My husband and I learned about this class through our prenatal care provider with Women Partners in…read moreHealth. We registered for an all day Childbirth class complete with a Seton hospital tour-- it was a wonderfully informative day that left us feeling confident and prepared for what to expect on "Labor Day". Jillian Silva, our childbirth instructor, was communicative via email and text in the days leading up to the class and welcomed us at the door upon arrival. The class presentation was delivered through PowerPoint slides, lectures, videos and hands-on demonstrations and practice. Jillian was very knowledgeable on all points discussed during the class, and had tangible hospital items for us to view and touch for further understanding and familiarity. We covered topics such as: what to pack in your hospital and baby bag, stages of labor, relaxation techniques, responsibilities of partner, options for labor pain relief (degrees of natural and non-natural options), labor aids/tools that the hospital provides and more! Jillian, who is also a certified Doula, has such a calming and confident nature. She was professional, timely, prepared and very friendly; she even made brownies for the class! Anyone who chooses to have her presence and expertise during their labor and delivery is one lucky mama. The class was from 9am-4pm with a 30 min lunch and the hospital tour from 3-4pm. The long day was totally worth it! I walked away from the class feeling equipped to do what my body knows how to do naturally, and if and when I need support, I now know who to contact. Thanks Jillian for being a great instructor!

Brandi and Jillian are both amazing. Like another yelper wrote, "where to even begin?"…read more We engaged with Austin Childbirth for birth doula services. They come highly recommended, from my wife's OBGYN as well as some of the Seton Hospital staff and Shelley, also of Seton, who taught our "ABC's of Childbirth" class (recommended). I was skeptical at first. Being a traditionalist... and fearing the costs for, well everything as I stand on the edge of the financial abyss of having my first child. My wife wanted to go "all natural" for her birth which means NO PAIN MEDS. #scary At first we were considering birthing centers but that was a bit "too natural" for me. We compromised on getting a doula and having a hospital birth. The biggest benefit to me going in was that a lot of the pressure of what goes on during "go time" wouldn't be on my shoulders alone. In a large way, the doula was joining "team dad" to support mom. Having a professional who knows massages, counter-pressure exercises and other techniques to alleviate pain naturally is NOTHING SHORT OF MAGIC. Even small things like reassuring my wife that "this will pass" and coaching breathing techniques SEEMS like a small thing but when the rubber hits the road, you want that support; TRUST ME. Jillian and Brandi work as a team. From the beginning until after baby comes, Jillian and Brandi communicate via WhatsApp for any quick questions or concerns you may have. Brandi was personally present for our long session in the hospital. Brandi ... is ... AMAZING. So much so that I not only cried when hugging her as she was saying her "goodbyes" at the hospital but I also welled up a bit when she visited to check in on us after we brought baby home. (I just got a little emotional writing this.) ALTERNATIVE PAIN COPING TECHNIQUES: Brandi brought a calm positivity which is hard to explain. Early on she worked magic with massage and compression techniques, some of which she and I did together. She gave my wife coping techniques which brought her pain from an 8 down to a 3 WITHOUT MEDICINE. AGAIN: IT WAS LIKE MAGIC. The hospital staff looked on with admiration as she supported my wife, coaching her though contractions while doing lunges in the hallway at 8cm. ADVOCATE FOR MOM / FEWER INTERVENTIONS: Another thing that's important which can't be understated is that a doula is able to be an advocate for mom and her birth preferences. No slight meant for the medical staff here. The medical staff have their set of tools and protocols that they know and they will try to get you to accept them because that's their playbook. My wife was pretty adamant however about doing the fewest amount of medical interventions because each intervention makes you more statistically likely for more interventions as you careen down the rabbit hole to an unplanned c-section. A doula can help you stick with your birth preferences just by asking the right questions. Just having Brandi in the room was empowering because her goal isn't to get you in and out quick, but rather help you have the birth that you want. TENS FTW: Part of the package is that Austin Childbirth will loan you a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit for pain during your last few weeks of pregnancy and then also for use in the labor / delivery room. It works by This also was something that cut down on my wife's pain considerably. The units they provide has a "surge" button which, when pressed, will go into higher strength mode for use during contractions. My wife swears by it. Brandi stayed with us through it all and then was even willing to keep us company as long as we wanted post-partum. Both Brandi and Jillian engaged with us after we were home just to check in and Brandi even came over to our house a week afterwards to check up on us and see how things were going / see if she could help out. While we aren't planning on having another, if we do, I can't imagine not calling up Brandi and Jillian to join us on our journey.

