Patricia was not my doula; but I wanted a consultation with her to possibly become my birthing…read moredoula. Her CV appeared impressive, she holds a DONA certification, which is why I emailed via Yelp and her website to set a consultation up....never received a reply. Ended up going with someone who was prompt and responsive.

Patricia's birth doula services is comparable to an exclusive wedding venue. You need to book her…read morein advance. Her services are invaluable and worth every penny. She'll tell you that and her clients will tell you the same. She backs up her years of experience as a birth doula and in those years she has made valuable connections with other people who strive to help provide services and support for natural unmedicated births. Patricia was referred to us by a midwife in the East bay. We interviewed her along with several other doulas and she was down to earth and straightforward. Don't let her website throw you off, she doesn't need to fancy it up. Her experience speaks for itself. Consider yourself being lucky if she chooses to offer her services to you as she prefers only select hospitals that welcome natural births. While she's all about coaching for a natural unmedicated birth, she does not push in that direction if you don't believe in it. She wants you to believe in what you're asking for and do the research on your own. If you believe what your needs are she will help advocate those needs, especially if you're giving birth in a hospital. While the mom is laboring in pain and the dad is watching aimlessly, she's there whispering in the mom's ears what to say to the nurse and doctors that come in insisting on routine checks or procedures that are really not needed but sounds like they are required through their tone. With her help and some luck my wife had a wonderful birth story. My wife only labored for one hour at the hospital and the baby was out in two pushes all in five minutes. She helped my wife labor at home for three hours and knew when it was time to go in. Patricia helped coach her during the months leading up to the day and then through her whole laboring period at home and at the hospital. If you're seeking a natural unmedicated birth, hiring Patricia would be an invaluable investment.

TL;DR: Last-minute cancellations, fell asleep on duty watching our newborn, refused hands-on baby…read morecare, offered useless virtual support, prepaid for 13 nights, and refused refund. We're disputing the charges with our credit card company. Do not recommend. We hired Czarina for evening doula services shortly after welcoming our newborn, hoping for support and rest. Unfortunately, the experience caused us significantly more stress than doing it alone. The most alarming issue was that she repeatedly fell asleep snoring loudly while on duty watching our newborn. This happened on multiple visits. We could see and hear her sleeping, which meant that instead of resting, we stayed awake monitoring her to ensure our baby was safe. When we addressed this directly, her response was shocking: she claimed she was doing it to "train us to be better parents" and get us used to sleeping while the baby sleeps. As exhausted first-time parents, this felt unreassuring and completely unsafe. We hired a night doula to reduce anxiety, not to monitor the caregiver. Beyond the safety issues, basic doula duties were neglected: * Refusal of Care: She was unwilling to help wash the baby and unable to provide clear, hands-on guidance for newborn care. * Household Help: She provided little to no assistance with basic household tasks. * Ineffective Virtual Support: She attempted to substitute some support with "virtual" sessions, which offered zero value to us as parents who needed physical, hands-on help with a newborn during overnight hours. Her reliability was poor, with multiple last-minute cancellations and rescheduling. Most importantly, we prepaid for 13 nights of service. When we terminated the arrangement due to the safety concerns and poor service, she refused to provide a refund for the unused nights. We were forced to escalate this to our credit card company to try and recoup our funds. Czarina was pleasant to speak with initially, but her actions put our peace of mind at risk and violated our trust. If you are looking for reliable, hands-on postpartum care that allows you to rest, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere. Ask specific questions about staying awake during night shifts, hands-on newborn care (including bathing), refund policies, and what "virtual support" entails before hiring.

As others have reported we had a horrific experience with Czarina, and most unfortunately, we felt…read moretaken advantage of at a time when we were quite vulnerable right after we had our first child, and were struggling. If you don't take anything from this review, I ask you to please schedule a trial run as others have reported, Czarina will ask you to prepay for multiple days before having a chance to experience with her. Context: We hired Czarina as a night doula for 6 nights. Czarina showed up 5 minutes late (and also left 5 minutes early). When she arrived at our home, she made it pretty clear she was unhappy with our setup (we had our baby sleeping in our room, and our milk/fridge on our main level, requiring going up and down stairs for a bottle). She made it pretty obvious she was unhappy with the stairs which is like the one thing I needed her to do -- fetch stuff from downstairs. Second we had asked Czarina to wake my wife at very specific times to enable specific feedings. We were struggling with breast feeding, struggling to get feeding right at all and wanted to stick to a specific schedule (as recommended by our dr). Czarina failed to wake us up, claiming that she missed our alarm (turns out Czarina feel asleep as a night doula). Finally when my wife woke up and Czarina did bring the infant in, we had asked that she change her as our infant didn't like being wet during a feeding at all. Despite asking multiple times, the baby was brought in wet which prolonged each feeding. Overall Czarina was just not a fit for us, and despite having multiple attempts to receive a refund, Czarina has refused to provide any refunds. I beg you to read this review but also the others and reach out if you have questions. Being a new parent is incredibly stressful and I'd hate for you to have even more stress.

