My experience with Paula was so traumatic it's taken me almost a year since my birthing experience…read moreto finally leave a review. As difficult as this, I feel responsible to share the truth so others can be informed. I wish others would've done the same when I came to check these reviews before hiring her for the prenatal care and delivery of our first baby. Her 5-star rating turned out to be devastatingly misleading. Initally Paula seemed so supportive and caring, but once she had our money it was downhill from there. She was constantly distracted, forgetful, negligent, and often disrespectful - all signs I should have gotten the hell out of there. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how bad everything was until it was too late to get my money back and I couldn't get another midwife in time. I told Paula straight up "dealing with you has been the most stressful part of my pregnancy." The anxiety she caused me was unreal and seriously harmful to me and my baby. Sadly, things only got worse when I tried to deliver at her "birthing center" in Napa. Do not be deceived by how beautiful and welcoming it seems. It turned into a dreadful place after 3 days of labor with very little support and care from her.  Maybe at one time Paula and Fawn were great at midwifery, but my experience with them was quite contrary. This was very confusing for me and took time to process how horific my experience was with them, since I was so convinced I was working with wise women. Paula did nothing to comfort me or support me during labor. She would only pop in the room for cervical/doppler/blood pressure checks. She told me to take a benadryl, Tylenol, and drink a glass of wine and try to get some sleep. She sent my husband to the store multiple times - for these items as well as nausea medicine, leaving me all alone and him scrambling for things she should have provided.  When I was 8 cm dilated she called in her team and laid down in my bed...ON MY PILLOW! She literally laid there until my labor stalled and I went down to 3 cm. My baby and my body knew it was NOT SAFE to give birth in this woman's hands. The next day my water broke. She laid a diaper on the bed and promptly walked out, leaving me legs spread with gushing fluids and unable to help myself amid contractions. Thankfully, a godsend doula - Denise Lee Haye- kindly stepped up and helped me into the diaper. Every time it needed changing Denise and my husband were the only ones to help. When my best friend asked Paula how much time does she have after the water breaks? Paula replied "indefinitely!" This turned out to be not true and put me and my baby in harm. We barey escaped ICU due to this. At the hospital, Paula struggled to provide the nurses with all of the pertinent info and left as soon as she could. In her stead, a doula named Carolyn stayed with us. She was very sweet, but in retrospect, she prolonged my labor by questioning everything the doctor was doing, imbuing more doubt and hesitation than the confidence and reassurance I needed. I wish she would have questioned and advocated for me like that where I really needed it - at the birthing center. We paid Paula $6,500, $100 for the birthing kit $50 for her "insurance woman," plus those random items she sent my husband to the store for. After submitting her superbill, we were only reimbursed $700. As brand new parents in the thick of everything, this was super stressful and such a huge distraction at a crucial time for our little family. We weren't in a place to be in contact with Paula at all, it was too triggering and unhealthy. Now, we are sharing our story, and now we will reach out for this much warranted refund. A refund is the least whe can do for such a damaging experience. I will update my review when we receive a response on this. Her refund policy ensures she keeps most of your money, even if you don't deliver with her (which should be the most expensive part). In the future, I would look for someone with a more reasonable financial policy, who doesn't have a conflict of interest - ie, will send you to the hospital when it's warranted without the motivation of keeping you to birth with them so they can receive a higher insurance payout. I would also look for a midwife who offers community/group amongst clients, which provides support for parents and babies and more transparency/accountability within the practice (AKA, nothing to hide). SF birth center is really good with this.  I am so lucky my precious baby and I are both okay, although the trauma is hefty. I am grateful for the skilled, caring (unpaid) souls who did help me in my darkest hours and I would highly recommend working with them and paying them directly, not through Paula or Fawn: Jamie Weaver, Kim Stanford, Denise Lee-Haye. And of course, (divine) Providence/Queen of the Valley.

