This review is long overdue but that's happens when you've got kids because time flies! With this being our second birth, we felt comfortable hiring Florencia for day of doula support and we are so happy we did! Doulas are truly invaluable people and if you're thinking about whether you really need one, you absolutely do!! From the start, she provided excellent guidance and was a steady, reassuring presence throughout the entire process. During labor, her constant affirmations helped me stay calm and focused, reminding me to breathe most of all! Her words of encouragement were exactly what I needed to stay centered and trust my body. With the birth of my first child being slightly traumatic, Florencia was there to guide me through a truly healing and unmedicated vbac second delivery! We truly felt supported every step of the way, and I can't recommend her enough! read more

Joyful Journey Doula Services - Doulas Near Me

Florencia is ABSOLUTELY awesome !!!! Highly highly recommend her to anyone and everyone. From the communication, patients, desire to teach, just be there for me and my wife with whatever we needed for our first child, was an absolutely great experience with her. read more

Joyful Journey Doula Services - Doulas Near Me

The delight and serenity that comes from feeling prepared and supported at the hardest times, is, without a doubt one of the most gratifying feelings. That is precisely how I felt after my decision of contracting with Florencia's services proved being the right one. From the meetings leading to delivery, in a peaceful and fun environment; to her holding my hand while my personality had shifted during pushing my baby out, in a, needless to say, very stressful times, Florencia was kind, respectful, knowledgeable and the support I know we all should have during labor. Whether you think you may need a knowledgeable resource to have your best interest and your wishes represented during the unknowns of labor, or someone to help you keep grounded and focused during unmedicated birth, Flo is the person you want and need by your side. I know I did. Thank you for everything. read more

Joyful Journey Doula Services - Doula services. - Doulas Near Me

Before I was pregnant I was really scared of birth because you rarely hear of the positive stories. Once I was pregnant I did a lot of prep work to get myself in a good place and one of them was hiring a doula. There's a lot of opinions out there on whether they're "necessary" and I was originally on the fence but decided to go for it because if anything it would just be peace of mind to have extra support for labor. But man was I unprepared for what a DIFFERENCE having a doula - and more specifically Florencia made! YOU WILL NOT REGRET HAVING HER AS PART OF YOUR JOURNEY. I really do think she's one of the reasons why labor went smoothly and I was able to give birth unmedicated. (Would've never thought that was possible). I also want to take this moment to add that she was supportive of any decision I wanted to make regarding my labor and didn't pressure me towards anything. I'll talk about all the ways she made a difference for me but of course the support I appreciated the most was during labor. She asked the nurses for things like the bar (I forgot what it's called) to help with positioning, she gave me this squishy ball to help distract me from the pain after the birth (placenta, stitching etc) and talked me through it so I could focus on something else. She took photos and a few videos - ones that I will cherish forever I AM SO HAPPY I HAVE THEM. My husband was way too preoccupied with what was going on to have had the chance to take photos. The second most helpful was having her as a resource when my contractions started. Being a FTM I was so unsure leading up to it what to do day of. I couldn't tell how strong the contractions were or when I should be getting ready to go. With her guidance I took a much-needed nap the day I was having contractions (didn't even know that was possible haha) and she also helped me stay calm. Given I had Kaiser I didn't have a go-to Dr to call if I had questions so having so this was invaluable. That confidence and calm she gave me is probably what made labor so much more comfortable. The third way she helped was through a prep session. I'll give you one specific example: we went through the motions of changing a diaper and because of that I learned to have an area for potential dirtied clothes or a big blow out. Let me tell you - that has unfortunately come in handy more times than I can count hahaha. Thank you Florencia for being a part of our journey. To anyone reading this - you won't regret working with her! read more