Amy was knowledgeable, experienced, personable and made the whole day and a half class fun! She…read morethoroughly explained all the options for the birth plan and process, whether in the hospital or birthing center, without bias. As a chiropractor who also works on pregnant women, I will be recommending her class to all my pregnant patients moving forward! And as a first time mom, not only did she give more confidence in laboring & delivery of this baby, but she also REALLY equips the husbands to support their wives well. My husband, having 2 kids in a previous marriage, said he didn't realize how much he didn't know & how much more he could've done to be more supportive through his other children's births. That spoke volumes! We were recommended to take a different 12 week class, but just didn't have the time to do it. I'm so thankful our midwife referred us to Amy instead! This is the class we were meant to take! 10/10 recommend. Thank you Amy!!

Class was informational, thorough, and FUN!! Honestly, Amy made the class so fun and birth feel…read morelike I can 100% do it! This class is worth it!

We used multiple resources from Empowered beginnings to get ahead as first time parents:…read moreHypnobirthing Child Class, Breastfeeding class, Doula Service, Newborn sleep class, and of course the birth baby podcast. Save yourself the effort/stress of researching on your own and go straight to the experts at Empowered Beginnings. The lessons and instruction is calm, clear, and most importantly CONFIDENCE BUILDING. From day one, Empowered Beginnings helped us to enjoy the process instead of feeling overwhelmed. Our Doula answered every question, no matter how small, and gave us practical, evidence-based advice we could use immediately. We cannot imagine the pregnancy, birth, or postpartum without our Doula, Ciarra. We will use Empowered Beginnings for all of our future children!!!

Highly, highly recommend Empowered Beginnings!! Ciarra supported us through the arrival of our…read moresecond baby, and she is the best! Super informative and a wealth of knowledge, helping us to feel empowered and informed during the process. Many doulas wait for questions - not Ciarra. She was very proactive with checking in often and anticipating support needed. Her knowledge is gold and she's so generous with her time. Also, Empowered Beginnings presents a community of families and has a wealth of resources available. They are the best if you want genuine and caring support for one of the most vulnerable times for a family... 5 stars!

All the things no one openly shares:…read more Despite how enamored I am with our little girl and all the cute pictures on Facebook, these first three weeks have been extremely stressful. Nursing has been anything but easy, and because our daughter is so tiny I have felt nothing but pressure for her to gain weight as quickly as possible... very difficult when breastfeeding is proving difficult. The onset of vasospasms so painful that it felt like a cigarette burning me straight through to my shoulder blade finally led me to make an appointment with My Pure Delivery. First of all, it was not covered by my insurance because Blue Cross Blue Shield sucks. But every dollar I paid out of pocket was worth the time they spent with me to ensure I felt comfortable utilizing the strategies they helped me master with their help. Additionally, they allowed me to come back periodically to weigh her at no additional cost so that we could monitor her weight without paying for yet another doctor's visit. I am forever grateful for the assistance My Pure Delivery gave me with a skill no one teaches you about, you are just supposed to inherently know how to do, and is perhaps the most stressful task I've ever had to do. MANY THANKS for the compassionate and patient help with breastfeeding.

