I found Labor of Love by doing some of my own research online. And thank God I did! My doula,…read moreKaren, was my rock throughout my labor and was 100,000 percent amazing--I'll definitely be working with her for my second! A little backstory: I was overwhelmed and so nervous about finding "the one" person to be a part of the most important event of my life. After doing my research and reading through all these bios, I honestly was left feeling overwhelmed, especially knowing how indecisive I can be. I knew I just had to trust my intuition and my gut on this one! After looking at Karen's bio on their website, I had such a good feeling. Staci (the owner), who was super friendly and professional, helped me get connected with Karen, and I booked an interview right away! Karen was so sweet and asked me about my pregnancy experience so far. We discussed how I wanted my birth to go and any concerns I had. There wasn't any pressure to hire her, and it just felt like she was already invested in me, like I was already family. I even had her video chat with my husband to make sure we both felt comfortable and vibed well together--and we sure did! Overall, Karen ended up being the perfect balance of knowledge, experience, and professionalism. It was the most perfect amount of care I could have asked for. She was also such an advocate for my birth plan to work out. Before, during, and after my labor and birth, she was always naturally in tune with what I needed. She was never overbearing, worked so well with my husband, and gave him space to be a part of my support team as well. I am so grateful to have come across Labor of Love

The business owner is quite the opposite of the type of person any vulnerable new mom should have…read moreto work with. My experience with Labor of Love was almost two years ago now but continues to upset me when thinking back on my experience. We hired Lauren as our doula, who made it clear she expected us to go far past my due date as a first time mom. While it's possible for that to happen, it didn't in my case. At 39 weeks and at 5am while in active labor and getting ready to head to the hospital, she let us know she had Covid. Her backup was Karen, who I wish we hired to begin with as she is far more caring and professional. Though unfortunately our experience still fell short and we ultimately delivered without Karen present. We were left feeling like we invested a lot of emotion and money into this process with ultimately no help. Staci has been incredibly rude to us since then and even revoked our access to watch her training videos, sending me a link to pay her once again when wanting to rewatch for our now second baby on the way. Karen herself even recommended we ask for a partial refund due to our experience, but Staci lacks the professionalism and courtesy to her clients. Truly mindblowing that she revoked access to the training videos after we had already paid for them. I would stay far away and recommend a more experienced and caring doula group.

We had Holly for our night doula and she exceeded all of our expectations! She is very nurturing,…read moreprompt, trustworthy and has taken great care of our newborn boy while are able to get some good sleep. She has also helped with other household tasks during the night. As a mother herself has great knowledge about babies as well as with older kids, schooling etc to think about for the future. I highly recommend Holly to anyone looking to make those early newborn weeks more manageable and knowing your baby is in great hands.

This is the letter that I wrote after I had our incredible experience with our Doula…read more Dearest Ariana, We are sitting here trying to find the words to express our gratitude, and honestly, "thank you" feels far too small. You were the most incredible doula we could have ever asked for, and you have become so much more to our family. From the moment you arrived, you brought a sense of calm and confidence that we desperately needed. You did a tremendous job every single time, but it's the countless extra things you did that truly stole our hearts. Thank you for not thinking twice about helping with the dishes or folding a load of laundry. Those small acts of kindness meant the world to us when we were running on empty. But more than that, thank you for being such an incredible human. Thank you for the conversations, for listening, and for being so thoughtful. Your caring nature didn't just extend to us, but to our children, who adore you. We will never forget how you helped Wyatt in the morning with his breakfast, his bath time, and how you always made time to play with him before your shift ended -- and not only taking care of Wyatt in the morning after taking care of Zoey, all night, but just making sure that I was always good and checked in with me and my mental health, especially after just giving birth and having a lot of different hormones go through my body. Knowing Zoey and Wyatt were in such loving, capable hands gave us a peace of mind that is truly priceless. You cared for them like they were your own, and that is a gift we can never repay. You are a light, Ariana. Thank you for sharing your heart and your talents with us. We will never forget you. With all our love and deepest gratitude, The Doyle family

We had our third child at home under the care of Lisa Marie and Richard. All our prenatal visits…read morewere in our home in south Orange County and involved our other children. Each visit was personal, not rushed, and thorough. We got to know them so well in the months leading up to our daughter's birth. The birth was beautiful, peaceful and exactly what we had been hoping for. We are so grateful for their expertise, gentle spirit and tender care throughout this pregnancy, birth and into postpartum.

I cannot talk more highly of Lisa Marie and Richard. Upon meeting them, I knew right away I would…read moreuse them as my birth team. They have assisted me for two pregnancies and births now and have always received excellent care. There is nothing like having them come to the comfort of your own home and support your family in this way. They have become family and will absolutely use them again in the future if that is what is the plans for us.

I'm so grateful to have met Deniz. The first two weeks after my daughter was born were incredibly…read morechallenging, I couldn't find the right position to help her latch and the wounds on my nipples were making everything so painful. A friend recommended Deniz and thanks to her support, all my problems disappeared almost instantly. She didn't just help us while she was with us, she kept calling, checking in and staying connected. Deniz is not only an amazing listener and a wonderful person, but also truly professional and exceptional at what she does. She brought comfort and peace to both my baby and me. Thank you for everything Deniz. I wholeheartedly recommend every new mom to meet her...

Deniz is awesome--so friendly and communicative. She made sure I understood all the details and…read morereceived everything I needed. I highly recommend her to any new mom.

