Yael is the best! My wife was having our first baby at home and we knew that we needed some extra…read moresupport. Yael came over twice during the pregnancy to talk to us and answer any questions we had. She assisted us not only with preparing for the birth, but also with newborn care basics. During my wife's labor she was a calm spirit, who helped my wife feel comfortable and helped support me in knowing how I could help best. She was the best decision we made. In fact one of the first things my wife and I said the day after our daughter was born was that we didn't pay Yael enough. She is worth every penny! My wife is pregnant with our second child due this Winter and we are thrilled that Yael will be part of our birth team again.

Yael lives, breathes, dreams, and loves all things babies and mamas. She's insanely knowledgeable…read moreabout everything from pregnancy to birth to nursing and early babyhood. Her demeanor is calm, sober, empathetic, supportive, and pretty silly if that's what you're in to. She anticipated my needs before I knew I needed them and made me feel like I was the only person who mattered in life - and of course, my son too :). I recommend Yael to anybody looking to have the best, most authentic birth possible. And even if breastfeeding is going fine, it can always go better with Yael's help and attention. I love her. My little family and our birth experience wouldn't have been the same without her.

I highly recommend Karla and Narchi as an amazing team of doulas! I really wanted an all natural…read morebirth with no interventions, and they were essential in helping me successfully achieve my goal. They are both extremely warm and understanding people, and I immediately felt comfortable sharing everything with them. They are also very communicative and respond quickly and with very useful information. My husband and I learned many extremely useful tricks from our pre- and post-birth classes, such as the best breastfeeding and bathing techniques and how to correctly use a Boba wrap. My labor was long and drawn out - 4 days of start and stop contractions which didn't get closer together at the end! Therefore, all the usual sign posts didn't apply to us. If we hadn't had Karla to check in with and ask questions, not only would have been very hard to have the mental fortitude to be patient and let my body progress naturally, but we would have had no idea when to go to the hospital. Also, at a point when we were really stuck and exhausted, Karla was brilliant and essential in coaching me and my husband through to the next phase. And this was all done virtually, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine! I was very skeptical and disappointed when I had found out they wouldn't be able to attend in person. But it turns out Karla was still able to provide amazing and necessary service. When I went to the hospital, Karla was on the phone with me with earbuds the entire time. Turns out I was fully dilated when I arrived, much to everyone's surprise because my contractions were still on average 5 mins apart! Karla helped coach me through the pushing stage with great encouragement and my baby arrived completely naturally about 2 hours after arriving at the hospital. I couldn't have asked for better education, coaching and encouragement. Thank you Karla and Narchi!

I highly recommend Rachel and Sherraine! Rachel attended our birth but it was lovely meeting…read moreSherraine beforehand. Writing this review almost 6 months after giving birth so I had time to process everything. Rachel has this calming yet confident presence. She helped me tremendously during labor and worked well with my husband. It felt like she knew exactly what I needed without me saying much. She also knew when to hive us the time to be by ourselves and helped with food and drinks (birthing center). I am grateful she was part of this special day and she also took amazing pictures

This Bradley Method preparation class is amazing! I chose Bradley Method over hypno birthing or…read moreLamaze because as a long-distance runner it's approach to pain made more sense to me. Also, it seemed like a method that fully incorporated the partner and I wanted the birth experience to be for both of us, and for my partner to not simply be a mildly supportive by-stander. I chose Mary Esther's class based on the recommendation of the midwifery practice we are with and signed up months before it started. By the time it started I was sorry I'd chosen such an intensive class. 8 weeks instead of the couple of hours one session that most people I know had chosen for their birthing class! I was worried it was a waste of time and money, a rookie mistake from being a little too gung-ho at the beginning of the pregnancy. Those fears were gone by the end of the first class. We'd chosen the Sunday afternoon class since the weekday evening classes seemed too hard for this early bird (how does dinner work?) Our group was a a great and diverse mix of hospital/birthing center/home birth going with midwife/ob. We were surprised by just how diverse it was in terms of childbirth choices. The classes themselves were tremendously enjoyable. Mary Esther keeps a relaxed energy going through the class and from the beginning mentioned we should eat, drink and go to the bathroom as we wanted. With so many pregnant ladies in the room, we all did! I was worried about having to sit for so long, but though the main seats are uncomfortable, there are plenty of props to make yourself comfortable on the mat, and there are these little chairs that don't look very comfortable but are surprisingly comfy pregnant ladies. (I'm actually trying to figure out where I could get one for home. They're adorable and could double as kid's seats for later.) Plenty of people simply would simply lie down on the mat when they felt like it. But the main reason I recommend this class is for the effect it has had on me, my partner, and our relationship through this pregnancy. We've learned so much, and we're approaching this birth with a sense of joyful calm excitement I don't see in others who have not taken this class. As a type A, make the list and check it twice, and boss everyone around kind of person, it's been hard to get used to not being able to do everything I used to do before my pregnancy. But it seems like pregnancy and birth go much better when you learn that you can't control everything. You have to trust your body, and trust those around you. Learning to lean on my partner more has helped deepen our bond, and having my partner be so involved and so knowledgeable about what helps and what doesn't and giving me nightly massages (it's part of the homework! true story!) has helped me relax and go into this knowing I've done all I can, and that I'm in the best hands.

