I don't have enough good things to say about Shannon and her business. She was absolutely…read moreincredible from start to finish. From the very first phone call I felt so comfortable and genuinely heard. She took the time to answer every question and listen to my previous birth story and never made me feel rushed. She listened with understanding and compassion and for the first time I truly felt like a care provider was really listening to me. For my first birth, I had a typical hospital birth with a typical OB. Although I did not have a traumatic experience, I wanted something different for my second time around. I found Shannon and it truly was a blessing. The level of care and attention to detail was above and beyond anything I had experienced before. When the day came to give birth, having her there made me feel so safe supported and empowered. If I was ever to do this again, I would not hesitate to use Shannon and her team and have another home birth. It truly was a defining experience and something that I believe that all women should be able to experience. If you're looking for a quality Midwife service that treats you like family and truly listens to you look no further. I cannot recommend Shannon enough!

How do you simply "leave a review" for the beautiful people who facilitated an absolutely…read morelife-changing and indescribable experience? It feels so trivial to try to put into words what Shannon and A'maya gave to our family. They will forever have a space in my heart, and I cannot recommend working with them enough. From the very beginning, they gave us such a deep feeling of comfort and security, not only through their incredible knowledge but through their presence alone. During the birth, they created such a calm and steady presence in our home. I always felt supported and reassured, and their quiet confidence helped me stay grounded through the entire experience (and it was long). They knew exactly when to step in and when to simply hold space. Their care extended far beyond the clinical -- it was emotional, human, and deeply compassionate. Choosing a home birth for my first birth was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and having Shannon and A'maya as my midwives made it more beautiful than I could have imagined. And somehow, incredibly, alhamdulillah, I can honestly say I miss my birth. How many people can say that? It was such a powerful, peaceful, and empowering experience, one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. That is a testament to the environment they created and the care they provided. I am forever grateful. May Allah bless them abundantly, reward them for every moment of care they gave us, place barakah in their work, and allow them to continue being a source of comfort, safety, and strength for families like ours. Ameen.

Nova was recommended to me for a home birth VBAC (already had one successful one). After finding…read moreout I was a woman of plus size, I was denied service with them. Their claim was that their VBACs need to be "pristine" because of liability reasons. My being plus size is not evidence based and is in fact, the same kind of shaming that I would expect from a typical medical doctor and not someone who practices midwifery. This was deeply disappointing. I'm grateful they can offer home birth options for women but if you don't fit their mold, you won't be accepted. Huh.. I went on to have a successful unmedicated 2nd VBAC.

We found nova midwifery through a friend... we were interested in having a home birth but weren't…read moresure, so we reached out to a friend to learn about their experience. They recommended Mason at Nova, so we called for an initial consult. Our son was delivered in 2015 at kaiser without intervention, and we liked the experience... except for all the medical stuff like wearing a heart monitor and sleeping in a hospital and all the worry that seems to come along with being in a hospital. For our second birth, we wanted a natural birth, but maybe a little more comfortable. We ended up hiring Mason and Melissa at Nova for our prenatal care, delivery, and recovery, and had a really nice experience. First, they're both 5 star people. Good bedside manner, good sense of humor, a nice wealth of knowledge. They are very good at quelling your fears and questions that come along with pregnancy and delivery, and appointments are typically really positive (you got this girl!). I would say from the husband side that a homebirth was WAY more enjoyable for me. My own bed, my own home, my own food, and I got to catch my daughter as my wife leaned over the ottoman. What an experience! I'll never look at that ottoman the same. I feel like these women checked all the boxes, professional, fun, empathetic, and knowledgeable. I hear they have new space in Walnut Creek, but one of the nicest things for us is they did some home visits for prenatal care since they had other clients in our area. Towards the end, we saw them in the office, and it was always a tranquil environment, very different from the kaiser waiting room. I think the recovery is the biggest advantage to the homebirth. These ladies support you through the first few weeks, and being home with your newborn is sooooo nice in the first few hours of life. I don't think I would have been comfortable with my first child at home, but now that I know what I'm doing, homebirths and nova are the only way I would go for an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery.

