Placenta encapsulation. It was easy on my end. In fact, We never even met in person. Talk about…read moreease of use. I made an inquiry, got a phone call, filled the forms online, talked to my doctor, confirmed the date with everyone, brought the cooler and zip lock bag to the hospital and my husband was in charge of making the call that it was ready to be picked up. The nurse helped my husband put the placenta in a zip lock back and that's the first and last I saw of my placenta while in the recovery room at Celebration Hospital. When I got home from the hospital, it was shortly after that the doorbell rang and my pills and some placenta art work were there waiting. It was all hand delivered as my husband bellowed out "thank you so much! Have a wonderful day" to a gal getting back into her car.

From the owner: Doulas of Orlando specializes in preparing parents for the type of birth they choose to have. We…read moresupport clients during pregnancy(antepartum), labor, birth and their postpartum period. We are bilingual doulas. Orlando Placenta side of Doulas of Orlando specializes in Placentas. We work on one placenta at a time. Following OSHA standards of sanitation. We offer evidence based childbirth education. It covers nutrition, anatomy, choices you have in providers and birth places, Doulas, Hospital procedures and complications, BRAIN, hormones and their role, 4th trimester, breastfeeding and newborn care. Our course work is similar to a mix of Hypnobirthing and Bradley outline.

My doula Holly Kaddour was amazing!!!! She was refreshing, supportive and always available to help…read moreand answer my questions. She guided me through the stresses of going from natural in a birthing center to transferring to a hospital, she was a rock through my 30 hr labor! I would highly recommend her for any momma looking for a calm, kind and compassionate birth worker.

Karen L. Was the perfect doula for my first birth. She was the exact presence I needed in addition…read moreto my husband and mom. My mom is usually pretty chaotic and very hovers and Karen balanced her out perfectly with her calm and grounding demeanor. If I wanted someone to worry with me I'd look at me mom and if I needed to forget my worry I looked at Karen. Her face was always peaceful and expected nothing from me. No look of question on her face, just acceptance of the situation and how I was dealing with it. She was very respectful of my religious beliefs and even provided materials related to my faith. One of the quotes she provided actually stuck with me through labor and I'll never forget it. "When my strength runs out, His is only beginning". I would absolutely recommend Karen to anyone who is mostly looking for a grounding and calm presence for their birth experience. Side note: my labor was on the longer side and Karen never complained nor did she look inconvenienced. She was very serving. She also took AMAZING photos of my birth and I get to look at the moment my baby came out. Very thankful.

As we don't have family in the Tampa Bay area, for our first pregnancy/childbirth experience, we…read morewanted to hire a birth doula. After seeing so many great reviews and recommendations for Buddha Bellies, we booked the birth and postpartum doula services and honestly couldn't be happier. You get a pair of birth doulas to ensure one is available for when you give birth. Both were knowledgeable, friendly, and super supportive throughout my pregnancy. After an initial zoom call to get to know each other, we had a group text chat to check in and answer any questions I might have. They also suggested things to bring to the hospital, like an essential oil diffuser that really helped me and the nurses loved. My on-call doula on the day my son was born was Susan, and she was a lifesaver!! She arrived at the hospital promptly (despite living an hour away) and helped keep my husband and I calm. My husband had to leave for an hour to bring our dog to his boarding location, and so I was so grateful I had Susan with me during that time. I tried to give birth without an epidural, and her magical massages literally saved me and brought me to 6cm dilated. At that time, I decided I definitely did want/need an epidural, and she was very supportive of my wishes. She honestly felt like she became family that day and was so dedicated to my comfort. I can't imagine having done this without her. We're now onto the postpartum doula phase, and while we just started with our overnight care, we are SO glad that we made the decision to have a postpartum doula (kind of like a night nurse in this scenario). So far, it has been absolutely wonderful--the doula is very caring and loving to my baby boy and gives me a few extra hours of sleep each night, which is invaluable. As newbie parents, she offers advice and reassurance that things (like infant gas!) are normal. We are able to sleep soundly knowing that our son is safe with her in the other room! The Buddha Bellies support staff have also been excellent. It was very easy to be matched with and interview doulas--we hired ours on the very first try, as they were all of amazing quality, friendly, and with great experience/reviews. We cannot recommend them more!

My partner and I attended the Buddha Belly pregnancy classes for four weeks. The classes were…read moretaught by Justine and Mellisa. Both teachers were knowledgeable and provided us with essential information about pregnancy, both during and after. They taught us in detail about the steps that should be taken during and after pregnancy, which would be beneficial for both the mother and the child. We also hired doulas from Buddha Belly to assist us during the pregnancy, and they were fantastic. I highly recommend that anyone who is pregnant and their partner take the Buddha Belly pregnancy classes to ensure a smooth pregnancy and to gain the necessary knowledge concerning pregnancy.

