I was lucky enough to have Melissa as my doula for the birth of my second daughter, Sophia. Early…read moreon, we met to get to know each other a bit, and we discussed my first birthing experience, in which I was induced. I was 37, and was 42 with my second, so it was likely I was going to be induced again. I had a lot of negative emotions centered around my first delivery. Melissa talked me through them, listened and asked the right questions. We came up with a birth plan that I felt comfortable with. When the time came for me to be induced, Melissa was so on top of everything-- she took photos and video of the experience, she brought me a diffuser with essential oils, calming LED lighting, music, and gave me mini massages while she kept rooting me on. What resonates with me the most about Melissa is her genuine compassion. She made me feel taken care of, validated, and supported, and it is clear that she is well-suited for being a doula. I highly recommend her.

I couldn't imagine my son's birth story without Melissa there by my side. Her gentle, calm presence…read moreand soft and soothing voice made me feel safe and supported even during the most intense of moments. It was my first time going into labor, and I was grateful for every single word and act of kindness, care and mother-to-mother wisdom. I'm so thankful for her and highly recommend her to anyone considering doula services.

Madrone - Monitrice package…read more We chose Madrone as our midwife because from the first time we met, they had a calming, safe presence that made us feel completely at ease with our upcoming birth. We chose the monitrice package because I wanted the reassurance a midwife could provide me with, and it was the absolute best decision. Having a Doula and midwife was the best of both worlds, we felt supported emotionally and had the hands on care from a midwife. This helped us realize our goals of laboring at home as long as possible, and having an unmedicated, natural birth at the hospital. I had my partner, mother and Madrone in the birth room, and Madrone balanced everyone out perfectly. They helped ensure each person had a place and space in my birth, all while taking photos to document it which I will treasure for the rest of time. Madrone was not only there for us during our birth, but before and after in such an impactful way. They helped us prepare before mentally and physically, helping us put together our birth plan and leading us through meditative breathing exercises. Madrone was also there after our birth, with several in person sessions as well as available for support along the way as we got settled in at home. It was so reassuring to have someone so knowledgable to ask questions as things came up - breastfeeding, diaper rash, eye boogers - Madrone had helpful information and answers to everything we asked them. Why we loved working with Madrone: - They are knowledgable and incredibly good at being a Doula and Midwife - They have a warmth and calming presence that always made us feel at ease and safe - They have a very balanced and practical approach to preparing, birth, and the postpartum. - They are respected by every birth worker I came in to contact with. Everyone loves Madrone! - They are humorous and full of so much bright energy, and that helped me through some of the most painful moments during birth. - They allowed me to confidently labor at home as long as possible, monitoring baby's heart rate while my contractions intensified - they cut out my stitches at three weeks when they were no longer serving me. Saving me an unnecessary visit to the doctor. Questions I asked Madrone that they were able to support and guide me through: - What are the pros/cons of the hep b shot? - I think my water just broke... does this look like amniotic fluid (photo of captured fluid in a jar sent... lol)? - How do we communicate to our family that we need them to get the Tdap and flue shots if they want to be around the baby? - Why does our baby have goop on his eyes? - I think my milk supply is too strong for baby to drink, what should I do? - I think my stitches fell out, what should I do? - Is the level of prolapse normal at 3 weeks? - How much should I be resting?

STOP. THIS IS IT. You can stop researching and interviewing doulas now because Mireille is THE…read moreBEST! We started looking for a doula at 6 weeks pregnant so we definitely had the time and energy to look for a doula and we are SO HAPPY we found Mireille. After she came to our home to chat with us, we knew she was the one! We found Mireille through our birthing class at Harmony. she had worked with our midwives, Lin and Maria (shoutout to BAM!) before and was familiar with El Camino Los Gatos so we knew she was perfect! Mireille helped us with our birth plan, eased any fears, and supported us to have a natural childbirth! We couldn't have done it without her. She was there from when we first called her all the way until baby was born, never leaving us :) The best part was she really supported my partner in being part of the birthing process. Will definitely come back to Mireille for our next birth :)

Highly recommend Gretchen Retka!…read more Gretchen was a total game-changer for our birth experience. During my pregnancy, she gave me so many great materials and exercises to stay active and prep for labor. The best part? When I was in labor, the baby was in the OP position. Gretchen worked her magic for hours--doing specific massages and position adjustments--and successfully helped the baby rotate to OA. It made the final push and the whole delivery incredibly smooth. We are so grateful for her support; she made all the difference in bringing our baby into the world so safely and smoothly. You're in the best hands with her!

