I would not recommend Family Ways to anyone who needs a doula. I had a contract with them for doula support for the birth of my son, which included birth prep, the birth itself, and postpartum support. I had one meeting in person with my doula and a handful of texts and one call with her (almost all of which were initiated by me). I ended up having a precipitous birth and didn't make it to the hospital in time to deliver. I delivered in my bathtub at home just as the paramedics arrived and then was transported to the hospital via ambulance. I was in contact with the doula before this happened and she said she was on the way to the hospital to meet me there. I obviously could not call her as the birth was happening and I was transported to the hospital (I did not even have my phone on me) but my husband called the doula and let her know. When I finally got my phone back, I had a text from her from hours prior saying she was in the area and wanted to know if I still wanted her to come. I thought she had left so I texted back that the baby had arrived and that I wanted to touch base for some postpartum support. She never reached back out to me. So once I was home from the hospital, I emailed with Family Ways to ask about this. It seemed rather unfair to have paid $1,500 and to have not really received any support. I understand that they would not give me a refund, but I asked if they could at least offer some postpartum support, since I had nothing during a rather traumatic birth, and that was included in the contract. They refused any further service and argued that the contract had been fulfilled. I'll let others decide if that sits right wit them, but I was very disappointed by this. I felt abandoned and gaslight after a difficult pregnancy, traumatic delivery, and in the fog of postpartum. It was especially disappointing from a service that is supposedly based on being a support system from pregnant and postpartum people during a very vulnerable time. If you do decide to use Family Ways, I would be very clear before signing any contract what support they will give you, especially if your birth doesn't go as planned. read more

What can I say?? Rachel was so wonderful to work with for my birth. I had a birth plan in mind, and she was supportive from the beginning. She is a wealth of information, and was able to educate me on many evidence based birthing practices. I had an unmedicated birth, and was so glad to have Rachel by my side during labor. Note that she will support you in any birth plan or however your labor ends up going. Thankful for Rachel and Family Ways! read more

What can I say? Family Ways has been nothing but exceptional from start to finish! The short weekly courses prepped us for what to expect. The classes were fun and extremly infomative. Rachel was the instructor during the classes and she was phenominal. Morgan was our doula who we had the pleasure of meeting a few times before birth and build a relationship with. Morgan is very sweet and caring and we highly reccomend her. Morgan exceeded our expectations as she went above and beyond during our pregnancy. I will be sure to request Morgan if we are fortunate enough to be blessed with another child in the near future.All in all Family Ways did an excellent job and we would highly reccomend them. No need to look elsewhere as you will receive five star treatment. Also, they did our placenta encapsulation by quickly picking up the placenta from the hospital and returning it back to us extremely quickly!! read more

Steer clear! I chose Family Ways after speaking with Rachel who was very adept at addressing my concerns. My sister had birthing complications, so it was important for me to have an experienced doula and doula backup. However, in the end it was all talk because on the day of my labor my primary doula (Heidi) was busy at another birth and the backup (Rachel) also never showed. Instead, I got to labor until 9cm and my water breaking (all unmedicated) before they decided to send one of the newer doula's to the hospital. I had even paid the extra amount for a more experienced doula that I didn't receive. To add to the unprofessionalism, Heidi spent the postpartum visit telling me about the other birth she attended and, due to their prior miscarriages, really needed her there. I guess Family Ways clients are supposed to understand if they don't receive labor support due to another birth taking priority. If you do choose Family Ways, cross your fingers they don't double book you too! read more

