After reading Shannon's beautiful and transformative book Born Far From Home, I felt so drawn to…read morehaving a homebirth. I loved reading about Shannon's journey to Islam and birth work, and how her faith and spirituality intertwined with her midwifery care. I also enjoyed reading the compelling birth stories and the beautiful way in which she writes about birth. I especially felt connected to her book as a Muslim woman who was curious about homebirth, but wasn't sure if it was for me. Once I finished the book and had my first appointment with Shannon I felt confident, reassured, and excited about having a homebirth for my first baby. Since the start of my prenatal care with Shannon, I felt so comforted by the amount of time and personalized care she dedicated to us by listening to our concerns, answering our many questions, and providing the guidance we needed during this special time in our life. Her level of knowledge and expertise combined with her warm and comforting presence brought us ease during such a delicate time. I also have the same great things to say about Tara who was the second midwife to be present at the birth and meet with us for the postpartum appointments. Tara also has such a warm, beautiful, and comforting spirit and has been such a pleasure to meet with. When expressing the troubles I have with breast feeding, she has been so sweet and reassuring and I really appreciate the level of care she not only provides for our baby, but to me. I feel so fortunate and blessed to have had a successful and empowering homebirth with the utmost care and support from Shannon and Tara and I highly recommend them. I am so grateful to have been in their care.

I got lucky enough to find Shannon before I became a first time mom and I have never been more…read moregrateful. You can tell Shannon has found her calling in caring for moms and helping them bring their babies into the world. The level of care she provides her families is above and beyond; instilling confidence, guiding both parents, and helping prep for life with baby. Working with Shannon never felt like any question or anxiety was an inconvenience. She's a wealth of knowledge and I truly believe my birth, baby, and post partum experience have been so healthy, vibrant, and positive because of Shannon. I cannot recommend her enough, she will absolutely change your life for the best.

Words cannot adequately express how grateful we are for Amanda. She cared for me throughout my…read moreentire pregnancy and her calming, grounded demeanor helped both my husband and me feel completely comfortable and safe choosing a home birth. Seeing how naturally she connected with our family made us feel so held and supported every step of the way. During the birth itself, Amanda's guidance was invaluable. She made me feel entirely confident in my body and my ability to birth my baby safely, and she even helped me avoid tearing, which had been a huge fear of mine going into it. The entire experience from bump to birth was empowering and peaceful. We couldn't have asked for a better team, and I truly can't wait to do it all over again with Amanda for our next baby!

Amanda was our midwife for our second child and we had a better experience than we could have…read moreimagined. We used east bay midwives for prenatal care, home birth and post natal care. Amanda brought both experienced midwifery care (our son was her 314th birth!) and a strong level of personal care. She is a birth worker that truly loves what she does, is incredibly skilled in her work, and has a deep sense of care for the mothers, families, and babies she works with. We were so impressed by how supported we felt during the entire pregnancy, birth, and post partum period. I truly wish every mother could receive midwifery care as exceptional as east bay midwives. We also had excellent experience with Grace and Sophia- the team that Amanda works with are also amazing birth workers. I highly recommend east bay midwives to someone that wants a safe, supported home birth with experienced and loving help!

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.

Working with Natasha was a licensing experience. She shepherded me into motherhood and held my hand…read morethrough prenatal, labor, birth, and the first 3 months of our daughters life so beautifully. Natasha is kind and compassionate, and has a wealth of knowledge about everything both and baby related. Not to mention she was recommended by my doctors and had successfully helped to deliver over 1,300 babies in her 20 year + career. Everyone at Sutter knew Natasha and was relieved to learn that she was in out birthing team. She was the perfect liaison between the hospital staff, doctors, my husband and I. If you're looking for a doula - look no further (trust me). She's the best there is.

If you are looking for someone to support you during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period…read moreyou definitely need to meet with Natasha. She was helpful and informative to first time parents, not only about the birthing process but also what may come unexpectedly during birth. The truthfulness and honesty Natasha provided helped prepare my husband and I for the reality of the birthing process. Not only was she an advocate for me during my birth but she also helped me have a healthy and successful birth. After my baby was born, Natasha was available for us 24/7 and answered all our questions immediately. I could have never have had such a wonderful birth experience without Natasha. I will absolutely be working with her again in the future.

