The Mommy Center has been such a wonderful experience for both me and my daughter. Michelle and her…read moreteam have created such a fun, welcoming, and judgment-free space where moms and their little ones can connect, play, and feel supported. I've taken two of their mommy-and-baby class series, and I loved both of them. Each series includes special touches like each week is a different topica mini photoshoot, a swim party, and so much more, which makes it absolutely worth every penny. Carmen, who helped lead the group, is amazing. She is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and always makes me feel heard. She gives thoughtful advice and truly cares about the moms and babies she works with. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does. I've also attended several music classes with Michelle, and those have been some of my favorites. My daughter absolutely loves music time, and Michelle does such a great job keeping the kids engaged and entertained. We truly love The Mommy Center and are so grateful for everything they offer!!

I had such a great experience with my newborn here for the mommy and me session. It felt a lot more…read morepersonable compared to other centers that offered these kinds of classes. Prior to class, we had a group WhatsApp which made it so easy to communicate and get introduced to each other. I love that the center organized mommy outings for us, planned family picnics, as well as provided professional photography. I was never stressed out when I was at the center, knowing that there's a diaper station with plenty of diapers in many sizes, formula in case mamas forget to bring sustenance for baby, bottle warmers, and everything we need to feel comfortable. It felt above and beyond. I highly recommend trying one of several classes they offer! I'm excited to continue onto their 4-6 month old sessions and try out the baby music class.

Carlin was the perfect fit for our family! There are so many teachers in the Orange County area and…read morewe are so happy to have found her. We also hired Carlin as our birth doula to aid us in our goal of a natural birth. She was the extra support (physically & emotionally) we needed during our labor and birth. We are so blessed and grateful to have met her and couldn't be happier that she was apart of our birth journey.

My husband and I decided that we wanted to have a natural, home birth here in Orange County, so we…read moresigned up for Bradley classes with Carlin. As first time parents, I'm sure we had a lot of what may have seemed like silly questions to a mom with three kids, but Carlin was always supportive, encouraging, and made us feel comfortable. Our birth plan was coming together, and we knew that we wanted a small, intimate setting for the labor-just our midwife and a doula. We were thrilled that Carlin was available to be our doula and attend our birth! When our Bradley classes ended, Carlin kept in touch, continued to check in on us and answer our questions for the remainder of my pregnancy. On my daughter's birth day, my husband and I labored for as long as we could together, but Carlin came as soon as things started getting serious and my contractions were closer together. My poor husband was so relieved to have her there to help, as our birth tub needed to start being filled and he couldn't stay by my side. I immediately felt a calm, supportive presence when Carlin arrived. She rubbed my back, made sure I was drinking enough water, helped me breathe calmly through my contractions, and helped with labor positions. Carlin also took photos while I labored, and captured the moment I met my baby for the first time, which brings tears to my eyes every time I see it! My husband and I have told our birth story a hundred times, and the one thing that we always talk about is how amazing our doula was! We truly couldn't have done it without Carlin! She is everything that I wanted in a doula and more! I felt prepared, confident, safe, and supportive with Carlin by my side! "Birth is powerful, women's bodies are powerful, and having the support to be powerful in birth process is a gift"

Christy is seriously amazing. Finding the right midwife was really important to me because birth is…read moresuch a personal experience, and I knew I needed someone I felt 100% comfortable with. From the moment we met her, we just knew she was the perfect fit for us. This was our first baby, and she guided us through everything. She answered all of our questions, made us feel so supported, and honestly exceeded every expectation we had. I also really loved that she's the perfect balance of holistic, but will absolutely speak up if something medical is needed. You can tell her top priority is always keeping both mom and baby safe. We also took her Bradley Method class, which was so helpful and made me feel way more prepared and confident going into birth. We learned so much, and I've already been recommending it to everyone. I fully trusted her the entire time, which made such a difference for me going into labor and birth. Throughout my labor, she was there at any time of day to answer my calls and questions, and she always helped me feel calm and educated about what was happening. On the day of the birth, she was calm, confident, and completely in her element. She made the whole experience feel so smooth and magical. I recommend Christy to anyone, and I already know I'll want her as my midwife for all of my future babies

