I sought help from Kelly as a last resort after a month of baby struggling to get back to birth…read moreweight. I was prescribed triple feeding which was totally unsustainable. She helped tremendously and gave us so much confidence as parents. She was so patient and knowledgeable, and professional. We got the latch down and were able to drop the triple feeding routine. Here we are almost a year later still nursing and growing right on track!

Kelly is the best lactation consultant any mama could ask for!!! A week into my breast feeding…read morejourney with my first baby I was ready to give up. (We saw a horrible lactation consultant at Kaiser who made me feel like I was starving my baby and tried to move us to formula immediately.) Thankfully we found Kelly on Yelp and she was able to see us the next day. She listened to my concerns/frustrations with breastfeeding, then watched me nurse my baby and gave such compassionate guidance. She gave me so much confidence!!! Fast forward to today, my baby girl is 9 months old and I am still exclusively breastfeeding!!! Breastfeeding is so much harder than anyone ever told me it was going to be. My recommendation for any first time mama would be to make an appointment with Kelly and get all the support you didn't even know you would need, it makes a world of a difference!

Serena's support was truly a vital blessing in an unbelievably challenging chapter. I had a…read morepremature baby who was struggling with feeding and weight gain. Nothing was working. I was triple feeding and burning the candle at both ends on top of the emotional strain of feeling like my body failed. Serena made me feel grounded and whole when everything felt chaotic and out of my control. She normalized some of the challenges that we were experiencing. She gave me really grounded advice that helped me set expectations. Including really thinking about risks and benefits when dealing with a baby who had oral aversion. Rather than focusing on every feed or every ounce on the scale, she helped me focus on the big picture of helping the baby feel safe and in control in his own body and developing a mother and infant bond that would support our long-term journey. Not only did she offer a calming presence, good advice, but she continued to be available and responsive weeks months, and even years down the road. She supported me with my second baby years later, and has continued to be a supportive, trusted person in my life. I call her my Milk Fairy GOdmother. She truly was a blessing.

It is no wonder Serena has 5 star ratings. Our 8 wk old baby started showing slow weight gain and…read moreas a first time parent, I was so worried and overwhelmed. From our first call, Serena was kind, thorough and asked all the right questions. She made time to come over within days, immediately pinpointed the issue, and created a clear feeding plan that gave me so much relief. She even reached out to our pediatrician right after and they called me the same day to schedule a weight check by end of the week! Serena's care doesn't stop at your session -- she checks in often and is always available by text, making me feel completely supported and never alone. She's warm, friendly, non-judgmental and turned a scary situation into something manageable. We're still working with her but I couldn't wait to share. Even though we're not out of the woods yet, I feel a million times better knowing Serena is by our side. If you're considering working with her, don't hesitate -- she's a gem!

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

Chelsea was wonderful to work with and so helpful on my breastfeeding journey. As a first time mom…read moreit is confusing to navigate all the newness of postpartum but having Chelsea there to support me put me at ease. She was very kind, caring, and knowledgeable and I would definitely recommend her to any mamas seeking breastfeeding help!

Chelsea has been such an incredible support throughout the feeding journey with my twins, and me as…read morea first-time parent. From the very beginning, she approached everything with so much compassion, patience, professionalism, and genuine care for our family's unique needs. What I especially appreciated was how personalized her guidance was. Our twins have had different feeding journeys since birth, and Chelsea truly listened and met each baby (and me!) where we were without judgment or a one-size-fits-all approach. Her expertise made such a meaningful difference for all of us. She suggested transitioning to a different bottle when the twins were eating very slowly and tiring themselves out before finishing feeds, and the new bottles were an absolute game changer. She also properly resized me for pumping flanges, which immediately improved both comfort and milk output. Beyond being incredibly knowledgeable, Chelsea is simply a lovely human being. She's warm, sweet, reassuring, and makes you feel supported during what can be such a vulnerable, emotional and exhausting season of parenthood. I am so grateful to have found her and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any family, especially fellow twin parents navigating complex feeding journeys.

We had the good fortune to work with Mary at Kaiser in Oakland. Feeding a newborn is one of the…read moremost stressful things for new parents- having Mary on our team was invaluable, she was a great support to us not only to properly feed our baby, but also to answer all of our questions (which were never ending!) She is very kind and knowledgeable, and was there solely to support us in whichever way we wanted to pursue feeding our child and to provide us the proper resources, without judgement. Her motto was always that we needed to find what worked for us, and with her support we did! We can't thank her enough for her support during our transition into parenthood!

Breastfeeding is one of the most challenging and amazing things you can do as a new mother. I am so…read moregrateful that I found Mary and was able to have her support, expertise, and guidance along the way. My son suffered from reflux and it threw a wrench in our breastfeeding journey. Mary was able to provide me with information on different holds and block feeding in order for me to give the most comfort to my baby. Mary's attentiveness and professionalism makes it easy for me to highly recommend her.

Rosie is so good with our son. She's done so much to help him (and us) develop a healthy, regular…read moreschedule. And he's so much happier than before working with Rosie. She's super professional, but also clearly loves children and they love her. I would recommend her to anyone.

Rosie is the best in the business and she has been a dream to work with! she has been working with…read moreus as first time parents, navigating getting our little guy to sleep, adhere to a schedule, introduce solids and more. she has a wealth of experience and knowledge and she works with us every step of the way. we can't imagine being new parents without her.