My husband and I had to relocate from Los Angeles to Napa right in the middle of my pregnancy (with…read moreour FIRST BABY) which meant leaving our midwife behind and leaving me afraid of what we would do for the care/birth of me and our son. I emailed two groups in Napa (Paula being one of them) and told them my situation, Paula offered I call her and talk to her on the phone almost immediately. I never heard anything from the other group. I told her this was our first baby, I was scared of this move because we were set on homebirth and we needed a midwife. She offered to meet with us when we came to Napa and talk further. When we went to to find a place to live in Napa, we visited Paula and part of the birth team and my husband and I realized quickly that Paula was an answer to our prayers. She wasn't just going to be our replacement midwife to get the job done, she was our dream midwife. I can't begin to unpack how amazing Paula is AND the birth team she constructs. Every appointment is thorough, we felt cared for and she went above and beyond to get me connected to other mamas in the area. She is beyond experienced and someone you can trust. Our birth was beautiful, smooth, amazing and at home with Paula and the team just like we wanted. The way the team helped us prepare mentally and emotionally is beyond what they're required to do but they truly care and KNOW birth, babies and parents! As I laid in my bed after birth overwhelmed with emotion holding my son, I looked at Paula and told her I think that this move to Napa was so that we could have her, I couldn't imagine anyone else helping us through this. We hit a SMALL hiccup in birth that was absolutely no big deal to Paula and she quickly rectified it for me so I could push our baby out safely. Couldn't believe how simple it was for her to fix when in the hospital my outcome may have been very different. I say that to comfort you that Paula knows her stuff, she has done this 1000++ times and you are in the best of hands with mama Paula. We love her, her team and everything about our experience. The care we're getting postpartum is unbelievable as well! I could go on and on! I'm telling you, Paula is your midwife.

Paula was inattentive during checkups, responding to texts, only looking up when her apprentice,…read moreJamie, asked a question. We discovered my baby was breech and, with an OB, came up with a plan for spinning baby and what to do if he didn't spin. Two days later, I went into labor. My husband updated Paula on how strong & close together my contractions were, and she said to call her back in an hour, nothing about heading to the birth center 40 minutes away. We trusted her and stayed put. She had no sense of urgency until 15 minutes later when my husband told her my water broke. My breech baby was born in an unsafe environment and needed to be revived by paramedics. We were transported to a nearby hospital separately, and I didn't see my baby until he was 3 hours old. Paula showed up at the hospital and asked my mother to watch her daughter. Almost a year later, in front of her former partner Fawn, Paula claimed that Jamie was the primary for my care and birth. This was a surprise to my husband and me. Jamie didn't know I was in labor until after my water broke as my husband was solely communicating with Paula. My baby spent time in the NICU hooked up to all matter of wires. He was in a cooling blanket for his first 3 days, during which I could only hold him for one hour a day, but not close. He suffered seizures and is still attending High Risk Infant doctors appointments over 18 months later. I'm still coming to terms with my traumatic birth and grieving the birth I wanted. When we chose Paula, there was a couple in the birthing room with their new baby. Paula said they lived 40 minutes away, but she had told them to come early. I loved that and felt we were in good hands, that we would be provided the same care. Instead, we paid thousands and were told to call her back in an hour.

Davon is just the BEST person you could ever have as your Doula! My husband and I are extremely…read morehappy for choosing her and will definitely recommend her services for everyone we know. Since our first interview, we felt a deeply connection with her and we chose her because of her KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, NATURAL APPROACH to pregnancy and childbirth and, most importantly, because we just felt that she understood us and would support us in the way we needed. This is my second baby and I've had a very traumatic experience with my first kid birth, so I wanted to have someone by my side who I could trust and who would help me to trust myself and my body to have a positive birth experience. My husband was a little reluctant to hire a doula, but after meeting her he was already feeling supported and more confident in the birth process. During the pregnancy she was always making herself available for questions and/or concerns and sharing resources to help us navigate through the different stages of this process. She also has an amazing Childbirth Course, that helped us to prepare for the big day. During the prenatal visits, we had an amazing time together, just like friends hanging out. She would spend enough time talking to us about everything we needed; she was never rushing out and would listen to us carefully. Davon is so KIND and she made us feel so comfortable from the very start. She is also very knowledgeable and would help us with our questions, doubts and insecurities. The whole time she was showing her trust in me and my body to go through the birth. On the birth day, she was available right away when we contact her. She arrived at the Birth Center at the same time we did and was there for the whole time. We arrived there at 2am and my baby was born at 7:30am. She never left my side and stayed there until the first hours of postpartum were over, making sure we were both fine. During labor, she always knew what to do and what to say to help me cope. She had many comfort measures for me during my painful contractions. Although I was almost giving up and asking for medication, she never got discouraged or let me feel that I couldn't do it. Her positive affirmations, calmness and confidence were definitely the reason I was able to go all the way through with the unmedicated birth, even when I thought I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't have done without her!!! She also has an amazing back up doula (Tanara), who we met virtually and then in person at our last prenatal appointment. This made us feel even more comfortable because we knew that if Davon couldn't make it to the big day for any reason, we still would have someone we trusted to support us over there. She also encapsulated my placenta. She took care of everything in the birth center and brought the capsules to my home on our postpartum appointment. She also made a cute keepsake out of my dehydrated cord, which was a special touch. Davon is like family to us know! We are extremely grateful that she came into our lives and will never forget this experience.