Florencia was great! We got her very last minute (literally days before my induction), and she worked with us to fit in the two prep meetings which were very helpful. We had done a lot of research but there were some practical "when the baby is here" things she brought up that we hadn't thought about. Due to my unexpectedly fast labor, she wasn't with us for very long during labor but she was incredibly helpful when I wasn't comfortable with one of my doctors. I expressed my concern and she immediately went out and worked with the nurses to get me a different OBGYN, no questions asked. It was the kind of advocating that neither my husband nor I were prepared to do in that moment, so we were very grateful she was there for us. We had one postpartum session with her which was surprisingly therapeutic as well. Highly recommend! read more

Update, Florencia has now been part of our 2nd child's birth. Again, we had the best experience and are so happy that she was part of it. I truly don't think I would have been able to have another successful unmedicated birth if it wasn't for her expertise and knowledge. 5-star all around from communication before, during and after birth. read more

Oh, where do I start? My wife and I decided to get doula services for our first baby. We interviewed many doulas, and found Florencia. She was absolutely the right pick. Many first time parents do not realize just how many decisions large or small face them during pregnancy, birth and post-partum. Florencia has been incredible help for us along the journey. My wife's birth had some complications, and Florencia was there to help us ask the right questions. What we though was going to be an easy labor, turned out to be a 72 hour ordeal, and Florencia was there to support us the entire time. While I fully believe that our medical team made right decisions, we felt a lot more comfortable fully understanding what a particular procedure entailed. In addition, something that is so hard to quantify, is the emotional support. Going through the process is scary, exciting and overwhelming. While medical professionals can pop in and out from your room, Florencia was there for us to calm, support and provide support. She is a wonderful doula and became our friend in the process. I can honestly say, that I she had a huge impact and I am not sure I could have handled this without her. If you are pregnant I highly recommend getting doula services, and if you are getting a Doula, I give a full 5STAR+ to Florencia and highly recommend her! PS. We also took a baby wearing class, and she helped us to pick the right baby carrier for our needs. P.S.2. When you interview Florencia you will immediately see how passionate she is about birthing and empowering women and families about the process. She is very responsive, reliable, and punctual. P.S.3. Baby was born 11 Oct. read more

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Working with Florencia during my pregnancy, delivery and postpartum has been the most incredible experience. Due to COVID Florencia was not able to be in my delivery room but she went above and beyond provided support virtually. Florencia kept me very calm and talked my husband and I through my delivery. Florencia is very knowledgeable and always made sure to give me unbiased information. She has a way of making you feel very empowered and capable of anything. In the end, I had a very beautiful delivery. The best part of Joyful Journey's doula services was the post-partum support that I received from Florencia. She was at my house the 2nd day we got home. She made it a point to check on me in all aspects; mentally, emotionally and physically. Her services continued throughout the following weeks. She continuously checked in on me and made sure I was adjusting well to my new life as a mommy. Florencia provided me with help in breastfeeding, physical recovery, baby-wearing, photography and several other aspects of the 4th trimester. She is quick to respond at any time of day. I'd highly recommend Joyful Journey's to anyone looking to have a memorable delivery and/or pregnancy experience. read more

Joyful Journey Doula Services - Family photos taken during one of her check ins. - Doulas Near Me

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My Husband and I had the best experience with Florencia! We interviewed with 2 other doulas but immediately felt the connection, care and knowledge that Florencia provided. My goal was to have an unmediated birth ( which was a success) Florencia gave us all the tools needed to make this goal possible. She was a huge support system not only for me but for my husband. The day of labor she kept him calm, guided him through the labor process, and explained the next steps and hospital terminology. With out Florencia's support and guidance our Birth story would have not been such a positive experience. I 100% know I would have not been able to have the birth I envisioned with out her. We also took her birth course, which was super helpful! Florencia was always available to answer any questions or concerns and provided the best support possible. Thanks to her I have lots of photos to look back on during my labor and delivery. Thank you so much Florencia you truly have a passion for what you do! read more