Taking the Bradley Method with Christy was really one of the best decisions my husband and I made…read moreto prepare for birth She's made us feel so much more confident going into doctor's appointments and being able to advocate for the type of birthing experience we're hoping to have. Even going into conversations with other people who have who have gone through pregnancy and birth--the confidence we have speaking about what we want, what we want to avoid, and why has been amazing to share with people who weren't given even the basic information/options by their medical team. Truly couldn't recommend Christy and her approach enough

Ana is a godsend. When I was planning to have my 5th baby, the one thing I knew for sure is that I…read morewanted to have him at home. I interviewed so many great midwives, but as soon as I met Ana, I knew she was the right fit. She took me on late in my pregnancy (27ish weeks), and onboarding with her was so easy. The care that I received from her was supportive, kind, compassionate and steady. I appreciate how calm and nurturing she is while staying firm in her knowledge of pregnancy, birth, and of a woman's body overall. Her care is holistic and evidence-based, and she makes her clients actual partners in their care. We never did anything that I was uncomfortable with (which is almost unheard of in a hospital birth). When I started to go overdue, she was there to reassure me, and because she genuinely trusts the process of birth, she helped me trust my body as well. I had an absolutely amazing birth experience that my husband and I wouldn't trade for anything. My baby is two now (sorry this is so late!), but I still think of Ana often and so fondly. She became part of our family for the time she was with us and I will always love her for helping me have the birth experience of my dreams (even at 43 years old). Thank you Ana!

Ana is very professional and knowledgeable, yet deeply caring and respectful of your opinions and…read morevalues. Even though this was my third pregnancy, I learned so much about how to care for myself and my baby. I loved that she wasn't pushy, but gave us the facts and let us make our own decisions. We often covered the importance of exercise and nutrition, and I made changes from that, which I believe contributed to a smoother and easier pregnancy than my first two. She also was so calm and professional throughout my labor and delivery. My husband noted how much he appreciated her composure during the most intense moments of my labor. She's the kind of person you'd want by your side when you're not in the right frame of mind. She also collaborated very well with her assistant, respecting her skills and experience during my postpartum assessment. We loved having her as our first midwife and home birth experience and will definitely be reaching out to her again in the future!

Melanie was a true blessing. I decided to give birth unmedicated at the hospital and chose Melanie…read more I was a little skeptical at first when I hired her because I was not completely sure I will do it and then when she came to my house for prenatal visits, her energy was just amazing and I new that if I wanted to live this experience she needed to be here. Before birth, she was always available for my questions, and help me clarify lot of medical terms, always sending me ressources to help me supports my decisions. Birth happened on July 15. She was by my side this whole time, her energy, her words gave me the confidence I needed. I was so scared but with her by my side I pushed through my fears and delivered my beautiful baby boy undedicated. She was truly amazing. While in my most vulnerable moment, the doctors didn't agree for me to push on all fours making insane comments while I was pushing, Melanie stood up for me saying that it was not appropriate for them to make theses comments. Because of her I delivered my baby the way I wanted it. Melanie made this experience even more beautiful and gave me the confidence and strength that I needed to do it. Thank you for everything and I am so glad I got to meet you. Your job is one of the most beautiful one and I hope you will continue helping mum for a very long time. Molly Popal.

Melanie was a breath of fresh air for our family, and we are grateful to have found her, especially…read moreafter our nightmare nighttime doula experience. Melanie was very attentive to details, caring to my wife and our daughters. She can do anything from make meals to clean/organize to help my wife with post-partum issues to play with the kids. Our older daughter loves her and asks us when she can play with Melanie. I think trust and peace of mind is paramount for any new parent / parent when looking for doulas and you get those in spades with Melanie.

