I'm obsessed with Casey! This was my first tarot and birth chart reading, and I learned so much…read more From the moment I walked in, her space felt warm, welcoming, and incredibly cozy. She spent more than three hours with my best friend and me, thoughtfully reading both of our charts and guiding us through a beautiful sound bath experience. Casey has a gift for making you feel seen, understood, and connected to yourself on a deeper level. We left feeling inspired, energized, and excited to continue exploring this work with her. I can't recommend her enough and am already looking forward to booking another session.

I am blown away from her reading. I needed clarity and reminder of my power. Having a tarot session…read morefelt like talking to an old friend who was keeping it real while remaining heart centered at the same time. I appreciate her listening and empathy while also being realistic and grounded. Definitely will recommend

We couldn't imagine the experience of our first pregnancy and the birth of our son without the…read moresupport and guidance of our incredible doula, Abbie! My husband and I were intrigued by the idea of working with a doula early in my pregnancy, but looking back, we had NO idea just how meaningful Abbie's expertise and care would be. With each session, she educated us, encouraged us, gave us incredibly useful tools and resources, and most importantly, empowered us as a couple. We weren't able to follow our birth plan as we had initially hoped due to unexpected circumstances, but Abbie helped us navigate every change with confidence. We felt informed, supported, and at peace amidst all the unanticipated redirection. She played such a meaningful role in making the birth of our son an incredibly positive and empowering experience, and we truly can't imagine having done it without her.

Abbie was everything I was looking for in a doula: knowledgeable, responsive, and calm. My birth…read moredidn't go quite as planned and Abbie was there to help at every turn. As a first time mom, I was very happy to have a doula and I would recommend Abbie as your doula 100%.

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.

We feel so incredibly lucky to have had Marilou as our postpartum night doula. I ended up needing…read moreto be induced earlier than expected, so we had to arrange support at the very last minute. I was honestly pretty anxious going into it because we didn't have the opportunity to interview or even speak with her beforehand, and we were simply going off her profile that was shared with us. But from the moment she arrived, she immediately put us at ease. She was with us for those first few nights home from the hospital, when I was exhausted, emotional, and very newly postpartum. She had such a warm, gentle, and calming presence, and having her there made those overwhelming first nights feel so much more manageable. She was incredibly sweet and attentive with our baby, but she was equally caring toward me, always checking in and offering thoughtful tips for both newborn care and taking care of myself during recovery. She helped with feeds, baby laundry, and washing and assembling bottles and pump parts, and was always punctual, dependable, and proactive. Most importantly, we felt completely comfortable having her care for our brand new baby during such a vulnerable time. Our only regret is that we didn't find her sooner! Because everything came together so last minute, she was only available to be with us for a few nights, and we absolutely would have loved to have had her for longer. We're so grateful she was there when we needed her and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any family looking for a kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely caring postpartum doula. Thanks Marilou and Doulas by the Bay!

My wife and I had Jordan from Doulas by the Bay help care for our newborn overnight from 11 p.m. to…read more7 a.m., and she quickly earned our trust. Jordan is young, eager, and incredibly attentive. Throughout every overnight shift, she remained awake and alert, always ready when our daughter needed her. Most importantly, she cared for our baby with the same patience and gentleness we would ourselves, which gave us tremendous peace of mind as new parents. Her reliability was equally impressive. She was consistently punctual, arriving between 10:58 and 11:00 p.m., and was always respectful and ready to help. Trusting someone with your newborn is no small thing. Jordan made that trust easy. I would confidently recommend both Jordan and Doulas by the Bay to my closest friends and family, and we'd happily welcome her back into our home. Thank you, Jordan, for taking such wonderful care of our little girl!

We feel so lucky to have found Tamra! As our night nurse, she made an enormous difference for our…read morefamily. She was knowledgeable and confident, but always respected our own ideas and goals for our daughter. She stays up the entire night, so we could rest easy knowing our baby was in great hands. Our daughter is now a wonderful sleeper, and we owe a lot of that to Tamra! Plus, she bakes amazing cookies, and our dog absolutely loved her. She quickly became like family to us. We highly recommend Tamra to anyone who needs overnight newborn care.

Tamra was nothing short of incredible and to be honest felt life saving. Having her during the…read morefirst nights of bringing my first child home helped our family get into a healthy feeding/sleeping routine for the baby and ourselves. She is knowledgeable, kind, fun and really helped to ease a lot of the stress I had with being a ftm. She helped my BF journey and was there to provide incredible support and guidance. Having her was truly a gift for my son but also for my mental health. I throughly enjoyed having her with us during the night feedings and she deeply understands how to connect to you during this very interesting chapter of life. , Tamra made everything feel as if I was on a team rather being alone in the night trying to look up suggestions on anything and everything related to a newborn. Tamra is/was a game changer for my whole family. We cannot thank you enough and will forever be grateful!