Choosing Paula and The Midwives was the best thing I have done for myself and my baby throughout my…read morejourney to motherhood. My care was supportive, kind, loving, knowledgeable, reassuring, personal, and professional. Each of my appointments throughout my pregnancy lasted as long as they needed to. All my questions and concerns answered and expanded upon. Pregnancy and birth are outrageously vulnerable times and the people you hire to help you throughout it can make a huge impact. My care team had absolute faith in me my whole pregnancy. By the time I went into labor I had no doubts that Paula and her team would support me through a healthy and safe labor. I delivered my beautiful son at the birth center in Napa unmedicated and completely undisturbed. I utilized their enormous birthing tub and had the birth of my dreams. All through the birth center I was able to encapsulate my placenta to help with postpartum healing. They made getting a birth certificate so easy. The postpartum care was amazing. I honestly feel like I can reach out to the team any time. I would absolutely recommend this path to any women. Not so long ago, women gave birth with the help and wisdom of other women in their community who had gone through it countless times and seen it done countless times- this is the experience you will have if you chose to have your baby with Paula and the Midwives. You will be led through your pregnancy and birth by women who believe in your biological ability to do it.

Heather is amazing! She goes over so much information so you can make decisions about procedures…read morethat may happen with more knowledge then any doctor or hospital staff will give you. My husband and I are confident that if we didn't have Heather as our doula that I would have had another c-section (which I didn't want). We ended with a successful V-bac! She took control of the room, the hospital staff pretty much left us alone, which is what I wanted. Helped give me tips and gave my husband tips on how to help me labor. I would have caved and ended up with a c-section if she was not there helping me cope with my back labor. My husband who was on the fence about if we would really need a doula said afterwards "I am so glad you put your foot down, she was worth ever penny". HEATHER IS THE BEST!

We hired Heather as our doula for the birth of our first child. Obviously, we were both scared and…read moreunaware of what to expect - but Heather was WONDERFUL! She met with us multiple times prior to the big day and really put all our fears to rest. It was such an amazing experience to be able to feel the baby's head and hear his heartbeat via stethoscope - unlike at the doctor's office where they literally ask how you're feeling and note your weight/blood pressure and send you on your way. She really loves what she does and it shows in the care she provides throughout the process. I must also note how important Heather was during labor. She came over at 4am after contractions all night. Unfortunately, I was only 2cm when she evaluated me. So, we attempted to sleep and 12 hours later, we were still at the same spot. To make matters worse, Heather also noted that she thought she could feel the cord next to the baby's head. She confirmed this with the doppler. If we had been laboring in the hospital, this would have resulted in an emergency c-section after 25+ hours of labor. But Heather suggested that we attempt to get the cord to fall back into place by having me lay upside down on a board. As crazy as it sounds, it worked! She was with us for the majority of the 47 hours of labor and it is all thanks to her that we were able to have the birth experience we wanted - even with the crazy complications that arose. We are both so grateful that we had Heather in our corner throughout this magical journey. I could not imagine getting through this without her. This was worth every penny we spent, it was more helpful that I could have ever imagined! Thank you Heather!!

What a great birth experience with Napa Valley Midwives. Originally we hired Heather as our doula…read morefor our second baby. Once Covid hit we decided to change course and have a home birth. From the very beginning Heather and Kristina were so engaged with me and my pregnancy. It was the complete opposite of my OBGYN who changed all my appointments to be virtual and even forgot to schedule a few. Heather and Kristina saw me in their office and in my home following all the best practices during the pandemic. I felt safe every time I saw them. I really enjoyed the fact that they rotated which one of the saw me each appointment so that I could develop a relationship with each of them. By the time I went into labor I felt so comfortable with both of them. I believe this made the birth experience just that much better. During my labor and delivery, they were so professional but also felt like close friends since we had developed a great relationship and they truly care about their mamas. Once I delivered my baby, they gave us time to bond as a new family. While we did this they busily cleaned up. It was so impressive- you'd never know a birth had taken place in my house (haha). If you're considering a home birth, you'll be in loving and supportive hands with these two fabulous midwives.

