Colleen has been an unbelievable help during our time welcoming our first baby! From helping us…read moreset up the nursery and giving us tips about our furniture and room arrangement to teaching us how to swaddle and wear our baby to giving our dog lots of supplementary cuddles to reassuring us that we're doing everything right, Colleen's support was welcome and incredibly useful. Being able to nap and come out to a happy baby and a clean kitchen is priceless! We really appreciated Colleen's expertise and sense of humor, and kindness in never making us feel silly despite having no idea what we were doing. It was terrific to have someone so trustworthy and capable during what could have been a very overwhelming time. We will always be grateful to Colleen for her role in helping us find our footing in these first precious months!

My husband and I were both so happy we had Bethany as our doula. She was awesome prenatally - I had…read morea stubborn placenta previa and didn't know whether I would need a c-section or not until I was nearly 35 weeks along. She provided a lot of information, thoughts, and reassurance during those months of uncertainty and anxiety, but she was also fantastic during labor. You know when someone just somehow *knows* what to do? Where on your back to rub and what words you need to hear? That was her! Bethany is also the reason my daughter wasn't born in the car, or (accidentally) at home in my living room! She knew when I needed to go to the birth center, even though I was worried it was too early (it was NOT too early - baby was born an hour after arriving at the birth center). And, as others have mentioned, her photographs are a great bonus! I have some beautiful photos of me and my husband shortly before my daughter was born that I will always treasure. If I were going to have another baby, I'd hire Bethany again in a heartbeat.

Wow, where do I even begin?! I could write pages about how wonderful Ellie is and the impact she…read morehad on my birth preparation, labor, delivery, and beyond! Ellie is an incredible doula and human being. Thanks to her, I had the positive birth experience I envisioned and went into labor feeling informed, empowered, and supported.Her hypnobirthing class was invaluable! Beyond learning breathing techniques, affirmations, and mindset tools, Ellie helped me believe birth can be a beautiful, positive, and empowering experience. That belief stayed with me throughout labor. My labor was fast and intense. I vividly remember my husband calling Ellie, and the moment she walked through the door, everything shifted. Hearing her voice and feeling her calming presence and hands-on support changed the energy in the room. I felt grounded, empowered, and ready. My husband and team were amazing, but Ellie brought a different level of expertise and intuition. She knew how to change my positions, guide me through contractions, and apply counterpressure. She seemed to know what I needed before I even did! There were so many moments when I felt I couldn't keep going. She had an incredible ability to reframe my thoughts, remind me of my progress, and help me find strength when I felt I had none left. After 3 hours of pushing, her coaching and unwavering belief in me helped me bring my sweet baby into this world. Ellie always reminds me that I did all the work, but I couldn't have imagined doing it without her. I will forever cherish my birth experience, and she was instrumental in making it so positive and empowering. I knew from our first conversation that Ellie was special, and I'm so grateful I trusted that instinct. Ellie, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your compassion, knowledge, and gift of making women feel strong and supported. I'm forever grateful you were part of one of the most meaningful moments of my life!

Ellie is an absolute gem. My husband and I first worked with her as a sleep consultant during a…read morebrutal 18 month sleep regression for our daughter. Both empathetic and whip-smart, Ellie helped identify specific actions we could take to get sleep back on track. It was so reassuring to make a plan with her and to have real time follow up so that we could course correct and adjust as needed. When we encountered some challenges with the 2 to 1 nap transition, Ellie was the only person we wanted help from and once again she was exactly the resource we needed. We also felt SO supported by Ellie as a birth and postpartum doula for our second child. Using zoom, email, text, and phone, Ellie was like an expert big sister in the weeks leading up to the birth, as well as in the beginnings of labor, and most especially in the early postpartum period. The birth escalated so quickly that there wasn't time for zoom support, but honestly the postpartum support alone was invaluable (and thank goodness for Ellie's nudge via phone for us to hightail it to the hospital-- our son was almost born in the car). Her expertise in sleep and lactation along with being a thoughtful and experienced mom of three... I truly can't speak highly enough. We will forever be grateful to Ellie for helping us grow into happier, stronger parents, and she will forever be our go-to for all questions parenting / birth / sleep!

