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.

I found Lauren through the Evidence Based Birth website. I was so grateful to have a doula who was…read moreup to date on the research and would help support us in pushing against some unnecessary hospital conventions while still being generally pro-medicine. Lauren was very responsive and helpful throughout our pregnancy. We had great prenatal visits and texted and emailed about some concerns that arose. Lauren always replied promptly with great insight and calm. She was just the same way on the day I gave birth. I texted her early in the day that I was feeling contractions but I thought they might be Braxton Hicks. She suggested I focus on other things and time again in a few hours. Later that night it became clear I was going into labor. I waited a bit too long before asking Lauren to come - I had just started to feel the urge to push when she arrived. But I knew I was in safe hands. She drove me to the hospital while my husband grabbed our bag. Along the way she bent over so I could lean on her through the contractions. I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl 40 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. Lauren cooled my face with a cold towel and massaged me through the contractions. She also took lovely photos just after the birth. An hour later, I turned up my husband and said, "I could do that again." It was no doubt thanks in part to Lauren's emotional and physical support. She stayed another 2-3 hours after the birth as well to make sure we were all settled. Lauren has also been helping a new doula Emily train. Emily attended our birth as well and it was helpful to have her extra set of hands!

I sent an inquiry about availability and setting up a consultation for being my birth doula BUT…read moreShe's not accepting clients right now due to being a recent mom. I appreciated her prompt response to inform me.

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!

If you're looking for a doula, stop searching and just hire Mari. As a dad, I wanted to be as…read moresupportive as possible, but the whole hospital/birth world was pretty foreign to me. Mari was a total lifesaver. She's clearly a pro and has been doing this a long time. She explained the entire birthing process and what to expect from the doctors in a way that actually made sense, which took a ton of the stress off my plate. She knows all the best providers in the area and helped us navigate the hospital system like a boss. A few things that make her the best: Super Responsive: Whenever we had a question, she was lightning-fast with a text back. It felt like having an expert in our pocket 24/7. Insane Network: She isn't just a doula; she's connected. Her referral for a lactation consultant was a game-changer for us post-partum with breastfeeding. The "Bonus" Skill: Mari is also a licensed massage therapist. We've been using her for postpartum massages, and my wife says it's been the best thing for her recovery. You can really tell Mari is passionate about her work. She's not just "doing a job"--she genuinely cares about the families she's helping. If I could give her 6 stars, I would!

We had a great experience with Mari and Brit! Both were very supportive leading up to the birth,…read moreand Mari shared a wealth of resources throughout the process. Brit was such a cheerleader during the labor process, and helped with the very practical details (water! nice scents! a good playlist!), and guided my husband with ways to help me during (counter pressure, cold cloths). She ordered me a much needed breakfast during the flurry of activity after baby came, and took precious photos + videos of the birth and our first moments together as a new family. We were so glad to have her on our team! Mari was incredibly supportive after the birth - it didn't feel like she was just fulfilling a contract, but like she truly cared about my well being. I felt entirely overwhelmed on day 4 when my milk came in, and reached out in tears. Despite being out of town, Mari called me back at the first opportunity full of so much empathy and advice. She remained empathetic and supportive as we navigated our first weeks postpartum, and I'm so grateful!

We worked with Kaylyn G. during the first 6 weeks with our newborn, and had a really positive…read moreexperience. She was punctual, reliable, and made scheduling and billing paperwork very easy. She provided overnight support so we could get some much-needed rest, and was incredibly helpful knowing we could trust that our baby was in good hands. She would also leave notes for us in the morning so we knew how he did. She also helped with washing bottles, preparing formula, assisting with our newborn's bath, doing baby laundry, and even emptying the dishwasher. She also gave thoughtful product recommendations, offered a helpful pumping consultation, provided sleep training tips, and walked us through using the Huckleberry app. As first-time parents, it was helpful to see firsthand how she changed, fed, and burped our baby, which helped build our confidence. We also appreciated being able to text her with questions between visits--it made those early weeks feel a lot more manageable.

Getting a night doula was one of the best decisions ever. We didn't have one with my first but I'm…read moreso glad we were able to have one with our second child. Jodie M. was our night doula and her presence gave me more confidence, more sleep, and less anxiety during the first weeks postpartum. She is so loving and caring and I feel like we instantly clicked and got into a great nighttime routine with my baby. No evening scaries going to bed and wondering what the night was going to be like! She was there to bring my baby to me to nurse and then she handled the rest! Diaper changes, rocking back to sleep, washing pump parts and bottles, etc. it gave me back some time to get more good sleep--no waking up from postpartum anxiety to check if baby was ok since I was confident she was there to care for him. She really takes the time to understand you and your baby and your particular situation/pediatrician recommendations to put together a feeding/sleeping plan. My baby was underweight which was very stressful in the beginning and she was so supportive through the triple feeding and pumping and had lots of great advice in addition to the recommendations from our pediatrician. I would work with Jodie M. again if we have another baby!