I am not one to write yelp reviews, however, the care we received from Kristina and Heather was so…read moreegregious that I am scared for other women and feel an obligation to write about it. Our care with these midwives ended when I was 37 weeks pregnant and on day 5 of contractions. These contractions were not "real" labor contractions but rather contractions brought on by drinking large quantities of red raspberry leaf tea. They prescribed this to me because they said my son was too big and needed to be induced 2 weeks before his due date (this was later proven to be incorrect, as my son was born 11 days after his due date at a normal size and weight). During this bout of fake contractions, they registered a high blood pressure reading and told me that they feared for my life and needed to take me to the hospital or call 911 and have me removed from my home in an ambulance. I knew my high blood pressure reading happened as a result of feeling stressed out by the midwives and ultimately unsafe in their presence. They seemed to have little knowledge of white coat syndrome (a common occurrence where people have higher stress levels in the presence of a medical professional). I decided to fire them on the spot and switch my care to another midwife. Thank goodness I made this decision, otherwise I would have had a traumatic, premature hospital birth for no good reason. There were several signs along the way that Heather and Krisitina were incompetent. They made several incorrect diagnoses which were later proven incorrect by an MD at the hospital who said I was "a healthy pregnant woman ready for a homebirth." Misdiagnosis: Gestational diabetes: They put me on a very restrictive diet which caused me a lot of stress. When I raised concerns about the validity of at-home diabetes testing, Heather said she still thought it was in the ball-park. My health really suffered because of following their weird diabetes diet (I was encouraged to eat large amounts of meat, even in the middle of the night--this was the worst!) They told me they feared my son was too big and needed to be induced. This put enormous stress on me in the later phases of pregnancy and was completely inaccurate. My son was born at a totally average weight less than 8 pounds even 11 days after his due date. Another misdiagnosis! GBS. After my own research about this, I decided against antibiotic use. They went along with this, but encouraged a very expensive regime of supplements and consistently encouraged me to have antibiotics during the birth. Heather admitted to my mother that she herself had GBS and refused antibiotics in the birth of her own child. Hypocrisy?! They misdiagnosed me with a fever. Thankfully my mother was there and suggested it was warm in the house because of the heating (In December). When I went outside, my temperature was totally normal. Lack of Professionalism: They were late to most appointments. Kristina was 45 minutes late to one appointment. One time, Heather completely forgot an appointment and never showed up. She never even followed up with me to apologize, and I had to reach out to her to schedule the next appointment. They frequently did not have the right supplies for tests I needed to take, were missing batteries for their devices, and they only gave us the birth supply list at 37 weeks, when the baby could already have been born! As a first time parent this was very unsettling! Poor Communication: They didn't tell me which provider from their team would be at my birth, which was very unsettling. Then they set up an appointment with a colleague of theirs who gave me totally different suggestions about how to manage my "gestational diabetes," and at the next appointment Heather said I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do even though I was following her colleague's recommendations. Lack of Emotional Attunement. Both of these midwives acted from a place of extreme fear, rather than actually being able to see the person in front of them. They both never checked in with my husband and barely acknowledged his presence in our appointments. They asked questions in a style that felt more interrogatory rather than helpful/understanding. We left every appointment in fear, which was the last thing we wanted to feel approaching the birth! In addition to all of the grievances listed above, when we reached out to them to let them know that we had a healthy home birth and requested a refund for the fees we paid them, their response displayed a lack of compassion and accountability. They only gave us a 25% refund and never even congratulated us on the healthy home birth of our son, which was supposed to be their number one priority! I think their lack of professionalism, incompetence and lack of knowledge is evident with the numerous examples above. If you want to have a safe home birth and get good quality care, I would highly recommend choosing more experienced midwives.

I took the 3-day birth preparation course with Amelia, and I couldn't be happier with the…read moreexperience! Her energy is truly unmatched. She explained every concept in simple, practical terms and made me feel so genuine cared for and we laughed a lot. While I expected the course to focus primarily on natural birth--and in many ways it did--it was completely free of judgment regarding medical interventions.

I reached out to Brilliant Births to find a birth doula. They offer a matching service and…read moreconnected me to 3 doulas who work independently (not employees of BB). We were really fortunate to find our birth doula (who we love!), but the other 2 candidates were not very impressive. The first doula missed our appointment with no follow-up communication. We were initially confused and thought she was the coordinator for BB, because she only communicated by text. The actual meeting was just by telephone so there was no face-to-face interaction, which felt strange. We could've easily FaceTimed or Zoomed. So communication and reliability were not great. The second doula abruptly canceled our half-hour appointment when we were 10 minutes late for a 30-minute appointment due to my husband wrapping up a Zoom meeting. During our appointment time, she was responding to my emails (in which I apologized for being late), but insisted she could no longer meet with us. I thought this was a really bad sign about what she would be like to work with - labor and delivery is rarely precisely timed and some flexibility is needed. In addition, her email said that she lives in Portola Valley, but we live Berkeley (also where Brilliant Births is located). This also struck me as strange, because it would take 1.5 hours for her to arrive to meet us at the hospital, which is not ideal.