We are incredibly grateful to Gretchen for the support she provided throughout pregnancy, labor,…read moreand postpartum. During pregnancy, Gretchen helped us prepare both mentally and physically for labor. She taught us exercises, breathing techniques, and practical ways to think about and manage labor pain. The sessions gave us confidence and helped us feel much more prepared for the birth experience. When labor began, Gretchen was absolutely invaluable. My wife was experiencing very intense contraction pain, but the nurse initially dismissed it as not being active labor and suggested that she simply wasn't handling the pain well. There was even pressure to take fentanyl. When Gretchen arrived, she immediately stepped in, assessed the situation, and suggested having my wife spend time in the shower. She carefully observed her and quickly realized that this was in fact active labor. Based on what she was seeing, she recommended that it was time to get the epidural. When the staff checked, my wife was already 8 cm dilated. The nurse had completely missed how far labor had progressed. Thanks to Gretchen's experience and advocacy, we were able to get the epidural at a good time. During pushing, Gretchen was amazing. She continuously suggested different positions, kept my wife calm and focused, and provided encouragement every step of the way. She also built a wonderful rapport with the nurse who came on shift, and together they worked as a team to help make the delivery as smooth as possible. After our daughter arrived, Gretchen continued to go above and beyond. She captured beautiful photos that we'll treasure forever, helped facilitate skin-to-skin time for both mom and dad, and assisted with latching and the baby's first feeding. Her support didn't stop at the hospital. During her postpartum visit, she checked in on all of us, answered questions, and even sang a sweet lullaby to our baby that we still remember. Looking back, having Gretchen as our doula was one of the best decisions we made. Her knowledge, calm presence, advocacy, and genuine care made a huge difference during one of the most important days of our lives. Thanks to Gretchen, we had a positive and memorable experience welcoming our newborn into the world.

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!

Elizabeth is a fantastic therapist and person, I always look forward to our sessions because she…read morealways takes the time to ask about where your pain is coming from and unlike most therapists, will not leave you in even more pain the next day even if deep muscle therapy is needed. I have and will continue to recommend her to friends and family for anything as sensitive as Prenatal massages to more straightforward relaxation massage or massage to fix specific pain or injury.

Elizabeth comes to our office each week and provides amazing massages to our employees. She does an…read moreexcellent job of being both professional and very personable which is extremely important to us. I'd recommend her to anyone (both personal and for companies) since she is able to customize the services she offers based on the customers' needs, handles appointments and payments seamlessly, and is always on time. Companies should consider offering massage therapy more often as it is a great way to improve the work environment and promote health/wellness. Additionally, if you need a copy of her license or insurance, it's not a problem - she's got it. Once a time and place are coordinated, she handles ALL the details. Really delightful in a busy office!

Our son just passed fifteen months old a few weeks ago, so this review has been a long time coming…read more It is still hard to process how important Sabine was to the birthgiving, and how grateful we are to her for bringing her kindness and experience to bear on what was an extremely long and difficult labor. We met with her a couple of times as she guided us through setting up a birth plan. And though we had to abandon three or more items that we wished we could have stuck to in our plan during the labor, she made sure that they were conscious, deliberated decisions and not impulsively acted upon. Her calming presence in the room affected not only my wife and me, but the nursing staff as well. She and I took turns to allow my wife to have continuous support throughout the labor and afterwards. She later presented us with several keepsakes to help memorialize the birth of our wonderful son. We also opted to have the placenta processed, and she had postpartum advice for us as well, though we did not ultimately choose to have continuing postpartum support.