Melissa was incredible and I COULD NOT RECOMMEND HER MORE. She SAVED our labor and delivery !!…read more Melissa was invaluable to my girlfriend (34), to myself, and to avoiding what may have been a very traumatic labor experience for my girlfriend. My gf went into pronounced labor at 4 in the morning, and when we decided to head into the hospital at 7, Melissa headed right over to meet us. The scene at the hospital when we arrived was very overwhelming and confusing (doctor, midwife, and multiple nurses in a small room, many questions being asked at once, and multiple interventions immediately being offered (insisted on?)). My gf was overwhelmed by pain and the energy of the room, and Melissa was AMAZING in asserting and advocating for the preferences my gf was asking for ("She said SHE DOES NOT want a cervical exam right now" / "She said that hurts and she wants you to STOP"). I want to emphasize that at no point did Melissa interfere, but rather simply emphasized and upheld the boundaries my gf was stating. This was particularly helpful when I had to leave to move my car out of the emergency room lane. We had many decisions to make over the 25 hours of my gf's labor (Magnesium?, Fentanyl?, Epidural?, Pitocin?), and the Doctors were always too insistent and overbearing, while also being evasive when they thought our questions weren't aligning with what they wanted us to do. Whereas Melissa always gave us the information we needed ("Yes, it's possible to give birth on Magnesium without Pitocin" / "If she's shaking uncontrollably, she doesn't need to start pushing, you can hold her and help her 'labor down' for an hour so she can rest before she starts pushing"), along with the language that we needed to state in order to get the doctors and nurses to give us the "breathing room" to make the decisions patiently as a family. The doctors and nurses did not have bad intentions, but they were often lacking in solidarity, or overly impatient with us, and throughout the entire 25 hours, the only person we felt was ON OUR SIDE, was Melissa. She gave us the support and information we needed to feel confident asserting our preferences, while also feeling safe. Without her there, I am certain the Doctors would have been able to leverage my gf's stress and fear into railroading her into an experience that would have been much more rushed and traumatic, and with less of a sense of agency or control. I have not touched upon even 10% of what Melissa did for us (bringing us food, setting up candles, acquiring the Peanut and Birthing Ball for us from the staff, amazing coaching of my gf during the pushing, taking pictures during the birth, and constantly reviewing our decisions with us, and supporting them, no matter what we chose). Her knowledge and experience as a Doula, with her own two labors and births, and her strong, supportive, and caring manner were the rock that we relied on, and that ultimately provided a magical experience that my gf will treasure and remember forever. One final note to the men out there, but I was initially quite the skeptic of the whole Doula situation, and I could not have been more wrong. With her intelligence and confidence, Melissa supported me as much as my gf, especially when my gf was either passed out or too overwhelmed with pain to be going over all the details, and I was trying to weigh and research all the medical options. Never was I more happy to not feel alone in trying to navigate a situation.