This is long overdue! Florencia was more than amazing. She was truly a lifesaver!! I have extremely bad anxiety when it comes medical or dental pain, medicine, and procedures. (Like fainting spells) From our first phone call, I already felt a great connection. When my wife and I had our first meeting with her, my worries were already put at ease. She coached and educated us not just on the labor process but also our dynamic as a couple postpartum. Her energy was what we needed in the labor room and after. Because of her coaching, labor was a breeze. I was able to ease my anxiety and slept a majority of the time. After about 15 hours of being induced, I woke up a few times and lastly at 9cm and was ready to push. The recovery was harder than the whole labor process! She took amazing footage of everything. I recommend Florencia for prenatal, labor, and postpartum services!! Thank you so much for helping us through this memorable experience. We couldn't have done it without you! read more

Joyful Journey Doula Services - Doulas Near Me

I have been meaning to write this review for some time but becoming a mother has kept me busy! I cannot say enough about Florencia's support during this chapter of my life. This is my first baby and even though I've helped with my nieces and nephews, I learned TONS of new things through her and her Zoom sessions. My sisters and my mother thought it was so great that I found this while I was pregnant because it just makes your "village" stronger and the bigger the village, the better it is for the baby. If you're looking for a natural/non-overwhelming doula, here she is. Florencia is a natural at this and seeing it come easy to her puts the new mama at ease. After every session, I looked at my husband and said "I'm so glad I did this". Thank you Florencia for being there for me then and still today. read more

Having Florencia as our doula made our pregnancy and birth experience significantly safer and more enjoyable. She did a phenomenal work supporting us emotionally while educating us on various birth topics on each visit, she's very well prepared. We decided to add a pre birth and postpartum session and we're very glad we did! She's reliable, quick to respond, and passionate about her work. We look forward to having her again on our second child. read more

We had such a wonderful experience with Florencia. I would highly recommend a doula for anybody who has specific goals for their birth experience! She really rounded out the team between my husband applying counter pressures and her encouraging words. I tried to use the birthing recordings I had on my phone that I had practiced with, but in the moment of labor they annoyed me. Florencia became my live recording and constantly said positive encouraging words and reminded me to go back to my breath. She has been through several births herself and I felt very empowered by her presence. She is super passionate about the birthing process and aiding mothers in a gentle yet powerful way. She followed up with us after & stayed in contact to help us through the postpartum/ "4th trimester " phase. Oh , and the pictures she took of our labor journey and our brand new family were incredible! Will treasure them forever. Thank you , Florencia ! read more

I don't even know where to begin with my review! Florencia is absolutely a-may-zing! Meeting her before my delivery reassured me she was going to be the advocate and support I know I would want by my side during delivery. Then she exceeded my expectations during the birth! She was right by my side to support me but also allowed Dad to help with repositioning me and being there to support me. He was nervous to have a Doula because he wanted to be the main support. Florencia was so involved yet never felt like too much. She captured some stunning pictures of me in pain hahahaha! No but really, I didn't even realize she had taken so many pictures and recorded my daughters birth. I'm so blessed to have these memories to look back on now because it all happens so fast and with the pain you tend to forget. Florencia also took notes throughout my 23 hour labor so I have a timeline of how everything happened! She's very much a down to earth easy going and super easy to talk to Doula! She came in like Mary poppins with a big bag of tricks. I wasn't wanting to nap so she brought out a light projector and some southing sounds on her speaker to relax us. I couldn't have asked for a better experience other than my epidural wearing off but in all honestly I don't know how I would have done it any other way! There were tears, sweat, screaming but also so much laughter as you can see in the pictures! Thank you so much!!!!!!!! read more

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Florencia was amazing! We hired her for our first pregnancy and her experience really helped us through the whole process. Her prenatal visits were very informative and helped us prepare for what was to come. Her kind and caring demeanor helped calm our nerves and give us confidence, knowing she'd be by our side to help us with decisions or anything else needed while in labor. During labor she was by my side helping with expectations, providing positive energy and affirmation, and guiding me through pushing during active labor. Also the pictures and video she recorded during labor are priceless to us. It added so much to our birth experience, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to anyone thinking about hiring a doula. read more