TLDR: Choosing to work with Liat was the best decision I made for my birth. I cannot recommend her…read moreenough and am already looking forward to working with her again. I worked with Liat for the birth of my first child earlier this year, hoping for an unmedicated delivery in a hospital setting. From our very first call, her deep understanding of the healthcare system -- where it excels and where it falls short for labor and delivery -- immediately put me at ease. I knew I'd be in good hands. In our two prenatal meetings, Liat taught my husband and me so much about approaching labor both mentally and physically. The sessions were eye-opening and genuinely prepared us for every scenario we might face. I took birth classes too, and while they were helpful, my time with Liat was by far the most valuable part of my birth education. When the day came, her support was nothing short of extraordinary. She monitored my contractions, came to both my home and the hospital, massaged me through every contraction, helped me reposition, and guided us in navigating the hospital staff with my birth preferences. For hours on end, she was warm, calm, and completely present. It's hard to put into words how deeply cared for I felt -- she has a rare gift for making people feel safe and at home during one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. My birth went beautifully, exactly as I had hoped, and I owe so much of that to Liat. Both my husband -- a physician -- and I are certain we could not have had such a wonderful experience without her.

Long overdue review for Liat - (VBAC: September 2024)…read more I had an unmedicated VBAC and I cannot stress enough how important Liat was during every minute of labor and delivery. During my first pregnancy i didn't have a doula and barely got any help from the hospital staff. During my initial visit, I was impressed with her confidence (she gave the exact same info as my OB) and chose her to be doula during birth. During early labor she gave the right guidance to manage pain and prolong the stay at home. That helped us reach hospital during active labor which was a key difference from my previous C-section. The hospital staff were surprised that I had progressed so much in my labor, managing at home. Liat helped with different positions during active labor at the hospital, massaging my back which helped during contractions. During pushing, Liat had me push with different positions (I got no inputs from the hospital staff) I trusted her inputs and presence which helped me stay calm mentally. Baby boy came out in a perfect way, and it was truly a dream birth. She had a great relationship with my husband and made him feel at ease throughout labor and delivery. After birth, Liat continued to check in with us every single day to make sure my recovery and everything with the baby was going well. I did not plan for unmedicated birth given that pregnancy and birth are not within our control. But with Liat's presence, I had full confidence to give birth without epidural. 100% recommend Liat!!

I worked with San Mateo Doula for about 6 weeks postpartum. Ari and Jessica were both wonderful…read morewith my son Luca. He was a fussy little guy who was keeping me up all night long. From his first night with Ari and Jessica, he was calm and barely made a peep all night! This put me at such ease. They were understanding and flexible when I was going through numerous bottles and nipples trying to find the right one. Sleep is so important for your postpartum recovery and mental health. I highly recommend anyone who is having a baby to hire a doula even if it's for one night a week. It truly does wonders for your recovery and mental health. Thank you Ari and Jess

I had the absolute pleasure of working with Arrieanna for six months after my baby was born, and I…read morecan't say enough good things about her. From day one, she was warm, gentle, and incredibly supportive -- both for me and my baby. She was always on time and brought such a positive energy into our home. She talked to our baby constantly, engaging with him, singing, reading books.. She patiently taught us everything we needed to know as new parents -- from bathing, burping, and breastfeeding techniques to using the car seat safely. Honestly, most of what we know about caring for our baby came from her! She's really knowledgeable having raised kids of her own and enthusiastic. As the young and passionate owner of her doula company, she has such a bright future ahead. We wish her all the very best and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any new parents looking for loving, hands-on support.

My husband and I will rave about Maira to anyone who will listen!…read more See the attached photo on her last day with our family - you can see the joy and connection in the bond she formed with our baby. I refer to Maira as an angel from heaven. That's how you will feel working with her with a newborn. She was my 4am therapist when I would get anxious from the hormones. She took amazing care of our son, I couldn't have trusted anyone else. We learned so so much from her. It made us more effective parents. Her clients always beg her to stay on with their family, but she is passionate about her work in supporting new parents and newborns. That passion shines through in everything she does. You can tell she really cares about the babies and families she works with. If you are lucky enough to work with her, do not hesitate!

