Coaching with Gabrielle feels like being deeply seen and understood, which for a mom can be like drinking from a cool glass of water after walking through the desert. Gabrielle has an uncanny ability to lead you through all the confusion and chaos right to the core of what you want, what you value, and what you stand for. Becoming a mom can feel like losing yourself, and Gabrielle has - gently but firmly - helped me to reclaim who I am and has, without a doubt, made my life better. read more

Gabi took on being a life coach to me at a time in my life when I had really lost my mojo. We worked together to find how to make my inner light shine again. I felt so supported by her and she really helped me find the mind-body connection I needed. I am not a mother so cannot speak for her midwifery but she was a good listener who made suggestions to help change my outlook and see myself as a complete person again. Thank you Gabi! read more

In the transition to motherhood, it was so helpful to have Gabrielle's kind and knowledgeable guidance. Her insights into how to prepare, what to expect, and what is "normal" provided invaluable assuranc for this first time mom. Her tips and tricks for soothing a newborn has made a huge difference for our family. I would recommend her to anyone looking for support in this tender time. read more

transitioning into motherhood requires significant support and i'm grateful to have be able to lean on gabrielle throughout my journey. we aren't meant to navigate these days on our way, the dark messy ones nor the wonderful experiences worth celebrating. read more

Gabrielle was the doula for the birth of my son in May. As first-time parents, my husband and I are so grateful that we had Gabrielle's support before, during, and after the birth. I would highly recommend Gabrielle to anyone looking for a doula who is caring, calm, knowledgeable, and confident! Some of the things we most appreciated about Gabrielle: - From our initial meeting with Gabrielle, it was really easy and comfortable to talk with her. She was warm and friendly, but also super professional. She communicated a lot of important information during each of our visits with her, while also making us feel comfortable to share our thoughts/questions/wishes. - During labor itself, Gabrielle was a calming presence. She helped us understand that everything was progressing normally and naturally, and because of her guidance, I was able to labor at home as long as possible, which is what I wanted. (Baby was born, without drugs/interventions, less than an hour after arriving at the hospital!) - At one of the most intense points of my labor, her calming voice and presence allowed me to fall asleep between contractions! I think this really helped me conserve my strength for later on. - Gabrielle took photos during and right after the baby's birth. I didn't know that this was going to be so important to me, but now that I have the photos, I know I will cherish them forever. She captured such a special moment in a way that was totally unobtrusive. - Her postpartum visit was really great. My husband and I were able to ask Gabrielle questions that had come up in the first couple days, and she was knowledgeable in her answers and shared a few techniques for soothing the baby and also taking care of ourselves. It was really amazing to have her as a sounding board for our thoughts/questions during that very early period when everything was so new. And it was great to know we could reach out to her if we needed further advice or referrals. Overall, I highly recommend Gabrielle as a warm, thoughtful, and knowledgeable doula. I had a wonderful birth experience in part because of Gabrielle's support, and I'm so happy she was a part of my baby's birthday! read more

So our daughter was born a few weeks ago and I've now had a chance to start processing the experience, sleeping, and, of course, reviewing the people and places that helped us along the way. Gabrielle is the first on the list. As our doula, Gabrielle worked in partnership with another doula to ensure that we were always covered by an energetic and ready person who was ready to be our advocate and our helper during the birth process, however it was Gabrielle who was there at the end of the process. When my wife told me that she wanted to get a Doula to help with the birth, I was supportive, because, well, you support your pregnant wife. But I wasn't sure I understood why we would need an extra person there, since we were pretty happy with the hospital where we were delivering (St Luke's) and had taken some birthing classes (Natural Resources) and, well, people have been doing this for years, why do we need to hire someone additional to help? Well, in the end, I don't see how I could have done it without Gabrielle. And I mean "I", the father, with the easy half of the job. My wife relied on her through the whole process as an advisor, and stress relief. However in the end, as things got complex, stressful, and exhausting, I was at the end of my rope (my wife was already well beyond the end of hers) and Gabrielle was there for us, helping to keep things together, and keep us as comfortable as possible. That was an amazing relief for me, since I was very tired... I'll spare you the details, but the takeaway for dads to be was: If you are confused about the need for a doula, or uncomfortable with the doula you are selecting, fix that. It's important. Talk to Gabrielle and she'll get you sorted out, and in my experience, will help you (and your wife) immeasurably. read more

