We are so grateful to have found Cindy! This was my 2nd low intervention / no pain medication birth…read moreand she was the second doula we have used. We thought the first one was incredible. Cindy exceeded our expectations!! She has experience in teaching childbirth classes so was able to lead us through simulations before the birth to assist my husband to support me in labor. During my labor she was there the entire time and was good at changing positions to help keep labor progressing and my husband involved in supporting me. She was very mindful of our birth plan, for example she advocated to be sure our nurse learned how to change the bed to a squatting position with the bar in early labor. Baby came quickly, had she not done this our nurse would not have known how. She stayed and helped us move to the postpartum room ensuring breastfeeding was well established before she left. She also came to our home a few days after the birth to help out and made me a postpartum ginger soup and a egg drop one and assisted with helping me learn how to baby-wear a newborn. She has a wealth of knowledge of childbirth & postpartum care & worked well with with the hospital staff. Cindy possesses positive energy and a intuition to know how to help without being intrusive. Mahalo nui loa Cindy!! Highly Recommend!!

Hiring Cindy as my doula was one of the best decisions I made in my life. I didn't have the best…read moreexperience with the doula I hired for my first child (wasn't bad just wasn't a good fit), so when I was getting ready for my second, I wasn't so sure I really wanted to go through the trouble of finding another one. I was planning to have a hospital birth but also wanted to go without unnecessary medication, and wasn't so sure my husband and I could do it without extra support. I'm soooooo glad I searched for a doula and found Cindy! She was very intuitively sensitive of and attentive to our needs as a whole family (and not just me) and even paid attention to the needs of my older child. She didn't push any agenda on us or make us feel judged. She made every effort to listen to what we wanted with our birth and after care plan and gave us the space to figure it out when we weren't sure. She also seemed to just know what we needed without us really knowing it or being able to articulate it ourselves. The best part was how supportive she was in so many practical ways after the birth without being overbearing and invasive (like some family members can be). Even though I have pretty supportive family around, having the attentive support of another impartial, caring woman I could trust during a very vulnerable time made my second birth experience so much smoother, easier, and full of joyful memories. She met with us before the birth to get to know us, and was not only there with us before, during and after labor, but she also checked in on us a couple times in the weeks after to provide whatever support we needed at the time. My husband and I continue to talk about what a great experience that was because of Cindy. I don't regret a single penny spent on her services. I highly recommend Cindy to my pregnant friends even if they're not looking for a doula!

Teresa is absolutely the best birth Doula! I moved to Hawaii during the pandemic without friends…read moreor family and wanted to find someone to support me through the birth of my first child. From the moment I contacted Teresa I felt her calm caring demeanor and motherly charisma. Teresa met with me several times before the birth and even attended an ultrasound visit with me. Throughout the process Teresa worked well with all of the other players, my husband, nurses, the doctor, etc. With her experience she is keenly aware of the benefit of making sure the hospital staff know she is there to support the birth while communicating her respect for their roles. During the birth Teresa made sure I was comfortable (food, pillows, blankets, ice chips) and helped make the experience as close to my birth plan as possible. My son's birth was not without complications and during some of the concerning moments Teresa helped provide a calm presence. She was even able to capture the exact moment he was born with her amazing photography - I still don't know how she was in two places at once because I felt like she never left my side. After the birth Teresa continued to be a support and the lifeline I needed. When my husband was unable to be there one evening she showed up at midnight to stay with me and the baby. She even brought some decorative lights to help create a nice calm atmosphere. After I left the hospital Teresa helped coordinate with my arranged postpartum doula to make sure I had the support I needed. She also kept in touch for the remainder of my hospital stay and afterwards motivating me with daily challenges like getting outside daily. I ended up needing more help and continued to utilize Teresa's support postpartum - she literally came over and made me chicken soup (her grandmother's recipe) and hand made noodles - it was so delicious. I could go on and on! I was so lucky to have found Teresa and would absolutely recommend her - she is the best!