It was very easy to get an appointment at my pure delivery. After my son was in the NICU and had…read moreissues feeding, we had all but thrown in the towel on breastfeeding. Pumping was also tanking my mental health. Having a quality appointment with a LC was worth every penny. The appointment was not rushed and everything was set right up for us upon arrival. After applying what we were taught, I was able to have a way more positive experience feeding my son

Austin Doula Care is truly exceptional…read more From the moment we began working with Chelsea, Kim, and Chrys at Austin Doula Care, I felt deeply supported, informed, and cared for. Chelsea was our primary doula during pregnancy and birth, and Chrys supported us postpartum. Chelsea's presence during pregnancy and birth was grounding, empowering, and steady. She listened without judgment, shared knowledge without pressure, and held space in a way that made me feel calm, capable, and strong. She helped me trust my body and myself. Chrys's postpartum care was just as transformative. They cared not only for our baby, but for me: My healing, my emotions, my confidence as a new mother. They normalized the hard moments, celebrated the wins, and helped me feel healthy, supported, and seen during such an important time. If you are looking for doulas who are knowledgeable, compassionate, emotionally intelligent, and deeply respectful of your journey, I cannot recommend Austin Doula Care enough. I will forever be grateful for them!

From the moment I met Chelsea and Rachael, I knew I made the right choice in coming to Austin Doula…read moreCare. Their support extended far beyond childbirth support, from pregnancy check ins, the multitude of programs and classes at the office, as well as postpartum help, made my husband and I feel well cared for and confident about the journey of pregnancy and postpartum. Rachael's support during my pregnancy and childbirth was instrumental in me feeling empowered about every decision I made. She was a sounding board for each step of the way, helped me ask the right questions when needed, and assisted in crafting a birth plan and walking through all scenarios to make sure I felt prepared and confident. I am beyond grateful for her presence during my labor and baby's birth, as well as her postpartum help as I navigated things when my husband went back to work. A huge thank you to Rachael and the whole team at Austin Doula Care, I couldn't recommend their support more.

We found Anya through the Central Texas Doula Association and she was the first doula we met with…read more My husband and I felt almost instantly that she was the doula for us! Her passion for her work, for mamas and babies, is contagious and so comforting -- we knew we would be in the best hands through the prenatal journey and birth of our first child. And we were right! Anya was there for us every step of the way. She dedicated herself to getting to know us, getting to know our worries, wants, and wishes. I loved preparing for the arrival of our little one with her -- she shared so much wisdom and made me feel at ease both physically and mentally (the one-on-one yoga session included in our package was such a nice treat!). We were so ready when the day arrived to deliver our baby! By day, I really mean days... Anya was with us through an incredibly LONG natural labor that ended at the hospital. (But we still delivered vaginally and I owe so much of that to her!) Our journey began at the Austin Area Birthing Center on Monday night and ended on Wednesday morning. She spent every minute of that time encouraging me, supporting me and my husband (literally, like physically supporting me), standing up for and reminding me of the things I wanted and needed, and helping us make some really tough decisions. She was basically like family to me for all those days. It was bittersweet to go our own ways at the end -- sad because she had just shared with us the most momentous occasion of our lives and that kind of connection is so real, but sweet because she needed to rest too!!! Could we have done it all without her? Sure. Would we have wanted to? Absolutely not. I cannot recommend Anya enough if you're looking for a little extra support through your own prenatal/birth/postnatal journey. She's a force. You'll get so much more from your relationship than you ever expected!! We sure did.

Anya is an AMAZING force. I interviewed several doulas, but I went with Anya because of her energy…read more-- she was the perfect balance of confident, non-judgmental, calm and wise. I wanted someone who would help prepare and support me through a natural birth, but who wouldn't judge me if I changed my mind in the end. I'll never forget the thing she said to me in one of our prep meetings that really put me at ease, "There IS something -- a position or a technique -- that will help bring you relief during birth. We'll practice some options now and when the time is here, we'll find the exact one that will work for you." And we did just that. I can say for certain that there is no way we would have been able to avoid an epidural without all the prep she did with me and my husband ahead of time and without her calm, supportive presence in the room. We met with her several times ahead of the birth and she was super thorough with us, never rushed the process and made sure that we as first time parents were as confident as we could be going into this. She lent us books we could peruse if we wanted, but honestly her guidance ahead of time was so thorough and we were so ready for the big day even without taking a formal birthing / breathing class. She even did a prenatal yoga class with me in my home a couple of weeks before our baby arrived. We also hired her for the placenta encapsulation -- it was wonderful having someone who already knew us well do that for us and we opted for her to do it at our home, which sounded strange to us at first, but she scoured the kitchen before and after and in the end, it was a really cool learning process!