Words can not begin to express how grateful I am for Rachel and her team at Family Ways. I was 37 weeks pregnant and researching different businesses for placenta encapsulation. Family Ways was recommended by my OBGYN as well as another doula service. I hadn't quite settled on a group I wanted to use yet but when I unexpectedly delivered my baby 3 weeks early I jumped on finding someone who could take my placenta immediately. After leaving several messages for different groups Family Ways responded rapidly and started the process for my encapsulation. Rachel provides me with so much helpful information & when I was unsure about something, she would give me my options, provide pros and cons, and tell me to think about it. I never felt pressured to do anything and always felt reassured. I also loved that they offered more than just encapsulation for the placenta. Who knew that there were so many more options with your placenta. Rachel was prompt with picking up my placenta on again such short notice and delivering it in time before my discharge. Family Ways has made my post pregnancy dreams a reality that I didn't think would happen, given my last minute delivery. Her team is professional, very trustworthy, and went above and beyond my expectations. I can't wait to have my second child to use their services again! read more

Family Ways - Placenta keepsake artwork and trinket, capsules, and salve - Doulas Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

I originally got in touch with Family Ways because we needed a sibling doula for a hospital birth. Rachel was kind and flexible in helping us come up with a plan that would work for our family. Then, at 38+ weeks, our plans changed. (Thanks, omicron variant!) I felt a lot of trust in Rachel and called her for advice. She talked me through the decision to switch to a home birth and then helped me connect with a provider, so that the midwife (Katrina, from Pathways), the birth assistant (Rachel), and the sibling doula (Maggie, from Family Ways) were all one team. They took amazing care of me and of my whole family, even though my birth had some unexpected elements!!! I only wish I had worked with Rachel on our birth plan from the beginning. read more

I consider this the best money I have ever spent on anything in my whole life. Because of Rachel we were able to have an amazing birth experience that we will always remember. Rachel was amazing with my wife's high-risk delivery. She showed great connection with my wife, knowledge, and the ability to communicate our needs and desires to the hospital staff. The hospital staff really respected her opinion and my wife really trusted her. Her presence and work allowed my wife to go deeper than she thought was possible; we had an amazingly good outcome in a situation that was high risk and high stress. read more

Family Ways is an amazing part of the birth community in the Rockville area. I used Jessica Steiger (Huey) as my doula and worked with Rachel in her Bradley Class. I feel so lucky that I got to have both of these amazing women in my life at such an important time. Rachel's classes were fun and engaging! We really got to know our classmates and feel like we had a community of parents at the same stage as us. Rachel is a wealth of knowledge and really, truly cares about supporting each family in the way that meets them where they're at. As for Jessica, I don't even know where to begin on how strongly I recommend her as a doula. Jessica's name is holy one in our household. She transformed our prenatal and postpartum experiences as well as our birth. Jessica impressed us right away with expertise, strength of character, and gracious attitude. She was exactly as strong or as gentle as we needed her to be in each moment. I'm so grateful we didn't hesitate in hiring her as a doula because she was able to provide so much knowledgeable support right away even earlier on in my pregnancy. Jessica is also an IBCLC and I strongly attribute a lot of our success breastfeeding to her support in the early postpartum time period. I feel like no review I write could possibly express my gratitude for this amazing human. She not only supported me through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum but in recognizing my own strengths and transforming into a mother. read more

I have only good things to say about Family Ways. My husband and I initially took Rachael's Bradley method class when we were preparing for the birth of our child, and then we had her as a doula during my labor. Absolutely the best decision ever. Rachel was so calm and supportive of the both of us, I really think it made a difference in having the birth I had hoped for. She's been a wealth of information before, during and after the birth. Family Ways is a group of 10 doulas, and while I haven't met all of them, the few that I have had conversations with were super sweet and very helpful. If you're interested in either the birthing class were using a doula at your birth, I'd highly recommend you check them out! read more