My husband and I feel so fortunate to have had Carolynn as our Doula for the birth of our first…read morechild. Carolynn provided vital support for us prior to, during, and after the birth of our son. When we first met Carolynn we knew that we wanted her to be our Doula. Both myself and my husband immediately felt comfortable with her and after talking with her for a while we knew that she was very knowledgeable and passionate about pregnancy and child birth. Carolynn was always available by text, e-mail, and phone to answer any questions we had and researched and provided us with any information we needed. We learned a lot during our home visits with Carolynn. During our second home visit we went over different stretches and positioning which was very helpful. When I went into labor, it came on quickly. Carolynn was quick to meet us at our home and helped me stay calm. When we went to the hospital, Carolynn set up a calm environment with dim lighting, LED candles and music. She was an amazing coach to me and an excellent teammate to my husband. My labor was long and Carolynn collaborated well with all of the nurses and midwives that we had. She stayed with us for a few hours after our son was born making sure we were all ok even though we had been at the hospital for about 36 hours with not much sleep. My son had a slight fever after he was born and we had to stay at the hospital for a few days. Carolynn checked in on us often. When we got home I was not feeling well and ended up in the emergency room with a kidney infection while my husband brought our son to his first pediatrician appointment. Carolynn had called to check in on me that morning and stopped by and stayed with me while I was waiting for my father to bring me to the hospital so I was not alone. She even did the dishes while I showered. Carolynn came over for a postpartum visit once I was feeling better and stayed for a long time trying to help our son latch on to breastfeed. While we were not successful during the visit, Carolynn gave me the contact information for a lactation consultant that helped us. If you are considering hiring a doula, I wholeheartedly recommend Carolynn, she is truly amazing!

From the owner: Gentle Waves Birthing provides extremely professional quality support and education for expectant…read moreparents throughout pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. With a strong focus on education & comfort measures you will be well prepared for the birth of your baby. Call today for a free consultation & get started on your journey to a happy, more confident birth!

My husband and I hired Tara and Susanna as doulas ahead of our first child's birth in 2017, and…read morespecifically worked with Tara. We had a phenomenal experience, which resulted in working with them again for the birth of our second child in March 2021. In both cases, Tara and Susanna were tremendously helpful resources leading up to the delivery date. We always appreciated their candor and insights about what to expect and importantly, what our choices were (which was especially good to know during our first pregnancy). Tara and Susanna were always very responsive and detailed in their communication with us, and importantly, right ahead of the birth. For both births, I had a relatively quick active labor and Tara was there exactly when we needed her. She did an excellent job of ensuring my husband was involved in the labor process and provided us very helpful guidance on managing pain/new positions/breathing techniques. During my first birth, she proved to be a trusted advocate for me in a stressful situation (that almost resulted in an episiotomy), and although my second birth was relatively "uneventful", the quick nature of it made it very intense so we were grateful to have Tara's guidance and calm presence to help us through the birth. We feel very fortunate to have worked with Tara for both births, as her presence was extremely helpful in both cases!

My husband and I hired Susanna and Tara first as doulas, and later as midwives, to support us…read morethrough the pregnancy and birth of our first child. I simply cannot overstate how integral their care, compassion, expertise, and knowledge have been to the entire process of having our son. From the first prenatal visits with Susanna and Tara, they were open, non-judgmental, caring, and insightful. They worked with us to create a birth plan, sent us helpful information to assist us in making informed, evidence-based decisions for our son's care, and were always available for follow-up questions and discussions. Not only are Susanna and Tara both unmatched in their professionalism, but they are also kind, funny, brilliant, and the type of people who just make you feel comfortable and safe. When Covid began to surge as our due date approached, we reached out to them to consider a home birth and ended up contracting them to be our midwives instead of only contracting for doula care. It was the best decision we ever made during our birth and pregnancy process and I wish we had done it from the beginning. As midwives, Susanna and Tara provided the same level of care and insight as before, with an added level of expert care that we were impressed by time and time again. At the actual birth of our son, Susanna and Tara guided and comforted me through 10 hours of labor at home. I quite simply could not have done it without them. When I eventually needed to transfer to Mount Auburn for an epidural and what turned out to be a more complicated birth than anticipated, they accompanied me as far as they could to the doors of the labor ward (they were not allowed inside due to Covid), keeping me as calm as possible and helping me through every contraction with compassion and kindness all the way from our home to the hospital. Our son was born healthy and happy, and we came home to face the ups and downs of life as new parents with the knowledge that we were fully supported by Susanna and Tara. Their help became instrumental once again as I struggled with postpartum anxiety and breastfeeding issues--coming to my house at the drop of a dime when I was desperate for help, and only a phone call away to talk us through our challenges as they arose over the first few weeks. I cannot more highly recommend Susanna and Tara as doulas and midwives. In many ways, I feel like they saved me during my most vulnerable time and made me feel stronger and more empowered when I could have so easily felt defeated instead. Hire them. It will be the best decision you make for your entire pregnancy and birth!

