We loved working with Sara! I cannot recommend her highly enough. She made a home birth convert out of my husband, and that is saying a LOT. I would hire her again immediately if I get pregnant again. If she's available, consider yourself lucky! read more

I switched at 35 weeks from an OB at a hospital to deliver at home during the pandemic. Sara was everything I needed during a very stressful and anxious time. My baby was safely born at home and I felt secure in the knowledge and expertise of Sara. It was the most wonderful experience and if I wasn't done having babies, I'd 100% do it again with her. The best thing about Sara is she balances midwifery with medical facts so as my partner and I were healthcare providers, we felt safe with the birth of our child in her care. read more

Oh my god I can't believe I haven't written a review for this amazing human. Sara is every single thing you want and need in a midwife. She is smart, nurturing, supportive, knowledgeable, grounded and no bull shit. I had the honor and luck of birthing both my second and third babies at home with Sara and both births, while extremely different were the most incredible and life affirming experiences I have ever had. From prenatal to postpartum so much of this fact comes down to Sara's care. The personalized care that I received from Sara was unique with both of my births. For my second baby I had a lot of fear about the massive shift that would happen having a second baby while having a 20 month old at home. My first birth was at a birth center and My placenta did not detach so after a 16 hour labor and unmedicated delivery I was rushed to the hospital to have my placenta manually removed. Naturally I was terrified this would happen again and Sara had a great plan in place for us to follow as soon as baby came. Throughout my prenatal worries she always stuck to the facts of what we knew to be true and kept me grounded while also making me feel nurtured, heard and validated. During the labor she listened to me and guided me from my analytical brain back to my instinctual brain at every turn. She coached me like a boss when my 9 lb baby's head was crowning and in doing so prevented any dramatic tears that would definitely had happened without her guidance and encouragement. My third baby was during the Corona virus pandemic so the prenatal care was on a completely different level. The fears and concerns and worries and unknowns that were surrounding me were always met with validation, honesty and humility. Sara was my therapist, my best friend, my mom, my sister, my partner, my voice of reason, my rock and everything in between. I could not have gotten through my pregnancy without her and her spirit. Her energy during my "wild card" third birth was unmatched. She is a calm, collected, fiercely strong individual and when you feel her support in those impossible moments of labor you know you can do ANYTHING. The least mentioned part of midwifery care is the postpartum attention. Sara was constantly checking in on me and helping me set the boundaries I needed to to do less even with two small children at home during my third postpartum period. She was extremely attentive regarding lip and tongue ties that needed revision early on before baby was even one week old. Her measured and confident advice on the matter helped me navigate how to proceed and get my breastfeeding journey on track with my third baby. I love Sara so much, she is like family to us and I will forever be grateful to have birthed my babies alongside her. She is an absolute gift and incredibly good at what she does personally and professionally. read more

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I'm not even sure how to write this post because there is no adequate way to describe the profound care that Sara provides. She supported me through the birth of my daughter at home and it was the best experience of my life. It was hard and painful, yes, but I would do it over and over again for the chance to get to feel as supported, and safe, and STRONG as Sara helped me feel. She doesn't mess around when it comes to safety and will give it to you straight every time. Because she cares. Because she loves her clients. And because she is brilliant at what she does. Sara operates from a place of deep integrity and compassion. When my daughter and I struggled with breastfeeding in the beginning because of a lip and tongue tie, Sara helped keep me grounded and gave me space to cry. And when we got past the rough patch, she celebrated our success! If you are looking for a care provider you can trust and wish to be your best friend for life, Sara is the one! Don't be crazy- just hire her. read more

Where to begin? I love Sara Howard beyond words. Honestly, this review cannot describe how I feel. She was my midwife and helped bring my second baby into the world. Her calm and strong demeanor, her deep clinical knowledge, her clear love for the profession, women, and babies, and her easy going personality, are just a few of the reasons I love her so much. From the moment I met her for my first informational meeting in her sweet office, I felt like I was in good hands and felt that I knew Sara for years. She is very open, friendly and inclusive. Each of my appointments was very thorough and unrushed. I also learned a lot from Sara about the pregnancy and post partum care. Her care was so much better than the care I received at UCLA for my first baby and I got the same ultrasounds, tests, etc that you'd expect with a doctor. My birth experience was lovely. Sara and her assistant midwife were a well-oiled machine. She anticipated things before they happened and communicated clearly. My husband and I keep saying how we'd follow her into battle because she is such a strong, honest, leader. A diamond in the rough. read more

Sara Howard was a phenomenal doula, who kept my husband and myself sane through a more harrowing than expected pregnancy and birth. Not only is she knowledgeable, prompt, responsible, and available literally around the clock. I'm a tough customer in that I'm anxious and also not your typical doula/midwife client, but she was able to make me feel calm and supported whenever I had questions, and was oftentimes more helpful than the doctors or nurses attendant through my pregnancy and birth. I had a hospital birth by choice, and Sara was with me the whole time advocating for me and helping me get through it--and I'm sure she had the bruises on her arms from where I squeezed them during labor to show for it! Tons of different medical staff were constantly coming and going, asking the same questions over and over again while I was laboring, and it was a question as to whether my usual doctor would even be the one at the delivery. But with Sara as my doula, I knew I had someone I trusted with me the entire time. I honestly don't know how I would have made it through without her. I cannot overstate how wonderful Sara is both personally and professionally, or how helpful it is to have someone so warm, smart, and calm guiding you through such a crazy experience. read more

