I absolutely love Blossom Birth & Family! Carolina is amazing, and you can truly feel how much…read moreheart she puts into creating a welcoming, supportive space for growing families. Blossom offers such a wide range of classes, resources, and support for pregnancy, postpartum, babies, and beyond, and I especially appreciate how inclusive and community-focused they are. They also do an incredible job partnering with other wonderful local organizations and providers, including FIT4MOM SVC, New Mom School, The Healthy Pelvis, and so many others. It really feels like they believe in building a village around families rather than trying to do it all alone. We are so lucky to have Blossom Birth & Family in our community. I can't recommend Carolina and the entire Blossom team enough!

Carolina is the BEST EVER!! Extremely grateful to her for giving me support during postpartum. We (…read moreme and my baby ) go to her mommy and baby yoga and we love it. Even though my baby is crawling now, Carolina encourages us to attend her sessions. She is extremely attentive to both mine and my baby's needs. My little one loves her and feels extremely calm in her sessions. Her wisdom and advice has helped me recover from postpartum issues. She's prompt to respond to questions and has high quality resources to offer. Highly recommend. Grateful to her for everything she has been doing for us.

TLDR: Liat is incredible. If there's one thing I would recommend to help you through your labor,…read moreit's having her by your side. She was the best decision we could have made. My husband and I went back and forth for months about whether we wanted to include a doula in our birth experience. After a lot of discussion, we decided to hire one for two reasons: first, we wanted someone who could help us advocate for ourselves in the hospital so we could stay as close to our birth plan as possible. Second, we wanted someone who could physically support me throughout labor. Liat is truly one of the most incredible human beings I've ever met. She became such an essential part of my birth experience that, looking back, I genuinely don't think I could have done it without her. To make a very long story short, I chose to be induced at 41 weeks after a lot of pressure and fear mongering from my doctors due to elevated amniotic fluid levels. I labored at the hospital until my contractions reached a certain intensity, and then Liat joined us. The moment she arrived, she jumped right in--rubbing my back, talking me through each contraction, and bringing such a calming presence into the room. For the next seven hours, she coached both my husband and me through contractions that were every 2-3 minutes apart. She constantly adjusted my laboring positions to help my baby descend and was incredibly attentive to the fetal monitor. Anytime my baby's heart rate dipped during a contraction, she immediately repositioned me to help him tolerate labor better. Those seven hours somehow flew by. I labored on the birth ball, in the bed, in the bathroom, and even did lunges at one point! Liat was always thinking one step ahead, using every tool and technique she had to help labor progress naturally. Eventually, I reached a point where I decided to get an epidural. I was exhausted, in pain, and my baby was having a harder time tolerating the contractions, with his heart rate decelerating during each one. After the epidural, my labor was paused to help baby, and I was able to rest for about an hour. When I woke up, the nurses wanted to talk about interventions (even the possibility of a C-section) because my labor "wasn't progressing"--despite the fact that they had just given me medication to stop my contractions. Liat immediately stepped in and advocated for us. She calmly explained that labor couldn't progress without contractions and suggested restarting the Pitocin, giving it time to work, and then reassessing before making any decisions. Sure enough, labor picked back up beautifully. A few hours later, I was fully dilated and effaced, but my baby's station was still a little high. Liat spent what felt like hours gently rocking my hips and helping my baby naturally move farther down into my pelvis until it was finally time to push. She stayed by my side every step of the way until our son was born later that afternoon. If you're on the fence about hiring a doula, I cannot recommend Liat enough. She advocated for me every step of the way, helped me navigate unexpected twists in my labor, and supported both me and my husband physically and emotionally throughout the entire experience. Her knowledge, calm confidence, and compassion made all the difference. A few weeks after our son was born, Liat came to visit us at home, and it honestly felt like having family over. Liat, we are endlessly grateful for everything you did to help bring our son safely into this world. We love you, and we can't wait to have you by our side again when it's time to welcome our next baby. Love, The Zimmerman Family