My husband and I just gave birth to our first baby after a long struggle with infertility. We have always wanted to have a natural, unmedicated birth, but it was even more important to us than ever because the beginning of our pregnancy was so medicalized having gotten pregnant with IVF. We knew we wanted to have an experienced doula by our side to guide us through birth and to hold a safe space around us at the hospital. We are so blessed to have found Gabrielle! I was immediately drawn to the fact that Gabrielle is inspired by the gorgeous tradition of women supporting women in this process - a thought that I have always held close to my heart. I loved Gabrielle from our first phone conversation. It was really important to me that she knew our story and that she was aware that although we were opting for a hospital birth, I was very anxious about it. Gabrielle's demeanor was so calm, reassuring and confident and I appreciated that she had lots of experience with guiding and supporting couples towards their goals in a hospital setting. I loved the process of getting to know one another. Gabrielle first came to our home to meet us and then for two prenatal visits. She expertly answered all of our questions, offered many recommendations to help us get prepared and helped us to practice methods for coping with childbirth. She was always upfront with us about what her role would be and also of the situations in which a back up doula would be necessary. During my birth month, Gabrielle was always available, and I truly needed her perspective when my doctors were pushing for us to be induced. She offered excellent suggestions for us to better prepare and open my body for an induction. When the day came, the strategies she suggested totally worked and my body went into labor with no induction drugs. I always felt like we had a partner, someone who understood my husband and I, our goals and wishes. In the end, we used her back up doula because Gabrielle was sick. I know it was a difficult decision for her to make, but we appreciated her knowing what would be best for us at the time. And, knowing that the company one keeps speaks volumes about their practice and values, our back up doula was amazing... just like we know Gabrielle is. And thankfully, we got to introduce her to our baby girl at our postpartum visit! I highly recommend the knowledgeable, sensitive and caring Gabrielle! read more

If I could give her 10 stars on here, I would. Gabrielle was such an incredible support before, during, and after my labor. But especially, and most importantly to me, during. She kept me hydrated, constantly feeding me coconut water, kept me calm, led me through relaxation techniques, let me crush her hand while having contractions, gave my sweet supportive hubby breaks when needed, and communicated all my wishes to the hospital staff. The end result? A medication free, relatively quick (only 6 hours in the hospital!), and beautiful birthing experience. And, of course, a healthy, happy, alert baby :) Without her and my husband as my birthing team, I don't think my ideal labor/birth would've been possible. I am so incredibly grateful for having found Gabrielle :) read more

Gabrielle McDade - Gabrielle and our little guy - Midwives Near Me

Gabrielle, provided me with a wonderful personalized session that met my need for so many things. I'll share that I don't like the fast paced yoga practices and Gabrielle was able to facilitate and guide me through a Restorative approach that was highly beneficial for my scattered personality that day and was attentive to my injured knee. I found just being around her energy was gaining, because I have sometimes had classes or personal teachings with instructors that seem to have a sticky or brooding energy about them. Gabrielle seems to me like pure joy and is one that holds a space for learning and for allowing ease and pace. I think Gabrielle would be a good fit for most everyone no matter where your skill level with yoga is. I highly recommend her! read more

Gabrielle is an angel. She was our doula for the birth of our first son last December. She was warm, nurturing, compassionate, empathetic, and very knowledgeable. She was very understanding of our needs and wants, and help calm any concerns or stresses we had, and she was excellent at reading our vibes and placing herself where she was needed during our actual birth. Our post birth yoga session was amazing, (and much needed), as well. Also, I absolutely LOVED the placenta encapsulation she did for us, I felt energized and happy throughout my transition from maternity leave back into work. I would highly recommend Garbrielle for ANY of her services :) read more

Gabrielle is everything you could hope for in a doula and then some! After having a bad experience with a doula for my son's birth in 2011, I wasn't sure I wanted to take the chance on another doula. But working with Gabrielle restored my faith in doulas. Gabrielle was my doula for the birth of my second child in July, 2013. During our prenatal visits, she carefully answered all our questions and gave us her honest opinion when asked. She also included a private yoga session which was great physically and gave me the chance to listen to her voice and have her guide me through something before the birth. She is very gentle, yet direct and reassuring. On the day I went into labor, Gabrielle was available and with us every step of the way. During early labor, she showed me a few positions I could rest in on my bed. I think this rest really helped me get through the 14 hours of labor & delivery. Once we were at UCSF and my labor became very intense, she had a wonderful bag of tricks to help me achieve my goal of birthing naturally. After my daughter was born she did 2 things that were heavenly: she fed me a few honey sticks and massaged my feet with oil. That's when I knew I had picked the perfect doula! I highly recommend Gabrielle as a wonderful doula. read more