Florencia is the best! My husband and I just finished a Doula prenatal session with Florencia to discuss postnatal plans. My husband was a little skeptical at first as this would be our third child, but everything Florencia brought up was important, thought-provoking and truly beneficial! She truly has amazing insight, experience and advice to share with new parents and even experienced parents, Honestly EVERYONE, no matter what number child this is, should have these conversations with Florencia before having a baby and would benefit from her Doula services. She was super prepared and knowledgeable about all aspects of birth and someone you will LOVE - trust me, once you meet her, you will absolutely love her! read more

What an amazing experience it was to walk into motherhood with Florencia! Because we had recently moved, Florencia worked with us remotely. The first thing Florencia did was invite me to the weekly "Mama Village" Zoom call. This was so valuable to meet other first time and veteran moms and get my questions answered. I garnered so much wisdom from their experiences and from Florencia's knowledge and left every session feeling more confident and prepared. When the day finally came, Florencia was there, ready to FaceTime, call and text both me and my birth partner. I wanted to have my baby with as few medical interventions as possible, so Florencia guided me through the options that were given to me by the staff at the hospital. She affirmed my choices while giving me statistics and options as we weighed the pros and cons of what the hospital staff recommended. Although she couldn't physically be there, she supported us through our entire hospital stay and gave me lots of positions and exercises to try to hasten the arrival of our baby girl. It was wonderful being so supported and having a knowledgable and empowering voice who helped me advocate for the birth I wanted! With Florencia's help, I were able to have that. What an incredible experience! read more

Joyful Journey Doula Services - Florencia empowered this beautiful and joyful birth! - Doulas Near Me

Florencia was a much needed light for my wife and I after bringing our triplets home from the NICU. We instantly loved her energy from our first call and we couldn't have felt more comfortable with her in our home and with our boys. She has her eyes on not only the babies but us mamas and our older daughter. She encouraged so many special moments for us and helped us carve out time for self care. Even better she captured so many of those moments along the way, snapping pictures when we didn't have hands to do so! We'd recommend Florencia to all expecting and new mamas out there. read more

I don't know where to start but I am happy and grateful to have had you on one of the most important days of my life, you were a great supporter on this journey not only for me, you were also for my husband and our baby boy and for that I'm always thankful. read more

Florencia is amazing! I cannot say enough about her and what her presence brought me during labor. Her calming spirit put me completely at ease. She believed in me, cheered me on and helped educate me in the process. This was my third baby but first time utilizing a doula. There's no way I'll go through another delivery without her there!!! If you're wondering whether or not to have her on your journey...the answer is, YES! Do it! read more

My husband and I were looking for a doula that we could build a relationship with and with Florencia we got just that. She was amazing thought our pregnancy and birth journey and taught us very valuable information. She always let us make our own decisions and gave us her unbiased opinions. We couldn't have had the great experience we did without her and we highly recommend her! read more

I worked with Florencia at Joyful Journey and she definitely lived up to the name. She is eager to help, always available, and so *joyful* about the entire labor and delivery process! She worked with both me and my husband throughout our pregnancy to understand the various stages of my pregnancy and how to prepare for labor AND postpartum. I learned all about how to cope with pregnancy pains and weird symptoms, hypnobirthing, the importance of partner support during labor, and about my rights during delivery. I ended up having the labor I always dreamt of. Florencia walked me through early labor, keeping me calm and confident. She made sure I remembered my preferences and rights at the hospital - for example I knew I didn't want to be strapped to an IV but forgot to advocate for myself until her reminder. She also coached me and my husband through various movements to keep me comfortable, agile, and ready to meet my little babe. I felt supported and confident! I would highly recommend. read more