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 cannot say enough wonderful things about Amrit! She guided me through my entire feeding journey…read morewith my second baby without any judgement. More importantly, she was compassionate and practical which can be VERY hard to find in the lactation world. She attentively asked me my goals for feeding this time around and then helped me make a game-plan at each step. Ultimately, I was unable/chose to stop nursing and pumping. While I personally felt so disappointed in myself for that, Amrit was nothing but supporting and loving. She supported me in any decision I made to keep my baby happy and fed and for that i'm forever grateful. She also helped me figure out how to get on a pumping schedule (when I needed to) and eventually how to wean without getting mastitis. Although my feeding journey eventually did not include breastfeeding, I'm so so happy I found Amrit to help me navigate all the things that come along with feeding a newborn. I felt like I was always in wonderful and capable hands and would recommend her to every new mom who needs some support. Breastfeeding is HARD and Amrit never made me feel guilty or bad. She simply supported me and helped me find something that worked for me and my family. Thank you again Amrit for all of your love and support with baby Ryan!

I owe my entire breastfeeding relationship to Amrit! I nursed my oldest for 2.5 years and needed…read morevirtually no help. Things were much different once I had my son. She taught me so much and I could NOT have learned the things I did had I not met with her! She was able to help me latch my son on in the office and we have been thriving since our visit! Ahe was told she can not accept patients with my insurance, and yet, she saw us anyway!!!! I am so grateful and genuinely believe we would have failed without her help and over 40 years of experience! She is unable to see other women with my insurance (I have state funded mediCal) unless they are a Bayside patient. However, if you have private insurance you can contact Bayside in Berkeley and make an appt. There's a $37.50 copay for the visit.

Tanya was a major part of my support system as a new mother. I highly recommend you make her part…read moreof yours! If it were not for Tanya, I would probably have given up on breastfeeding my daughter by 6 weeks. But now at 18+ months, we are still nursing. My daughter and I got off to a rough start with breastfeeding. I initially worked with Kaiser Permanente lactation consultants (who were not IBCLC) to address my daughter's low weight gain in her first weeks. Weighted feeds showed she was not transferring enough milk. I was advised that she just "needed time" to gain the strength to adequately nurse (!). I suspected a tongue tie but was told they "didn't think" she had one. I am so glad I trusted my mama gut and got a consultation with Tanya. Tanya diagnosed a posterior tongue tie, recommended a revision, and walked us through the after care. Following the revision we wanted to do cranial sacral therapy but could not afford the providers Tanya could readily recommend. Tanya did the legwork to help me find someone qualified that fit our budget. Within a couple weeks of the revision and CST treatment my daughter was on track. I will never forget the day my daughter transferred well over 4 ounces in a weighted feed! Tanya was (almost) as excited as I was. Tanya remained a great resource for me during our first six months. She was a sounding board as I dealt with supply issues after I returned to work. She helped us through a rough patch when my daughter was regurgitating milk. And she even helped us troubleshoot potential food allergies. Tanya is accessible and responsive. She knows a ton and finds the answers when she doesn't have them. But above all, she is a warm, caring person who will make you feel safe and supported as you and your child learn to breastfeed. Tanya was a major part of my support system as a new mother. I highly recommend you make her part of yours!

Tanya helped me several times through my BF journey. She is kind, warm, patient and truly cares…read moreabout moms and babies! Her passion for helping is evident! I experienced difficulty with my supply in the first few months and attended at BF group led by Tanya. Before the group even started I received support from her on the phone and individual attention that helped me and my baby establish a BF relationship and boost my supply. Fast forward to 10 months later my baby went on nursing strike! In a panic I called Tanya. She talked me through steps to get the baby back to BF which were successful. I highly recommend the support either in home, group or via phone. I don't think I would have been able to reach my BF goals without her help!

It has been absolutely fantastic to work with Andrea! Being a first time mom, the idea of…read morebreastfeeding was an absolutely daunting task. Andrea was at our house two days after we got home from the hospital with our newborn, ready to ease us into a regular nursing routine and calm our fears. Regardless of time of day (before and after our baby was born), I have always felt comfortable sending Andrea a direct text message with questions. She has been extremely prompt in her responses and makes time to come out to our house to help with lactation issues within a day or two. Her services have also been very personalized to our needs. Apart from direct one-on-one attention during our sessions, I received regular post-appointment email recaps with helpful resources so I can avoid trying to Google or WebMD any of my concerns (because we all know how that can turn out...) :) Andrea has been a life-saver for us and I would highly recommend her lactation services, especially for first-time moms!

I was connected to Andrea through my work benefits and the Cleo resource. I am a second time mom…read moreand having some painful latching issues. Andrea came to our home for an in person visit and was extremely helpful. Myself, my husband and mom were present for the visit. Andrea is really friendly and made everyone feel comfortable. She shares invaluable information and is just an all around great person. Andrea took notes during the visit and emailed us a plan for care to reference. Having Andrea as a resource makes me feel so much more confident about continuing to breastfeed and also having a piece of mind to reach out to her if we have any additional questions or concerns come up. Don't hesitate to reach out to Andrea if you are new to breastfeeding or having trouble.