My experience of prenatal care and childbirth with Sara was nothing short of exceptional. Working with her was truly a dream come true. The level of attention, understanding and caring I received at every appointment created an important foundation of trust and support. Those feelings carried with me throughout labor and the homebirth of my daughter was an incredible and beautiful experience; I credit so much of that night to Sara. She was there for me in the weeks that followed and we have remained close 3 years later. I am forever grateful for her!! read more

The short: Sara is a highly qualified, kind, sensitive expert who made us feel heard, safe and prepared (as much as possible, anyway) for the birth of our first child. We recommend her SOOOOO highly! The long: First of all, let me just say it feels kind of weird to rate a professional, whose responsibilities and skills are so specialized, with the same rating system as, say, the pizza place on the corner. But here we are. We (my husband and I) started off at Kaiser, but became Sara's midwifery clients when I was about 5 months. We continued our care at Kaiser for lab tests because our insurance covered it, but saw Sara for all our monthly/weekly check-ups, and planned to have a home birth. Sara treated us with so much thoughtfulness and care. On a logistical side, if you're considering a midwife vs. a hospital experience, just know that it is SOO much easier to set appointments, ask follow-up questions, and communicate in general with a professional like Sara, vs. most medical facilities. We could always reach her, were encouraged to do so, and spent as much time meeting with her during our monthly/weekly appointments as we had previously been prepared to spend in our OB's waiting room. She even Facetimed with us once when we went on vacation. On a personal level, I had mounting anxiety every time I went to see my OB, and this was due to the lack of personal attention, frequent contradicting advice and imposing bureaucracy. Once we started our care with Sara, I became relaxed, and very excited to have a baby, and even excited to go through labor. I felt safe and comfortable in a way I hadn't yet, because Sara took the time to understand all our worries, while keeping us informed about all the medical aspects of our care, and what to expect along the way. One of Sara's most confidence-inspiring qualities is her candor about safety. Some people were concerned when we told them we were planning a home birth with a midwife, but one of the reasons we hired Sara, after interviewing four other midwives, was because we felt confident that safety for me and our baby would be her priority, and she has the experience and qualifications to back it up. She knew we didn't want to deliver at Kaiser because our experience there had been stressful, and we didn't want labor to be even more stressful than we already thought it might be. But she also made it clear that if my labor circumstances made a hospital delivery a better option, that's what we would do. And indeed, after many hours laboring at home, my labor had progressed to the point where I needed some interventions that could only be administered at the hospital. Now, it seems like most people who plan a home birth would be disappointed if they had to transfer to the hospital. But the most meaningful part of our experience with Sara is how her support and expertise transferred with us. The whole time we were there, Sara helped us feel the same level of comfort in the hospital environment as we had at home. We were grateful to have her there to help communicate with the hospital labor team, because she was not only an expert in normal birth, she was also an expert in us. We were able to have exactly the kind of birth experience we wanted because Sara was there to guide us, even though we happened to be in a hospital instead of our living room. Every aspect of our experience with Sara made us more confident, comfortable and informed new parents. We feel so grateful.\\ NEXT, Sara was also our lactation consultant. Two inverted nipples, one tongue tie and a nipple shield later, we have a very well-fed little one who is gaining like gangbusters. read more

Sara is a standout midwife and person - a single yelp review will never capture how much we value her and the impact she had on our lives. She is incredibly knowledgable and skilled, and applies her expertise in a human-centered approach where our family was always prioritized and cared after. She ensured that I - the pregnant person - was at the heart of decision-making, and also meaningfully included the rest of my family to ensure that the pregnancy and birth was a collective and communal experience, which was deeply important to us. Sara listens and cares - this was my second home birth and she listened whole-heartedly about the pros and cons of my first experience (many years before in NYC and with a different midwife) and did everything to make the second time around a truly healing moment. The birth of our second daughter was intensely magical and we have Sara and her team to thank for that. Our family loves her and we cannot recommend her enough!!! read more

Sara is exactly the person you need after the powerful event of giving birth. She's present, engaged, and supportive. Nursing was challenging for me and I was about to give up and Sara just stood right by me and gave me all of her support and care no matter what I decided. That meant the world to me in that moment and I would not be a breastfeeding mamma without her. I cannot say enough good things about her. She is such a gift! read more