After 50 min of waiting in the waiting room I finally went and asked if I need to reschedule as I…read moreneed to pick my kids up from school or find someone to do it. They said I'm next and brought me into the room 5 min later. I'm still waiting in the room 15 min later. My appt was scheduled over an hour ago. This is completely unacceptable and disrespectful. If they're running this late they need to tell patients when they sign in that they're OVER AND HOUR LATE. Zero regard or consideration for other's time or childcare situations. Though they say they will charge $95 if you cancel your appointment in their confirmation text. I'd seek another OB.

Had a pregnancy confirmation appointment this afternoon. They instantly put me in a room where I…read moreshortly met Nicole, she was incredibly nice and made me feel comfortable from the beginning especially with answering all questions we had and explaining everything well. Staff is also amazing and very easy to talk to. Great experience overall, will definitely continue to go back for future care!!

I had a terrible experience with my first birth in the hospital with standard care. I wanted to be…read morein the care of someone that aligned with what I wanted and believed in. Angela, was wonderful, warm, welcoming and caring. She encouraged me and gave advice that was so helpful! I wouldn't be where I'm at in my mom journey without her! Every time I met Angela was important to me, it was like meeting with an old friend or sister. I was especially thankful for the advice for the breastfeeding book she recommended-that was life-changing. My time in the hospital visits were stressful and traumatic, so, the hands-on care that was provided was a breath of fresh air. I felt heard and seen. Even when I had to go to the hospital, Angela was an advocate by my side. Her advice and visits during the postpartum phase were wonderful as well. I felt like Angela took the time to care for me AND my baby. With midwifery care, the baby is a patient as well. There is less unnecessary poking and prodding and much more love and attention. With the standard care given by doctors, they are often cold and even demeaning. They look at things backwards and always act as if you or your baby is sick and dying until proven otherwise. I wasn't able to have a home birth, but still had a vbac in the hospital, I didn't give up and I found strength and resilience that I didn't have previously. I was able to really listen to my body and do what I and baby needed.

Angela was such a dream to have at our birth. She is knowledgeable in all areas and made us feel…read morefully confident and comfortable throughout the entire pregnancy and birth. She is thorough, patient and kind. We we're blessed to have her as our midwife. We couldn't recommend her more to anyone considering a homebirth. Best decision ever. Angela, thank you for everything!!!!

Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, dang, that human was born to do this kind of…read morework and has a real gifting for it? That was my thought about Lauren after meeting her for the first time (she taught our 6 week birth prep course). This woman was in her element. She cared, she was knowledgeable, and and she lit up the room. To our pleasant surprise and an epic answer to prayer, she ended up being our doula and what a gift she was in that space for us too. Lauren knew when to say or do something and the art of not saying or doing. We ended up having a dream birth and I'm not sure I would have been able to do it without her support. She was a part of the dream birth. She came along and partnered with me and my husband in a way that complemented and strengthened. Lauren helped me to trust myself and my body. There are no guarantees with birth. I don't love Lauren because I had a dream birth; I love her because of who she is and am so grateful she was with us and for us in the tender, sacred space of birth. No doula is for everyone, but if something about her resonates with you, book a call to see if there's a match.

Lauren is incredible! She helped me bring both of my babies into the world and I couldn't imagine…read morethe birth experience without her. She brought such a truly compassionate, intuitive, calming, and empowering presence to the experiences, and navigated all of the twists and turns with us. She felt like part of the family, and made us feel so held throughout the entire process from prenatal to postpartum. I couldn't recommend Lauren more highly. I almost want to have another baby just to be able to work with her again! If you're considering hiring her, DO IT! She's the absolute best.