We used Austin Born prenatal and postpartum services. As new parents, the prenatal classes we…read moreattended were very informative and empowering. Unfortunately, we could not obtain maximum benefit of support groups and attend all classes due to pregnancy related illness. We did, however, feel a huge value of using Austin Born, was in the communication and correspondence with our Doula, Kim Borchert. She answered many emails, texts and calls in a very open-minded and timely manner. We were referred to amazing pregnancy specialists such as chiropractors, twin trainers and also given pain relieving techniques which greatly reduce the discomfort and frustration of carrying twins. As new parents of twins with no family nearby, our postpartum Doula service was important. Austin Born was holistic in every sense and we felt that we had not only one awesome doula checking in and supporting us in our home each day but also had a team of doulas with vast experience behind the scenes. Without Austin Born and our doula, Juanita Sawyer, we are not sure how we would've survived. From small suggestions of types of bottles to breast-feeding struggles to reflux management solutions, there is no obstacle this team can't fix. Now that our babies are older, we look back and realize the value Austin Born services is not in how many classes were attended or how many hours of doula services were provided. The value is most definitely in the knowledge, resources, accumulated experience and open-minded approach. In short, they were amazing and invaluable to us.

The Post Partum Doula support we received from Austin Born's amazing Stephanie was simply perfect…read more Seriously. Perfect. Stephanie is a doula and a lactation consultant, plus her sense of calm and reassurance helped us first time parents relax a little--which is saying a lot! We arranged to have Stephanie come on our first night home from the hospital with our beautiful baby. She provided lactation advice and created a priority list for me which we hung on the master bathroom door: 1. Feed baby 2. Feed Mommy (eat/drink) 3. Sleep Seems pretty simple, but after a week of sleep deprivation, the list helped stop my "one-more-thing" syndrome. For the first time in my life I was responsible for a needy, helpless, endlessly adorable baby--my baby. Who had time for sleep? Once I got into bed I was so amped up on adrenaline I couldn't shut down. My husband had to hold me tight to turn off the humming in my mind and body. I was finally able to sleep for an hour--it was a gift. My first nap after baby, along with Stephanie's unwavering, consistently calm, reassuring presence through those first days, gave me room to breathe and think again. She was there for many other firsts too in person, via phone, and via text. And I'm thankful for all of the support. There's nothing like having an expert to guide you through this miraculous journey--hopefully you'll get a chance to be as grateful as I am. Cheers to Austin Born!

People don't think that they need a Doula sometimes because they have maybe support here or…read moresomebody to hold their hand but it makes such a huge difference to have somebody there that knows different interventions and knows how to reassure you. I contacted Molly later in my pregnancy because due to coronavirus, my boyfriend could not come home from his deployment. Molly gladly agreed to help. It was honestly the best decision I made with my pregnancy. She gave me support while I wasn't sure if I started labor, and was with me pretty much all the way through my 33 hour labor Process. She is a wealth of knowledge,and she is non-judgemental. Some people that work in this field are very biased or lean towards one or the other but she was just there to help you make a decision that would be best for you. She has also supported me after birth via text message, has reassured me through the entire process even if she isn't technically "on" for me anymore- she still answers my texts and checks on me! You will not regret having her by your side. On top of this, she took a lot of pictures, wrote down my experience and also educated my son while I was in labor regarding the process. She is just truly amazing!