I am so incredibly happy that Becca was our doula for our hospital birth. This was my first baby,…read moreand I knew that all I wanted was for the baby to be healthy and to avoid an emergency C-section if I could. We met with Becca and knew right away that she was the perfect person to help us in preparing for and giving birth. She immediately set us at ease by assuring us that the hospital we chose had an excellent Labor and Delivery team. She was 100% right about that, and everything else. She helped me trust myself and my body. I never thought I would have such an amazing and thoroughly happy birth experience. Becca really cares. It meant a lot to us that she also visited us after the birth to check in and provide some very welcome support. If we have another baby, we will definitely work with Becca, again!

I could not imagine my first birth without Becca! From the very first phone call, I felt an instant…read moreconnection with her--she's such a kind, caring soul and a true expert in her field. One of the things that impressed me most was how seamlessly she read the dynamic between me and my husband. She always knew when to step in with support and when to step back and give us space. That balance was invaluable during such an emotional, vulnerable time. When my birth plan didn't go the way I had envisioned, Becca's expert advice and calm presence gave me so much security in the decisions I had to make. She helped me feel grounded, informed, and confident every step of the way and encouraged me to listen to my instinct and body. Another aspect of her support that you simply can't put a price on is how connected she is at Kaiser. She knew nearly every midwife and nurse, and because of her strong relationships there, I felt reassured that the care I was receiving was exactly what I needed. Her presence gave me an extra layer of trust in the whole process. Becca communicated beautifully, supported us with such compassion, and helped make my first birth experience one that I will cherish forever. I can't recommend her enough--if you're considering a doula, Becca is truly one of a kind! Thank you so much Becca!

After giving birth for the first time, I went to see Kate for pelvic floor care and am so glad I…read moredid. Kate understands the women's body physically and emotionally. You immediately feel relaxed in her environment and she takes the time to understand your experience. You leave with valuable input on what the healing journey looks like. I am so grateful for Kate and will definitely be seeing her again for all future birth needs!

Kate is magic, she helped me prepare for birthing! I took her prenatal yoga classes and took a…read moreretreat with her to prep for that moment, and massages. It was a wonderful support. She is a lovely person, kind, confident, and powerful. You really feel you are in good hands with her. She knew I was new to town and that I arrived two months before delivering. She helped setting up a meal plan. Such a detail!! Thank you Kate you are a wonderful woman!

Best decision we ever made regarding our care for pregnancy and labor/delivery! This is our first…read morebaby and with everything going on in hospitals, policies and now covid issues, my husband and I were weary about going the traditional route for pre and postnatal care. So I started looking into alternatives and then I met Fawn, Kim and their midwife student Jamie! I was convinced they were the right choice for us from the very first meeting. These ladies care and actually show that they care. Every appointment they listened to what I was going through and made helpful suggestions. They were able to monitor my vitals and order labs like blood work and ultrasounds. Near the end of my pregnancy I had some liver issues and they caught it by listening to what I was going through and ordering more blood work. Labor and delivery went better than I thought it would. They were very understanding! This being my first delivery, everyone thought labor would be long. However, a few hours later, I believed things were progressing. They came out to check on me when I expressed my concerns, even though everyone thought it would be a long time. They cared about me and my peace of mind, dropping everything to check on me. Sure enough, labor was progressing quickly and I had my daughter a few hours after they arrived. During delivery, they were calm and peaceful. They encouraged me to listen to my body and to try different positions to find what was best for me. I was able to focus on what I needed and nothing else. I loved my experience with Fawn, Kim and their midwife student Jamie. I recommend these lovely ladies to any and every expecting mother who wants to have amazing and attentive care.