Janet L. was incredibly warm, kind, and compassionate when she helped us over the first couple of…read moremonths of our daughter's life! She blended into our new family seamlessly and was so helpful as we got used to life as a family of three. My husband had some tricky tech requests and she was super willing to work with us to get all the systems set up. She was beyond accomodating and was able to either wake me right before a feed or just handle the night feeds with pumped milk, depending on the night/timing. She was wonderful and helped us so much - would recommend her to anyone looking for a night doula!

We had two amazing doulas for our second daughter, both covered through my Carrot benefit at work,…read moreRhona at night and Julie during the day. Rhona was our overnight doula for both of our girls, and honestly I don't know how I would've gotten through those first months without her. With my first, she helped me figure out breastfeeding, kept me going on the hard nights, and taught me how to pump so I could actually get some sleep. With our second we had jaundice and an unplanned trip back to the hospital and Rhona was such a calm, steady presence for me while I got through it. Rhona is just so good at what she does, and clearly cares a lot about the families she works with. Julie was equally wonderful during the day. She's sincere, honest, and has this calming way about her. She normalized so much of what I was feeling and hyped me up until I actually felt ready to handle life with two kids. Genuinely fun to have around too, even on the rough days. We're so grateful for both of them and would recommend them without hesitation.

Lisa has helped me tremendously. She provides relevant info to the specific problem. She helped…read moreme write a birthplan, which Kaiser sort of followed. Breastfeeding was a disaster, from my low milk supply, baby being tongue tied, mastitis, the wrong size flanges for the breast pump that Kaiser gave me. Lisa helped me with homeopathic remedies, support, and information about medications that others have found useful (she does not prescribe or give specific medication dosing advice for prescribed medications). I don't know that I will be able to breastfeed, but it isn't for lack of trying, and Lisa made me feel better, that I have done everything humanly possible and if I can't it's not because I didn't give it my all. I highly recommend using her service. She is responsive, kind, reassuring, and just a lovely person who wants you and your baby to be healthy and strong. She loves babies and respects mamas. What could be better?

If you are wanting to hire a doula or have extra support, definitely hire Lisa. When my husband…read moreand I found out we were pregnant, I knew I wanted to have a doula assist with the birth. I also knew that I wanted to have a natural birth and that doulas could be a great assistance in reaching this goal. I spent a lot of time emailing doulas, a lot of them. Lisa was only one of a couple I heard back from. She responded promptly and was willing to work around our busy/late night schedule to set up an interview. Once we interviewed, I knew that I wanted to hire her. My husband was more apprehensive and had difficulty spending the money when he felt he would be helpful and not need a doula. However, he knew how much it meant to me and went with it. Throughout the pregnancy, we received so much useful information from Lisa. Any questions I had, she was always available to answer them. Towards the end of my pregnancy I had high blood pressure and my doctor wanted to induce me because of concerns regarding my blood pressure. I knew that it would be very difficult to have a natural birth with being induced but felt confident that given the support, I would be able to do it. I ended up having three different types of inducement measures, cervidil, a balloon, and pitocin. My labor was incredibly difficult, with a recommendation of an epidural discussed twice and a c-section discussed once. Lisa saved me from having to have any of this done. She suggested two specific positions to utilize while having contractions that are never done in hospitals. My doctor worked with Lisa and was willing to have Lisa try them with me. These positions saved me from having a c-section and made my goal of having a natural birth possible. She was not only available and there for me during my pregnancy and labor & delivery but afterwards as well. I have asked so many questions regarding breastfeeding and other things and she has always been available for me. She responds promptly to me and is constantly checking in on me (my baby was born 8 days ago). I cannot say enough positive things about Lisa. Hire her as your doula, it will be the best decision you can make. Following the delivery, my somewhat skeptical husband prior to labor and delivery said that it was worth all of the money we spent. He said hiring Lisa was one of the best decisions we made during this process. That, to me, says it all. Hire Lisa.