I was fully unaware of how hard breastfeeding could be, and had a really difficult time when my…read morefirst son was born. My husband found Aileen online out of desperation at week 3 after I had tried every nipple butter and pillow on the market. From day one, Aileen has been a knowledgeable, calm voice in this process and has transformed breastfeeding from an extremely painful task into a sweet moment with my baby. She came to our home and first observed how I was breastfeeding, then made position adjustments for a better latch. She weighs our baby before and after feedings, and it's so reassuring to know he's getting enough milk to keep growing. On top of that, she answers all 1,000 of my questions, even the ones that aren't related to breastfeeding Aileen has helped not only with the physical pain but also with the mental burden, constantly reassuring me that everything will work out. Our baby is now 2 months old and so healthy. He can feed without a pillow and latches perfectly. Aileen still comes because as he grows, things change, and I just love learning from her. If breastfeeding seems impossible right now and nothing seems to work for you, you need Aileen!

Aileen is truly the best! She has such a warm, positive energy and is incredibly kind and…read moresupportive. She met with me before my baby was born and then continued to check in with me afterward. Just two days after our daughter was born, she came to our home and helped us so much with breastfeeding. As a doctor myself, I highly recommend having a lactation consultant assess your baby's latch, especially as a first-time mom. Breastfeeding is such a huge learning curve, and having the right support can make all the difference. I also had some challenges with pumping, and Aileen was so gracious, patient, and helpful throughout the process. She always took the time to answer all of my questions and made me feel supported every step of the way. I can't recommend Aileen enough. She is truly wonderful at what she does, and her kindness and expertise are invaluable!

In a nutshell, i went from supplementing 4oz of formula after 15 mins of breastfeeding in each side…read moredue to low supply to exclusively breastfeeding with Yuna's help and expertise! She really cares about her patients and their breastfeeding experience. She's so knowledgeable and really provides such a tailored experience for each mother! I also tried the postnatal massage with Esther and it was SO good!! I felt soooo refreshed and it hurt in the best way possible!! Definitely helped so much during a time where my body is so worn down from taking care of my baby

She was unresponsive and unprofessional. I had met with her before my pregnancy, and I thought we…read morehad discussed coming back, but she never returned my calls or texts. Since I also work in healthcare, the only assumption I could come up with was that my insurance was covering the visits and perhaps the reimbursement wasn't worthwhile for her. I truly believe that with the right support and encouragement, I would have been able to nurse my baby. However, trying to navigate everything on my own while feeling stressed and unsupported ultimately led me to formula feed. I am still pretty upset about it.

We loved our time at TMC's toddler class! Learning from experts each week plus connecting with…read moreother moms in the same stage of life, all while our little ones explore and made new friends has been absolutely amazing. Thank you Michelle and the TMC team for creating this incredible space for moms!

The Mommy Center has been such a wonderful experience for both me and my daughter. Michelle and her…read moreteam have created such a fun, welcoming, and judgment-free space where moms and their little ones can connect, play, and feel supported. I've taken two of their mommy-and-baby class series, and I loved both of them. Each series includes special touches like each week is a different topica mini photoshoot, a swim party, and so much more, which makes it absolutely worth every penny. Carmen, who helped lead the group, is amazing. She is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and always makes me feel heard. She gives thoughtful advice and truly cares about the moms and babies she works with. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does. I've also attended several music classes with Michelle, and those have been some of my favorites. My daughter absolutely loves music time, and Michelle does such a great job keeping the kids engaged and entertained. We truly love The Mommy Center and are so grateful for everything they offer!!

Such a great group for moms who want to meet other moms. It has been a joy attending the sessions…read more The instructor, Ashley is so inclusive and leads great discussions, but she also let's us be candid with each other and allows the conversation to evolve organically. The larger Mama Bear Community has been extremely welcoming and keeps the sense of community going strong even after the classes are completed. I like that there are often experts invited to answer questions or give advice and they are selected based on what each group is most interested in learning! If you're a mom looking for mommy-and-me groups, stop looking and join up.

I joined this group when I was on maternity leave this fall, and I would encourage anyone - whether…read moreplanning to stay at home or going back to work - to consider joining this group. It really helped me bond with my baby and I loved meeting other moms with babies in the same age range who I can still hang out with. This was my second baby, and I had tried a mom group with my first that was fine. I wanted something different and more personal this time around, something more focused on relationships that were authentic and real. I don't want the makeup and show that some moms put on - I wanted people who would keep it real, and Ashley did a great job of fostering this kind of environment. I also really enjoyed the speakers that Ashley brought in. Even though this wasn't my first time around the baby block, I still learned things every week. I would strongly recommend this group to anyone with a baby or a toddler.

Had a few sessions with Marion and she was exceptional. Super professional, super knowledgeable,…read moreand not judgmental of how I chose to feed my baby. The office is also gorgeous inside and everyone is so friendly.

I can only base this off of an initial consultation, but I had an excellent first experience with…read morethe Breastfeeding Center of OC! I met with Frida, and she was truly so helpful and supportive. She gave me her full attention during the consultation and was not only informative, but also very real and authentic. She gave me some helpful insight into how the breastfeeding process typically goes and also provided some hands on teaching moments to help me feel more prepared. Prior to visiting the BF Center, I'd taken a couple of breastfeeding courses online; but there is something about meeting with someone 1:1 (especially someone as kind and supportive as Frida) that really helped set my mind at ease. I'm looking forward to continuing to meet with her postpartum!