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.

We had a wonderful experience with Brenda. She came to meet us before the baby was born, which was…read morereally helpful and gave us a chance to get comfortable with each other beforehand. Once the baby arrived, she was incredibly helpful, especially with tips and guidance on how to soothe him and help him get to sleep. She was so kind, gentle, and caring with our baby, and it was such a pleasure to have her with us during these first days. We're very grateful for all her help and would absolutely recommend her!

We had an outstanding experience with DOULAS by the BAY. They matched us with Mary Ann Cherie…read moreWolowski, who was with our family for the first eight weeks after our baby was born. She started right on the day after delivery while we were still at the hospital. This was incredibly helpful because it allowed my partner to focus on caring for our toddler while I recovered from my C-section and bonded with our newborn. Mary Ann was exceptional in every aspect of newborn and postpartum care. With her background as RN and an experienced nanny, she confidently took charge from day one. She handled everything--from swaddling and keeping the baby on a feeding schedule to making sure I stayed on track with pumping. She always had my pump parts cleaned, sterilized, and ready to use, which made those early weeks so much easier. She also gave me invaluable breastfeeding support. Thanks to her guidance, I established a full milk supply within just three days of my C-section, and I'm still successfully breastfeeding. She also referred us to an amazing lactation consultant who was an absolute game changer. Mary Ann was meticulous about everything baby-related and followed best practices in every detail. Her logging and tracking were incredibly thorough, giving us complete peace of mind. She was professional, respectful, organized, and kept everything spotless. The greatest gift she gave our family was rest. There were moments when it almost felt unreal how much recovery time my partner and I were able to get because we trusted her completely. She would even bring me a glass of iced water wherever I was--a small act of kindness that made a huge difference in my recovery. Because she took care of so much, I was able to focus on postpartum healing and even carve out time for simple self-care, like getting a haircut. Although her primary responsibility was caring for our newborn, she also formed a wonderful bond with our toddler and always made him feel included. She consistently went above and beyond by helping keep our home clean, making countless trips up and down the stairs without ever complaining, and never leaving before everything was tidied up--even if it meant staying a little past the end of her shift. We're incredibly grateful to Doulas by the Bay for matching us with someone who fit our family so perfectly. The agency made the process smooth, and Mary Ann exceeded every expectation we had. We wholeheartedly recommend Doulas by the Bay to any family looking for expert postpartum support. They gave us the gift of rest, confidence, and a much smoother transition into life as a family of four.

We are so grateful for the day doula support and care that we received from Ludgy during the…read morenewborn stage. She was great with our son and was also very supportive to us as parents with encouragement, guidance, and help throughout the day. Ludgy was also very flexible when needed and definitely brought peace of mind during a time where I felt overwhelmed and in need of rest. We highly recommend Ludgy to any family needing postpartum support.

Ludgy cared for my daughter as a daytime doula from the time she was two months until she started…read moredaycare at four months old. Initially we had only planned on 8 weeks but we extended for another month when we realized the huge value, insight and care she brought to our family. From our initial phone call, she listened to our concerns and challenges and proactively offered tips and advice. She also had alot of great product recommendations to make our lives easier, and even went out of her way to get a secondhand bottle sterilizer from a former client since I was reluctant to spend money on more baby supplies. Ludgy was confident in care and very attentive to my daughter. She played and sang with her, supporting her as she did her first roll at three months old! It was a relief to know that my daughter was in good hands while I rested or did errands. This is my last baby, but if we had another I would definitely want Ludgy to come back! We miss her!!

Sharon Economides was my Lactation Consultant when my newborn was having trouble latching, due to…read morewhat was assumed to be flat nipples. I had been using a shield recommended to me, but my baby was not putting back on her birth weight. On the first visit, within the first few minutes Sharon was able to get my baby to latch properly without the shield! Just by making a few simple suggestions around my babies position and using a pump to help pull the nipple out a little more, my baby was able to latch and begin to nurse properly. Sharon is not only very knowledgeable in her field, but she has a really good vibe to her, making mama and baby feel comfortable. With her down to earth personality and her calm presence, she is able to communicate the information she needs to relay with great ease. Sharon was also very helpful by phone, text and e-mail and was quick to respond when questions which came up between the few sessions we met. I highly recommend any new mama to Sharon. Nursing is not intuitive and if you are having trouble getting started, you will be happy you contacted Sharon so that you and your baby can begin a nursing rhythm that will bring you both great joy and love.

