I took the 3-day birth preparation course with Amelia, and I couldn't be happier with the…read moreexperience! Her energy is truly unmatched. She explained every concept in simple, practical terms and made me feel so genuine cared for and we laughed a lot. While I expected the course to focus primarily on natural birth--and in many ways it did--it was completely free of judgment regarding medical interventions.

I reached out to Brilliant Births to find a birth doula. They offer a matching service and…read moreconnected me to 3 doulas who work independently (not employees of BB). We were really fortunate to find our birth doula (who we love!), but the other 2 candidates were not very impressive. The first doula missed our appointment with no follow-up communication. We were initially confused and thought she was the coordinator for BB, because she only communicated by text. The actual meeting was just by telephone so there was no face-to-face interaction, which felt strange. We could've easily FaceTimed or Zoomed. So communication and reliability were not great. The second doula abruptly canceled our half-hour appointment when we were 10 minutes late for a 30-minute appointment due to my husband wrapping up a Zoom meeting. During our appointment time, she was responding to my emails (in which I apologized for being late), but insisted she could no longer meet with us. I thought this was a really bad sign about what she would be like to work with - labor and delivery is rarely precisely timed and some flexibility is needed. In addition, her email said that she lives in Portola Valley, but we live Berkeley (also where Brilliant Births is located). This also struck me as strange, because it would take 1.5 hours for her to arrive to meet us at the hospital, which is not ideal.

We feel extremely fortunate that we got to have Keelia help us settle into being a family of four…read more She was a consistently warm and caring presence, not just for our new baby but for all four of us. And she has a special knack for just finding ways to be helpful even if we're frazzled and don't know what to ask. She's also very thoughtful about providing advice--in addition to answering whatever random questions we have, she gently offers advice without it ever feeling like she's forcing it on us or it feeling overly didactic. We could go on about how great she is, but the long and short of it is that she's amazing at what she does.

I am certain that my experience with Keelia made THE difference in achieving the birth of my…read moredaughter the ways that I wanted it- delaying at home for as long as possible, no pain meds and a positive, empowered experience. My biggest fears were my low pain tolerance and lack of control over knowing exactly how it would go. Shortly before our due date, Keelia came over to review our birth plan and a timeline of what to expect for pre-labor, active labor, travel to the birth center, transition, and delivery. She made sure we practiced comfort measures, breathing and how I wanted to be supported verbally. It wasn't until the last moments with Keelia where she looked me in the eye and said I was ready, that I actually felt prepared to go into labor and meet my daughter. 2 days later, my water broke in the middle of the night. For the next 44 hours of contractions, naps, two car rides up to the birth center, a traumatic cervical check on day one to then be sent back home, many walks around the neighborhood, yoga ball bouncing, 1 game of Monopoly, snacks, massages, and support - Keelia was at our beck and call. By the time we got to the birth center (again) on day 2 after 36 hours, I was only at 1cm and 50% effaced. Keelia helped me calm down from exhausition and frustration at this news, and we made a plan to get misoprostol to thin my cervix but hopefully proceed with no other interventions. Miraculously, Ava was born 7 hours later. Keelia coached me through contractions which came back to back for hours, waved lavendar oil in front of my face for nausea, massaged my back, covered the clock when she noticed it stressing me out, got me into the shower with Joe when I hit the wall of transition, and helped me breathe through pushing - 3 contractions! She reassured me every step of the way - calmly & knowing I could do it at all moments. In this amazing doula's hands, I felt loved, safe, and supported. Thank you, Keelia.

Yelp seems like a weird place to find a midwife but these reviews gave me the confidence to choose…read moreJinny and now I'd like to pass on the favor. Jinny is an incredible midwife that I'd recommend to anyone in a heartbeat. The least you can do is get in touch with her and see if you like her style. The Jinny we met at our first meeting was the same Jinny that showed up at every appointment, every diagnoses, and most importantly - at the birth. She is a knowledgeable professional that is supportive of your decisions. And the level of calmness she presents in the most intense situations is remarkable. Jinny provided thorough care from pregnancy to postpartum. Communication was easy and consistent. She heard my concerns about the birth and showed up 100% to help mitigate them as best as she could during the birth. I'm forever grateful to Jinny for giving me the home birth experience I had hoped for.

Jinny Pagle is an outstanding midwife who does both home births and can do pre- and postnatal care…read moreif you want a hospital birth. After several days of labor at home, she supported me at the hospital in making sure to remind me to remind staff about my wishes for how I wanted the birth to go, which enabled me to very narrowly avoid a C-section! She has a great roster of related experts in her network too including an acupuncturist who came to my house during labor and really helped a lot with the process. It was also really wonderful to be able to have her come to my house to check on me and the baby in the first few weeks after the birth. She offers her clients choices of a spectrum of options from alternative wellness resources to standard medical practice depending on your inclinations. Her attitude is very empowering! It was also super convenient for her to be able to do bloodwork at my house and save me time going somewhere else for that. She also does placenta encapsulation. If you're considering a homebirth, or if you want a hospital birth but want to have 60+ minutes per appointment and not the 10 min you get at an OB's office for pre/postnatal care, contact Jinny.

