Lisa has helped me tremendously. She provides relevant info to the specific problem. She helped…read moreme write a birthplan, which Kaiser sort of followed. Breastfeeding was a disaster, from my low milk supply, baby being tongue tied, mastitis, the wrong size flanges for the breast pump that Kaiser gave me. Lisa helped me with homeopathic remedies, support, and information about medications that others have found useful (she does not prescribe or give specific medication dosing advice for prescribed medications). I don't know that I will be able to breastfeed, but it isn't for lack of trying, and Lisa made me feel better, that I have done everything humanly possible and if I can't it's not because I didn't give it my all. I highly recommend using her service. She is responsive, kind, reassuring, and just a lovely person who wants you and your baby to be healthy and strong. She loves babies and respects mamas. What could be better?

If you are wanting to hire a doula or have extra support, definitely hire Lisa. When my husband…read moreand I found out we were pregnant, I knew I wanted to have a doula assist with the birth. I also knew that I wanted to have a natural birth and that doulas could be a great assistance in reaching this goal. I spent a lot of time emailing doulas, a lot of them. Lisa was only one of a couple I heard back from. She responded promptly and was willing to work around our busy/late night schedule to set up an interview. Once we interviewed, I knew that I wanted to hire her. My husband was more apprehensive and had difficulty spending the money when he felt he would be helpful and not need a doula. However, he knew how much it meant to me and went with it. Throughout the pregnancy, we received so much useful information from Lisa. Any questions I had, she was always available to answer them. Towards the end of my pregnancy I had high blood pressure and my doctor wanted to induce me because of concerns regarding my blood pressure. I knew that it would be very difficult to have a natural birth with being induced but felt confident that given the support, I would be able to do it. I ended up having three different types of inducement measures, cervidil, a balloon, and pitocin. My labor was incredibly difficult, with a recommendation of an epidural discussed twice and a c-section discussed once. Lisa saved me from having to have any of this done. She suggested two specific positions to utilize while having contractions that are never done in hospitals. My doctor worked with Lisa and was willing to have Lisa try them with me. These positions saved me from having a c-section and made my goal of having a natural birth possible. She was not only available and there for me during my pregnancy and labor & delivery but afterwards as well. I have asked so many questions regarding breastfeeding and other things and she has always been available for me. She responds promptly to me and is constantly checking in on me (my baby was born 8 days ago). I cannot say enough positive things about Lisa. Hire her as your doula, it will be the best decision you can make. Following the delivery, my somewhat skeptical husband prior to labor and delivery said that it was worth all of the money we spent. He said hiring Lisa was one of the best decisions we made during this process. That, to me, says it all. Hire Lisa.

We had the best experience with Maureen, one of the many talented doulas at Brilliant Births. We…read moreopted for a private Laboring together class, and it exceeded every expectation. Maureen guided us with so much knowledge, warmth and patience. She gave us practical tools, hands on techniques, and the confidence we needed as we prepare for our baby. We both walked out feeling way more prepared. If you're looking for someone who empowers, educates and genuinely cares, Maureen is incredible. We're so grateful!

My partner and I recently completed the Hypnobirthing three week course at Brilliant Births. We had…read morean absolutely incredible experience, for many reasons--The information we learned was invaluable, but also the instructors' teaching styles and depth of personal experience they offered was appreciated, comforting, and helpful. They clearly have a deep well of wisdom and experience-based expertise to share. We started our class with Keira and absolutely loved her--originally we were a bit bummed to know we would have a different instructor for our last day of the course. However, it turned out that Heidi was equitably wonderful and all things lovely-- instead of only one great instructor and guide, we ended up with two...which leads me to believe you'll be in skilled hands with anyone you interact with at BB. We will definitely be returning to take advantage of their other offerings!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Loving Arms Childbirth Services' birthing class! Jessica Cristen was our…read moreinstructor, and she was excellent! She's a certified midwife and lactation support specialist, with years of experience. Taking this class was the best decision I made for preparing for the birth of our baby girl. (even with the countless books I read and classes taken from Kaiser) My birth did NOT go at all as expected, but thanks to these classes I was super well prepared about all the possibilities that could occur during labor & delivery and helped my partner and I be on the same page (and have my partner know how he could best support me). Thus when things started to go different than what we prepared for in our birthing plan, we were really able to navigate the various options skillfully and have educated conversations with our care team. This made me feel way more secure when my health was declining during delivery. Even though I didn't have the birth I pictured for myself, I felt I had a wonderful birth story thanks to the classes from Loving Arms and our care support team. The class is very comfortable, super educational, and a good place to meet other couples about to have babies too. The instructors here really care about helping new families, and have years of experience and maturity. Again, best decision to take this class here @ Loving Arms. So glad I chose them!

We are so grateful we found Loving Arms and were able to take their childbirth prep class. I didn't…read morewant to have a doula and these courses helped me feel so knowledgeable about what to expect during childbirth and allowed my husband to know how best to support me. The lactation support and honest expectations about what to expect in the first few days with a newborn were invaluable. I ended up not having time to get an epidural and without this class, I think I would have panicked giving birth. However, armed with the knowledge from the courses, I was able to get through it and have a positive experience. Another plus is that we were able to bond with the other couples in the class and are still in touch now 9 months after our babies were born. Highly suggest!

Deanna was not my doula; but I wanted a consultation with her to possibly become my doula. Her CV…read moreappeared impressive, an educator and DONA certified, which is why I emailed via Yelp and her website to set a consultation up....never received a reply. Ended up going with someone who was prompt and responsive. Expected more from a veteran doula.

