records so I could see exactly how it went down. I wouldn't have thought to do this - it was really informative and reassuring to read what happened and to see that we made good choices in the heat of the moment to ensure a healthy birth. Kelly's insights and experiences were so helpful. She also gave me a great lactation resource when I struggled with breastfeeding after the c section. I couldn't do the placenta encapsulation because of the c section so I can't review that - but I can assuredly say that my experience was what I hoped for an more and I was so much more prepared and supported at every stage because of Kelly. She is a nurturer, a super knowledgable professional (I loved that she has a masters in psychology too - so well able in dealing with highly emotional situations), and just a lovely grounded purposeful woman. She is not only a part of the birthing community but she creates a community for her clients to continue to support one another as we mother. I'm so glad I found her and highly recommend.

Jaqulynn is THE best! She is a jack of all trades and can support you through all aspects of birth…read more She offers massage, lactation consulting and placenta encapsulation. If you are pregnant she is the support you are looking for to guide you through this life changing experince. Can't recommend her enough!!

I would recommend to every mother!!! Receiving personalized, top-quality care before and during the…read moreearly stages of motherhood is so impactful and wonderful! Jaqulynn is so knowledgeable and supportive! Loved having her support

I had such a great experience with Briana! She came to our home a few days after birth and…read moreimmediately made me feel comfortable and supported. She took her time checking baby's latch and weight, helped me understand what was going on engorgement and clogged ducts, gave me simple, realistic steps to move forward and created a personalized breastfeeding plan for me. She explained everything in a way that actually made sense and didn't make me feel overwhelmed. You can tell she truly cares about the families she works with. I left the visit feeling relieved, confident, and so much more prepared. Highly recommend her to any new mom looking for thoughtful, evidence-based lactation support.

I've worked with Brianna as one of my midwives, and as my lactation consultant, and she's…read morefantastic--absolutely saving my breastfeeding experience from being constantly painful (excruciating) to finally pain-free! It took a process of trial and adjustments to find the right pumping phalanges in the right size, and make micro-adjustments to baby's positioning on the boob, but Brianna was so helpful and knowledgeable every step of the way. I came out of every session with her feeling hopeful and more empowered, and I'm so happy to say: Baby and I now have the hang of this thing! (Because I was really, really ready to quit. There is no pain like breastfeeding pain. Hiring a professional to sort it out is 1000% worth it). Brianna has been a must-have for my baby team.

I am very grateful and thankful for the Doulas of North County (DONC). I had found them through…read moreinstagram during the time I was pregnant, seeking information and support for my birth preparation. The website and their social media resonated with me, mainly with what Kelly had said, ""There is no one "right" way to birth your baby. Birth can be beautiful in a hospital with an epidural, at home in the tub, in the OR via belly birth, or anything in between. Birth is beautiful when you feel knowledgeable, supported, and heard throughout the process." Writing this does give me some ick memories, but I want to share how DONC supported me. I booked a discovery call with Kelly and also tried another doula company at the time. I felt more comfortable with the discussion I had with Kelly on learning how the Doulas of North County work. I ended up going with a package that included working with birth doula support, placenta encapsulation, and postpartum doula support. I liked their support structure, and how there are two doulas assigned for birth doulas, in case one of them were to fall sick/something happens. I felt they were super prepared and they so much support and guidance during the entire pregnancy to postpartum. As I'm in the thick of it now postpartum (2ndish month), reflecting back, this was honestly one of the best investments that we had made. I had to get induced as I was on week 40 and I had gestational diabetes though controlled. I did a balloon which mechanically dilated me by 3-4 cm, and I was fine. Then, as fate would have it, my neighbor triggered me after giving unmedicated 2 hour birth (lucky her, unlucky me) during the night. I can still recall those screams, haha. I ended up going into labor for 16 hours. It was painful, pain I've never experienced before - with birthing combs and all. My birthing doula (who was on call), Shaina arrived during the time I was in pain and helped ease as much of it as possible. I don't remember when she arrived, just having her support me during my time of need. My poor husband could not do anything to help as I was screaming and crying due to the pain. He managed to get a few hours of rest, due to the encouragement of Shaina, who was supporting me. I had originally opted for a natural birth - which clearly did not happen, as I went through all the medications (lowest impact to highest - aka epidural) which increased the intensity of my contractions. We had prepped for epidural worse case scenario. Shaina and team checked in with my husband, supporting us through any questions we had along with our experience at the hospital on what we were being told. I had developed a fever while in labor, and after my OBGYN explained and gave context on why she recommended the C-section. Due to the reasons on the time, especially with the fever, we chose to go with the C-section. My son was delivered safely. For postpartum support, we had booked a package of hours at the time, at a hefty price. However, that hefty price is a HUGE investment on sanity. I highly encourage any new expecting parent to consider postpartum support. We don't have family here to help, like some of our friends. Our postpartum doulas were a mix of day and night, Emma, Steph, Madison, Camryn, and Amanda were literal saviors the times we had time. My husband had to provide for both myself and my son in taking care of both of us (figuring out our sons cues as a first time parent on his own), neglecting his own sanity and health in the process. He literally was single parenting the first month, as I couldn't do much to help him, due to the C-section disabling me. Thankfully due to booking postpartum support, he managed to gain a few hours of sleep and rest. As a first time parent, there is so much you don't know, and so much you can't think of when you're sleep deprived several nights in a row. I don't think we could have gotten to this point of where we are now, without the DONC. They provided us emotional check ins during the process and helped to guide me on how to take care of him, along with questions we had while figuring our son out. They may not have much reviews on Yelp, but they have several testimonals on Google. Definitely do your research and see if they fit your vibe along with your budget. I would recommend Doulas of North County to any new first time parent.

My mother used to always talk about people whom she thought were old souls. It wasn't until…read moremeeting Brooke that I truly understood what she meant. My husband and I knew the moment we met her that she was exactly who we wanted to guide us through the birth of our daughter. Brooke is kind and warm, and has a sense of calm about her that is unlike anyone we met. She knew the answers to our numerous questions. She was my rock when I was almost two weeks late and was so worried that my baby was never going to arrive! I look back now on the video that Brooke created for our family of my daughter's arrival and seriously tear up every time. My delivery was exactly how I hoped it would be. I have Brooke to thank for that... Even now, four months since my delivery, Brooke continues to be supportive and a huge resource for me. I can't say this with enough emphasis, but she's freaking awesome.

I cannot put it into words the support I got from Brooke during my pregnancy all the way until my…read morebaby was born! She is extremely knowledgeable, professional and caring. Brooke is one of those people who enjoys what they do and because of that she is awesome at it. I had so many doubts, fears and emotions running through my head. She was able to get me to a state of peace and confidence. I had the birth experience of my dreams! My husband keeps telling me that it was the best money spent during my pregnancy. The reason he says that is because during birth he was able to relax and not have to worry about dealing with unanswered questions and things he wasn't sure what to do. I would recommend her to all my good friends and can't wait for my second birth to have her care and support again!