We used Hilary as both our birth doula and for post-partum support. Hilary was incredibly easy to…read morework with and made pregnancy, birth and recovery in a pandemic so much easier for us. From the very first email, I felt comfortable with Hilary. She was responsive and informative without any judgment about our birth plan or choices. Hilary provided me with much needed education and confidence and allowed me to advocate for myself throughout my pregnancy. Hilary helped me feel comfortable with the induction process and was in constant communication until she arrived at the hospital. Hilary helped us create the best possible environment for labor and delivery and worked seamlessly with the L&D nurse and my partner to support me. Just as Hilary was incredibly valuable leading up to birth and throughout the labor and delivery process, she was just as critical to helping me have a healthy post-partum recovery. Hilary knew exactly how to support us as we navigated the hazy newborn days. She provided emotional support and helped with all of the mundane tasks like getting the dishes done and sorting baby clothes. Hilary is a wealth of knowledge about newborn care and early breastfeeding challenges. Most importantly, Hilary has incredible intuition into what would be helpful for brand new parents and she made our transition to parenthood as smooth as possible. I cannot imagine navigating this journey without Hilary and I am so grateful to the support she provided.

Hilary and her team were all top notch, and I would recommend them most highly to any newborn…read moreparent. We worked with Molly S for postpartum doula help. Molly was an invaluable support both emotionally and with practical help during a difficult time. It was like having a wiser, older sister help out and counsel a few times a week. She is kind, knowledgeable, and brings a lot of mom wisdom from parenting her own three kids. The back office structure and onboarding and contracting process were all fast and efficient. Highly recommend.

Teresa was incredibly knowledgeable. We had her for our first labor and delivery experience and she…read moredid an excellent home visit weeks before I was due which reviewed items we could do at home to prepare. Her presence at the delivery was comforting the entire day. She had me up and walking and arranged for me to have a ball in my room to work from. She also thought out of the box in terms of laboring positions and really made my experience so much better. She got a lot of photos I'll cherish forever that we wouldn't have had otherwise from the delivery experience. We had a wonderful post partum call too which just reinforced the confidence I have in her care (coming from healthcare myself). I'm so grateful I chose to have a doula and I'm so lucky to have chosen Teresa for this first experience. Thank you thank you! Recommend her highly!

Teresa is kind, calm, and very well-informed across a wide range of pre-natal, labor and delivery,…read morelactation, and post-partum issues. Her deep experience gives her the confidence and poise we were looking for to help guide us through this journey with our first child. We interviewed a number of doulas and she was clearly the best. She taught us the basics of childbirth, helped us navigate when to go to the hospital when labor began, worked very well with the L&D staff at the Brigham, and visited post-partum with notes on what happened to help us remember and process the experience. I recommend Teresa without reservation!

Ann was great. She was so good at keeping a very calm atmosphere, even when things didn't go as…read moreplanned. I ended up with a 36hr delivery and never once did I feel pressured into making things "move along". She was very good about informing me of my options without the feeling of being pressured into anything. I delivered at home to a 6.8Lbs baby boy. I couldn't recommend Ann enough. She truly cares. We love her so much and are so thankful to have had her by my side.

stay far away from this midwife! I moved to MA at 30 weeks pregnant and transferred into Ann's…read morecare, after a few meetings it was clear she wasn't very personable & did not seem to want to build a relationship. My husband & I were unable to find another homebirth midwife so late so we stuck with Ann as we thought she at least had the medical knowledge needed for homebirth. she claims she trust the bodies natural way to birth (as do we!). Well my water broke & while waiting for contractions to begin she suggested I just go to the hospital 10 hours in. Ann was unable to provide me with any support during that time, she did not suggest anything to help kickstart labor. I labored at home for 50 hours on my own, I asked her at one point to just come check my baby's position/ heartbeat to ensure she was still okay in there, Ann's response was she could be there in two hours or so, and that she'd be unable to tell anything with baby since I'm in labor (???) I'm not even sure what that means.. as that's her whole job. at that point I felt completely ABANDONED. my husband & I decided to go to the hospital for a non stress test since Ann now said she did not feel comfortable doing a homebirth because baby could not be doing well she stated (after never even coming to see me in person!!!) on our way to the hospital she asked me to call her & then said I was going against her suggestion by going in, but when I asked if I turned around & went home would she still do the homebirth she said no. Thus, 50 hours after my water breaking we checked into the hospital as we were ABANDONED by Ann after taking our 6k birth fee. now she is ghosting us and will not respond. this is NOT the compassionate care she claims to have, and this is NOT the first story I've since heard about her doing the same to others.

I had an amazing homebirth experience with Jessica and her team. I wish I had used her for my first…read morebirth. If you are considering a homebirth, I would highly recommend Jessica as apart of your story. She is compassionate, respectful, knowledgeable and professional. She is extremely clean and COVID-19 safe.

I am receiving my prenatal care with Jessica Mills, APRN, CNM, and planning my home birth through…read morecall the midwife. Really love the hospitality and knowledge they carry. It is relieving to know they work with insurances. I'm excited to plan my water birth in the comfort of our home, with my husband and 4 year old and looking forward to see the outcome with baby number two. Obviously, we can't predict if there will be emergencies or not, but having the support of the midwives keeps the anxiety levels down! Jessica is very easy to connect and bond with and always has an educated response to my questions. Wish I found her four years ago!