I sought out Lindy for my second pregnancy because of a less-than-ideal birth experience with our…read morefirst baby (at a different hospital in the Bay Area, not at Alta Bates). With our first, I had a long labor and the OB, midwife, and L&D nurse were not in agreement about how to manage it. The OB was pushing for a C-section, which I ended up not needing. The experience of being caught between providers was stressful and made me wonder if I might have ended up with an unnecessary surgery had I not happened to have that midwife and nurse advocating for me. With baby #2 I felt so much better being in Lindy's care. She is passionate about the mother's wellbeing alongside the health of the baby, so I felt genuinely cared for in every prenatal visit, during labor & delivery, and throughout my hospital stay. She provided holistic care at every check-up, focused not just on physical health but also on mental and emotional wellbeing. In between our visits, if issues came up I could (and did) call or email her with a whole range of questions -- from how to handle shortness of breath to medication safety during pregnancy, to how to think about postpartum support systems. As I approached my due date she also gave me a bunch of practical tips on how to get better sleep with a newborn and insisted that my partner join some of our visits so that we would all be on the same page. The labor and delivery experience with Lindy was in stark contrast to my first one. When I went into labor Lindy met us at the hospital and already had a room ready for us so we didn't have to wait around in triage. There was no back and forth between providers because it was clear that Lindy was in charge, which gave us a lot of comfort. The process was also a lot less restrictive and invasive -- no continuous monitoring, no dilation checks (which of course may vary depending on your situation). Lindy is a legend in the East Bay midwife world. She pioneered the model of private practice midwifery with hospital-based delivery in the East Bay, and she personally trained many of the private midwives in the area. I loved my experience as a patient in her care and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity.

Lindy delivered our baby this past August and we are extremely happy to have had her throughout the…read morewhole process. Being our first child we were very nervous about the whole process, but Lindy made us feel reassured with her knowledge and experience. She took the time to explain everything we needed/wanted to know and gave us tools we needed to be confident in delivery and postpartum. Our baby is happy and healthy and we are extremely grateful for Lindy's guidance through it all. Thanks Lindy!! - Mitchell and Kim

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!

Cherrelle is a fantastic Doula. I had the pleasure of having her help and services with my newborn…read moredaughter. She has been so calm and understanding with both me and the baby. She is so nurturing, I think she might actually be a baby whisperer. She has been wonderful with communicating and has suggested several remedies, medicine and things we could try. It was so nice to know that I had someone here to help me and just be there for both me and my child. Cherrelle really has a special gift. As a first time parent I felt very uncertain and nervous about being alone. Cherrelle quiets those worries and allows you to get rest and be the best parent you can be. I can honestly say that her help was so crucial to me and my road to recovery from my C-section. I appreciate her and her warm personality and care so much. Thank you, Alissa Brown

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Morgan and Evaly. They supported me through my…read morehomebirth, and even four years later I still look back on that experience with deep gratitude and respect for their care. My baby boy is now 4 years old and absolutely thriving--and a huge part of that is because of the knowledge, skill, and calm presence they brought to one of the most important days of my life. From the beginning, Morgan and Evaly were patient, attentive, and incredibly supportive. They took the time to truly listen to me, explain everything clearly, and make sure I felt informed and empowered throughout my pregnancy and birth. Their confidence never felt rushed or arrogant--it was grounded, reassuring, and deeply professional. After I pushed my son out, I experienced a situation that could have quickly turned into a serious medical emergency. Morgan and Evaly handled it with remarkable skill and composure. They recognized what was happening immediately, acted decisively, and supported me through it with such calm and competence that I felt safe the entire time. Their ability to manage that moment made all the difference, and I truly believe their expertise prevented a much worse outcome. They are extraordinary midwives and incredible humans.

Morgan is an insanely talented and skilled midwife whom I would put my life into. She navigated my…read moredeepest fears in prenantal care as I have a long history with loss. She also navigated both of my difficult births with such strength, confidence and precision. There's no one on this planet I would walk into birth with other than Morgan. I will forever call her the Vanessa whisperer. I stand with her in all her future endeavors. She is a mother to us all.