This was the 1st experience that I ever had using a doula for a birth and I am very very glad that…read moreI did! This was my 3rd child and yet the stress and anxiety that comes over and impending labor and delivery was still there but she helped me talk through the process and talk through what I liked and disliked about my previous births and what I wanted most for this upcoming birth. She had really good questions to help me think and she really helped me go through all of the details of what I hoped for with my birth plan and so she helped me feel more calm than I would have been and it was so so incredibly helpful. When the day of the actual labor came she came in and her presence was so calm and uplifting and excited that I couldn't help but feel more excited and calm myself. As the labor progressed she had really good tips on helping me work through the pain to try to achieve the type of birth that I wanted and she was able to I direct my husband as well to be able to help. I would definitely go with Katrina again because she was just so helpful and kind and happy about everything that I was going through. She had good advice for recovery as well, and was prompt in delivering the encapsulated placenta pills, which she did a great job with! Anyways, I love Katrina! Thank you for a wonderful memorable birth experience!

Katrina was born to be a doula. She was so hands on before, during, and after the birth of our…read moresecond son. She is knowledgeable on techniques to make labor easier and works with you to find a birth plan that is catered to your needs. When the time comes for baby number three, Katrina will be there!

Leila is an incredible doula, yoga teacher, emotional support friend, woman, human, saint...lol…read more There really aren't enough words to describe her but I can try! After interviewing with three Doulas, my husband and I immediately knew that Leila was the one for us. We hired her when I was about five months pregnant and she held my hand both literally and figuratively every step of the rest of the way. Leila's mission is to educate you and help you make the best decisions for your family, to help you navigate the multitude of options available for you as a pregnant woman. She is in your corner no matter where you're giving birth or who you're up against. She knows exactly what you need during birth even if you don't. If you are looking for a Doula who is dedicated, passionate, nurturing, loyal, strong willed, honest, straightforward, and blunt, with a huge heart of gold, Leila is your lady!

I am a licensed overseas physician and OB/GYN…read more Whilst on a lecture tour in Florida, I came to Birth Center of Gainesville as an academic, namely lecturer in obstetrics and gynecology. My professional impression of the staff at Birth Center of Gainesville was exceptionally positive. I look forward to working at Birth Center of Gainesville someday if the opportunity presents itself. Dr. Peter Geissler, MD, PhD Geissler & Associates OB/GYN

From the owner: Pregnancy, birth and postpartumread more

Pregnancy is a scary, yet beautiful time in life. The overwhelming joy you get while watching your…read morebaby grow inside of you is a feeling that is so hard to explain. It is even more special when that baby growing inside of you is your rainbow baby. And for me, my baby is a double rainbow baby. We had lost the first two pregnancies (Oct. 2019 & June 2020) both in the first trimester. Fast forward to Sept. 2020 and we found out we were pregnant! You can imagine the excitement we had knowing we got another chance at being parents! However, along with the excitement came the anxiety and fear of possibly losing another baby, and that made it hard to stay excited. Sometime late in the first trimester, beginning of the second, we found out about Births and Beyond and began chatting with Brandi. She was and is wonderful. She helped me tremendously by easing my mind of another possible miscarriage, provided resources on how to get through the losses and shared her personal journey with me. She understood that even though I was so thankful to God for allowing me to become pregnant again, she understood how scared I was about losing my baby again. She provided TONS of support on pregnancy, labor and delivery and ways to labor. She helped me feel more prepared for when and how my baby would make his appearance. Fast forward to now, my son was born 5/14/2021. He is a chunky, healthy beautiful baby boy and we are over the moon thrilled to be his parents. He is absolutely perfect in every way to us. :) And being that he is our double rainbow baby, we wanted to do something unique and special to remember the pregnancy journey. We decided that because the baby's placenta was his life support during the last nine months, we wanted to make a placenta print. Brandi made it so special for us, and made the process of collecting the placenta completely stress free. All we had to do was let the OBGYN at the hospital know that we wanted to keep our placenta and Brandi handled the rest. The prints came out beautiful and made a wonderful addition to his nursery. I would definitely recommend Brandi at Births and Beyond for placenta prints and any of her services for that matter! She is an amazing individual who truly cares about her clients and their families! Thanks again Brandi! We will reach out when we are ready for baby #2!