We feel so incredibly lucky to have had Marilou as our postpartum night doula. I ended up needing…read moreto be induced earlier than expected, so we had to arrange support at the very last minute. I was honestly pretty anxious going into it because we didn't have the opportunity to interview or even speak with her beforehand, and we were simply going off her profile that was shared with us. But from the moment she arrived, she immediately put us at ease. She was with us for those first few nights home from the hospital, when I was exhausted, emotional, and very newly postpartum. She had such a warm, gentle, and calming presence, and having her there made those overwhelming first nights feel so much more manageable. She was incredibly sweet and attentive with our baby, but she was equally caring toward me, always checking in and offering thoughtful tips for both newborn care and taking care of myself during recovery. She helped with feeds, baby laundry, and washing and assembling bottles and pump parts, and was always punctual, dependable, and proactive. Most importantly, we felt completely comfortable having her care for our brand new baby during such a vulnerable time. Our only regret is that we didn't find her sooner! Because everything came together so last minute, she was only available to be with us for a few nights, and we absolutely would have loved to have had her for longer. We're so grateful she was there when we needed her and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any family looking for a kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely caring postpartum doula. Thanks Marilou and Doulas by the Bay!

My wife and I had Jordan from Doulas by the Bay help care for our newborn overnight from 11 p.m. to…read more7 a.m., and she quickly earned our trust. Jordan is young, eager, and incredibly attentive. Throughout every overnight shift, she remained awake and alert, always ready when our daughter needed her. Most importantly, she cared for our baby with the same patience and gentleness we would ourselves, which gave us tremendous peace of mind as new parents. Her reliability was equally impressive. She was consistently punctual, arriving between 10:58 and 11:00 p.m., and was always respectful and ready to help. Trusting someone with your newborn is no small thing. Jordan made that trust easy. I would confidently recommend both Jordan and Doulas by the Bay to my closest friends and family, and we'd happily welcome her back into our home. Thank you, Jordan, for taking such wonderful care of our little girl!

I'm obsessed with Casey! This was my first tarot and birth chart reading, and I learned so much…read more From the moment I walked in, her space felt warm, welcoming, and incredibly cozy. She spent more than three hours with my best friend and me, thoughtfully reading both of our charts and guiding us through a beautiful sound bath experience. Casey has a gift for making you feel seen, understood, and connected to yourself on a deeper level. We left feeling inspired, energized, and excited to continue exploring this work with her. I can't recommend her enough and am already looking forward to booking another session.

I am blown away from her reading. I needed clarity and reminder of my power. Having a tarot session…read morefelt like talking to an old friend who was keeping it real while remaining heart centered at the same time. I appreciate her listening and empathy while also being realistic and grounded. Definitely will recommend

Janet L. was incredibly warm, kind, and compassionate when she helped us over the first couple of…read moremonths of our daughter's life! She blended into our new family seamlessly and was so helpful as we got used to life as a family of three. My husband had some tricky tech requests and she was super willing to work with us to get all the systems set up. She was beyond accomodating and was able to either wake me right before a feed or just handle the night feeds with pumped milk, depending on the night/timing. She was wonderful and helped us so much - would recommend her to anyone looking for a night doula!

We had two amazing doulas for our second daughter, both covered through my Carrot benefit at work,…read moreRhona at night and Julie during the day. Rhona was our overnight doula for both of our girls, and honestly I don't know how I would've gotten through those first months without her. With my first, she helped me figure out breastfeeding, kept me going on the hard nights, and taught me how to pump so I could actually get some sleep. With our second we had jaundice and an unplanned trip back to the hospital and Rhona was such a calm, steady presence for me while I got through it. Rhona is just so good at what she does, and clearly cares a lot about the families she works with. Julie was equally wonderful during the day. She's sincere, honest, and has this calming way about her. She normalized so much of what I was feeling and hyped me up until I actually felt ready to handle life with two kids. Genuinely fun to have around too, even on the rough days. We're so grateful for both of them and would recommend them without hesitation.

I can't recommend Jessica enough as a prenatal yoga instructor. I took her class at Innerstellar in…read moreBerkeley during the second half of my pregnancy and I always left feeling so much more relaxed and confident. I loved the mix of conversation/support, meditation and yoga. If you're looking for a more vigorous practice, this might not be your cup of tea, but for me it was perfect. As someone who was fairly new to the area at the time and in need of a community of new mothers, I really appreciated Jessica's connections. If you need anything -- massage, acupuncture, a midwife, etc. -- she knows someone or several someones. She is also a great listener, a kind voice of support and extremely knowledgeable about pregnancy, birth and parenting. A lovely person to know!