Best money we have ever spent :) The day that I delivered our baby boy Andrew was one of the best days of my life. A bit of background - Once my husband and I found out we were pregnant I instantly started searching for various birthing classes that would help us prepare for the birth of our first child. My goal was to deliver our baby without using medication/epidural in the process. Not to mention I wanted to soak up as much information as possible to help us through this amazing journey that we were embarking upon. I stumbled across information about the Bradley Method classes on a FB comment reply. It was through the Bradley Method class that we met Rachel. She was our instructor throughout the 12-week series of classes. We learned so much while in the class and also realized that we would also benefit from having a doula. We felt that we had established a rapport with Rachel and she was obviously very knowledgeable with ample experience helping women through medication-free deliveries. It's because of Rachel that we were able to have the birth experience that we wanted. It was such an incredible experience thanks to her coaching us through the process. She knew what to do and when to help delivery along and there wasn't a moment that I didn't feel fully supported and secure. She didn't let me give up and I felt empowered to be able to birth our child naturally. We are so grateful to her for our the incredible experience that we had and would encourage anyone seeking to have a natural childbirth to reach out to her for her support as a doula. We are so glad that we did!!! read more

Choosing Rachel to be our Doula was the single best decision my husband and I made in preparation for the birth of our first child. Rachel was great during the early visit we had and provided a lot of great information and guidance during our 36 week visit on laboring at home, things to think about in preparation for delivering in the hospital and the first few days/weeks at home. We ended up having a very long labor and delivery and Rachel was there to support us every step of the way. She was readily available on the phone during the early stages of the labor to help support us and as soon as we requested, she met us at the hospital. Rachel was not only a great emotional support, but had wonderful advice for things I wouldn't have otherwise known to ask for - for example: positions to try when laboring and pushing, questions to ask providers when they suggested induction medications and potential alternatives to try. Rachel's support was also incredibly helpful when my husband needed to get some sleep or get food so he could sustain his support for me, but not feel like he was leaving me alone. Note from husband--I felt like I could really get some much-needed carefree sleep with Rachel looking out for my wife. Rachel was a wonderful emotional and intellectual presence; she brought so much knowledge, support, and, above all, positivity. She helped us navigate some tough decisions during our birth. We cannot imagine how the birth would have gone without her and are so grateful we did not have to find out. We have also already personally recommended her to friends of ours who are expecting. read more

We were absolutely thrilled with having Rachel Carbonneau as our doula (February 2016). From the very first prenatal visit to the postpartum follow-up, Rachel was extremely knowledgable, compassionate, funny, reassuring and motivational. By the time I went to the hospital I was looking forward to the birth experience (crazy, I know)! During labor she immediately developed a team mentality with my partner and the two of them provided the most incredible support. It seemed like Rachel knew what I needed during labor before I even asked for it. I wholeheartedly endorse her. read more

Cliff notes - Best decision I made during my pregnancy was having Rachel as my doula. She is amazing, I had an extremely positive 3rd trimester and birth and I owe it all to her! She is kind, compassionate, full of information and on hand when you need her. My OB provided me a list of doulas after we discussed that I may be alone while giving birth. I didn't even know what a doula was. I called a few and went to a doula meet and greet. I instantly liked Rachel, who took her time answering my many questions, provided information for things I hadn't thought of and seemed down to earth. I was about 30 weeks pregnant at the time and was not happy with my current OB practice which I mentioned to her during our initial conversation. After our phone call I received an e-mail from Rachel with some paperwork, information and some local OB practices with midwifes (something I mentioned that I wanted). This piece of information was gold to me. I changed practices at 32 weeks and I am so happy that I did. The care they provided, paired with the direct support from Rachel made for a wonderful birth. The plan was to birth at home for as long as possible but that didn't happen for me. I started having some contractions and texted with Rachel, I got uncomfortable quickly and after a short phone call she said we should get to the hospital ASAP. She was correct as I arrived at 10 cm, I can't even imagine when I would have decided to go if I hadn't talked to her. She arrived at the hospital and worked her magic. She knew what I needed when I didn't, provided emotional support and was someone I could rely on in the delivery room. We met with Rachel post birth and she eased so many of our little worries, are doing this right, we've received conflicting information on this or that. And as she said "you don't need my validation" but in reality, two sleep deprived parents really wanted validation that another parent and someone familiar with new babies could tell us we were headed in the right direction. I would hire her again in a heart beat. read more

