I cannot say enough wonderful things about Renee. As a first time mom with next to zero prior…read moreexposure breastfeeding/nursing and infants in general, I needed help. She was direct yet soft, quick to reply over email on any issues I was having in between appointments, and extremely knowledgeable. She keeps up to date on studies which I greatly appreciate as medical professional myself. Simply put, Renee is an expert in this field. I recommend her to anyone wanting to nurse pain-free. She also had great tips for bottle feeding. My baby is 2 months now and exclusively breastmilk, both with nursing and bottle. I owe it all to Renee.

Pretty bad experience and a complete waste of time. Before my first appointment I filled a detailed…read morequestionnaire that included insurance information. Still, during the first 15-20 minutes of my appointment she kept grilling me about my insurance information, wasting my time. After that she wasted some more time dissing the newborn care classes I attended at Swedish. I had already decided against getting long term care by now, this kind of negative attitude is not conducive for sure and I totally agree with the other reviews about the dismissive and negative personality traits. The funny thing is after a few weeks she reached out complaining that she was not able to make an insurance claim. However, I checked both my primary and secondary insurance claims, and the claim related to her was processed by both the primary and secondary insurance.

I got my breast pump and accessories trough this company and will recommend to everybody! Great…read morecustomer service !! Very accommodating and helpful.

BEST customer service I have EVER received!!! Angela made the process of getting a breast pump and…read moreall of the necessities a breeze!! They have wonderful and cute products as well! I wish I had known about then during my last pregnancy !! Angela works hard to make sure the entire process is smooth and simple! I will be sending my friends and family to them!highly recommend !!!

I totally recommend Catherine as a lactation consultant. Her calm and patient demeanor were very…read morecrucial to helping me have hope in breastfeeding my child. I very much appreciated her walking alongside me in this journey.

Catherine is brilliant at what she does. I was close to giving up on breast feeding because it was…read moreso painful and my daughter wasn't gaining weight appropriately. I had already seen several lactation consultants who were all surprised I reported so much pain because they all believed the latch looked good and her tongue tie was only "mild." Both my doula and pediatrician referred me to Catherine so I decided to see one more lactation consultant and I am so grateful I did. Firstly, having a health care practitioner make a home visit feels like an impossible luxury in the first month post partum. It is such a production to go anywhere with a newborn, so that in itself was a huge help. Secondly, it was invaluable having the lactation consultant see the exact location in which I was attempting to breastfeed. She was able to help me be successful with the items I had on hand. I had thought I might need a different chair or some kind of special breastfeeding pillow - nope. Catherine showed me how to support myself and the baby with the pillows and blankets I already had on hand. She helped me to latch my baby in a way that immediately and substantially reduced my pain. She also showed me how to use saran wrap for nipple care. Prior to that I had been spending a lot of money on Medela gel pads. We saw her for a total of three visits in which she coached me through a feeding and pumping schedule to maximize milk production and then slowly weaned me off the pumping to match my needs and comfort. Add to all of this her compassion and humor during such a stressful time. I can't recommend her enough!

I had a hypnotherapy session with Dolly Smith during my pregnancy. It was very relaxing and helped…read moregive me insight on how to stay calm and focused during birth. I really loved the visualization part of this hypnotherapy. Dolly is very sweet and offers a personalized approach to your sessions.

When you're a new mom and trying to figure out this whole baby thing the last thing you want to do…read moreis take your 5 day old baby out in the middle of winter unnecessarily. Thankfully Healthy Beginnings does house calls! It was $150 paid up front but it will be billed to our insurance. Even if feel like things are going smoothly I think this is a fantastic service to take advantage of. They will come and observe your technique and weigh your baby before and after a feeding. After the initial house visit you get access to follow up questions via phone/email. They even brought a bag of common items that moms need in case you had to purchase any things like creams or hot/cold packs. At their clinic inside the Medical Office building of Northwest Hospital you can get a free weight check, set up an appointment, or join in on a Wednesday drop in clinic/support group.

I'm a new mom and was having latching problems because of engorgement. When Sheila called me back,…read morewe talked about the issue and set up a time, but when she found out I had Molina, she stopped me and said that they don't cover that. Rather than have me spend the money on a problem that was most likely temporary, Sheila took the time to trouble shoot with me over the phone and ended up bringing me something free of charge that fixed the issue immediately. I'm so thankful for her thoughtfulness and highly recommend this service.