My wife Hilary and I do not like to imagine what our birthing experiences would have been like without Gabrielle as our doula - perish the thought! She was an incredibly kind, calming, and knowledgeable partner in these intimate life events, and her guidance and presence provided immeasurable peace of mind. I use the plural because Gabrielle was our doula for both of our sons - Austin, born 12/12/13, and Jasper, born 4/4/16. Gabrielle was always available in our times of need, and she partners with other doulas to be sure that, if for any reason she isn't reachable, we have a backup plan. That was comforting. We also took Gabrielle's Hypnobirthing course, which she taught with her colleague Liz Palmer. The lessons/tools she gave us in that class were instrumental in the smooth, quick, all-natural births that we experienced with both our boys. Both births were a brisk 6 hours of active labor and about 45 minutes of pushing! My wife and I have no doubt that it was her Hypnobirthing teachings and doula support that gave us both (but mostly my wife of course) the confidence to trust her body and do what nature intended and how nature intended. We did have hospital births, but we wanted them to be as close to a home birth as possible, and Gabrielle was fantastic in enabling that. She made sure that our birth plan was honored by hospital staff and she diplomatically helped fend off staff who wanted to deviate and administer drugs or invasive monitoring techniques. At BOTH births we encountered such attempts and had we not stood our ground, I doubt they would have gone so smoothly. I could go on and on about Gabrielle because I'm obviously a huge fan. I think she's just an all-around wonderful person who really is passionate about what she does and cares immensely about her clients. In closing I'll say this - when my wife and I first discussed hiring a doula, I had some concern that my role in the actual birth might be diminished a little by this other person. After meeting Gabrielle that concern went away, and after the births, I can enthusiastically say that her presence had the complete opposite effect. It allowed me to be MORE emotionally present. Gabrielle coached Hilary and spoke on our behalf to nurses/doctors while I alternated between holding Hilary's hand and taking photographs. Hilary and I are both photographers and we treasure the photos our sons births. Never would have gotten those without Gabrielle's help. Thank you Gabrielle!!!! read more

Hands-down the best decision we ever made preparing for the birth of our first child was hiring Gabrielle and her colleague Liz Palmer. We were so impressed with Gabrielle and Liz from our very first meeting with them both. They exuded great, positive energy. They really listened to us and provided thoughtful feedback to help us talk through our preferences and develop our plan for a natural birth. By 38 weeks, it became clear that the baby's growth had slowed and we were advised to undergo induction. We were able to lean on both Gabrielle and Liz as we tried to figure out how to proceed. Ultimately, a fully natural birth was not in our cards. However, with Gabrielle's presence, coaching and support, I was able to give birth to our baby girl without additional intervention aside from pitocin. My partner and I are forever grateful to Gabrielle (and Liz). Gabrielle helped me stay calm and tap into strength that I wasn't sure I had during the most intense parts of labor. And during it all, she was coaching and providing support to my partner. We cannot recommend Gabrielle enough!! read more

We had an awesome experience with Gabrielle. I knew I wanted to try to have a natural birth but I wasn't sure where to start looking for support and guidance. I found Gabrielle's information through the yoga community and I felt like it would be the right match as soon as I visited her website. Gabrielle was attentive, insightful, informative and enthusiastic. She knew what she was talking about and she didn't push any agendas. She teamed up with her colleague, Lis Palmer, and they gave us prenatal visits, Gabrielle came to the birth and Gabrielle also followed up with us a few weeks after baby was born. We were very lucky to have a positive birth experience overall and Gabrielle was there to help during the most crucial moment. We had waited a little too long before transitioning to the hospital, so by the time we called Gabrielle and she showed up, I already had the urge to push. She was very calm and grounded with me, she coached me and was able to communicate with me. She was also amazing with my husband. I was so focused on the birth that Gabrielle and my husband were able to team up to get me out the door, drive to the hospital and get me set up in a room. Gabrielle advocated for my preferences as far as IVs, check-ins with the nursing staff, cord cutting, and all other medical preferences. Our baby came very fast and we were so grateful to have someone there with us through the whole process. I also really appreciated our postnatal visit with Gabrielle. We don't have any family in the Bay Area, so it ended up feeling really important to have a follow up with her. The visit was positive and she checked in about how we were doing emotionally and physically. I am so glad we had Gabrielle as our doula for our first baby. It made me feel a little security and confidence going into the most intimidating and amazing experience of my/our life!! Gabrielle is a wonderful doula and she is a great resource. I am so grateful to her and I recommend her with all my heart! read more

Gabrielle was the doula for the birth of our first child a year ago, and we were so so happy to have her with us through the experience. She's a friendly, knowledgeable and warm person to have around, and it was incredibly helpful to have someone we could call on in the lead up to the birth, and throughout labour and delivery. Some specific points that she helped us with: - knowing when to go to the hospital. We would have gone about 5 hours earlier than we needed to, and it was so much more comfortable to be at home than in the hospital. - giving us advice on how to manage the labour, and giving my husband pointers on how to help me through it. This included cooking and making sure we ate and drank enough. - helping us understand tricky decisions that came up during the birth and processing it all afterwards. I ended up having an assisted delivery, and it was really useful postpartum to have her talk through what happened with us, to remove some of our confusion and concerns about it. I feel much more confident because she had been there. Thank you Gabrielle! read more

