Angela is one of the best decisions my husband and I ever made for ourselves. She was referred by a…read morefriend with good taste, and we hired her as our doula for the birth of our baby last week. She was terrific all the way through. Very low key, there when we needed, super helpful, answered all our questions, reasonable pricing, reliable and most importantly made my husband and me feel sane/like we would totally be able to handle both birth and having a kid. And trust me when I say I am the last person who would feel confident about being able to do that. She actually (at our request) gave us a baby care boot camp - way better getting childcare info from her than from the classes at the hosp. And then she was with us for the whole birth - which we did at the hospital, might I add. She certainly does midwifery and home birthing, but I wanted a hospital birth and just the emotional support. She was terrific. When the doctors/nurses changed shifts, we still had her. When they made suggestions, we had her to ask what they meant/what she thought/advocate for us. When my epidural wasn't working, she pressed on my back and made it a thousand times better. After baby, she came and checked in on us and has been a resource for questions and information. Long story short: she is the best, ever. You should hire her immediately. Unless I am having another baby, in which case I have dibs.

Angela empowered me to have the labor and birth that I dreamed of having. If you are hoping for a…read morenatural birth- at home, hospital or otherwise- call this woman! My first labor was pitocin induced and I knew that for my second, I wanted to try to go into labor naturally. So I when I started to feel anxious at the end of pregnancy, I received prenatal massages & care from Angela. She is incredibly knowledgeable, competent and generous with her care- I left my appointments with questions answered that I didn't even know I had. Her advice and support was exactly what I needed to trust the process and have an intervention free birth. She came to the hospital the day of birth to take my placenta for encapsulation. And she is making home visits for the first baby check up- rather than taking a 3 day old baby & post-partum mama back to the hospital. My only regret is that I didn't hire Angela sooner. I thought that I would only ever give birth in a medical facility, but if I have another baby, I would want to home birth with Angela because of the superior level of care and the heart that she puts into her work. I cannot recommend her services highly enough.

I worked with Rafeal during labor and postpartum. We didn't work much with her during pregnancy…read morebecause I started my doula search late, and gave birth early. However, she was amazing during my labor! She helped us understand the different options that were being offered to us while in active labor, and was an absolute rockstar during my delivery. I was SO thankful to have her there in the room. She alongside the midwife were my biggest cheerleaders and made me feel at ease and like I could do it. She was coaching me and making sure both myself and my partner were taken care of. She showed him how he could best support me, which meant so much. She made some house visits during postpartum which was fabulous. It was great to have her kind support during such a gentle transitional time.

Rafeal was the single worst part of my 48+ hour induction and unplanned c-section delivery. I'll…read moregive the high-level summary, which should be enough to dissuade anyone from hiring her. My husband and I offered a break to Rafeal about 5 hours after she arrived and after I received an epidural and she NEVER RETURNED. During this break it became increasingly likely that I would need a c-section, and when we requested Rafeal come to support us through it, she replied that was not a service she offered. We were left with no support for a traumatic and unexpected turn of events. I spent the moments before surgery frantically begging her to return to the hospital. By the time she agreed, the relationship had soured so much we didn't want her to be with us and we told her to forget it. Beyond our experience at the hospital, which should be sufficient enough to render her unqualified as a doula, she TEXTED me at 31 weeks to tell me she would be out of the state from weeks 38 to 40+3 of my pregnancy. This is completely manipulative and misleading as we had a signed contract for her personal services for weeks 38-42. She offered $200 refund and a backup doula for her unavailability. We should have terminated the relationship at this point as she had proven herself untrustworthy and her communication style unprofessional. I've never written a negative review before as I believe in handling unsatisfactory services directly with the provider. However, Rafeal has been unwilling to offer a partial refund or even an apology ("I'm sorry your birth was not what you needed it to be" is not an apology for her behavior). Instead, she asked if she could use my experience to further her training and sent me prayers and blessings. I'm highly confident any other doula, or no doula at all, would be better then Rafeal. I'm attaching photos of our text conversation because I wouldn't be surprised if Rafeal accuses me of misrepresenting the events of my experience with her. No one should have to "strongly ask" their doula to return to the hospital for delivery, regardless of delivery method.

Cat and Shalin are the dream team!! 10/10 would recommend to anyone looking for doula support! They…read moreare both incredibly gifted at what they do and pour their heart into everything. Their care went far beyond anything we expected when we first started looking for a doula. At each appointment, they met us exactly where we were and tailored their support to what we needed most in that moment. Because of them, I went into labor feeling so much more confident, calm, and prepared. Their authenticity made it easy to build a genuine connection, and by the time Cat arrived to support us in labor, she felt like a close friend or family member. Cat was the most amazing support during labor! She was such a natural fit into the flow of everything and I was so impressed with how much she was able to hold while still being fully present. She created space for my husband and I to stay connected, guided different labor positions, helped communicate with the nurses, kept me hydrated and nourished, offered massage and physical comfort, held my hand, provided encouragement and words of affirmation, took detailed notes, captured photos, and so much more. Her gentle touch and calming presence made me feel so safe and reassured every step of the way. It was so special to receive so much care and love from both Cat and Shalin throughout pregnancy and labor. We are forever grateful they were part of our son's journey into the world!