BEST DECISION I COULD HAVE EVER MADE. If you are a mother wanting to feel empowered with your…read morepregnancy and birth, please do yourself a favor and hire Selena and her team. You could be in no greater care than with these incredible women. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have had this experience. During my first pregnancy, I was living in LA and had every intention of giving birth in a hospital. By 35 weeks pregnant, I felt uneasy with the care I was receiving by the OBGYN and wanted to seek out other options. Long story short, I ended up hiring a midwife and doula and gave birth at home 3 weeks later. It was one of the best days of my life. With this second pregnancy, I knew I wanted another home birth from the absolute get-go, so this was my first experience having midwife care from the beginning of my pregnancy up until 6 weeks postpartum. Selena, Jasmine, and Amber have been the most gracious, helpful, knowledgeable, supportive, and loving team I could have ever hoped for. No matter what hour of the day (or night) they have been there to answer any questions and guide me through the entire journey. The level of care I received is unmatched. Truly, I can go on and on about how much I am an advocate for home birth, especially with a team like this one. I had the home birth or my dreams, in large part due to them. I trust no team more than them. We are family. Love them forever.

my husband and i had the pleasure working with Selena, Amber and Jasmine. we were both iffy about…read moregoing to a hospital for check ups and birth. having a home birth can scary as well but these ladies made it so stress free! Selena answered the million questions we had for her. made us feel that this was definitely the way to do our birth! i loved how she let us be hands on with what we asked. my husband caught our baby and handed her right to me. so beautiful and amazing. my body recovered amazingly as well. i've had 2 births in the hospital and this has been the best one yet! we got the HK Package a little pricy but worth it. it included the birth pool and liner. they also set up and break down for you. this was great since it allowed my husband and i to bond with our newborn with a clean atmosphere. i also used Jasmine service for my placenta made into capsules. this is a separate price not included in the package. after the birth, Amber was very attentive to our needs. she responded quick to our text and calls. she never made me feel as if i was a bother. she is very knowledgeable especially when it came to questions on breastfeeding. all my worries were normal lol but it helped when she provided information! Amber you were an amazing doula. if we're still on island for our next baby we would love to work with y'all again! thank you ladies!

Review of baby classes:…read more What a welcoming, fun space, especially as a first time parent to an infant! Each staff member has been so warm and friendly, even when babies inevitably do their pterodactyl shrieks or start to get hungry/fussy towards the end of class. As someone who doesn't have family members or friends with babies, it was a great way to meet other parents and babies in around the same stage as my baby. Even though the babies in my class were in the 3-6 month range, it was so reassuring to see the diverse range of development and personalities, especially as the weeks went on. Every baby truly is a unique individual growing at their own pace! The location is in a building across the Ala Moana area Don Quijote. Parking isn't validated but it isn't too bad. People tend to zoom around the corners in the structure though and the turns are pretty tight so be extra careful when walking to/from your car, especially with baby! There is a bathroom outside of the office but on the same floor. When you get to the office, you take off your shoes and park your stroller by the door (sometimes get small kine traffic jam when class is done lol). You bring your own play mat or towel for baby to lay/play on during class (they have spares if you forget). The floor is somewhat padded. Each class starts off with introductions (sometimes there may be a new family who are making up a class from a different session). If you're late or if baby needs to eat (whether nursing or bottle) or take a break during class, you're completely supported! It's so wonderful that there's no pressure at all and everyone is so supportive. Again, as a first time mom, I feel like even leaving the house is anxiety-inducing and there can be so much judgement in other spaces. Sometimes I feel like the classes were just as helpful for me as they were for my baby in regards to helping my confidence as a new parent ‍ I should also note that it's not awkward if you're a single parent or if your partner has to work. Some parents showed up with just their baby. Some parents brought a friend or their own parent. All kinds of families are embraced! Sometimes we get to take a material home from class. For example, a month or so ago, we got to take home a shiny crinkly paper from class, which has since become one of my baby's favorite toys. He loves to watch it because it's shiny, listen to it because it's crinkly, and he squishes it with his fingers, arms, legs, and toes. He's since ripped it in two and I tried to buy what I thought was the same thing off Amazon but it's not as good as the one from TLD lol. They have lots of great ideas for DIY activities and tools, emphasizing that you don't need to buy expensive, "trendy" items to get great results for sensory play and motor skills! Even if you aren't able to attend a class, I still highly recommend following them on social media. They post such great tips and ideas, and they also occasionally host community events like family yoga, mom walks, and dad walks. I'm so, so grateful that our community has this precious resource available!