As first-time parents my husband and I weren't sure what to expect from the birthing process. Enter…read moreSabine from TLC Doulas. From the moment she showed up at our house in Spring 2014 for a meet and greet, we were taken by her: Sabine is calm but strong; she's open to molding the birth experience to what we wanted it to be. She's extememly knowledgable about the physiological, physiological and spiritual aspects of birth. She knows her way around a hospital while likewise bringing alternative comfort measures into the birthing experience. Sabine came to our house for two prenatal visits and one postnatal follow up. She helped me birth at my home for 8 hours and then transitioned with me to the hospital for another nine hours. She took beautiful photos during the birth as well. With Sabine's support and guidance, I was able to bring my son into the world with more strength and dignity than I knew posible. Likewise, she provided my husband with the support and information he needed to be my primary birth coach. We couldn't be happier with TLC doulas and will be giving Sabine a call in years to come for future births. I recommend Sabine wholeheartedly to expectant moms (and dads.)

The women of Sacred Mother Earth (Carrie, Cherish, and Suzy) are absolutely amazing. They are true…read morehealers who use their divine energy through their hands and tools to customize each healing experience to each individual. Carrie is a massage therapist who uses Shungite as a hot stone massage. Shungite is full of antioxidants and is a healing stone that helps with detoxifying and purifying your body by absorbing and eliminating any negative energies or anything that is health hazardous to the body. She also specializes in lymphatic drainage which gets the body to release. Cherish specializes in women's health. She specializes in postpartum and prenatal massage. She also offers yoni steam bath and yoni massage to release all trauma. Suzy has been a massage therapist for 9 years she specializes in Myofascial Release (Trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgical procedures create Myofascial restrictions) and craniosacral massage (a gentle, noninvasive form of bodywork that addresses the bones of the head, spinal column and sacrum. The goal is to release compression in those areas which alleviates stress and pain.) She combines the two for maximum trauma relief.

Cherish is phenomenal when it comes to postpartum healing. When I first met her I loved the…read morepositive aurora that was surrounding her. She made me feel at ease, comfortable, and can fully let myself go without judgement. I saw Cherish for postpartum services at home which she provided: Belly Binding, New Mama postpartum massage, counseling, and spiritual rituals. The new mama postpartum massage was amazing. Cherish even helped me massage my breasts where I wouldn't have any milk ducts clogged. My shoulders, hips, and just everywhere feels wonderful afterwards. When it comes to counseling or just having someone to talk to, Cherish, is a great listener and feedback. She listens to you and soaks it all in herself then would suggest or recommend some things that can be taken into considerations. I've purchased Tea 4 Two and boy do I love it! For breastfeeding Mothers who have trouble with their milk supply- let me tell you. This Tea worked for me. I went from pumping 2oz to 4-5oz each session. Hopefully this will work for you too! This tea is sweet and isn't harsh to take down. This tea also helps with soothing your nerves, mood stabilizer, and has the ingredient nettle leaf which promotes milk production!

Due to my privileged position, and very personal experience with Silicon Valley doulas, I can tell…read moreyou it has been nothing short of exceptional since their inception. Czarina brings over 20 plus years of experience, extensive training, and a true passion for supporting families through one of life's most meaningful transitions -- welcoming a new baby. Her background covers everything from lactation consulting and sleep training to postpartum depression and psychosis support, patient advocacy, birth preparation, and more. She's worked with over 300 families over her career thus far, providing truly personalized and compassionate care each and every time. Her depth of knowledge about the birth journey, babies, and the postpartum period is remarkable, and she always approaches her work with professionalism, empathy, and a calm confidence and experience. One thing I respect deeply is her clarity and integrity when it comes to her business policies. She has a no-refund policy that's clearly stated in her contract (which is completely legal and standard for her field). The reason is simple and fair, much like many other businesses she reserves specific dates and times for the families she assists and does not take other clients during those scheduled sessions. When someone cancels or tries to back out of a contract she's already set aside that time, so it's clearly ethical that her time and commitment are respected. If you're looking for a highly skilled, knowledgeable, compassionate, empathetic doula who combines unmatched experience, professionalism, and genuine care, Czarina is the person you want by your side through pregnancy, birth, and beyond.

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.

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!