Nina was phenomenal! She stayed with me for my whole 39 hour labor and I don't think I could have…read moregiven birth without her there. She was also amazing prior to my birth! I am a person who has a ton of questions about everything and freaks out over stuff. She answered every question and concern with compassion and understanding. She never made me feel stupid or like I was bothering her. I highly recommend her! She's the best!

Nina helped my husband and I welcome our son last October and we have been SO grateful for her…read morehelp. She was a great source of information in the time leading up to the birth, a huge supporter during the birth, and has been a caring voice checking in during the months after. This was our first child, so we were learning as we went along. Nina got us thinking about things that we weren't even aware of for our birth plan, but that ended up being really important to us. She was a calming voice and a soothing touch when it was most needed. And, she collaborated with our midwife to help us have a great birthing experience. I can't recommend Nina enough and I hope that we will be able to work with her again!

I wish I could give a 6th star. I was nervous to give birth so I opted to get a doula…read more I can't say enough good things about Holly--she was truly a lifesaver during my birth experience. From the start, her calm, grounded energy helped me feel supported and confident, even when things didn't go according to plan. When my labor stalled, Holly guided me through exercises that actually got things moving--my water broke soon after, and she also shared positions that helped my baby flip. Her pain management workshop gave me tools I leaned on hard during some intense moments. And when my epidural failed (twice!), Holly didn't miss a beat. She advocated for me when I was in pain and made sure I felt heard and cared for. I honestly don't know what I would've done without her. She played a huge role in turning what could've been a traumatic experience into something empowering. If you're considering a doula, do yourself a favor and call Holly. She's the real deal.

We enjoyed working with Lindsey as a birth doula for my recent birth. She is very calm, friendly,…read moreknowledgeable about pregnancy and infant care and familiar with navigating the hospital environment. She helped me during a hospital birth where I made use of tub and tried to avoid interventions. During labor, she assisted by putting heat packs on my pressure points, guiding me into different positions to make laboring easier and effective, making use of a tub for labor, and creating a calm, reassuring and positive atmosphere. Her experience, knowledge, confidence and personality make her a great doula. She also has kids of her own and can relate to moms.

: Not a nice person. Be sure to check her return policies…read morefor any items you consider purchasing as the belly binder a is ripped up sheet (muslin) that you can purchase at your local Joann's . This is the video I was given for the technique. I can't include it due to Yelp rules, but it is a regular person's YouTube account, not even one of the doulas or Maura. Search Bengkung Belly Binding on YouTube and a ton of videos will come up. The binder did not help me feel held in. I asked for a refund and was told the price was mainly for the doula coming to my house--which was unnecessary because the YouTube video was the guide. After continued times trying to reach a reasonable resolution, Maura told me that I was harassing her. (What the heck weirdo woman?) What doula worth anything speaks to a mom of a 2 week old that way. Beware!!!!!!!!! This doula is unstable and no new mom needs that. Get a Bellefit binder. It helps without dealing with a psycho doula.

Maura was a joy to work with before, during, and after the birth of my little one…read more She obviously approaches her work with a great deal of professionalism that isn't always present in the birthing world. For example, her email communication is clear and prompt, she is obviously very well organized, and she gave me sweet little new-mama-related gifts at our first meeting, as well as after Baby's birth. But all that is not reason enough to hire a doula, right? When I first met Maura, I must confess I was a bit dismayed by her youth. Although I knew she had lots of experience supporting births and more medical training than most doulas, there was a part of me that wanted an older presence on my birth team. Well, thankfully the rational part of me won out over this other, ageist part, because Maura was wonderful and everything we (my husband and I) could have wanted. And I'm sure she's probably not quite as young as she seemed that first day ;) My labor and birth were pretty quick, uncomplicated, and relatively painless. I don't think I actually noticed Maura much during the process. However, when I watched the video of my baby's birth (which Maura was happy to film and photograph for us), I noticed Maura was the one who'd pick up on how I was feeling and cheer me on when I seemed to need it, and my husband and mom (who I wanted hands-on with me) would follow her lead. She just seemed to have this way of fitting in and being exactly what we needed her to be at the time, even though we ourselves didn't know what that was. After Baby's birth, she provided encouraging support and a postpartum visit to see that all was going well for our family. She was pretty awesome answering my questions via text, about all things from newborn poop to homeopathic remedies. I know that she will soon begin to study midwifery, but if you find her still offering doula services, I would highly recommend adding her to your list of doulas to consider.

Caley is a delightful, warm, calming, competent,…read moremakes-you-wish-she-was-your-mom/best-friend-in-real-life kind of person. My wife hemorrhaged after her labor, which was really scary for both of us. Somehow, even in the middle of a medical emergency, Caley made sure my wife's voice was heard (she had to pee and needed a bedpan, she was freezing and needed blankets) in a way that was absolutely perfect and never overbearing. Our care team loved her; we loved her. She checked in with me exactly enough (I was doing my best to stave off a panic attack and was so relieved that Caley was supporting my wife so I could keep a little distance and shield her from my own anxiety). In the middle of an intensely stressful situation, she managed to make my wife smile and laugh, got our son to latch, and allowed me to get my emotions together. She even grabbed our camera and got some pictures of the first few minutes after birth. FWIW she was completely supportive and excited that we planned to encapsulate our own placenta, even though she offers professional encapsulation services, which was super nice. Zero weirdness/upselling. The postpartum visit was also great - our baby had trouble gaining his birth weight back, and she was far more reassuring and helpful than the lactation consultant we saw at his three week check up. She even helped us get in touch with a breast milk donor and brought a cooler full of donated milk to us - and to top it all off, offered to help out around the house! You seriously can't go wrong - she's excellent.