Dr. Suma and Shannon are amazing children's physical therapists! My son had torticollis and through…read moreour weekly visits my partner and I learned the exercises needed to help him fix it. Even through all the tears and hard work on my sons part i feel we made a difference they are super supportive and kind and i can tell are super passionate about helping. Messaging them on spruce was super easy! And even after my son has graduated they said they'll still be here to help whenever we have questions. Super awesome

Dr. Dominguez and her team (both at her private practice and Pacific In-Vitro, which are two…read moreseparate entities) provide a wonderful and informative experience. They take into account each couple's unique medical / genetic background and history. Quality care and kind hearts. Note to women: Dr. Dominguez physically handles patients with care and integrity. Please remember that sometimes, the cards may not be in your favor. We are born with whatever genetic or health complications we have. However, Dr. Dominguez and her team will strive to the highest to optimize your chances for success. I highly recommend her practice. Dr. Dominguez is also up to speed on the latest research and studies, and has been for years. She has a good sense of humor and is witty. She is an advocate for alternative medicine, such as acupuncture, and of course well versed in Western methodologies. P.S. my partner and I had a successful conception (a.k.a pregnancy)! Entering second semester now.

Doctor Celia Dominguez is an outstanding and very caring doctor. She made us feel comfortable and…read moreinformed through the whole process. This is our first child and we are so happy to have found Doctor Dominguez. I would highly recommend her and I'd say the care quality is 10 out of 10. Sincerely, Ray and Marleid

Let me start with the conclusion drawn by everything to follow: Kathe is the best as far as…read moremidwifery care goes. She is full of wisdom, expertise, and compassion to care for you, your ohana, and your baby during pregnancy, labor, and post-partum. She is amazing, a real gem and gift to midwifery. I am convinced Kathe is fulfilling her calling and I am so thankful for having found her prior to giving birth to my children. Me and my husband first met with Kathe when I was about 13 weeks pregnant with my first baby. At the time we were with Kaiser Permanente and doing our prenatal visits with them. Her level of care, genuine sincerity, comfort, & expertise is top notch. She listens to your concerns, she asks questions to see if there is any supplements you would benefit from as well as any concerns she may have, and offers her advice which is actually helpful. After our first consult (we hadn't even paid or decided to use her yet) she directed me to start on her recommended iron supplement and within two days I was no longer exhausted and falling asleep at 7:30pm. I was amazed! She instructed me to get a number of other supplements as well which also have proven to be very beneficial. From there she could identify the baby's position immediately, taught me how to find my uterus walls and the baby's position, and finds the heartbeat instantly every time (still true, 3 more pregnancies later). Whereas at Kaiser they took my vitals, peed in a cup, continually asked me to get the flu shot even after I told them no, please stop asking me, and it would take at least 10 minutes for them to find a heartbeat. It felt like such a waste of time, impersonal, and unsatisfying, like there was something lacking. And there was! Any hesitancy or fear I had about doing a home birth was washed away as we continued to meet with Kathe and experienced how sound and complete her care was. And she was and has continued to always be available by phone or text for any questions that arise in between visits. We had peace that we were in sure hands. With our subsequent pregnancies, she has included each additional child in the prenatal meetings and it has been such a wonderful experience for all of us. In doing so, she not only prepares you, but your children too just by including them in the process of the visits and bringing to life via their senses the majesty that is having a new baby in utero and out. From the start she became part of our ohana and 6 years later she has been with us for all 4 of our children...each of whom adore her. We've had long-ish labors (15 hours) down to 3 hours, we've had hard labors and easy labors, we've had labors go past their due date, we've had our last labor which had a brief complication that Kathe maneuvered expertly and calmly without putting me in a frantic state, we've had a post birth transfer due to circumstances beyond Kathe's control, we've had lactation and breast feeding questions answered. In every situation she has been reliable, consistent, calming, prepared, full of wisdom and knowledge, and a guide through the journey, leading with love for you, your ohana, and baby. And she does this all the while making sure she takes care of as much as she can so you and yours have the best opportunity to enjoy the bliss of welcoming your new baby into the world. Every birth story is different and some don't go the way you planned, but Kathe is who you want in both situations. She will do everything she can to give you the birth you guys plan on, but she also will be very honest about whether a change of plans or even a transfer is needed and goes above and beyond in those situations to accommodate, help, and serve you in the event of needing to transfer care. Currently we are not in need of her professional service, but we still occasionally go to visit with her. She is so welcoming when we do and the visits are full of us, our kids, and "Aunty Kathe" reading books and playing with some of the timeless toys and trinkets she has been keeping for many years. There is no one else I would trust more for pregnancy, birth and post-partum, plus I genuinely just enjoy her presence and look forward to meeting with her, which makes her the best of the best. Kathe's care is unparalleled, I can't urge you enough to meet with Kathe if you are at all curious or considering a home birth.