Hiring Melissa was hands down one of the best decisions I made during my pregnancy…read more I went into birth with hopes for a natural labor, but those plans went out the window when I arrived at the hospital in an emergency preeclampsia state. I was in extreme pain and totally overwhelmed. What could have been a traumatic experience became something I felt empowered through because Melissa was by my side. Months before labor even began, Melissa helped me build a more substantial and thoughtful birth plan. She provided educational materials, answered every question with care, and made sure I understood my options. We went over pushing positions in advance, which ended up being incredibly helpful when the time came. She also explained various medical interventions the doctors were recommending so I could make informed decisions. When you're in labor, especially in an emergency, it's easy to feel like things are just happening to you. Melissa made sure I felt like I had a voice. I refused to even start pushing until Melissa arrived at the hospital. (I was in labor for over 24 hours and melissa went home to sleep) That's how much I trusted her. Once she was there, she guided me through everything. She helped me try different positions, showed me how to use the peanut ball, the birthing ball, and the squat bar, and even held one of my legs when I was getting ready to push. Her presence was both deeply physical and emotionally steadying. She knew exactly when to step in and when to hold space. She didn't override me or speak for me. She helped amplify what I wanted when I couldn't speak up myself. The hospital staff meant well, but they were rushing decisions and not always transparent. Melissa helped me understand what was being offered or pushed, and gave me the language to advocate for myself. Even when I was in too much pain to say much at all, I felt safe and supported because of her. She also brought warmth to the room. She brought battery powered candles, dimmed the lights, helped to calm the energy, and even captured a few photos that I'll treasure forever. And she supported not just me, but my partner too. When I was checked out or overwhelmed, she was someone he could lean on to understand what was going on and how to help. Melissa was the only person in the hospital who I truly felt was on my side the entire time. I honestly don't know what my labor would have looked like without her, and I don't want to imagine it. I'm endlessly grateful, and I recommend her to anyone looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, grounded, present, and completely devoted to your care and autonomy. She changed my experience, and I'll carry that with me forever. Thank you Melissa!!!

We are so excited to work with Kristin again for the second time! She has been such a wealth of…read moresupport and information. Her skill, knowledge and expertise is incredibly helpful to our family.

To put it simply, having Kristin support us was one of the best decisions we've ever made and I…read morehope you get the lucky chance to work with her like we did. We interviewed a number of doulas prior to giving birth and none gave me complete confidence, especially since this was my first time having a baby. However, that all changed when I had a phone call with Kristin. I felt at ease when speaking with her, and it was very reassuring that we both took a similar approach to parenthood. We set up a schedule for Kristin to come over 2 days a week after I gave birth. As first time parents, my husband and I were very overwhelmed. Kristin was there to support us every step of the way without any judgment. I remember the first night she came over and asked me how I was doing. Based on my response, she went into quick action. I clearly needed a hug and space for myself. She cared for my baby the rest of the evening and let me focus on me. She was the catalyst to ensure that my mental health was being looked after she encouraged me to actually attend different support groups and talk to other moms. She brought me nourishment for my soul through non-judgmental conversations and my physical body a.k.a. food. As time went on, Kristin helped open my eyes and showed me different ways to care for my little one. She was actually the reason I started dressing my little one in real clothes. For some reason, it never clicked in my mind that babies wear real clothes and not just onesies until I saw Kristin dress my little one with clothes we had folded away. Kristin also showed me different ways to hold my little one and what she did to help settle down our little baby faster as well when he would cry. Honestly, I don't know where we would be without Kristin helping us for the first 8-12 weeks. Kristin set us up for long-term success so we can be more confident parents. I feel so lucky to have met Kristin and even more lucky that we were able to work together. Kristin is very passionate about supporting moms and I'm so grateful. Thank you, Kristin - you are a gem!

At the risk of sounding dramatic, Wendy and Kersti have changed my life. There's no other way I…read moreknow how to put it. I went into this pregnancy not knowing anything about pregnancy nor birth. I mean that - I'd never even held a baby before, and I'm in my thirties! I was nervous and knew I needed guidance. A close friend of mine referred them to me after she had her own positive experience delivering her first baby at the hospital (without an epidural). A delivery without an epidural sounded like a good idea, and if my friend can do it with their help, I felt SO COULD I! So I scheduled to meet them in person, and then Googled the definition of a doula because that's how foreign the birth world was to me. Fast forward to today, I am 3 months postpartum, and incredibly grateful to have had Wendy and Kersti there for me, as a first time mom home birth. They prepared me, a total pregnancy/birth newbie, to having a home birth! They are supportive with whatever birth plan you decide and will provide tons of resources and information to help you make an informed decision, on whatever you feel comfortable with. I appreciated that they are well balanced, and will present evidence based research, as well as speak from their own experiences, but never pushing their opinions upon you. After months of research, I made the decision to go forward with a home birth and it was the most magical experience of my life. It was relaxing, calm, stress-free, and I felt SO supported throughout my entire pregnancy journey, after birth, and ESPECIALLY during labor. Wendy was present during my labor. When she arrived it was like my guardian angel had arrived, and I was so happy to see her. She had lavender essential oils and her hands worked magic on me during the most intense contractions. The back massages helped me Soooo much and she did it for hours. She not only supported me, but also my husband, and she knew just what to say to keep me positive and relaxed, and knew how to direct my husband to help. She also took photos throughout the labor. It all happened so fast, so it was so fun to have photos to go back and relive the moments. I will cherish these photos forever. Thank you Wendy and Kersti for helping bring my baby boy to this world. I know without a doubt that I'd like them to be my doulas again for my future baby.