Autumn is a fantastic Doula! I am so thankful that I was able to have Autumn during my labor. She…read morewas extremely helpful with pain management and came with a bag full of goodies to aid in my comfort. She was very helpful in coaching my husband and provided an extra set of hands so he could shower and make sure we had everything we needed before leaving our place. She arrived at our apartment at nearly 2am and stayed with us for at least 24 hours! We had planned an out of hospital birth, but after a very long labor at home and at the birth center, my midwives transferred me to UW. Postpartum home visits are just as helpful, providing breastfeeding and pumping advice, she will even show you how to baby wrap and answer any questions you have. Before I decided to hire a Doula for my birth, I was unsure if I would "need one." My midwife had initially recommended that I have one, especially for first time births. I then spoke to a few people who had used a Doula, and only heard positives! No one ever says "I wish I didn't have my Doula!" Now I tell everyone "you need a Doula!"

Autumn is an awesome doula!!! We had a great experience with Seattle Doula Partners and would…read moreabsolutely hire them again. We interviewed 3-4 doulas and the team at Seattle Doula Partners stood out the best to us. They were not pushy and their experience and calmness in communicating to us through facts and information really appealed to us. The initial conversations before the birth were very helpful. I was very apprehensive about the birth and talking with them to help uncover my and my husband's anxieties about the birth and it really helped prepare us emotionally. In many ways I felt like it was a therapy session! When I was hospitalized at 32 weeks, Autumn checked in on me consistently to make sure we were doing okay which felt very reassuring. Finally when the day came, we let Autumn know we were on the way to the hospital at about 11pm and she arrived just after I settled down in the L&D room which was super speedy! She immediately attended to both mine and my husband's needs, answering any questions we had. One of the most valuable things that Autumn did was that before anything that happened, e.g. getting my epidural or pushing, Autumn talked through in detail what to expect and this helped prepare us well emotionally and in many ways, made me less fearful. She was always right by our sides coaching us on what to do in a gentle and reassuring way. She wasn't intrusive and allowed me and my husband to have our own time. Through the pattern of my contractions, the nurse hypothesized that my baby was face up. Autumn had a ton of suggestions on how to resolve this and coached the nurse to getting me in the right positions. By then, my lower half was pretty weak from the epidural and every time the nurse had to shift me, Autumn was always there to lend a helping hand. At about 2am, all of us went to rest and my husband was exhausted. The IV machine kept beeping and Autumn always promptly stood up and turned it off so that we could all rest. She was close by and helped me with every small little thing I needed so my husband could rest. Autumn coached me through the entire 2 hours of pushing and holding my legs up. She was very encouraging and her calming and reassuring words gave me a ton of confidence. Once the baby was out, she stepped back, got one of our phones and took a bunch of pictures that I really treasure today! Post birth, I had a lot of difficult breastfeeding and Autumn shifted her schedule so she could come and visit me soon after that. She helped me with the latch and gave me a bunch of ideas to help increase my supply. 3 months on and I still think about how lucky we were to have Autumn by our side! Thank you so much for your hard work, Autumn!!

We were matched with Jen based on our request for a size friendly doula with a sense of humor, and…read moreboy did she deliver! We received prepartum, postpartum, and birth/delivery support from Jen. She met with us before my due date and educated us on what to expect from her, as well as different techniques she uses to provide support and pain management during labor. After being admitted to the hospital I called Jen and asked that she come and be with us for the labor. She came with her "bag of tricks" and knowledge of how to support both my husband and I during the ten hours of labor. She lead us through silly walks down the hall, held my hand while I threw up in the hallway, and urged me to moan it out during contractions. She spoke with my excited (and anxious) mother-in-law and ensured that my husband got breaks and ate. Towards the end of labor the baby's heart rate monitor stopped picking up her heartbeat, which resulted in lots of stress and anxiety from hospital staff, and an increase in the number of people in the room. Jen kept my husband and I calm and focused on the task at hand -- birthing our beautiful daughter. Instead of getting caught up in the frantic energy of the room I was able to ignore much of what was happening around me because of Jen's calming words and affirmations. I know we could have birthed our daughter without Jen there, but it would have been a much different experience, one that would have been more stressful, bewildering, as well as emotionally and physically draining. Postpartum care has been instrumental in gaining confidence as a new parent. She visited days after our daughter's birth, encouraging us as she checked on breastfeeding and our emotional well-being. She has been super at responding to my random questions via text (Is this amount of spit-up normal? What is this discharge coming out of her? Am I diapering her correctly?) No question has been too small or weird for her to answer. Jen has been a wonderful support as we navigate the transition from a family of two to a family of three.

Jen was everything and more I could have asked for with my doula experience. She was extremely…read morethorough in the meetings before baby. She always made us feel so comfortable and informed. Having Jen there during the birth was invaluable. Jen was there for us postpartum too and helped so much with lactation. I can't say enough good things about her. Love you Jen! Thank you for being awesome. I am proud to say you were our doula.

I couldn't have have hoped for a better team of women to be present for the birth of our first…read morechild. My partner and I changed midwives late on in her pregnancy due to a feeling of uncertainty with our previous care giver. Instantly we felt secure and validated in our choice. Cindi and Tiffany gave us the support and resources we needed immediately, and we knew we had made the right decision. Olivia was born in the comfort of our home with the peace of mind and care we had always hoped for. I could not recommend these ladies any higher. For those of us out there looking to bring life into the world in the security of our own home Seattle Midwives are a go to.