Alex Aspiazu was our doula and I can't recommend her enough. During the natural childbirth the techniques she used significantly reduced the pain and made it possible to go without painkillers. Then I wasn't even expecting to use her post-natal check-in that comes with having a birth doula but SO glad I did. She showed me how to soothe my son to sleep, gave lots of encouragement, and helped me troubleshoot sleeping issues through texts over the course of the next several weeks. She was able to give personalized advice that I wasn't able to read about. Thank you Alex!! read more

Family Ways was such a vital part of our birth team. From the first meeting with Rachel, the owner and our doula, my husband and I felt a strong connection with her. She made herself available for random updates and questions between visits. At the 36-week visit, Rachel took the time to show us all the places and ways we could labor at home. Rachel was very helpful in understanding how we'd move forward, which was great for me and my husband as this was our first child. Rachel helped us figure out which birthing method would work best for us as I only knew that I wanted a natural birth but not what the different methods were. She even helped get us set up with a Bradley class with her colleague Emilie, who was also our backup doula. When labor day actually arrived, Rachel's experience, calm, and flexibility were indispensable. I was immediately admitted to the hospital after an unfavorable test while visiting the midwife. Rachel graciously went to our house to get our go bags. Upon arriving at the hospital, Rachel helped us navigate the medical advice and tough decisions we had to make. While I eventually underwent a caesarean birth, Rachel's support was even more important in this situation. We spent the entire pregnancy preparing for a natural, unmedicated birth and such a deviation from our planned birth needed someone with the experience and compassion of Rachel. We were able to bounce our issues and questions off of her and knew that a caesarean birth was the best and safest choice for our baby. Rachel was amazing after the birth as well. She was there in my labor room waiting for us when we returned from the OR. She helped me breastfeed my baby and provided emotional support after such a dramatic turn of events. Our postpartum visit was great as well, and she was able to help confirm my instincts about how my baby was doing. Should I have another child, I would definitely enlist Rachel to be our doula again. read more

We used Rachel, owner of Family Ways as our birth doula and had a wonderful experience. From the very first meeting she was professional and had a friendly, caring and down-to-earth demeanor. This was my second birth but my first was less than ideal and ended in a C-section. I was determined to make this second birth a better experience but I needed a lot of guidance as to how. Rachel was well trained in the Bradley Method, but was knowledgeable in many other philosophies of childbirth allowing her to help me find what I was looking for. Based on my goals and my personality, she was able to suggest some reading and techniques that ultimately helped prepare me for a successful big day. I especially liked that she offered two sessions before the birth (in addition to the initial meeting) which helped me get to know her better and feel more comfortable with her. On the day of my birth, she came to the hospital when it seemed right (although she offered to come earlier to my house) and she provided everything from water, back rubs, words of encouragement and timely humor. She helped my husband with his role and was able to give him breaks so I always felt like someone was there supporting me. In the end, I had a successful, drug-free VBAC, a beautiful baby boy and a birth experience that I can look back on with joy. She followed up a week later where we discussed and laughed about the birth and she offered some great post-partum and baby advice. As a capable doula and a mother of four, she brings much experience and passion to her work. While I did not use many of the other services of Family Ways, I highly recommend Rachel to anyone looking for a doula in the Rockville area! read more