We can't recommend Maira enough!…read more As first time parents, Maira taught us so much about newborn care (we were sure our baby didn't like the swaddle - 5 mins with Maira and our baby was sound asleep in the swaddle). She also was very helpful in establishing breastfeeding, helping me with our latch and ensuring baby got full feeds during the night. Our baby has allergies and reflux, and Maira helped us monitor symptoms and provided insight into what might be worth flagging to our pediatrician to help our baby feel better sooner. We looked forward to each night Maira was here and our dog would get so excited when she arrived. Her warm personality was calming in the newborn chaos. We are so grateful to have worked with Maira!

Do yourself a favor, and get a doula if you're expecting. If you want a positive birth story to…read moreconfidently get yourself through newborn phase, then Deja is whom you should hire. Deja has the most amazing human touch - she can read the room, read through the anxiety and confusion a first time expecting parent has, and guide you and your SO to make a clear decision together. She taught us SO much more than all hours of Kaiser classes we sat through. She prepared us for the world of labor, delivery, and post partum care better than my OB/Gyn. Most of all, Deja helped advocate for US - mine and my husband's needs, preferences, and most of all, our personality. My husband was skeptical of the need, and now he admits it was the best investment we spent since mental stress is priceless. I was so confident, informed, and calm from her lessons and tips that when my water broke, I didn't even call her until a few hours later since I knew what signs to watch for. My labor was only about 5 hours on a busy December afternoon, most of which was in a triage room with Deja calmly setting my mind and my body up for a stressless, all natural birth. When I couldn't get comfortable, she read my body queues and helped me get a push bar installed on the delivery room bed and I was able to crouch down standing atop the bed! Deja literally, worked her magic, channeled her energy into me, and helped me successfully deliver our rainbow baby - and an amazing story to share for years to come. Congratulations, you're expecting - now get a doula. If you're lucky, you'll get to experience it under Deja's magical, compassionate, expert care.

We chose to do private birth classes with Deja in preparation for birth and would highly recommend…read moreher! She answered all of our (many) questions and we left each class feeling excited and informed. We feel super confident going into our birth that we know what to expect and will be able to make informed decisions that are best for us and our baby when the time comes. Thank you, Deja, for being such a wonderful and supportive resource!

Absolutely hire Fernanda if you can! We worked with her for 3 months after our daughter was born…read more Our daughter was born 2 months early and spent a few weeks in the NICU, so we were anxious when we brought her home. Fernanda was a life saver: We immediately felt at ease with her, and it was a huge relief to have someone we could trust caring for our baby overnight. We were actually able to get some sleep early on, which kept us sane. Our baby comfortably sleeps for a long stretch at night in her bassinet thanks to Fernanda. Fernanda also helped us get set up for longer term success with sleep. This included: - Advice on setting up the nursery before the baby was born so things were easy to grab. - Sleep conditioning. This included things like advice for our baby's day routine and advice on creating the right environment (room temperature, whether the room was dark enough, etc.). - Guidance on how to handle the baby on nights when we were on our own. - How to swaddle our baby. Our baby was a swaddle escape artist, and Fernanda showed us how to swaddle in a way that actually kept her arms in. She generally made our lives easier by with: - Washing pump parts and storing milk. - Reports in the morning on how our daughter did overnight. - Gear suggestions. The essentials list she provided before the baby arrived and when we asked for ideas were all on point. - General advice: recognizing when our baby was ready to go up a diaper size, identifying when she was ready for a faster flow nipple on her bottles, how to burp the baby and help the baby pass gas, and other things that take time to get a feel for as first time parents.

I wish I could leave more than 5 stars for Fernanda!…read more My husband became very ill with an autoimmune disease just as we were bringing home our second child and I found Fernanda to help with the baby during the nights so both of us could rest and heal. I was so nervous never having had a postpartum doula with our first, but the second I met Fernanda, all my worries went away and I felt relief to have someone so warm, caring, trustworthy and knowledgeable caring for my child. She was truly an angel sent to me during the first few weeks of my son's life and I don't know what I would have done without her. She was so instrumental in helping my son, who was very gassy and ended up having a milk allergy, sleep better at night and now at 12 weeks, he has already sleeping 7pm to 6am. What I originally planned as a 2 week period of help, I extended into 3 months and counting of doula support because of how incredible the support is. I truly could not recommend Fernanda more, and if I ever decided to have a 3rd child, I would absolutely love to have Fernandas support again. Beyond her deep expertise in newborns, she is such a wonderful and kind human. Thank you for everything Fernanda- We love you and are so grateful for you!