There are so many glowing reviews on here, but I feel like I have to add to the collection because…read moremy experience with Wendy and Kersti was truly life-changing. I am SO GRATEFUL for these two ladies that I just have to share my story!! We didn't hire a doula with our first child, who is now approaching his second birthday. My goal was to have an unmedicated birth and although I succeeded, the entire experience left me absolutely traumatized and panicked at the idea of having to ever go through that again. When we found out we were pregnant with our second child, I was so fearful about the birth I couldn't even speak about it without tearing up and feeling anxious all over. I had a hard time even getting excited about the pregnancy because it meant I had to give birth again, and I was terrified. This led my husband and I to being a search for a doula. My goal was once again to have an unmedicated birth, but I felt incapable of doing that without something being drastically different. Enter Wendy and Kersti. We met with this mother/daughter team over coffee and I quickly fell in love with them. Kersti had the recent experience of having given birth "without fear" herself and Wendy had this amazing mix of strength and confidence in her tone alongside a spirit of gentleness. We had met with a few other doulas in our search, but I constantly felt like they were all too soft-spoken/comforting/gentle and I needed someone a bit more direct alongside those qualities. Wendy was JUST that. :) We counted the cost as if it were a part of the hospital bill, because we knew to have the birth we wanted, it would require an investment. IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!! Over the course of the next few months, we developed a great relationship with Wendy and Kersti. They answered all of our questions with evidence-based research that consistently put my mind at ease. They also gave me a lot of natural methods to prepare both my mind and my body for birth. It took a few months, but through conversations with th, I started to feel more confident and prepared for birth. THEN THE BIG DAY CAME! :) I started having contractions one morning about 12-15 minutes apart and that went on all day. They were mild and I wasn't sure if it was labor or not (my first child was induced), so I stayed in constant text/phone communication with Wendy throughout the day. Finally, when they started getting closer at around 3:30pm, we headed to the hospital and met Wendy in the parking lot. I can't even express to you the relief that washed over me seeing her face. This amazing woman, who had been coaching me for months, met me with a smile and confidence in that parking lot as we walked into the hospital -- almost like we were ready for the big game. We checked in and she immediately started diffusing essential oils, helping me get comfortable, massaging my feet, turning on music and fielding questions from the nurses as I went through contraction after contraction. My contractions were intensifying quickly and Wendy was RIGHT there every second of the way, offering new positions, ideas, distractions and support to keep me going. She knew exactly when she needed to intercede to help me more and when she needed to take a back seat and support my husband Dan as he came alongside me. Within 2.5 hours, I went from 4.5 centimeters to holding my sweet baby boy in my arms. I can confidently say that my birth was beautiful -- something I felt like I would never be able to say and something I contribute HUGELY to this team of incredible women. I am positive the reason I progressed so quickly and smoothly was because I felt relaxed, supported, confident and READY to deliver my baby. After feeling nothing but panic, dread and fear with my first birth, this was life-changing for me. I felt IN CONTROL and SUPPORTED my entire labor and knew I was capable of delivering my baby boy--who ended up being 9 lbs and 3 oz! We also have incredible photos of some special moments during the birth, thanks to Wendy. Whew! So much to say, and I could say more!! All that to express to you that these women are worth gold. If you are hoping to have a positive birth experience and especially if you want to do it medication-free, I would say with confidence HIRE WENDY & KERSTI! We will definitely be using them again with future kiddos! :)

I feel so lucky to have had Neri as my doula. With over 20 years of experience, her knowledge is…read moreincredible, and she always provides professional guidance. During my late pregnancy, I experienced some complications, and Neri immediately referred me to specialists for check-ups. Initially, we hoped for labor to start spontaneously, but eventually, I needed induction. Neri gave me personalized advice based on my body and my preferences. I chose not to use a water ball and wanted to rely on medication to induce cervical dilation and contraction. Most doctors recommended the water ball, but Neri suggested trying Cervidil. To my surprise, it worked beautifully--I developed regular contractions and eventually experienced a spontaneous rupture of membranes. When I gave birth, my Pitocin dose was very low (only 4), and even with an epidural, I was able to push by changing multiple positions like hands and knees. Throughout the entire process, Neri's professionalism, patience, and support gave me confidence and peace of mind. I highly recommend Neri to any expecting parent--she's not only an experienced doula but also a caring and supportive guide through pregnancy and birth.