Gabrielle is a wonderful doula and we were so happy to have her be a part of our second daughter's birth. She was referred to us by our first doula (who had moved away) and once we met her we knew she would live up to the high expectations we had after our first daughter's birth! We live on the edge of her service area and she was very kind to meet with us at our home so we didn't have to hire a babysitter for our older child. She is very knowledgeable and was able to talk through a variety of issues at our prenatal visits, providing additional perspectives to those offered by my hospital midwives and OBs. On the morning of my labor, she arrived at my home when I needed her and was essential in helping me feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible. She also helped us weigh when to go to the hospital..which ended up being a quick decision after I began to have some pushing urges at home. Gabrielle thankfully came in the car with us and helped us managed the short but intense trip to the hospital when I felt more urges to push. She did a wonderful job remaining calm advising me and helping my husband stay calm getting us to the hospital. My baby arrived ~10 minutes after arriving at the hospital and I have Gabrielle to thank for my husband not missing the birth after he almost went back to the car to get our birth plan (at my suggestion!). Gabrielle has a unique calming presence and you can't help but feel loved and cared for in her presence. She listens to your desires and concerns with open ears and helps you navigate what's best for you. Even after a wonderful, unmedicated first birth, I am so glad I hired Gabrielle to help me achieve my second equally wonderful, unmedicated birth. Gabrielle also used her networks to help find a prenatal acupuncturist in my area, which was very helpful to me. read more

Gabrielle was our doula a few months ago and we are so happy she was there to help. I felt comfortable around her which is very important when sharing such an intimate experience. She is well versed in labor positions and in hypnosis. One thing I remember well about her is how soothing her voice was, both for hypnosis narration and for instruction of when and when not to push. She helped my husband be part of the labor by teaching him in advance how to apply pressure to my back which was very helpful in the initial stages. She kept me fed and hydrated, bringing drinks with a straw to sip from. Gabrielle has a great sense of professionalism and is a knowledgeable and caring friend during an intense time. read more

Gabrielle is an amazing Doula, we feel so fortunate and thankful we had her for the birth of our first baby. Gabrielle was also our instructor at the Hypnobirthing classes so she was able to bring all the techniques she taught in class to the real deal + more. We can't imagine doing our home birth without her, she was a key element to a very successful birth. She also processed the placenta and brought it back home a few days after birth. We are confident to endorse her great skills and service and highly recommend her to anyone looking for an excellent Doula. read more

Gabrielle is wonderful! We felt incredibly fortunate to have her as a doula at the birth of our daughter. She exudes calm and gentleness, and has seemingly magic hands, which massaged away hours (and hours!) of labor pains. Her experience as a yoga teacher was a huge added bonus- she had great suggestions of poses/positions that would aid in my comfort, and she played relaxing yogi music in my hospital room. Her patience and kindness were such an appreciated addition to the birth experience; we were so happy to have her there! read more

After hearing of HypnoBirthing through a podcast, my partner and I were eager to try it for the birth of our first child. We signed up for a series of classes at BirthWays in Berkeley and Gabrielle was our instructor. I cannot speak highly enough of Gabrielle. After taking the classes, we feel confident that we will have a calm and relaxed birth that honors our child. Gabrielle was extremely knowledgeable about HypnoBirthing and birth in general and was able to effectively communicate her knowledge. She was funny, approachable, kind, and inspiring. She took plenty of time with our questions and was respectful of each concern. She was also conscientious about following through with providing outside resources through email if we asked. I left each class energized and excited about the birth of our child and with confidence in my partner and myself. Gabrielle is passionate about the work she does and I could not have asked for a better instructor. read more

Gabrielle is impressive, very knowledgeable and resourceful, and she discreetly and efficiently took care of all our physical and emotional needs. She's gentle and considerate, giving the right advice at the right time, carefully setting the ambiance, always present, supportive and attentive to every details. She's delicate but also very strong (like only a dancer and yoga teacher can be) as she helped us in a long night of labor. Her work is very personalized. If, like us, you are not too much into aromatherapy or homeopathy, she can provide you with massaging, natural healing, teaching pre/post-natal yoga, setting acupuncture appointments outside business hours (thanks Ilya), driving, cleaning, taking pictures and videos, providing tools, even dehydrating placenta, I never thought a doula could do all this, and it was not our first experience. Because of her, we were able to stay fully focused and confident at all time. Our experience was a dream, and it's in great part because of Gabrielle. read more