I had the most wonderfully redemptive unmedicated VBAC a few weeks ago, and it is difficult to…read moreoverstate how critical of a role Liat played in making that happen. My first birth had gone much differently than I had hoped (preterm labor that led to immediate C-section due to breech positioning). I had come to terms with that experience, but I was surprised to find in my second pregnancy that it would be difficult to escape those "labels" from my first pregnancy, making it harder to be given a fair shot at having a vaginal birth. Thankfully, I found Liat whose passion for VBACs is infectious and whose no-nonsense approach is grounding. In our conversations before the birth, my husband and I both appreciated the balance of her approach - she strongly believes in the benefits of physiologic birth, but she also recognizes there is a time and place for medical intervention. My primary hope for this birth was that I wouldn't undergo any interventions that I wasn't convinced I needed, and she was a trustworthy sounding board throughout the entire pregnancy and delivery to ensure that was the case. This time around, my baby decided to stay inside long past the due date, so I agreed with my provider that it would be a good idea to induce. This was pretty disappointing for me, but Liat was wonderful at helping me stay in a good headspace in those final days, checking in frequently via texts and calls. When it came time for delivery, she was every bit as exceptional as all her other reviews describe. When she arrived at the hospital, she took one look at me and knew exactly how to change my environment to help me relax. Sure enough, labor accelerated rapidly after she arrived. She massaged my back through every single contraction. She knew exactly what to say to keep my mind present and focused. When she was talking me through my contractions, they were noticeably more efficient. At one point, I almost wanted to give up and she knew exactly how to keep me going. And sooner than I could have dared hope, my baby arrived. I'm pretty sure I professed my love for Liat minutes after giving birth :) And just as she had been for the entire pregnancy and labor, she was a constant comfort and encouragement to us in the minutes, days, and weeks after the delivery as well. Liat takes absolutely no BS, but is also the warmest and most compassionate woman you've ever met. She's exactly who you want at your birth. I know I want her at my next one!

My husband and I cancelled our hospital birth classes to take Birth Chemistry class before our…read moreson's birth. I highly, highly recommend you do the same. The information presented is of vital importance, and it was critical in making our ultimate decision as to how and where we wanted our baby to be delivered (in the end, we had a beautiful home birth). I'll preface this by saying that hospitals are very good at helping people, and I'm eternally grateful for the advances in medical technology, but Mama, they might not always listen to your voice--and you have a voice! The information you gain from a Birth Chemistry class will help you articulate your preferences, so you can have the birth experience of your dreams.

From the owner: We specialize in preparing expectant couples for unmedicated (natural birth) in the hospital, birth…read morecenter or at home.

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.

As a first time mother and a wife of a husband that is resistant to going to classes, I requested…read moreprivate instruction from Beautiful Day. It is an additional fee, but definitely worth it. Alicia, the owner, was our instructor. Not only has she been a fantastic resource for us, as time-starved professionals, but her years of experience, sense of humor, and her non-judgemental nature, put my husband at ease. There is no such thing as stupid questions or uncomfortable topics. I recommend her private instruction to anyone that needs the education and doesn't have time to read all the "go-to" childbirth books. I'm sure the group classes are great, too!

From the owner: Beautiful Day specializes in fun, modern, unique and extremely educational childbirth classes…read more Leave empowered and informed ready to make thoughtful decisions and tackle labor head on. Not your mama's childbirth class!