We cannot recommend Neri enough. As first-time parents planning an unmedicated hospital birth, her…read moresupport made all the difference. Neri helped us prepare mentally and physically leading up to the birth -- from putting together a solid birth plan to answering questions, addressing research-related anxiety, and being a thoughtful, validating listener. During labor, she was absolutely indispensable. She joined us at the hospital and supported us through every stage with incredible skill and professionalism -- changing positions, massage, breathing guidance, aromatherapy, ice chips, and always knowing what to do next. We truly could not have done it without her. She also advocated for us with the medical team and helped make our unmedicated birth happen, even when others doubted us. Neri is calm, grounded, professional, and genuinely prioritizes her clients with personalized care. We will absolutely be reaching out to her again when we're ready for baby number two!

This review is a bummer to write, but after reading other reviews about communication delays and…read moreissues on the administrative end, it's clear i'm not the only one experiencing this issue and something needs to be seriously addressed. Alicia herself is wonderful, and we used her for placenta encapsulation in 2019. We had an overall good experience, so as we are nearing the birth of our 3rd baby, I reached back out to Alicia as a return client looking for placenta encapsulation again. It took 4 days to get an initial response to my email. Julia (Alicia's assistant) reached out to let me know Alicia is on maternity leave and had a few clarification questions to get the ball rolling with another doula. Unfortunately, I never heard from Julia or anyone else again. I've since left a voicemail and 4 follow-up emails with no response. If Born Doulas is too busy to accept me as a client, I would have appreciated hearing that upfront vs. just ghosting me, especially as a returning client. These types of customer service issues are just unacceptable, and if you are looking for a doula or placenta encapsulation company during the very delicate time of pregnancy and delivery, I recommend looking elsewhere and finding a company that cares about communication.

I can't begin to describe how wonderful, passionate, caring and knowledgeable Alicia is! From the…read morebeginning she guided us during the pregnancy, had many great tips for me, and helped me make my (right) big decisions towards the end. My birth story took longer than we expected, 40+ hours and Alicia was so supportive and strong even till the last seconds, let me correct that, even after the birth! Her stamina throughout the 40+ hours is just amazing! She was always there reassuring me that everything is going well, and making sure I'm hydrated and nourished to go on with the big game. This alone makes me want to tell every women, regardless how supportive your husband is, you still need a doula 100% especially Alicia 10000%! Before and after the birth I had many complications, that caused me to be hospitalized right after my birth, so my newborn was left with my clueless husband and mother. Alicia right away came over and helped them in so many ways, guiding and teaching them how to take care of our baby. She kept checking in on me before and after the birth regarding my condition, and helped me in all kinds of ways, sending over wonderful people to help with my condition, etc. We are eternally grateful to you Alicia! Baby M sending all his love!

My family and I worked with Sunshine Tomlin for the home birth of our second son. She was…read moreabsolutely fabulous and we are so thankful to have her in our lives. My first son's birth was also unmedicated but in a hospital setting and I experienced quite a bit of trauma from that experience (as well as the postnatal care I received through that provider). As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I had to work through a lot of fear and some anger as well. It meant so much to me to be able to share that with Sunshine and have her support and understanding. My younger son's birth was a completely different experience, and beyond my hopes and expectations. Another thing I loved about Sunshine's care is that she is very gentle in her exams, both with mamas and babies. One of my favorite parts of my appointments with Sunshine were when she would talk to my son and let him know what she was checking, both through my belly before he was born and when she lovingly cared for him after his birth. If any mamas have questions about working with Sunshine or the whole home birth process, I'm happy to support you in any way-please feel free to message me.

I am so grateful to Hope for the amazing care I received throughout my pregnancy, birth and…read morepostpartum! She is amazing - warm, knowledgable, caring and considerate. My partner appreciated that she was very balanced and non-judgmental in her approach to birth. I was so sad to say goodbye at our 6 week check up... wish she could be part of our lives forever! Thank you Hope!!!