I had the best experience with Cat and Shalin during my pregnancy and birth. They were kind,…read moreunderstanding, and attentive. The sessions during pregnancy helped me feel confident and cared for. During my birth, they checked in regularly before joining me at the hospital where Shalin provided the most caring labor support. They were the best addition to my birthing team I could have asked for and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for doula care!

I didn't have a good birthing experience at Kaiser - I went into Kaiser with full intention of…read moreepidural but Kaiser didn't believe I was advancing fast and they asked me to wait until it was too late for epidural; what's worse was they didn't wait for my planceta to come out so they manually removed my planceta without any pain meds. Painful isn't enough to describe the experience. Pregnant with my second son, I didn't want to repeat the experience. Knowing I am likely birth fast again, I wanted to go without pain meds again, with as much help I can get, and natural birth of the planceta. I reached out to Tashina pretty late in my pregnancy. Knowing my situation, she responded to my email right away and managed to squeeze me into her schedule. She did a very thorough interview with me and my husband, fully understood what experience we are looking for and made amazing recommendations. She recommended me with a hospital I wasn't aware of that has great staff and with midwifery care. Since I was late stage pregnant (32+weeks), she pulled all her strings to help the new hospital accept me as a patient. And all the way up until the delivery date, she was only one text/call away for any questions I had. The birth was still painful, but with the midwifery care, Tashina's preparation with me and my husband, the hot tub setup, and her being there as my advocate, the birth was quick, smooth, and no manual extraction of placenta! My second son was almost 8lbs and no tear or stitches. Even weeks after birth, Tashina came visit and always checked in with me to help me with breastfeeding issues, baby colic issues etc. Tashina is so knowledgeable, caring and loving. We will always appreciate her help and she will always be a special person in my second sons life!

I'm convinced that fate brought Tashina into my life so I could have a beautiful, natural, and…read moreconfident first birth. Other than her deep knowledge of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, there is something extra special about Tashina and the calm presence she brings into your pre and post birth space. She not once shied away or avoided any of my questions or expectations for my birth and was so understanding of my boundaries around specific things. I felt absolutely safe and held by her to surrender to birth completely. Moreover, she helped my husband feel confident in supporting me in a natural birth too. All I can hope for is to have her at any of my future births as well! :) Thank you Tashina!

I feel incredibly lucky to have had Shalin as my doula for the birth of my second child! Shalin is…read moresuch a warm, caring, and genuine person. As a doula, she is extremely capable, professional, and supportive. When I first connected with Shalin via videochat for a consultation, she instantly made me feel comfortable. I decided to go with Shalin based on how experienced and knowledgeable she seemed, as well as how comprehensive her doula services package was. Over the course of my pregnancy, Shalin visited my house several times to educate my husband and me about the birthing process, evidence-based approaches to birth, and different ways to prepare my body for birth, and to go over my birth plan. The whole process made me feel really prepared for the birth and gave me a greater understanding of what I wanted for the birth. I also appreciated that I got to know Shalin more during the pregnancy so that she didn't feel like a stranger at all. In fact, she is so warm and friendly that she felt more like a friend! She didn't push any particular views on me but wanted me to feel supported in my birth preferences.  When I went into early labor, Shalin was very responsive and kept checking in on me to see how labor was progressing, and when we decided to go to the hospital, she was super quick to meet us there. She was prepared in every way and set up lights and candles for the room. The hospital room was a vibe and very peaceful! Since I gave birth in a hospital setting, it was also important to me to have someone who could help advocate for me. When my hospital care team asked me to do certain things, Shalin checked in with me to see if I wanted to proceed with what they were asking. During the labor, she suggested different laboring positions and did counterpressure and other comfort measures, which helped me tremendously in coping with the pain. With Shalin's help and support, all my birth preferences were met! I had such a positive, empowering labor - something I never would have thought possible after my first delivery experience (without a doula).  I loved having Shalin as my doula and I highly recommend her! I can't stress enough how having her as my doula made such a difference to my second delivery experience. I am so happy with how everything went and really couldn't have done it without Shalin!