I hated this class with Mary Esther Malloy. Hated. I actually threw up from how much stress this…read moreclass caused me, not once but TWICE. So we quit after 4 sessions even though it meant forfeiting the $450 fee (although ME said she would refund it if I took down my review...). I had heard great things about this class before enrolling. This review is my opinion and you should feel free to trust other people as you see fit. I am having a hard time organizing in my head all of my issues with this class and with ME so I will just try to make a list. Some things might not be that carefully explained though so send me a message if you want more information on anything I say. 1) ME spends a lot of time telling stories from births where she has been the doula. She does not spend enough time with the students on preparing for their own birth experience. She spends a short period of time going over labor positions and a short period of time on techniques to deal with pain. She never in any way ties in the Bradley Method with the stories she tells. 2) The Bradley Method is very partner oriented. AKA, I felt fairly unimportant in the class. I felt like my husband could have gone to the class without me and when he got home asked me to hold ice for a minute while deep breathing. That sounds super useful in labor. Wait, no it doesn't. 3) ME is really condescending. She showed scientific pictures to the class and asked the class to guess how dilated the cervix was in those pictures. In one picture my husband guessed "5" and she laughed. Actually laughed. Then a doctor and a midwife also taking the class said they thought 5 or maybe 6. And she let it go. There was no answer on the picture but if a doctor and a midwife agrees, I think you should apologize to my husband for laughing at him. Twice in the first class I felt like it was better to keep my mouth shut than to offer an answer. And so I really did become mute. Oh, then after the class I cried. At least it wasn't on the first day of class when I threw up. 4) Everyone in the class is expecting a different birth experience. Some were using a birth center, some a hospital and just me and my husband were planning a home birth. I felt like she taught the class for those using a hospital and glossed over the other options. She would teach something oriented to being in a hospital and then as an after thought say how it would differ in a birth center or at home. So I felt really confused taking in all of this unnecessary information and trying to identify what actually applied to me. 5) ME is entirely unreachable by email or phone. She might reply a week later - Depends what her three kids have going on that week, you know? The contract for the class states that she would be accessible by email or phone throughout the class but that's laughable. 6) ME ignores the needs of pregnant women taking the class. I was signed up for the summer intensive course which is 8 classes that are each 3 hours long. She would take a break where people would gobble down some dinner at around 8:15pm. She didn't take any other breaks. The chairs are super uncomfortable but so is sitting on the floor. No pregnant woman can really sit still for 3 hours. By the end of the classes my back and stomach would be killing me. There was nothing I could do to make sitting for 3 hours comfortable. 7) ME never told us to bring the binder she handed out to every class. In fact, looking through it it seems like extra information (which it for the most part is) so I was never even sure what pages from it she might want us to bring to the next class. Stating that to the class would be really useful. Again, ignoring the needs of pregnant women (to not carry around an unnecessary binder of articles that barely matter). 8) The materials are very outdated. The creators of the Bradley Method should be embarrassed to show videos from the 1970s and videos where the words "civilized people" are uttered. 9) It is hard to wrap my own head around why this class caused me such extreme stress so bear with me. If you are a Type A person like myself, you like to feel in control. Now, with labor, there is a lot you can't control. I get that. But the idea that I have to hand over control to my husband or I will fail at my natural childbirth is really disarming. It caused me to feel physically ill to think that the success of my birth plan really has very little to do with me and a lot to do with how well my husband interprets my needs. 10) After quitting this class we decided to purchase Hypnobabies. Hypnobabies puts me squarely in control of my ability to completely relax and treats my husband like the support person that he is. It is a way better fit and apparently what ME used herself!

My partner and I hired Vickie and Francesca to be our doulas with our second pregnancy. They were…read moreone of my matches through Boober, and from our preliminary conversation, I knew they would be the best fit for us. What really struck me about them was how grounding they were throughout the whole pregnancy and birth and postpartum. They listened to my concerns and helped us feel comfortable being advocates for ourselves, arming us with information. There were a few moments during the pregnancy, particularly at the end, where I had some concerns and fears, and they offered to jump on the phone pretty quickly and talk through options. That they were both so willing to support and help me reframe the multiple situations was really helpful and accommodating. I felt heard throughout every step of the way. Francesca was our doula the actual day of our child's birth. She was with us for 4 hours (during active labor) and really helped me focus on my breathing, which made the most intense moments more bearable. She was incredibly encouraging and helped my partner and I do what we could in a [at times] challenging situation (related to the hospital). I was so thankful she could be there. We also enjoyed meeting with both Vickie and Francesca postpartum. Even though this was our second child, we both learned some new things about newborns - and ourselves. They also run a weekly, virtual support call with other pregnant women, which was a nice time to hear from them as well as meet other women on their various journeys. Vickie and Francesca's offerings include additional options, like childbirth education, partner support groups, and movement classes. They support women and families all over New York. I would definitely recommend your looking into them if you're even remotely thinking about hiring a doula. Our experience would have been a lot more difficult if we hadn't had them supporting us along the way.

