Sheila and Brooke made the birth of our first baby such a positive experience. Brooke was great during the prenatal period; she answered all of our questions and informed us of what to expect during labor, delivery, and postpartum. She made sure I was doing my prenatal exercises early on, and I believe the exercises helped my labor/delivery progress quickly. We had Sheila as our birth doula and she was amazing! From the moment she arrived at our home she had a calming and nurturing presence. She knew exactly what to do to keep me (and my husband) relaxed through some very difficult double-peaking contractions. Being first time parents, we had no idea when we should leave for the hospital. Sheila got us to the hospital right in time for pushing...I was SO glad I was able to labor so long at home! Our sweet baby girl was born two hours after arriving at the hospital. Having Sheila there took a ton of pressure off of my husband, he was able to focus on providing emotional support which I loved. The birth of our baby girl was perfect. I'm so thankful we had Sheila and Brooke to help us through this life-changing event! They are an amazing team. read more

Sheila was such a blessing to have as our doula for our third child. We had never used a doula before, but due to our experiences with our first two births, we wanted someone in our corner to support us through the labor and delivery process. My husband had to get our other two small children situated while I was in labor and Sheila was at my side for 12 straight hours doing whatever measures necessary to ensure my comfort. She also had an assistant, Marji, who came and provided such a calming force when I needed it. I will be forever grateful for their constant guidance and care during that time. I would highly recommend Sheila for those seeking a doula. We also utilized Izzy postpartum, as a lactation consultant since my breastfeeding journey was a struggle and I knew something was wrong but couldn't pinpoint it. She came to our home and listened to my concerns and after her assessment, she was able to tell pretty quickly what the issue was. She was so kind and supportive and I will never forget how encouraging she was. She made me feel very comfortable and I would strongly encourage anyone looking for a lactation consultant to reach out to Izzy. read more

This was my second time working with Sheila and I can't express how much of a pleasure it was. She was there with me during my sons birth in 2019 and once again in 2020. Sheila was extremely helpful both times; however, during my 2020 birth she went above and beyond for me. Sheila not only assisted me with my birth process but stayed the night with me till the very next day and helped care for my daughter. She was incredible!!! I absolutely love working with Sheila. I also had the pleasure of meeting and working with Izzy and Brooke! Both were so awesome!! Brooke was always so helpful when I text a question, she would responded quickly to address my concerns. Izzy was absolutely amazing!! She was so helpful with getting me started on my breastfeeding journey! I can't express how wonderful all 3 ladies are!! I look forward to working with them in the future!! read more

Not enough words to express how great Modesto Birth & Beyond is. Sheila and Brooke from the start were extremely helpful in answering all of my questions and helping me feel at ease about labor and delivery. Highly recommend the Lamaze classes they offer, so much was learned! Brooke was an amazing doula and helped make my labor and delivery a beautiful experience. I would highly recommend Modesto Birth & Beyond to anyone who is expecting and wants that extra support. read more

My husband and I are 100% convinced that having the support and knowledge of a doula on our team for my second baby is why our labor and birth went so well. From the first encounter they listened to us and really wanted us to have the labor and birth experience we wanted. The classes we took beforehand helped prepare us and gave us tools to use during pregnancy. Then during for early labor the text support offered helped us better communicate with our medical team Brooke came when labor ramped up and helped guided us through the it at home until we were ready to go to the hospital. She was steady, encouraging, and allowed my husband a chance to take care of himself too. I felt empowered this time and some of the doubts and emotional wounds I had during my first traumatic birth were healed. I wish everyone could have a doula and would highly recommend Brooke and Sheila to anyone. read more

My wife and I are first time parents and we worked with Izzy, Sheila, and Brooke as Post-Partum Doulas, however they became so much more to us. Izzy: Was absolutely WONDERFUL to work with and her skills as a Lactation Consultant really got us through the trying first few weeks. I did not appreciate how complicated lactation and latching and the whole world of breast feeding is and now I have a newfound appreciation for my amazing wife. Working with Izzy gave us access to our own personal lactation consultant who could observe the latch, adjust the ergonomics, and demonstrate various breast feeding positions. She also showed us how to use the different tools invovled with supplemental nursing systems and how to store and utilize breast milk. Most importantly she provided an oral assessment for our baby and helped us through the process of learning about his lip and tongue tie as well as locating an expert pediatric dentist to treat them. This was the source of many of our breast feeding problems and we woudln't have been able to solve them without Izzy. The lip and tongue ties were missed by our pediatrician and two other lacatation consultants we visited. She also provided many resources along the way to show that her info was up to date and explained why these subtle ties can be missed by other experts. After we had the ties treated, the majority of our breast feeding issues resolved! On top of her expertise in lacation, she's amazingly warm and nurturing and caring and was a pleasure to be around. Sometimes we found ourselves chatting with her instead of getting much needed sleep because we simply enjoyed her company so much We're so grateful we had Izzy in our life during this time in our lives. We couldn't have gotten through it with her. Brooke: Having her helping hand around truly made our fourth trimester a less painful experience. She watched, fed, and changed our baby's diaper overnight while helping to wake my wife for her evening breast pumps, giving my wife much needed rest over night. On top of all of that, Brooke was very industrious and proactive about helping around the house while the baby slept. She folded our baby's clothes and sheets and swaddles and burp clothes and holy crap there's just so much laundry. She did our dishes and washed and sterilized pump parts and bagged and froze breast milk. You can imagine how wonderful it was to have this sort of help. On top of that, she baked us amazing lactation cookies. If you decide to work with her don't forget to ask about her cookies. They're scrumptious. Sheila: Was with us that first night we brought our new baby boy back home and we were so glad we had her. Her wisdom, expertise, and confidence gave us so much strength. When my wife broke down in tears from the combination of exhaustion, pain, worry, frustration, and sleep deprivation, Sheila's shoulders were there to provide comfort and guidance. She showed us how to do a sponge bath, how to feed the baby, how to use the various carriers and swaddles that we were gifted (and that arrived in incoherent tangles). These three make an amazing team and my wife and I are so grateful to have had them in our lives! read more