I don't think words can truly describe how amazing this woman is. Charlee is such an amazing person…read morefirst and foremost. I had the pleasure and honor to get to work with her for not one of my babies, but two of them. I had given birth January 2023, she came to our house for every appointment. She listened to all of our concerns. She was so thorough and in depth. Never missing a single thing during any appointment. We Explained to her that we wanted something to where we could be the most hands-on during our birth, and that is exactly what we got. Throughout the entire pregnancy, she educated us. Answering all of my questions. She is so funny, but also extremely professional and truly just a joy to get to work with. When I went into labor, she was there a heartbeat more ready than we were we were taking our time we had two other kids lol. She always asked for permission before doing anything. I felt like I was being treated like a queen. After giving birth, she was so accommodating so attentive. She came to do checks on myself and the baby she always asked before even touching the baby. She respects everybody boundaries. I got the honor to become her friend and kept in contact giving her updates on our baby that she helped bring into this world. Then we got pregnant again and knew that we wanted to have a free birth. But we still knew that we wanted prenatal care and we only knew of one place we wanted to go to get that.. Charlee helped guide us to make sure that we got our blood work done during pregnancy, our anatomy scan, and even made sure that baby was headed down a few weeks before giving birth. Unfortunately, we were moving to Texas to give birth, so there was no way for her to be our midwife. But she helped us by making sure we had a healthy pregnancy the entire way. We made it to full-term and gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. After giving birth, though my placenta was being a little stubborn. I gave Charlee a call on FaceTime and she picked up it was a little late into the evening and she still answered! (That's because she's truly that awesome) she helped by simply telling me to stand up and cough and sure enough that did the trick! Talk about being such an amazing midwife over the phone in a whole other state. The financial aspect of it all she works with you. Some people are concerned that they want to have a homebirth with the midwife, but they can't afford it. She can come up with a payment plan for you and let me tell you 100% worth it with Charlee , if you were to invest your money anywhere for the birth of your baby every single time I would put my money into Charlee. The medical aspect of it all let me tell you when you see the bag that she brings to every appointment. She is ready for the impossible. I swear she's got like a mini hospital in that bag. The all natural aspect if you are somebody who is trying to avoid as much medical stuff as possible, she's also your go to woman. She will give you different stretches and things you can do to avoid medication pain relief etc The overall aspect of Charlee as a midwife is, she's the woman you want to go to . She's the one you want on your team. I'm so lucky that I get to share this intimate photo of my most recent birth just to show how amazing she is and how much she cares about her past, current, and future clients. Thank you so much, Charlee for everything you've done for me and my family . Words truly just don't express how amazing you are not only as a midwife, but as a person.

This is my second birth, but my first being a home birth. I didn't know what to expect but felt…read moresupport since the beginning to the end. Charlee is nothing but incredible in the care she provides and lets natural really take its course, very through, nurturing, trusting, and takes her time with you through the whole journey. I do have to pay out of pocket, but it's worth every penny for the experience. My toddler who was 23 months at the time was able to witness her little sister being born, and i strongly believe to this day, it's the reason why she's so in love with her sister. My husband even got to catch our baby with his hands, that's something you can't always say happen. The whole experience is what made it worth it, Charlee is the experience. My pregnancy, labor, and delivery were all smooth and calm, not once did i feel stressed. I even had a scare with some bleeding, but Charlee made sure i got all i needed for piece of mind, and getting checked out. I keep telling everyone how amazing it all was and i will be doing my next birth with Charlee, she's family. I highly recommend, if you can do a home birth, it is a must do, & Charlee & her team are the ones to do it with. Thank you for the amazing care, journey, and the experience you gave to my family and i, there aren't words to express how grateful we are, all great things to feel and say.