I chose to hire midwives for a homebirth out of a desire to have a different experience. Being my…read more5th baby, I wanted to experience complete peace and say in how I would labor. Having midwives who cared, who saw me & had my best interest in the process and outcome. My experience with both Angela & Kathryn was truly a pleasant one. I am happy to have found them. Very down to earth mamas themselves. Passionate about what they do to serve women through their whole pregnancy journey. During labor I was able to experience how important it is to have midwifery care. At one point just having Kathryn's presence during those intense contractions was such a relief. To know they were walking this with me. Their knowledge and experience were a tremendous help in my journey. It's definitely at a different level than I've experienced before. Just having any concern be truly heard, the conversations were up-lifting. Never felt rushed or dismissed. I felt safe physically as well. I just loved being taken care of by Angela & Kathryn. My mind set coming in was I wanted to experience a more wholesome if I can say that... a wholesome labor experience. One where my wishes and needs were heard and followed through. Angela & Kathryn were great at giving me my options, letting me know the risks, the pros, the cons, etc. and being knowledgeable and understanding. Oh I want every pregnant mama friend to know they can go through pregnancy & delivery without fear. Whether that's at home or hospital with the right midwives/ doulas with you. That this special time is worth making the choice to hire them. I wish I would have hired them sooner to be able to have them since the beginning of my pregnancy! I love that they continue to invest and keep learning to better serve. They both have something to offer and together they make the perfect duo. ----

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.

I cannot say enough good things about Kathy and the wonderful service she provides to all of her…read moreclients and babies. She is incredibly loving, supportive, and empathetic to new mamas and will take incredible care of you and your baby. Kathy was with us with our first child and does everything she possibly can to support families. She also goes above and beyond by doing extras during the night - washing dishes, doing laundry, and generally cleaning up. It's like you wake up in the morning and a magical elf has been to your house. She is also a certified lactation consultant and can support breastfeeding mamas.

Wow, where do I begin? Hiring Kathy was the best decision I could have made as a new mom. She…read morestarted working for us the very first night we brought our son home from the hospital and stayed for about 12 weeks. She clearly LOVES babies, and we felt so comfortable leaving our son with her. Kathy also has a very empathetic nature. It's easy to talk to her, she listens carefully, and has a warm and loving energy about her. Besides just taking care of the baby at night, we also had great little chats each evening. When I was waking up to breastfeed those first few weeks, she focused on also taking care of me by bringing me water and snacks. Being a new mom can be overwhelming and exhausting...it was so nice to feel like I was being taken care of those nights. She also likes to keep busy when baby sleeps and helps with cleaning dishes, bottles, laundry and doing research for you on any topics you are interested in. My husband also loved her...so much that we extended our nights per week with her soon after she started. I so very much looked forward to every evening she came over and was basically in tears on her last night with us. She was such a help in those first few months, I can't imagine what the experience would have been like without her. I know for certain that if we do have another child Kathy will be our first phone call!

We feel extremely fortunate that we got to have Keelia help us settle into being a family of four…read more She was a consistently warm and caring presence, not just for our new baby but for all four of us. And she has a special knack for just finding ways to be helpful even if we're frazzled and don't know what to ask. She's also very thoughtful about providing advice--in addition to answering whatever random questions we have, she gently offers advice without it ever feeling like she's forcing it on us or it feeling overly didactic. We could go on about how great she is, but the long and short of it is that she's amazing at what she does.

I am certain that my experience with Keelia made THE difference in achieving the birth of my…read moredaughter the ways that I wanted it- delaying at home for as long as possible, no pain meds and a positive, empowered experience. My biggest fears were my low pain tolerance and lack of control over knowing exactly how it would go. Shortly before our due date, Keelia came over to review our birth plan and a timeline of what to expect for pre-labor, active labor, travel to the birth center, transition, and delivery. She made sure we practiced comfort measures, breathing and how I wanted to be supported verbally. It wasn't until the last moments with Keelia where she looked me in the eye and said I was ready, that I actually felt prepared to go into labor and meet my daughter. 2 days later, my water broke in the middle of the night. For the next 44 hours of contractions, naps, two car rides up to the birth center, a traumatic cervical check on day one to then be sent back home, many walks around the neighborhood, yoga ball bouncing, 1 game of Monopoly, snacks, massages, and support - Keelia was at our beck and call. By the time we got to the birth center (again) on day 2 after 36 hours, I was only at 1cm and 50% effaced. Keelia helped me calm down from exhausition and frustration at this news, and we made a plan to get misoprostol to thin my cervix but hopefully proceed with no other interventions. Miraculously, Ava was born 7 hours later. Keelia coached me through contractions which came back to back for hours, waved lavendar oil in front of my face for nausea, massaged my back, covered the clock when she noticed it stressing me out, got me into the shower with Joe when I hit the wall of transition, and helped me breathe through pushing - 3 contractions! She reassured me every step of the way - calmly & knowing I could do it at all moments. In this amazing doula's hands, I felt loved, safe, and supported. Thank you, Keelia.