Sheila and Brooke are the best! I was trying for a vbac and their support and knowledge was invaluable. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to the birth and it was so nice to be able to text them and ask whatever questions were on my mind. They gave me some great exercises to work through my anxiety. The hospital I delivered in did not allow Doulas because it was during COVID, which I was bummed about at first, but they were able to support me via FaceTime during the entire labor and delivery. We also did two in-person classes before the birth where they taught my husband and I, among other things, all the hands-on pain relief positions that we'd need to know because they wouldn't be able to attend the birth. It was so nice to have them on FaceTime during labor so they could guide us on what to do next. Between the hands-on techniques they taught my husband, and their virtual support and guidance, I had all the help I needed to get my successful vbac. I will definitely use them for my next birth! read more

Our birth story didn't go quite as imagined or planned but I know it would've been so much more difficult without our wonderful doulas! I can't even put into words how above and beyond Sheila and Brooke went for us. Sheila spent basically four days with us through prolonged labor, keeping me calm and doing everything she possibly could to help keep me comfortable through days of contractions and a few very sleepless nights. She even stayed by our side all day through acupuncture and a chiropractor appointment when we figured out our little guy just wasn't in a good position and was holding my body up from progressing. There were a few times the lack of progress was just getting so disheartening but Sheila was always there with comforting words and assuring me that our little guy would be here when he was ready. In the hospital Sheila and Brooke both advocated for us through the decisions that needed to be made when our little guy just wouldn't turn into the proper position. The contractions and intense back labor would've been so much harder to work through without Sheila and Brooke both helping me breathe through them and focus on the goal of getting our sweet baby here safely! I truly believe without them we would've had a much harder time making informed decisions especially after a few days with very little sleep. My husband and I both never regret the decision to include Sheila and Brooke in our birth experience and we absolutely plan to include them in our next one if that is God's plan. We absolutely love these ladies and would recommend them to anyone no matter what kind of birth you plan for! They've been supportive from the day we chose them to this day (4 months after our little guy made it here safe)! They both frequently check in to make sure we are doing okay and that the transition to parenthood is going as smoothly as possible! It's so important to have support through every step of the way including pregnancy, labor, birth, and breastfeeding! Sheila and Brooke do exactly that and even more. read more

I'm so grateful that I got to have Sheila and Margi as a part of my birthing team and that I was able to experience a successful VBAC! Sheila is so knowledgeable about natural birth and she is such a compassionate, personal person. I am still in complete awe of how perfect my birth went! Sheila helped me find my voice and I felt completely empowered throughout my pregnancy journey. If you are considering a doula, I would highly recommend Modesto Birth and Beyond! read more

I could not be more thankful for the help and support from Sheila, Brooke and Izzy. They are the best support system you'll find! As then new norm with the pandemic, you are only allowed to have one person with you during labor and of course, in my case, it had to be my husband. Yet, I was very nervous about it just being us since we are first time parents and neither of us knew too much about how to cope with labor pain etc. Hiring them gave me such great relief knowing that I would have someone experienced with me, guiding me through the whole thing and not just that, they gave us so much helpful information with the 2 clases we took prior. There was so much that my husband and I learned and they made us feel a lot more confident going into birth. After birth I did have a lactation consultation with Izzy and it was so helpful. She is so kind and makes you feel comfortable. I also got to know Sheila more than Brook (although both are great doulas and very knowledgeable) and I have to say, Sheila went above and beyond helping us and being there for us on anything we needed. Over all, I am just so thankful I had them during my journey and I wouldn't have it any other way. I would definitely use their service again for my second baby because my experience with them was nothing but positive. Thank you so much for what you do! read more

I had a very positive birth experience with the help and guidance of Sheila. My husband and I were very happy to have her on our birthing team. With Sheila's help my husband was able to focus his attention and support me just like I had wanted. The moment Sheila walked into our room she was ready to work and brought me back to the mindset I had planned on leading up to that day. Sheila was able to guide my focus during contractions to where it needed to be. Her suggestions during the pregnancy and information about birth made a big difference throughout the labor. I was able to have a natural physiological birth and I'm certain having Sheila's guidance helped me achieve my goal. Sheila stayed after birth and helped us get our first latch too. Receiving her check in texts postpartum was also a great help. Her knowledge and experience helped us as first time parents throughout our birthing journey. I'm so glad I decided to invest in doula services for my family. I am grateful to have a positive birth story to share. Sheila is a wonderful Doula who can help women feel empowered during a life changing event such as birthing a baby into the world. read more