Please note: This is for the Birth Tub rental service (formerly Puget Sound Water Birth) connected…read moreto Seattle Midwives. First things first: I am usually very understanding and give folks lots of room for error. We're all human, after all. That said, my experience with Puget Sound Water Birth was not great. My contract was as follows: $300 for setup, fill, cleanup and removal of a birthing tub for my home birth. I went into labor early am Thanksgiving and called Tiffany to warn her it might be the day. When we texted a few hours later, she hinted at not wanting to come out because of the holiday. Luckily for her, my labor went another 24 hours before we needed the tub. When we texted the next night for the tub, she texted what seemed to be several reasons not to come (kids, drive, tub full time)... so if I'd rather a refund, she'd do that. My midwife had to step in to get t, since I was (duh) in active labor with double peaking contractions. Upon arrival, Tiffany did a great job setting up quickly and quietly, allowing me to continue labeling without being disturbed. But... After she left, she sent a very long text with instructions on how to empty the tub (which was supposed to be part of what I paid for her to do). I ended up in the hospital due to complications, and during that, I also had to manage Tiffany picking up the tub. Saturday, I sent clear messages that someone would be at our house so she could remove it but when I didn't confirm a second time (bc still in labor on Saturday!), she didn't show and my roommate sat waiting for hours. She finally came Sunday, bc I was able to confirm bc I had finally given birth. Very long story short (yup, it could be longer), I had to manage the service WAY more than appropriate, it added stress to my already difficult labor, and I would not recommend Puget Sound Water Birth to anyone unless the service is greatly improved.

TLDR: We'd highly recommend having a doula for your birth and Ryah Silvernagel specifically…read more We received a glowing referral to Ryah and she lived up to every word! The main downside to having a doula is the cost, but Ryah's excellent coaching and support was worth every penny. Also, we were able to offset the cost by not taking the typical birthing classes since we'd be getting two 60-90 minute one-on-one coaching sessions prior to the birth. Ryah also recommended several books that we read together and the combo of her education plus the books was plenty for us. Ryah was supportive, well-informed about evidence-based birthing options, and hands-on. I was unsure whether I wanted an unmedicated birth, and Ryah was supportive of either option. She was clear that she thought I was completely capable of doing an unmedicated birth, which gave me confidence to try. She was also helpful in having me think through the scenarios when I'd want to request an epidural, which we outlined in my birthing "preferences" form. I'd done reading on evidence-based choices for birthing interventions and options (mostly reading the Evidence-based Birth website and Expecting Better). When creating our birthing preferences, Ryah was always spot-on with the research when helping us to weigh options. She even brought us a homemade pastry during one visit, which was so thoughtful. Our daughter arrived 10 days early (July 2019), and I was unsure about whether I was experiencing Braxton Hicks or actual labor. After a few hours, my husband convinced me to text Ryah and she called back right away. She coached us to complete a few of the positioning moves we had practiced with her and asked us to call her back in 30 minutes. My contractions went from every 7-10 minutes to every 3 minutes within that time, so we knew it was real by that time (and woah those positioning moves work!). Ryah got to our house in about an hour and was the perfect blend of warm but also straight forward and directive when it came to suggesting positions and comfort measures. She was very calm and continually helped me to reframe any anxious thoughts and normalized everything we were experiencing. She knew that my mom had a quick birth, so took it seriously when she saw how quickly my labor was progressing. She had us leave for the hospital within 30 mins of her getting to our house, which was the right call because I was 7cm at check-in. She helped to coach the nursing staff on our birthing preferences and got me in the tub quickly. She was very hands-on and took turns providing counter pressure with my husband. She also seemed to know when to check me and had me out of the tub just in time to push. She was very supportive after the birth: our daughter had aspirated meconium and so my husband went with the baby to the special care nursery while Ryah stayed longer with me. She helped me to collect colostrum and stayed until I was able to stand up and go see my daughter. Ryah was very proactive in reaching out after the birth, which we appreciated. She came about 10 days after the birth to see us (we were in the NICU for a week) and did a nice assessment of how we were doing. She does take photos and videos during the labor and birth, and we're glad we have them. Overall, despite the stress of having a baby in the NICU for a week, we have very positive memories of the birth, and Ryah was a huge reason for this. We highly recommend her!

I interviewed a doula who claimed she was fully vaccinated in our initial call. Later, in an email…read moreshe decided she needed to "come clean" and let me know that she was not vaccinated and didn't plan on becoming vaccinated. To each their own, but to LIE? This relationship must be built on trust and to be lied to like that breaks all the trust. The second doula wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise and rushed me off the phone. No Thank you.