When my husband and I were preparing for our first baby to be born, I knew I wanted to hire a doula…read morebecause I wanted to give birth naturally with no epidural or any other pain medications. We did our research and chose three doula services that we were interested in. After having multiple phone and in person meetings with all three, I knew Deanna was the right one for me. Meeting Deanna for the first time is like meeting a friend you haven't seen in a long time. She definitely gives you a sense of comfort. She's also very knowledgable and answered all of my husband's and I's questions we had about my pregnancy and prepared us for what to expect during labor and delivery. When that day finally came (about 2.5 weeks earlier than expected) Deanna and my husband were on it. Both of them worked so hard to make me feel comfortable. Deanna definitely helped my husband be more hands on during my labor which took over 24 hours. As much as I wanted to give birth vaginally, I eventually had to get a c-section after pushing for 6 hours and trying all the possible birthing positions Deanna recommended. I was also prepared going in to the operating room as Deanna also educated us about what would happen if I was to get a c-section. Deanna was by my side the whole time up until I had the c-section. When the nurses where not available Deanna was moving the bed to get me to a comfortable position and also helping me get to the bathroom. So if you're looking for a knowledgable doula with lots of experience and is hands on, I would definitely recommend Deanna.

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! :) :)

Working with Claudia for the birth of our 2nd child helped us heal from a traumatic first birth…read moreexperience. We went to the hospital feeling more prepared and we were able to work together and have a great birth experience. We will share that forever. Thank you, Claudia!

I highly recommend Claudia floral McCaffrey for Past life and inner child regression therapy…read more During the sessions Claudia was sensitive, courteous and empathetic which not only helped me overcome my challenges but also helped me move forward from the past trauma. This has been the best experience, one usually wouldn't open up easily however her professional approach made me comfortable and I trust her and her techniques completely. If I ever need again, I know I am always going back to Claudia. Can't recommend enough!

I truly couldn't have accomplished my VBAC goals without the incredible support of the Stork and…read moreSprout birth doula team. From the very first moment I needed them through labor and all the way until I was settled into the maternity floor with my new little boy, they were there every step of the way. Their calm presence, deep knowledge, encouragement, and advocacy made all the difference during such an intense and meaningful experience. I felt supported, empowered, and never alone. I am beyond grateful for their care and dedication and would wholeheartedly recommend Stork and Sprout to anyone preparing for birth--especially those pursuing a VBAC.

As a new parent, the postpartum period is challenging enough without having to deal with the stress…read moreand disappointment of a difficult agency. While Stork and Sprout does have some excellent doulas on its team who provided great support and coaching, my experience with the agency's leadership was overwhelmingly negative. We had a particularly difficult time with Brittany. She demonstrated a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting, and lying, both to us and, from what I understand, to her own employees. Our contract promised consistent coverage, but the scheduling was erratic and communication was poor. We were left to wonder many nights if we would have support, and for several weeks, we only received 1 to 2 days of support instead of the 6 to 7 we paid for. When we requested a refund for the services not provided, Brittany refused and even fought our bank with out-of-context emails and more lies. She claims she "offered a refund" but is even today refusing to honor it as she says in the response. The lack of professionalism extended to some of the staff as well; one sick doula was sent to our home and intentionally caused our newborn physical pain. Brittany treated us like we were the difficult ones and responded with empathy-less chatGPT emails to manage the situation. We were also led to believe we would have one primary doula with a backup, but over the course of our service, we had seven different doulas come to our home. This complete lack of continuity made an already difficult period even more stressful. Based on my experience, I would advise new parents to skip Stork and Sprout and work directly with an independent doula. You will not only save the 30-40% extra fee the agency charges for scheduling, but you will also avoid the toxic and difficult management. This experience is unacceptable for a service that costs tens of thousands of dollars and demands payment upfront months ahead of providing the service. We were not able to switch easily due to the inflexible Carrot reimbursement process through the employer.

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!

Talia was recommended by another Doula who was unavailable during our birth window. We hit it off…read morewith Talia right away - she is warm, engaging, and clearly passionate about what she does. She squeezed in two prenatal visits even though we didnt reach out to her until late in our third trimester and I ended up going 10 days early. She also texted almost every day to see how I was feeling, get updates from the OB, and offer advice. Our actual labor ended up far from plan - my water broke aggressively and we were unable to labor at home. Our son was sunny side up, resulting in excruciating back labor for ~16 hours mostly unmedicated. Despite wanting a natural labor, I ended up with an epidural, then pitocin, and, eventually, an urgent c-section (squished cord and pelvis too small). Through all of this, I was very grateful to have Talia. The physical support she provided during the unmedicated back labor was critical. She spent over 12 hours doing hip squeezes, other back/hip massage technique, and assisted in the shower (as well as guiding my husband through much of the same). She also provided calming elements like aromatherapy, LED candles, and reminded me to eat and drink. She also struck a good balance between offering advice/guidance and deferring when necessary to the Drs/nurses. Would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a Doula. While Talia is still a relatively new doula, what she lacks in experience she makes up for in attitude and personality.

Talia is an awesome doula! I felt so lucky having her as my birth doula. She has a ton of knowledge…read moreabout all things related to pregnancy, child birth and breastfeeding. She worked with us to create our birth plan. She texted daily to see how I was doing as it got closer to my due date. Due to other circumstances I ended up having a c section and Talia was right there to support both my myself and my husband. She even helped to get us breastfeeding very quickly which I was so grateful for! Honestly I don't know what I would have done without her. I feel so lucky to have had her as my doula. Post birth she checked in often and was always available to answer any questions we had or if we needed an extra set of hands to help with our daughter. If you are looking for a birth or postpartum doula I HIGHLY recommend Talia.