When I wrote this last time I was the supporting non-birthing parent. Thankfully just got the…read morechance to work with Shalin from the other side with the birth of our newest little one!! As always Shalin is the most incredible, compassionate, kind, resourceful, and caring doula. My full updated review is here below! :) https://yelp.to/Xwqw8UCKBk

I am so glad I listened to my sister in law and got a doula. I felt a little silly hiring one bc I…read morehad so much support in my room (both mothers and 2 sister in laws). But Ruth Lundsten was my rock and never left my side. She helped me achieve the natural birth that I had planned for. Her sweet disposition and calming presence during my birth was exactly what I needed. She also came a few times before my birth to discuss my birth plan, go over any concerns/fears I was having and she also brought me a lot of informative material of what to expect before and after birth. She came to visit me a few weeks after my birth and she brought me photos on a cd as well as my birth story typed out. I am so glad she took those photos and that she took the time to write out my birth story. I will cherish them forever! Ruth was amazing and I can't imagine going thru that experience without her.

Hiring Ruth was the best decision my husband and I made in preparation for the birth of our first…read moredaughter. We knew we wanted to have a natural birth (or at least attempt one), and we wanted to have someone at the birth to help achieve that goal. During our initial interview, Ruth stressed the importance of having someone we felt comfortable with as our doula, and recommended that we interview at least two or three other doulas (which we did). Ruth is a very maternal, calm woman whom we knew we could both work with. She came to our home for three prenatal consultations. Ruth gave us a binder with information to guide us through pregnancy, labor and postpartum, including useful exercises, information about the various stages of labor and how to best prepare. She also lent us books and dvds when we asked for additional information. During each visit (between 1 and 2 hours), Ruth talked to us about our birth plan, questions and concerns, and helped us to have a truly realistic vision for the labor. She was kind, patient and made us feel that we were in control. During my 24 hour labor, Ruth came to the hospital prepared with a birth ball and all sorts of gadgets that helped ease my pain. She coached my husband on the types of massages that helped me with my back labor and she was a constant source of support and motivation. I can honestly say that I don't think I would have made it through this labor without her, and was thrilled that I was able to have an unmedicated birth. At the postpartum visit, Ruth brought us the notes she took during labor that tracked my progress and the interactions we had with hospital staff. She also brought photos and a little gift for our daughter. She is the nicest! I recommend Ruth for anyone who is thinking about having a doula attend their birth. I know we will definitely be using her again and are so lucky to have found her.

We have worked with Heather for both of our babies births. For our first, i unfortunately aged out…read morein gestation and ended up having to birth at a hospital. Which was a good experience, but not my original hope. When we got pregnant with our second I immediately reached out to Heather and expressed concern about our budget and previous timeline wondering if a home birth was even possible. Heathers response was "I want to give you your home birth, let's see what we can do." Every appointment with Heather I felt like I left learning something new because of how knowledgeable she is. She takes the time in explaining things with pure simplicity, which shows the passion she has for midwifery! Her compassion and tenderness make you feel like her sole purpose is to provide for you and your baby. Yet her lighthearted, joyful spirit helps you take on the hard parts of pregnancy with ease! I really can't say enough great things about Heather!! We also got to enjoy the care of Heathers student midwife, Grace. Let's just say, they are a dynamic duo you want for all things pregnancy/birth related. Our son was born at home, weighing a healthy 10 lbs 10 ounces. Would not have been able to do any of it without Heather and Grace!

Heather is outstanding. My husband and I met with her while exploring the idea of a home birth, and…read morewe never looked back. Everything she shared about her approach to care, experience, and knowledge aligned with our hopes for our birth experience. Thanks to her support, we had a successful home birth and were also connected with providers through her referrals. Highly recommend!

Hmmm where to start. I will do my best to keep this review professional, unlike our experience…read morehere. Not everyone that works here is uncaring... but long story short my wife's pregnancy took a turn for the worse. We found this out from a phone call after a test. The lady on the phone was eating what sounded like chips dustheap phone call!! Iam not kidding she was crunching away, it was beyond disgusting. Let me ask you a question. If you were given traumatic news, and someone on the other line was eating crunching away, smacking their lips. How would you feel? I feel hurt and sick writing this review. Oh yeah, one last thing never a follow up phone call or anything. They got their money and that's all they cared about for real.

Giving birth at California Birth Center was one of the most empowering experiences of my life…read more Everything is impeccably clean and thoughtfully designed, which gave me full confidence in the professionalism and safety of the care I received. The center operates with a team of midwives, and you meet a different one at each appointment. I genuinely appreciated how intentional and unhurried the prenatal care was. Each visit lasted a full hour, giving us the time and space to connect with the midwives, ask questions, and feel truly heard. Nothing ever felt rushed or overly clinical -- every appointment felt like a deep check-in, not only with my physical health but also with my emotional and spiritual well-being throughout the pregnancy. During labor, a midwife and an assistant were present. They held space for me with such grace -- never intrusive, but always present and intuitive when I needed support. After the birth, we were thoroughly cared for and sent home with everything we needed. The following day, they visited our home to check on both baby and me. They offered helpful lactation support, guidance, and continued postpartum care for both of us in the weeks that followed. I felt seen, heard, and deeply respected every step of the way. I truly cannot recommend California Birth Center enough.