I am forever grateful to Sharon for her care during my pregnancy and birth of my second child. It…read morewas such a world of difference from the first time around. My OB was nice enough, but would spend maybe 5 minutes tops just to check the baby's vitals and then usher me out the door. My OB wasn't available for my first birth, and I ended up with a surly OB at delivery that I definitely wouldn't have picked myself. I decided the second time around that I wanted a more personal level of care, and I'm so glad I went with Coastal Maternity. Sharon always gave me her undivided attention during our prenatal and postnatal visits. She was so thorough and knowledgeable, and she made sure to address any questions I had (or didn't know I had!). She brought things for me like books, tea, website recommendations, etc. She was always available via email or phone if any questions or concerns came up between visits. She also struck just the right balance for me between "crunchy" and conventional, meaning that she could readily recommend holistic remedies like acupuncture while also putting in orders for bloodwork or ultrasounds if needed. Visits definitely involved more than just checking the baby's heartbeat...She also took my well-being fully into account, as well as my husband and toddler. That level of care for my entire family meant so much to me. Personalities can factor into one's decision when choosing a midwife, but Sharon is so warm, calm, and grounded that I would imagine that she could work with just about anybody. She has such a seamless and intuitive way of knowing when to jump in and lead and when to step back and let you take the wheel. This was exactly what I needed during my labor and birth. She was there every step of the way to help me keep my focus and stay strong. She understood and respected my wishes but also knew when to make helpful suggestions and try new things if I was feeling stuck. I ended up with an empowering home birth experience that I will cherish forever. I highly recommend Sharon and Coastal Maternity!

We were incredibly lucky to have Thais as our postpartum doula for the first 6 weeks with our first…read morebaby. From the start, she was thoughtful and well prepared. She even came to our home beforehand to review what we had for the baby and helped us identify what we were missing. Thais truly loves babies and her work, and it shows in how gentle, attentive, and calm she is. She also organize our baby items very well, which made daily life much easier. Before her last week, she checked in to make sure I felt confident caring for the baby on my own and taught me essential skills like bathing the baby and using a baby carrier. As a first-time mom, her support made a huge difference. I highly recommend Thais to any new family.

I feel so lucky to have Thais helping me take care of my first newborn baby!…read more She has been so patient, passionate, knowledgeable and really into the details of everything. She also turned my husband and me into parents who are capable of handling different situations! She gave me good guidance on breastfeeding and pumping. And our cat loves her!

Michelle was my birth and evening postpartum doula for the birth of my daughter. Her nurturing wise…read morepresence eased both the UCSF L&D staff, my husband and myself during a most fantastic birthing experience. She knew when I may have pushed pain threshold too far and gently reminded me of alternative pain relief. Not to mention she used a technique called Spinning Babies to bring my daughter out of an awkward position. Once home, she kindly showed me changes in breastfeeding positions to diminish pain, cleaned dishes and watched the baby so I could take time alone. She held space for this incredible time and we love her like family.

As a first time Dad I was not the one doing the hard work, but for all the dad's out there, the…read morewhole process is not, I'll just say, the most straight forward for anyone involved. Going into the process there is so much unknown and so much that makes you unsure. The most important person to be comfortable in my situation was my wife. In order for her to be comfortable it was very important for me to be comfortable. I understand that having a doula is not necessary, but it sure did help me and my family. The preparation conversations we had made the experience digestible. The advocate we had in Michelle during the process was incredible. The support we had post-partum was so helpful. Michelle has done this so many times and is so familiar with everything going on. To have her on your team allows for everyone to be present and just helps so much. Technically: She knows her stuff. For instance, Michelle is trained in baby spinning and to the doctor's surprise we avoided a c-section at the final hour. It was nothing short of a miracle. Personally: Michelle is solid, levelheaded, caring, fun, patient, prepared and will advocate for you when you need it. She has a short questionnaire to get on the same page earlier on in the process and she stands by what you discuss. I can't recommend Michelle enough, and if you would like to discuss further please ask Michelle to put us in touch.

Victoria was so helpful and thoughtful during our tough transition to becoming first time parents…read more Due to some minor complications, it was tough for me to move around the first couple of weeks post partum and so Victoria provided some much needed relief to my partner in learning new tasks (reorganizing our changing station to be more efficient, sanitizing pump equipment, baby wearing, etc.) and even household chores like laundry. Victoria also provided really helpful tips and tricks on how to put baby to sleep, support their development during awake times, and just general guidance on what to expect and how to cope. For me, her help during the long night shifts allowed me to get more rest and recover faster. She brought such kindness and warmth to the table in addition to her knowledge and skill, it felt very much like a lifesaver, esp since we do not have a lot of support in the form of family close by (and sometimes family support is actually also not that helpful). Our baby also loved Victoria and was very calm when she was interacting with him (showing us it was possible to have a diaper change without crying haha). We know we can trust Victoria with our newborn and so even went to have lunch without baby while knowing baby was in good hands. We likely would not trust anyone else to take care of baby at this early stage without our close supervision. TL;DR: Highly recommend Victoria who provided invaluable support and guidance during our transition to becoming parents.