Cori Gentry offers the best concierge level birth education series on the Monterey Peninsula (or…read moreanywhere as far as I'm concerned). As a first time mama, with a lot of experience as a past nanny and having had many friends (with their sage advice) who were pregnant prior to me, I was not convinced I needed to invest in birth education. How wrong I was... I was recommended to take Cori's class at least ten times by various people in the community. She is very well known and respected in the area. As I missed the boat on her group class and my due date was fast approaching, Cori arranged for a private in-home session. Cori made it her personal interest to get familiarized with my husband, myself and my pregnancy experience up until that point. She provided us with a beautiful binder with a wealth of information, articles, graphics, and relaxation techniques to begin implementing. As part of her class, you also will receive a great reading list, links to helpful birthing videos, newborn care information, and breast feeding support. Fun fact: Cori also is a great option for birth photography! Ask her about having her attend your birth to photograph it! What I appreciated most about Cori, was her willingness to make herself available to her clients. She goes above and beyond the hours dedicated to class time. She is always abreast on the latest research, and she is connected with birth experts in every facet of the industry. Her class covers a wide array on information and situations. If you're contemplating a home birth, she will help you prepare comfort + pain management techniques, but she does not neglect the hospital birth option either... this proved to be invaluable during the roller coaster turn of events (from home birth to hospital birth) and due to Cori's diligence in teaching us about Hospital birthing, we were better prepared for anything that was thrown at us. Cori assisted us in drafting a hospital birth plan, and a induction plan (which I ended up using) and on game day, she offered her support via text in the wee hours of the morning. Always available when I had a question. The relationship I was so lucky to have with Cori is one that every pregnant mama needs. Cori is a mama to four beautiful boys herself, and she has the real life experience to back up her text book teachings. Please book this birth education class today, whether you are a first time mom or a pro. It's worth it just because Cori makes it special and highly personalized for you.

This class is an absolute must for first time parents-to-be. It really takes the stress out of the…read moreunknown that comes with giving birth for the first time. Cori provides a safe place to feel comfortable with sharing one's anxieties of child birth and the information needed to make it less scary. She help build the confidence needed to be able to make choices during the birthing experience. Our birth was not what was planned but with Cori's help from this class we were able to turn a negative birth into a positive story. I would highly recommend her to all new parents!

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.

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.

My Luna app stopped working in July. Sarah responded a week later, offering me a new app a a…read morediscounted rate, as well as a refund for that month. Instead, she kept charging me for the first faulty app as well as for the second app (which also barely works). Now I'm being charged twice a month for a subscription I canceled, Sarah has stopped responding to my emails after never sending the refund, and seems to have taken down the phone number off Luna's website. So she's stolen about $100 from me and effectively disappeared. Bizarre behavior. I'm having to spend hours chatting with Apple Wallet to get my money back.

I've gone to LUNA Mother for 2 of my pregnancies (one was with the twins!). I loved that the…read moreworkouts allowed me to feel good in my body while making sure everything I was doing was safe for my pregnancy. I worked out at Luna up to the week I gave birth! I attribute my 2 smooth vbacs to my ability to stay active during pregnancy with Luna. Post birth, I used their app to recover and went to in-person classes as soon as I was cleared for working out to build back my pelvic floor strength. I love that the workouts are flexible to your level and increase with your fitness. I'm still working out there 7m post partum! Also, the owner, Sarah is a local Marin mom. She's lovely and knowledgeable! I would recommend you check it out as a woman in any stage of womanhood as the pelvic floor focused strengthening is important not just the demands of motherhood but for life

Leticia was amazing from start to finish! She helped us put together a birth plan that included…read moreeverything we wanted to have a smooth delivery day and on our own terms. She listened to all our concerns and helped put us at ease. On the day of delivery and a few days prior to delivery she responded quickly and helped me figure out when it was a good time to go to the hospital. At the hospital she came right away and stayed with us the whole time. She made sure I had everything I needed to labor and deliver unmedicated, safely. I can't recommend her enough, she truly made that day feel so special for us and she knew exactly what I needed during my contractions. After labor/delivery she helped us out postpartum as well. She has the magic doula touch in figuring out what the baby needs, how to breastfeed, and allowed me to have some free time to myself as she took care of the baby. I'm very grateful we had her, she made the whole process feel wonderful and easy.

We loved having Leticia as our night nanny. She was very professional and knowledgeable. Leticia…read morehelped us diagnose and address any issues as we are first time parents. It felt like having a nurse supporting us through those early weeks. She communicated clearly and consistently, which gave us a lot of peace of mind. We recommend her to all of our friends to have some sanity during the newborn stage! Totally worth the investment.