My husband and I took the Bradley Birth Class with Rachel. I can say so many things about how this class helped us prepare for the birth of our child, but the most important thing that we gained was the support of knowledgeable birth educator and doula. She helped to make my husband feel comfortable and be supportive and helpful on the big day. She answered every question imaginable: everything we wanted to know and everything we didn't know we wanted to know about pregnancy and labor preparation. Most importantly, Rachel helped us through the unexpected challenges of pregnancy. At 36 weeks, it became clear that our baby was not planning to flip from her breech position, which was highly distressing as the birth center midwives immediately referred us to their partner hospital to schedule a trial version and C section. Versions are not known for their high success rate. I was terrified. I did not want a C section. Rachel offered support and advice on versions, the best chiropractors in the area to administer the Webster Technique to get the baby to turn without a version, and if all else failed the best midwives and drs for a breech birth. She was extremely supportive of our choices and decisions and made us feel empowered to make the right choice for our situation. And this is what we needed most. With this support, we were able to find a good doctor to perform the version, which because of the amazing chiropractic care was an immediate success. Rachel's support during this whole process was invaluable. Rachel is well connected in the community, so she knows many doctors and chiropractors in the area and she can direct you to the best fit for your situation and personality. She goes so far above and beyond being just a birth class instructor. You know she has your back every step of the way. We are so grateful and we highly recommend her both as a birth class instructor and a doula. read more

My partner and I were preparing for our first child and didn't know what to expect. Everyone has another anecdote or conflicting advice and we were overwhelmed. We reached out to Rachel at Family Ways and immediately knew that having her support would make us feel better about our decision to have a Hypnobabies birth with an epidural. We were able to consult with her via text, email, phone call, and in person throughout my pregnancy starting from the moment we hired Family Ways (at 5 months pregnant) and even until after our son was born (Rachel made a home visit and it was such a relief to have her support in that first week of parenting). We asked about everything from how to get better sleep when I was experiencing back pain to making our birth plan to practical advice about nursing a newborn. Once the time came to have our baby, she helped keep us calm and firm with our birth plan. She was on-call in the middle of the night throughout the labor, arrived at the hospital really quickly, provided useful feedback to the medical staff after consulting with us, and helped my partner and I both de-stress as much as possible during labor. We would highly recommend hiring Rachel at Family Ways if you are looking for a reliable, knowledgeable, and supportive guide for first-time parents. read more

I hired a doula from Family Ways to provide support during labor and the post partum period for my second birth. The doula who attended my first birth was an incredible source of warmth and support, but unfortunately had left the area. My initial interaction with Family Ways was positive and they seemed professional, however ultimately the experience was very underwhelming and disappointing. Despite being given updates on the progress of my labor, our doula didn't arrived until 2.5 hours after we asked her to come to the hospital and missed the birth. I get it, these things happen I guess. But eight days after the birth I still hadn't heard from her, so given that I hadn't really received any support either during or after the birth, I finally asked for a refund. After some back and forth, I received a partial refund for about a tenth of what I paid. If this had been a friend who had flaked out, I would understand. However, even though birth is very personal, this is still a business and there seems to be no accountability for providing the (very expensive) service that has been commissioned. read more

We had the privilege of working with Rebecca for our delivery and couldn't have been happier with the support she provided. From the prenatal consults to the post-partum visit, she was absolutely essential. We really valued the thoughtful questions she asked as we prepared for our daughter's arrival and her availability to answer random questions we had as first-time expectant parents. She also made sure that we got the most out of our regular doctor's visits by sharing some insight into questions we should be asking in the final weeks of my pregnancy. During the delivery, she was incredibly helpful supporting both my husband and me, providing appropriate - but not unrealistic - encouragement and helping us work well with the medical team. Rebecca is sincere, knowledgeable, kind, and humble - a really perfect combination for her important work as a doula. We'd highly recommend her! read more

Rachel came to our rescue as our birth photographer! I decided last minute that I wanted a photographer. I had been worried about an extra person - a stranger no less - being present at my quiet and private birth center birth. But after talking to Rachel and feeling her warmth I knew she would make a perfect addition to our birth team. She not only blended in so well to the quiet peaceful atmosphere, but her intuition as a doula helped her be of more assistance than just as photographer. She pulled my hair out of my face when it was wet and matted to my check. She got me a pillow when I looked uncomfortable. She was only noticeable when I needed her to be. And her photos! Wow! They captured the miracle of our son's birth, the bond between me and my husband, and the joy of siblings meeting each other for the first time. Thank you Rachel for being our photographer and capturing this treasured day in our lives! read more