Victoria worked for us for several months late last year supporting my wife once our baby girl was…read moreborn. I cannot say enough about how attentive she was to everything. She was always on time and extremely competent caring for our baby and my wife as she recovered. We were very lucky to have her and highly recommend her. The Gilberts

My husband and I are SO thankful our friend referred us to Fernanda and for her care of our infant…read moreas our night postpartum doula for 10 weeks. I was VERY unsure about handing over care of my newborn to someone else as we took care of our first, but now that we've had a doula I can't believe we didn't have her for our first. If you're wondering whether a postpartum doula is "worth it," whether your benefits cover it or you're paying yourself: JUST DO IT. Being able to actually sleep knowing our baby was being cared for by someone so experienced was sanity-saving. Some things that were on my mind and posting here as I kept asking my friend about these: 1. Will my baby be safe? Fernanda has clearly been doing this for so long that caring for babies is completely second nature to her. She has a ton of experience and knows all about newborns--which ended up being exactly what I needed. Fernanda is extremely professional and has all of her documentation, certifications, insurance, etc. Just ask and she'll happily show you everything. I was nervous to ask but she didn't mind at all. And if you're a first-time parent, she has so many resources, ideas, and techniques to share. We weren't even new parents, and I had forgotten a LOT. 2. Will I actually be able to sleep with someone else in the house? Yes! Fernanda is unbelievably quiet. Do not worry. I needed to sleep in our living room due to c section for the first few weeks and she tip toed silently with a night light to grab bottles and more and I never even woke up! She is like a secret mouse in the night. We are light sleepers, and somehow she could care for the baby, prepare bottles, wash things, and move around without us hearing her. 3. What if our setup isn't ideal for a night doula? f you're sitting there trying to figure out where the baby will sleep, where the doula will be, how feeds will work, or how any of it will function in your particular home--talk to Fernanda. She has worked with so many families and different setups that she can help you figure out something that works. 4. Will she actually help us understand our baby? She helped us with sleep schedules, routines, feeding, soothing, and ways to gradually build better sleep habits. Even as second-time parents, we learned so much from her. Having Fernanda for those 10 weeks gave us sleep, sanity, and the ability to be better-rested parents for BOTH our newborn and our toddler during a huge transition for our family. We are incredibly grateful for her. THANK YOU Fernanda for taking such wonderful care of our baby and our family.

We're delighted to recommend Fernanda Mafra as a postpartum doula for any family who's considering…read morethe extra help. Choosing Fernanda to help overnight with our first baby was the best decision we made, and looking back, we truly don't think we could've done it without her. We even interviewed 5 other doulas and Fernanda clearly stood out because of her professional, calm, and knowledgeable demeanor. Leading up to the birth, she checked in weekly and sent across helpful resources so that I could mentally and physically prepare for the birth and we could prepare the nursery with all the essentials. When our baby arrived a whole month early and I texted Fernanda from the hospital, she immediately and kindly arranged for an amazing backup doula to help us during those weeks - she didn't need to do this, but this is a perfect example of how Fernanda goes above and beyond to care for her families. Fernanda always arrived early each night, checked in on us and the baby to see how our day had been, and shared suggestions that helped us establish a routine in the first month that most families only dream of in the first year. The uniquely helpful thing about Fernanda is that she happily collaborated with us on every topic (feeding, swaddling, pacifiers, etc.), so it felt like a true partnership and we never felt judged as first time parents. We learned so much from her that we could've never learned from books or other resources. She was a wise angel when I was stressed about breastfeeding and helped suggest a pumping schedule to increase my milk supply, and also created a weaning plan for me when I was done. Her communication is impeccable and she wrote detailed notes each day to summarize the night for us so we could stay informed. You can tell that she genuinely cares about her families, and even by the end of our short time with Fernanda, our son was sleeping from 8pm to 6am with a single dream feed! She even gave us a documented transition plan to help us continue the sleep conditioning in a gradual, soothing way. In short, no matter how our day had gone, I'd always feel relaxed and happy when Fernanda would arrive, knowing that our baby was in great hands. We cannot say enough good things about Fernanda and will definitely hire her again for our second baby!

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 have received multiple massages from Gracie during pregnancy and postpartum and they have all…read morebeen fabulous. Especially when I was 9 months pregnant, she did a fantastic job making sure I felt comfortable and helping relieving the physical pain of the third trimester. During postpartum, I have received a couple of massages for back pain related to breastfeeding and I always leave feeling rejuvenated and more aligned. Highly recommend

I reached out to Brilliant Births to find a birth doula. They offer a matching service and…read moreconnected me to 3 doulas who work independently (not employees of BB). We were really fortunate to find our birth doula (who we love!), but the other 2 candidates were not very impressive. The first doula missed our appointment with no follow-up communication. We were initially confused and thought she was the coordinator for BB, because she only communicated by text. The actual meeting was just by telephone so there was no face-to-face interaction, which felt strange. We could've easily FaceTimed or Zoomed. So communication and reliability were not great. The second doula abruptly canceled our half-hour appointment when we were 10 minutes late for a 30-minute appointment due to my husband wrapping up a Zoom meeting. During our appointment time, she was responding to my emails (in which I apologized for being late), but insisted she could no longer meet with us. I thought this was a really bad sign about what she would be like to work with - labor and delivery is rarely precisely timed and some flexibility is needed. In addition, her email said that she lives in Portola Valley, but we live Berkeley (also where Brilliant Births is located). This also struck me as strange, because it would take 1.5 hours for her to arrive to meet us at the hospital, which is not ideal.