Prem's prenatal yoga classes were one of the highlights of my pregnancy. Her classes are not only a…read moremuch needed time-out for you to look inward, they're a conduit to support and stories, which I found so helpful during my pregnancy. Prem is understanding, funny, warm and patient. She facilitates a google-group community of local moms and I actually very much look forward to the emails that come through! Because of the community she's created and all of her knowledge, her classes led me to find an incredible doula, the best postpartum care, the couple we're going to do a nanny-share with, and so much more. Proud, card carrying member of the Prem Fan Club :)

Renata is an absolute angel, though you might not be able to see her wings. We would have had a…read moretraumatic birth had we not partnered with her. The story of our birth is multi-day and long so I won't write about it here, but I'll give you a few bullet points below on how Renata helped and how rare and special it was to have that support: 1. We managed to avoid a C-section just before they were going to wheel me to OR, after I had been prepared for it physically. Upon hearing this was happening she rushed to the hospital and before hand coached us on the phone on the right questions to ask. Thanks to her presence there, and also for the coaching, we managed to avoid the C-section. 2. Wow, Renata is so skilled at counter pressure during contractions! She knows the exact pressure points to press and voila, my contraction discomfort disappeared. I had initially refused an epidural so this was important for me to have. Later when I took the epidural, it only worked on half of me so one side of my body needed this counter pressure still, all the way through to the point of pushing. 3. Renata provided so many resources and education before the birth through her classes and individual coaching. I felt well equipped with knowledge going into it. Also with a plethora of information on the internet, it was great to have filtered info via a professional who has seen hundreds of births (I believe she has seen 700+). 4. Partner and family coaching and post birth support: I couldn't be more grateful to Renata for this! My family had zero ideas or knowledge about the critical postpartum period. They at least got an introduction to the concept from Renata. Anyway, there is so much more to say about Renata's skills and areas of support! I'll just say this instead: you're lucky if you have come across Renata! She is an amazing birth partner and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to work with her. I'll mention one last thing: if you want to do things holistically, Renata is very well educated in this area! If you want to do things entirely the modern medical way, Renata is very knowledgeable there also! So it's a win win with her. Wishing you all the best in your birthing journey!

She is the best birth doula in the world She is kind and…read morecompassionate. I recommend her for sure.

Itzel treated me with respect and empathy through every step of my care. Her package emphasizes…read morebirth education. Itzel was with us for 30-some hours for our birth and never wavered in her energy and support. I would highly recommend her services for any first time mother.

Itzel is an absolute gem. From the moment I met her, I knew that I had the right woman to guide me…read morethrough my first pregnancy where there are endless questions and concerns that arise along the way. She was a gentle and intuitive guide that ultimately led us to our special day where our daughter was born. She offers a wonderful balance of guidance and advice for the mom and dad to be, which I believe is so important. My partner really valued having her support, especially on delivery day. Itzel recommended on the day of labor that my partner and I should find our own pace before calling on her for help. We did just that, and it was perfect. She arrived when I needed her and she assisted us the whole way through. I was lucky enough to only labor for 12 hours, so the process was pretty smooth. She surprised us with wonderful photos and a timeline of what had occurred the entire day. It was so beautiful and touching. What an amazing gift! I highly recommend Itzel for her expertise, authenticity, intuitiveness and kindness. Thank you, Itzel!!

As a postpartum doula, I was somewhat surprised to learn that I, too, needed postpartum support…read morewhen my baby was born! I've worked closely with many doulas, and Tanya really stood out as proactive, sweet, responsive and a very comfortable person to talk with. She showed up on-time, kept herself quietly humming around taking care of things without even being asked -- such a wonderful thing because I was frazzled and exhausted, so being able to just rest and not have to ask for each little thing was sooo wonderful. A glass of water would appear, and I felt I could take a glorious nap with full trust she would take great care of the baby when I did. I'd wake up to a clean house (no chores left, yay!) and felt replenished emotionally too. I cannot recommend Tanya highly enough. In fact, I recommend her all the time! You'd be lucky to have her if she is available.

Tanya is a wonderful, calming, responsible presence that you would be LUCKY to have in your…read morepostpartum home. We met Tanya through a friend and were so grateful for her help. She educated us on what a postpartum doula can help with - and went above and beyond every time she showed up! Tanya would help by cooking me breakfast, holding the baby while I took a (blissful) shower, and making sure the house looked in great shape so I didn't feel stressed about it. She taught us about babywearing, the Wonder Weeks, and special Boon drying rack pieces - and on top of it all, was so kind and gentle with our son. If you're considering a postpartum doula, definitely reach out to Tanya. She's super responsive and completely worth the investment!