Trying to find let alone get ahold of a midwife on Hawaii can be a challenge, as I found when…read morepregnant with my 4th baby due June 2023. I wanted to do a home birth but struggled to find information that would help me on this journey. I had reached out to several people and only heard back from a couple. I had resigned myself to meeting with an OBGYN but going into the clinic it felt cold and I disagreed with several policies they had(since I had 3 previous natural deliveries with out complications). Kathe was one of the few who had responded back so I set up a meeting with her in November or December of 2022.I explained to Kathe that we were in a very strange season of transition, and we weren't even sure if we would be on island for the birth. She listened and then helped to bring so much peace by speaking wisdom, and walked us through to help us decide what we ultimately wanted. She was so flexible and easy going, while also being encouraging and supportive to how we wanted our birth to go. I knew immediately I didn't want to work with anyone else. Her experience in the medical field speaks volumes, but her character, and kind heart is what won me over. Kathe walked with us every step of the way through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She was always communicative and supportive of what we wanted for our family. Helped us every step of the way. When I gave birth I felt prepared. She listened to what I said in labor and allowed me to go through the process as I needed and wanted, while being a guide and present person incase we needed assistance. My 9lb 14oz guy was born healthy and peacefully in my home. She took care of us and made sure I never felt alone. After the events of labor, she tucked us in and cleaned up and allowed me to focus on the new life I had birthed. I was planning to bottle feed, after 3 prior failed attempts at breast feeding. And she asked very good questions that never made me feel forced to change my mind, but gave me the opportunity to try again, with her help, if it was something i wanted. I agreed(I really didn't think it would work but I really wanted the experience of breastfeeding.) when baby was born her words were kind and patient, never judging, but encouraging. And am pleased to say, 7 months later I'm still breastfeeding successfully. Through postpartum she made house visits, and checked in regularly to encourage me, and make sure baby and I were in good health. We feel so incredibly blessed to have met Kathe. I couldn't imagine a more perfect pregnancy and birth experience.She was a breath of fresh air. I would recommend her to anyone looking to do a home birth.

Dr. Lori and Dr. Anne are incredible woman who truly care about you and your families health, we're…read morefortunate to have them in our community.

I loved having Dr. Lori Kimata and Dr. Anne Dericks deliver my baby. I loved the pre and post natal…read morecare they provided. It made a huge difference for me to have them come to my house for post natal care. I trusted Dr. Lori to tell me what I needed to do deliver that baby, and she has been a midwife for over 30 years. I could not have asked for a better team to help me through this experience.

I have nothing but good things to say about Hawaii Mothers' Milk! They are a donation based…read morelactation service located at Kapiolani hospital. At first I was hesitant to see a lactation consultant and didn't think I would really need it as my baby latched on well when I first was at the hospital. When I returned home, things were different and I found out I wasn't producing as much milk (which can happen in the beginning). As a new mom and wanting to breastfeed my child, it was a bit stressful. Initially I contacted Mahinaona Pediatrics but they did not accept my insurance so I reached out to Hawaii Mothers' Milk and so glad I did! The staff were so welcoming and friendly. They made me and my husband feel at ease and answered any questions we had. The 2 lactation consultants I had were amazing and provided such valuable information and resources on breastfeeding/pumping and how to help increase my milk supply. Don't worry about writing anything down because they will email you all the information they talked about! What's also great is they have a very sensitive scale to weigh your baby before you breastfeed and after you breastfeed so you can see how much milk your baby is getting. Hawaii Mothers' Milk also has a lot of great breastfeeding and pumping supplies. I highly recommend Hawaii Mothers' Milk!

I originally went just to pick up pumping supplies and figured I'd check out the weekly…read morebreastfeeding support group while I was there. So glad I did! It was nice to connect with the other moms and also great to chat with the staff, they are so caring and supportive! My baby had been refusing to bottle feed for weeks and it hadn't occurred to me to ask for help. I mentioned our challenges to Victoria, the lactation consultant, and she encouraged us to schedule an appointment. We ended up returning and getting advice and support on feeding, reading baby's cues, tips on pumping, and how to take better care of baby and ourselves as parents. I wish I had visited sooner to take part in the support group and to get help with nursing and bottle feeding! Hawai'i Mother's Milk is a nonprofit and their services are free. Please if you can donate so they can continue to provide this invaluable support to the community.