I couldn't have asked for a better care team with Rebecca and Jasmine! they are an incredible team…read moreand extremely experienced. Each interaction with them from the consultation. to the post partum visits was respectful, encouraging, and very informational. I felt empowered through my entire birth experience. We delivered at a hospital and it was invaluable to have Rebecca with us to navigate that system and ensure that our birth preferences were followed as best as possible. My partner has said multiple times that having our doulas there to support is was transformational and we would not want to have done it without it them! I highly recommend their services and am so thankful for all they provided us and our family :)

We had the most pleasant experience with our doula, Rebecca, and felt compelled to share it…read more As first-time parents during the harsh circumstances of the Covid-19 shutdown, we were plagued with questions and paralyzed with anxiety. How could we manage to do this, unplanned, during a period of national quarantine? The prospects were daunting, but we had those worries melt away with Rebecca's calm and practical, take-it-easy style. Her energy helped soothe ours ... and we found her breadth of knowledge to stretch the vast corners of newborn care. We found Rebecca to be thoughtful, careful, attentive ... and always readily available. Rebecca was an integral part of our birth plan and we were more relaxed first-time parents for having worked with her. She laid out a clear and concise action plan that worked wonders from the beginning. She is a pleasure to work with. I now understand why she came so highly recommended to us.

I wasn't sure about the type of support I'd like after having my first child. There are so many…read moreoptions and things to think about that the decision making process can be kind of overwhelming. Baby Caravan was great - when I reached out to them they answered all of my questions and before hiring a doula I was able to video chat with her so we could get to know each other. I ended up hiring Allie for post-partum visits and she was wonderful. So friendly and kind and she was so knowledgeable! She really supported me with breastfeeding techniques, helped me sort thru baby gifts and had great tips about everything from diaper changing techniques to how to properly sterilize baby bottles. She made the transition to parenthood so much easier and really helped me develop my confidence as a new mom. She also just provided some much needed relief, compassion and extra hands during those crazy first few weeks. I'm really grateful to her and Baby Caravan for all of their help during such an important time in my family's lives.

Best decision I made was choosing cosmos midwifery for my home birth! From the first visit Jenna…read morewas kind, thoughtful and professional. I felt very safe and in good hands during the whole process. During the birth Jenna was calm and confident. I trusted her fully and she was very respectful towards all my preferences. Couldn't have picked a better provider for my home birth!! Thank you Jenna and Chloe!!

My partner and I worked with Chloe to try and get pregnant via IUI. Chloe is supportive,…read moreknowledgable, great with communication, and was wonderful to work with. We initially started with a fertility clinic to do IUI, but when we realized it wasn't our vibe and started working with Chloe we couldn't have been happier. I think I can definitely say it was a lot of Chloe's magic and expertise that helped me to pregnant.

First off I would just like to say that if you are checking out this page and CHB doesn't have a…read moreton of reviews yet it's because I liked the weekend intensive course so much that I asked Samantha to create a Yelp account for CHB. They have been around for many years (since 2011) and are very experienced. My only "negative" feedback is that when I was looking for a Childbirth Intensive class to do I wasn't able to see any reviews on Yelp for peace of mind :) That said, pregnancy is stressful business, especially for first time parents. What to expect as we get closer to the end of the pregnancy? What's up with this or that weird thing your body and baby are doing? The stressful anticipation of the big day. How are we going to do all of this together? And not to mention the overriding sense of "oh shit when this is all done it's just going to be starting".... So professional help is very welcome and NEEDED. The Childbirth Weekend Intensive with Samantha was beyond professional. It was clear that she and Melissa, who was assisting her, were doulas and educators because they are very passionate about helping women and couples have a positive and meaningful birth experience. When I originally imagined the weekend intensive course I imagined two packed and stressful days spent just jamming information into our minds, but what I experienced was the absolute opposite. The pace of the course was perfect and didn't feel overwhelming as the term "intensive" would suggest. Asking questions at any point about anything was encouraged. The other couples at the course were hugely beneficial to the overall experience since we all brought different types of questions to the table. We all learned a lot about the biology of birth, strategies for managing paying, strategies for having a good experience at the hospital, and really we received a solid foundation for coping with everything that we had ahead of us. At the end of the weekend we did not feel overwhelmed but rather empowered. I would also like to stress that I think it's unusual to interact with someone teaching a course that seems to care so much about your experience and your outcomes. Samantha's empathy and caring really stood out for me and she was also very knowledgeable and able to competently answer all of our questions (even the weird over technical ones). So THANK YOU CHB and Samantha for getting us emotionally and intellectually prepared for the big day and beyond!