We highly recommend working with Shaquan. Our experience was great as we navigated the birth of our…read moresecond child. Even with our sessions being virtual, we got confidence and guidance with comfort techniques, exercises and many other useful strategies. We found it all super helpful!

I went back and forth regarding working with s doula during my pregnancy/birth. I did a few…read moresearches, and while I found several qualified individuals in the vicinity I not once found a doula of color before stumbling upon The People's Doula on Yelp. I'm big on reviews and noticed that she didn't have any and found out via her Facebook page that she's a newly certified doula. All of that didn't matter to me. I knew without a doubt after our consultation appointment that she was the doula for me and I couldn't have been more correct. Shaquan is warm, easily accessible and most importantly knowledgeable. My birth went anything but to plan but it was invaluable to have her presence and support to help me through something I'd never done before. I would recommend her in a heartbeat.

We decided to go the home birth route after researching our options in the early months of…read morepregnancy. Our Midwife gave us a few choices, Sam was one of them, which we interviewed and ultimately chose Sam. The main reason was she was so down to earth that I knew she could get along with my fiesty husband and take charge at the same time if something was to go wrong. We also liked the fact that she could still come along with us if we had to go to the hospital to give birth. We were impressed and comforted by her great amount of expertise which we learned from taking one of her child birth classes. The day of the birth we called Sam at 2 am and she comforted our anxiety and asked us questions that would help her understand how far we were. As the labor progressed she came over and gave me little exercises like going up and down the stairs and swaying my hips to help move the baby around. She was the one who passed along the info to our midwife of how far along I was. My midwife came over and 30 minutes later we gave birth to our son. Sam was there adjusting my pillow, helping me drink water, and encouraging me while I pushed. After the birth, she checked on us frequently and gave us tidbit of info to help that we still use today. I would recommend Sam to anyone whether home birth or hospital birth to have by your side. We will use her again in the future and wouldn't think to go elsewhere!

We hired Samantha as our doula for the birth of our first-born, who arrived this past February. I…read morecan honestly say that had it not been for Samantha...despite my best intentions...I would not have had a natural childbirth. Although my labor was relatively short for a first-born, it was very intense and happened somewhat suddenly. Within an hour of me calling her to let her know I needed her, she was at my home and helping me work my way through it. The biggest challenge for me was fear, and she had a number of different techniques to keep me focused and relatively composed. Also, she incorporated my fiance into everything as well. It was such an amazing experience for him as well. By time we reached the hospital, I was fully dilated and our son was born just two hours later. Without Samantha, I would have given up and gone to the hospital much sooner and probably given in to getting an epidural. In case you have any doubt about whether you should go natural or not, within 15 minutes of giving birth I was up and walking around. My recovery time was quite short, which allowed me precious additional time to get to know my baby and adjust to my new life as a mommy. She was wonderful from start to finish, and I couldn't be happier with how things turned out. Thank you, Samantha!

I can't say enough great things about cloud nine! We worked with the Kelsey/Valerie team and their…read moresupport was unmatched. Valerie came to our house first to talk about physical support and labor prep. She could not have been more kind, understanding and knowledgable about birth prep. Both continued to check in weekly towards the end and we're always willing to answer questions. When it got to be birth day, Kelsey knew exactly when to come before I had to ask and was the best support. She was intuitive, comforting and even in the midst of the unexpected kept things calm and gave me exactly what I needed. I cannot recommend this team enough! They truly care about making sure clients have the birth they desire and are able to support both the birthing person and support person.

Kelsey and Valerie were my doulas and they were fantastic. They were both super quick to respond to…read moreany questions I had throughout my pregnancy and they gave me tons of ideas at the end to help baby descend. Kelsey was present at the birth and she was amazing. She pushed me forward when I felt like giving up and listened to all my requests with so much love and respect. She also took a ton of beautiful photos that we will cherish forever. I did not have a doula for my first baby and let me tell ya, it makes a world of difference. Especially if you are a bit scared of birth and wondering how you will manage the pain and/or any unforeseen circumstances that arise, a doula is a fantastic way to ease that anxiety. And of course - I highly recommend choosing Valerie and Kelsey

Let me just say that Janelle is a life (and sleep saver)! I've nannied for years and saw all…read moredifferent techniques done but Janelle really takes it home. She is so great at what she does! I highly recommend her!!!

Janelle is amazing! I HIGHLY recommend her if you are a tired parent. I never thought we would get…read moremy two year old out of our bed, but with her detailed and thorough guidance we did it in under two weeks. I am so incredibly grateful for her knowledge and support she provided throughout her program. Besides my toddler sleeping indepently for 10-11 hours every night in her crib, we also got our nights back. Janelle is kind and understanding and non judgemental to anything you may have been going through with your baby, and she helps you fix even when you think it's going to be impossible for your child!