I found Labor of Love by doing some of my own research online. And thank God I did! My doula,…read moreKaren, was my rock throughout my labor and was 100,000 percent amazing--I'll definitely be working with her for my second! A little backstory: I was overwhelmed and so nervous about finding "the one" person to be a part of the most important event of my life. After doing my research and reading through all these bios, I honestly was left feeling overwhelmed, especially knowing how indecisive I can be. I knew I just had to trust my intuition and my gut on this one! After looking at Karen's bio on their website, I had such a good feeling. Staci (the owner), who was super friendly and professional, helped me get connected with Karen, and I booked an interview right away! Karen was so sweet and asked me about my pregnancy experience so far. We discussed how I wanted my birth to go and any concerns I had. There wasn't any pressure to hire her, and it just felt like she was already invested in me, like I was already family. I even had her video chat with my husband to make sure we both felt comfortable and vibed well together--and we sure did! Overall, Karen ended up being the perfect balance of knowledge, experience, and professionalism. It was the most perfect amount of care I could have asked for. She was also such an advocate for my birth plan to work out. Before, during, and after my labor and birth, she was always naturally in tune with what I needed. She was never overbearing, worked so well with my husband, and gave him space to be a part of my support team as well. I am so grateful to have come across Labor of Love

The business owner is quite the opposite of the type of person any vulnerable new mom should have…read moreto work with. My experience with Labor of Love was almost two years ago now but continues to upset me when thinking back on my experience. We hired Lauren as our doula, who made it clear she expected us to go far past my due date as a first time mom. While it's possible for that to happen, it didn't in my case. At 39 weeks and at 5am while in active labor and getting ready to head to the hospital, she let us know she had Covid. Her backup was Karen, who I wish we hired to begin with as she is far more caring and professional. Though unfortunately our experience still fell short and we ultimately delivered without Karen present. We were left feeling like we invested a lot of emotion and money into this process with ultimately no help. Staci has been incredibly rude to us since then and even revoked our access to watch her training videos, sending me a link to pay her once again when wanting to rewatch for our now second baby on the way. Karen herself even recommended we ask for a partial refund due to our experience, but Staci lacks the professionalism and courtesy to her clients. Truly mindblowing that she revoked access to the training videos after we had already paid for them. I would stay far away and recommend a more experienced and caring doula group.

TL;DR - We had a wonderful experience with Elizabeth Williams and Katarina Lunde at Anointed…read moreBirths! This being my first birth, I completely attribute the relatively short length of my labor and doing it completely unmedicated to Katarina's expertise and support. Could not recommend them enough and definitely plan to use them again in the future! The long version :) - My husband and I had an absolutely amazing experience with Anointed Births. We started looking for a doula pretty late into my pregnancy and were on a pretty tight budget. I submitted the contact form and heard from Elizabeth in a very timely manner. She was so kind and encouraging and easy to work with. The timeline and budget did limit our doula options, but she was happy to work within those constraints. She matched us with Katarina Lunde and we were so happy with her! She is a gem! She came to our home for a prenatal visit and was so friendly and easy to talk to. She knew all the right questions to ask and had lots of information that helped us decide on our birth plan. We prayed together at the end of the meeting and my husband and I felt confident that she was going to be instrumental in helping us succeed in the unmedicated birth we were hoping and praying for. We stayed in touch with her between the visit and when I went into labor. She was very helpful with providing information, recommendations for prenatal and labor items to purchase, and adjustments to our birth plan. Once I went into labor we called Katarina and stayed in touch via text, phone calls, and a contraction timer app. She was so responsive, positive, and encouraging! She was at another birth at the time, so she put us back in touch with Elizabeth in the meantime. Elizabeth was also very available through phone calls and texts - and this was all happening from 12:30-6:30am! Once we were in triage my husband remained in close contact with Elizabeth and Katarina. Katarina was still at the other birth so Elizabeth was planning to join us. She was holding off coming until I was admitted to a labor and delivery room so our hours for her services weren't wasted with her sitting in the waiting room. She did suggest positions for me to labor in while we waited and encouraged me to try to rest between contractions. I think that rest early on made a huge difference in maintaining endurance through to delivery. As we were getting admitted to L&D we heard that Katarina was available to come meet us! She drove a couple hours up from San Diego to Orange County! We were so grateful she made that effort to join us since we had already met her in person - although I was feeling just as comfortable if it turned out Elizabeth needed to come instead. By the time Katarina made it to the hospital I was having pretty painful back labor. It was such a relief to see her come in the room! She immediately jumped in and knew how to help me. She had me labor in different positions that relieved my back pain and really picked up my labor. I ended up having an 18 hour labor completely unmedicated! I really believe that having Katarina's help was instrumental in having that short of a labor for my first baby. She was calm, encouraging, and understanding of my needs and requests the whole time. She communicated with nurses as they came in and out of the room and helped me understand what they were saying and suggesting. She also worked really well with my husband throughout the labor. Katarina took some video and photos on my phone as our baby was born! We hadn't talked about that ahead of time, but I am so glad she went ahead and did it! I have gone back and watched those videos many times since the birth and am so, so grateful we have them. I could not recommend Katarina and Elizabeth with Anointed Births enough. We were so pleased with their services and plan to use them again for future births!