I had a stellar Lactation consultation with Sara for my fourth baby. From the beginning even in the hospital, I knew my baby had a very shallow latch, I just had no idea how much pain it would cause me. My daughter was between 3-4 weeks old when I called Sara crying for help. She took me the very next morning after her births and it took her all of 5 seconds to correctly identify my daughter's anatomy and identify why I was in so much pain. We then had a nice conversation about our breastfeeding: she offered a different support pillow for me to try, positioning info, and I was instantly comfortable with her. She provided me with an equally amazing referral to have my baby's tongue release procedure, which is important to me because I think referrals to other caregivers should be of parallel quality and compassion. I can't recommend her enough, Sara is amazing! I wish I was having more babies so she could be my midwife. read more

I can't even begin to describe the peace, confidence, and endless support Sara brought to our pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and breastfeeding experiences. She was always only a phone call or email away if I had a question and always validated my first time mom concerns. She is professional and caring and very quickly begins to feel like family. I definitely texted Sara 10x more often after our son was born for reassurance and always received unwavering support. We can't imagine having anyone else with us to welcome our son in the comfort of our own home and can't wait to do it all over again in a few years! read more

Sara is the best person who could have helped us in this wonderful moment of our lives. She is an amazing human being and a great professional. She has this amazing calm and confident energy. Her natural way to see the pregnancy and birth was everything I expected. We felt very safe under her care and our baby boy was born at home, just like we dreamed about. We were both very healthy and everything went as expected. Sara is also a lactation consultant, which helped a lot and made us able to nurse. We cannot thank Sara enough for everything she has done. We would do everything again. read more

Sara Howard is a truly gifted midwife and I can hardly express how much I love, admire and adore her. I had my third baby at home with Sara in January. It was a beautiful and magical experience and I cannot say enough about her. If you are considering home birth in the Los Angeles area you should meet with Sara because she is a gem of a human and a wonderful, thoughtful, responsible, caring smart provider of the best kind of care. I had my first two in a hospital setting with midwives and wanted a home birth this time around. My parents weren't supportive of this decision and my partner was a little nervous about being at home so it felt very important to me to do alot of research and make sure I was getting the right fit. For me that meant someone who was warm and I connected with but who also seemed medically minded, up to date on best practices and conservative with regards to risk and hospital transfer. I met with 7 different midwives and my gut told me Sara was the right choice. At first I went with a birth center, but I couldn't get Sara or the home birth I wanted, out of my head and I ended up transferring to her. Best decision ever. Sara was attentive and communicative throughout my care. She took an hour with me at every visit, responded promptly to any concerns I had and was always warm and loving and funny and smart. During my labor which ended up being a start and stop kind of thing over a few days she was checking in and very attentive and reassuring while also giving my family and I space. When it was go time she was a dream come true. The most calm and encouraging energy. I cannot imagine a better experience. I was very lucky to have a smooth labor and birth-- but I also feel certain that had there been compilations she would have handled them with the same competancy and grace. Post partum she was equally responsive-- checking in with me multiple times a day at first and available to all my concerns. She was great with breastfeeding questions too. I also want to add that Sara encouraged me to bring my worried, skeptical mother in to meet with her and handled that situation amazingly. She was able to speak directly to my mother's concerns about risk in a way she could hear. By the end my mom was talking about her own birth experiences. I LOVE Sara so much. She's amazing. I am so grateful to her for being the one to help us bring our daughter into this world. read more

Sara supported us through our entire pregnancy and I can honestly say that although I could've done it without her, I wouldn't have wanted to. She was not only supportive, but patient, informative, kind, and attentive. With Sara we felt that we had a partner, coach and advocate. Sara was with us throughout our hospital birth, helping us make important decisions which made me feel empowered and confident. She not only supported me, but my husband as well which allowed him to be fully present and attuned to me and the process. After the birth she supported us through lactation consultation and postpartum care. As a brand new mom and dad we appreciated her guidance and care supporting us through the chaos of the first few weeks. We would highly recommend Sara to anyone having either a home or hospital birth. read more

When my daughter told me she was having a home birth for her second child, I was a bit nervous. The delivery for her first was in a birthing place, and the baby's delivery was fine,but she had complications and needed a hospital. After meeting Sara and listening to how she was going to handle this delivery I was at ease. She explained the delivery to me and how she would handle the situation if there were any complications. The arrival of my new grandson was a very beautiful experience to be a part of and there were no complications with the delivery. Sara is a professional, with experience, broad knowledge, compassion and no nonsense midwife. She and her team worked and communicated together with calmness and the delivery was handled professionally. I highly recommend her services and feel confident you would be blessed to have her as your doula like my daughter was. read more

Sara helped me deliver my baby girl Audrey and I can't say enough good things about her. All throughout prenatal care and the birth she was caring, understanding and informative. She's very easy to talk to and I felt very at ease with her. I trust her implicitly. She has such a loving, gentle spirit about her that is just the kind of nurturing presence I wanted at my birth. I'm so glad I got to share one of the most important moments of my life with her there to guide me. read more

I had the pleasure of working with Sara for 3 years at the SCV Birth Center. Sara is an excellent midwife. She is articulate, informed and a great resource for families during what can be a very vulnerable time. Go Sara Go! read more