Fawn, Kim and Jamie are three of the most wonderful human beings you will ever meet. They are an…read moreincredible team that know how to create a kind, caring, safe and loving environment that lasts from your first visit to your last. Collectively they have an incredible amount of experience and expertise. My wife and I looked forward to every single visit we had as they were fun and relaxed while always remaining professional. The birth of our child was absolutely incredible, the way they work is seamless attending to every need without you really noticing but at the same time feeling like you are surrounded by family. We plan on having many children and will use them for every birth! The only two bad reviews on here are laughable after working with them and clearly these people are confused, because nothing they wrote could be further from the truth. Using this service has been the best decision my wife and I could have made for our birth and for our family!

After interviewing a few doulas, I found Jen and knew right away that she would be the best fit for…read moreme, especially as a first-time mom. Her experience as both a nurse and a doula is amazing, but what stood out to me most was her genuine passion for all things birth-related. Her positive, reassuring energy is just an added bonus. Before the birth, we had a few sessions where Jen educated my husband and me about the birth process, what to expect, and the different decisions we might face during labor and delivery. Having her knowledge and guidance helped me feel so much more relaxed and confident throughout my pregnancy. Instead of obsessively researching every possible scenario that could go wrong, I felt like I had someone I trusted who could help me navigate whatever came up. When I went into labor, my husband and I were able to rely on Jen for guidance and support all the way through delivery and even afterward. I ended up having an incredible birth experience, and I truly attribute so much of that to having Jen as part of my support system. I was able to give birth in a position that felt comfortable and natural to me, had no tearing(!!!), and had a quick and smooth delivery. I would absolutely recommend Jen to anyone looking for a doula, and I honestly can't imagine giving birth again without her if I can help it! We are so grateful for everything she did for our family and feel extra special that our baby got to be her 350th birth. Thank you so much, Jen!!

We took an EBB course with Jennifer. She's the best instructor anyone can ask for. She was very…read moreknowledgeable and absolutely amazing with how she shared her knowledge and taught the class, she's super through, had a great attitude and energy, was very open to question, and even shared her very personal experience in the last class. I learned so much in her class. She took her time collecting so many resources and putting them together in ways that were easy to consume and refer to afterwards. I woud highly recommend her class. And even though i didn't get the opportunity to use her doula services, I can't imagine a better doula by your side.

As a new parent, the postpartum period is challenging enough without having to deal with the stress…read moreand disappointment of a difficult agency. While Stork and Sprout does have some excellent doulas on its team who provided great support and coaching, my experience with the agency's leadership was overwhelmingly negative. We had a particularly difficult time with Brittany. She demonstrated a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting, and lying, both to us and, from what I understand, to her own employees. Our contract promised consistent coverage, but the scheduling was erratic and communication was poor. We were left to wonder many nights if we would have support, and for several weeks, we only received 1 to 2 days of support instead of the 6 to 7 we paid for. When we requested a refund for the services not provided, Brittany refused and even fought our bank with out-of-context emails and more lies. She claims she "offered a refund" but is even today refusing to honor it as she says in the response. The lack of professionalism extended to some of the staff as well; one sick doula was sent to our home and intentionally caused our newborn physical pain. Brittany treated us like we were the difficult ones and responded with empathy-less chatGPT emails to manage the situation. We were also led to believe we would have one primary doula with a backup, but over the course of our service, we had seven different doulas come to our home. This complete lack of continuity made an already difficult period even more stressful. Based on my experience, I would advise new parents to skip Stork and Sprout and work directly with an independent doula. You will not only save the 30-40% extra fee the agency charges for scheduling, but you will also avoid the toxic and difficult management. This experience is unacceptable for a service that costs tens of thousands of dollars and demands payment upfront months ahead of providing the service. We were not able to switch easily due to the inflexible Carrot reimbursement process through the employer.

I truly couldn't have accomplished my VBAC goals without the incredible support of the Stork and…read moreSprout birth doula team. From the very first moment I needed them through labor and all the way until I was settled into the maternity floor with my new little boy, they were there every step of the way. Their calm presence, deep knowledge, encouragement, and advocacy made all the difference during such an intense and meaningful experience. I felt supported, empowered, and never alone. I am beyond grateful for their care and dedication and would wholeheartedly recommend Stork and Sprout to anyone preparing for birth--especially those pursuing a VBAC.

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.