We went through hypnobirthing with Elizabeth to prepare for the birth of our first child and WOW…read more We were so blessed by her class presence, wisdom on the subject, and the place of love from which she teaches. We felt encouraged and challenged in every class, and we felt so safe to ask all of our first time parent questions without judgement. Our class dynamic felt intimate and supportive and I felt myself becoming more relaxed and ready with every session. I truly looked forward to this container to have healthy discussions in every week and to find fellowship with other couples making similar birth choices. I would highly recommend the class if you are looking to become not only educated, but empowered for your own birth!

Lauren is an exceptional doula and we feel incredibly grateful to have had her as part of our birth…read moreexperience. She is extremely knowledgeable about all things labor and delivery, works seamlessly with the staff at Hoag Newport, and is fantastic at collaborating with the husband (me) both leading up to and during labor and delivery. Lauren even came to our home ahead of time to see our space and provide education, which was such a thoughtful and comforting touch. She truly has a gift for bringing calm, clarity, and confidence to the birth process. She was texting us consistently leading up to going to the hospital, which made us feel deeply supported, cared for, and never alone. We would absolutely recommend Lauren to anyone looking for a doula who is skilled, compassionate, and genuinely invested in your experience.

Lauren is super nice and very attentive throughout the process! The only thing id like to mention…read moreto other mamas, is that she possibly overbooks herself. While in the pushing stage of labor, lauren was texting on her phone and took a phone call (probably another mama in labor). I totally understand there may be other things that need her attention during my 18+ hour labor, but I was disappointed she was preocupied on her phone during the pushing stage. She also video taped my birth, which i specifically told her I do not want. She told me afterwards that my husband told her to last minute, but this seems like a lie to me. I did not want to be filmed below my waist, and when i brought this up to her, she stated " well why dont you just delete the video". She also provided no breastfeeding support despite this being a contractual obligation. I bet other mamas have had a great experience with lauren, and she was an immense help throughout my labor.

This class was life changing. I had two beautiful unmediated births because of the knowledge I…read morelearned in this class. I didn't go into it knowing much about child birth or having a strong opinion about how to give birth - I left feeling so informed and now, four years later and knowing SO many women who have gone through it, I can passionately say this class is so important for every pregnant woman to take. If you're considering, look no more and sign up.

I took the four classes for hypnobirthing with my partner. I strongly advise going and taking these…read moreclasses if you are anxious or want guidance on giving the process of giving birth. The internet is flooded with false information or too much information these days. This gave me the structure I was looking for with education and information. The environment was comfortable and encouraging. I'm really grateful I took the time to research and find Mind Body!

I didn't know where to start in searching for a doula, and I'm so glad I came across this marching…read moreservice. It was an easy and quick process that helped me find a doula with some pretty specific preferences I had in mind. They gave me several great options and matched me with my doula who I absolutely love!

The Doulas of Orange County is a wonderful service that helped my wife and me out tremendously in…read moreour search for a birth doula. With so many doulas available, it was overwhelming knowing where to start our search. Doulas of Orange County simplified everything by first gathering a list of what we wanted and matching us with the perfect doulas who aligned with our vision and our budget. The process was easy to understand, and they consistently informed us every step along the way to keep us in the loop. Thank you, Doulas of Orange County!