Made an appointment, got multiple confirmation emails, including an hour before the appointment…read more She never showed. I also emailed her two days before to try to get a response since I assumed the confirmation emails might be automated. She never responded. Phone number listed on Kaiser goes straight to voicemail. Unprofessional - can't imagine trusting this person with anything

I highly recommend Munira to any family looking for a loving doula in the early days with a new…read morebaby. She was our night doula three times a week for our daughter's first 8 weeks, and she made an even bigger difference than we expected. As first-time parents, we were in the dark about a lot. She taught my husband and me so many things: swaddling, feeding, working through gas to avoid colic, baths, bedtime routines, and so much more. She did everything with patience and kind reassurance. She also helped lay the groundwork for good sleep from Day 1, which was extremely important to us. By six weeks, our newborn was sleeping 6-7 hours consistently. I truly value how much she helped me. She supported me with breastfeeding, improving my milk supply, and my own recovery, and she pitched in with baby laundry and getting us organized, which took a lot off our plates. On her nights I actually slept, and over time I built more confidence in my own capabilities. She's the main reason I have felt calm instead of anxious through this huge life change. She's warm, non-judgmental, and deeply knowledgeable. She fit naturally into our home and felt like family right away. We are going to miss her a lot. I feel incredibly lucky to have had her and will never forget the impact she has had in such a short time. 5 stars doesn't come close.

Munira took care of our son and was our night doula from the day he was born up to 8 weeks old…read more She took such great care of him and of us. Having her was such a game changer for our nights and a wonderful and comforting experience. Having the help at night meant we could show up as our best selves for our toddler and baby the next day. I can't recommend her enough!

I cannot express how grateful I am for the incredible support I received from Sheryll during my…read morepostpartum journey. After the second night with our baby and just my husband and me at home, she answered my frantic middle of the night request for a meeting first thing in the morning and came to our rescue that evening. Sheryll provided not just physical assistance, but emotional support that helped me navigate the challenges of new motherhood. She was always attentive, knowledgeable, and patient, answering all my questions and offering practical advice for my situation, all without judgement. Her presence made a world of difference in our home. My little one was always at ease with her, and only slept well when she was around in the beginning. Sheryll brought a calming energy that eased my transition into motherhood, and made everything feel like it was all going to be ok. I highly recommend Sheryll to any new parent looking for guidance and support during the postpartum period. She truly has a gift for helping families thrive! Thank you for everything Sheryll!

My husband and I weren't sure we needed a doula, but after talking with a few folks who had…read moreutilized a doula before, we decided it would be a good idea to have more support, more knowledge, and someone to advocate for us. We then reached out and hired Sheryll and scheduled our six sessions together. In those sessions we built our relationship so we can feel comfortable with her, and we learned so much! We never felt judged about any decisions we made for our birth plan, and if we had questions about anything, she would answer thoroughly and provide us with evidence based information. During labor, we called her when we felt it was most needed. Sheryll showed up at the most perfect time and quickly sprung into action. She reminded me of breathing techniques, took video and photos, got me into various laboring positions, and so much more. She supported this first time mama and dad, wonderfully. We feel tremendously grateful for her and all her contributions. So much that we asked if we could continue to work with her into postpartum as we needed the help at night. Breastfeeding was quite hard for me, but Sheryll reassured me and reminded me to give myself grace, and helped me to continue breastfeeding. Having her here allowed my husband to get more sleep at night, so that in the morning he can take over while I got extra hours of sleep. The crockpot meals she prepped at night when the baby was asleep was such a huge help keeping us fed. One less meal for us to think about! I would highly recommend Sheryll. She's easygoing, comfortable to work with, professional, and her cookies are DELICIOUS. Thanks so much, Sheryll!