I was originally on the fence about hiring a doula but I am SO SO glad we did. Molly provided…read moreemotional support and evidence-based resources throughout my pregnancy. I am especially grateful for her support during the last month of my pregnancy and as I began showing early signs of labor. As a first time mom, her calm, encouraging nature helped me feel at ease. 10/10 would recommend her to anyone.

This review for Peggy is long overdue! I reached out to Peggy when I was only 9 weeks pregnant. I…read moreknew I wanted to work towards having a natural birth and was told having a doula was essential. I filled out an inquiry form and she immediately got back to me. We set up a Zoom interview and right off the bat, I knew she was the doula for me. She was so calm, well spoken, and so experienced. I didn't even bother looking further for any other doulas because I knew I wanted to work with only her. Booking Peggy early in my pregnancy was a complete God send. Any time I felt anxious or worried about my pregnancy, I reached out to her and she immediately helped to calm me down. Through the package I booked, my husband and I also did hypnobirthing classes (through Empowered Beginnings with Ciarra). Loved the classes and even met other pregnant mamas who I am still friends with today. My husband and I learned so much about labor and delivery. It made me feel more confident as my pregnancy progressed and as the due date approached. I ended up going spontaneously into labor 2 weeks before my due date. Unexpected and a complete surprise but Peggy was supportive every step of the way. She provided text support while I labored at home. We eventually reached out to her to come to the house and after seeing me in person, she knew it was time for us to head to the hospital. I unfortunately experienced a significant amount of back labor due to my baby's positioning BUT Peggy remained next to me and my husband every moment at the hospital. Although I was in a significant amount of pain and exhausted from laboring for so long, Peggy helped to keep me calm and focused on delivering my baby girl safely. She never left our side as I pushed for 7 hours. She helped me and my husband make informed and important medical decisions. I honestly couldn't have done it without her physical and emotional support. She also took so many photos and videos so that was a nice surprise to have to look back on. Especially when you are in la la labor land and going in and out during active labor. She remained with us after our baby girl entered the world and although it was such a long night, she remained present, patient, and supportive the entire time. She is literally a saint and incredibly patient and kind. If you are lucky enough to be able to get on our calendar, I would say book her immediately. You will have zero regrets! I can honestly say that I couldn't have experienced this natural birth without her and if you are wanting a natural birth, you definitely want someone like her by your side!

I can't say enough positive things about Peggy. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to…read morehave a VBAC (I had a rough first birthing experience) and I knew I wanted a doula that would really advocate for me. I one hundred percent found that in Peggy. Having her by my side meant I was supported through labor and delivery, advocated for to make sure my birth plan was being honored, and taken care of through it all. She also stayed after the birth to support me, answer questions, and make sure I was doing well. Peggy is attentive, knowledgeable, supportive, and extremely caring. I am so grateful to have had her by my side and can't recommend her enough!

At 5 months pregnant, I signed up for an in-person prenatal class and paid $350 to support the…read moreorganization. I soon got an email saying I had applied for a newborn class too early if my due date was November. When I clarified that I had signed up for a prenatal class, the organizer apologized and said she would get back to me. 3 months later, I was finally contacted for scheduling, but I had already made plans that conflicted with those dates, and the alternative dates were at an inconvenient location. So they put me in a newborn class. After thinking about it, since I had little to no communication with the organization and there was no real attempt made to schedule me in the FOUR months I was available to participate in a group, I asked for my money back. The organizer apologized for the lack of communication and issues scheduling, and agreed to the refund but charged me $35 for overhead. For a non-profit organization to have a 10% overhead rate with NO SERVICES RENDERED seems preposterous. I don't see non-profit status as a reason to take people's money and waste their time. If you're looking to sign up, don't make a donation until you're satisfied with what they're providing.

I own a boutique parenting center here in Austin and we've loved sending our clients to PiP. Their…read moregroups have helped mamas & papas navigate the transition to life with a new baby in a way that's engaging and supportive. Such a great organization!