Doula Jen is amazing!! I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to go through our second pregnancy…read moreand childbirth with her by our side. From our first meeting I felt at ease by Jen's calm presence and vast experience as both a doula and a nurse. (Coincidentally we learned Jen was a birth doula twice with our neighbors' kids too, and they assured us of their own positive experience.) My pregnancy took several unexpected twists and turns, and along the way there was no question too big or small for Jen, who'd patiently educate and encourage us to make our own informed decisions. A notable facet of my pregnancy was our baby's breech position the last month and half, when my husband and I decided to try turning him head-down through what felt like every method available. Jen provided vital support in this often stressful last stretch of pregnancy with recommendations, checkins, and referrals within the Golden Gate Doula community who could help (including a wonderful acupuncturist and chiropractor group). We went in twice for external cephalic versions (ECVs)-intensive attempts to turn baby that I felt better prepped for thanks to her guidance. She was even present for one of the procedures, during which I opted in to more intensive options I otherwise would have forgone in hopes of higher chances of success. Ultimately our little guy stayed in breech and we determined a planned C-section was safest. I was super nervous going into the surgery, and Jen helped us stay as grounded as possible by her comfort techniques, encouragement, and doses of humor at just the right moments. Her background as a UCSF pediatric nurse was especially beneficial to us as I gave birth to our son at UCSF Mission Bay, where Jen worked seamlessly with their systems and staff. I can't imagine our baby arriving as smoothly or free of complication as he did without Jen's expertise and magic touch. She's one of a kind, and we absolutely loved working with her!!

Jen Darwin is absolutely fabulous!! When putting together a labor and delivery checklist, make…read moresure it includes Jen - she deserves FIVE stars and more for how good she is at her job. The support that she gave to my husband and I during the birth of our second baby DURING COVID is unmatched and I can't thank her enough for the beautifully positive birth experience that we had. During our pregnancy, Jen provided my husband and I with the information that we needed to make informed decisions on where we were going to deliver (we switched from CPMC to UCSF at 37 weeks) and how I was going to manage my gestational diabetes. She put me in contact with other women who had GD, which was extremely helpful to understand how the care was being managed at the hospital with COVID. She also met us in person at our home to help prepare us with techniques and equipment to labor at home. When we arrived at the hospital, Jen met us in the parking lot and escorted us in. If you've ever met Jen, you know that her presence is enough to put you at ease and instantly make you feel comfortable and taken care of. With her background, she is extremely knowledgeable on hospital procedures and decision making and walked us through each step as we were being admitted to the hospital. We ended up delivering in triage because so many babies were being born that night, but we had one of the larger and more spacious rooms all due to Jen and her experience in knowing the hospital layout and in working with the UCSF staff. We also had an unmedicated birth, which would not have been possible had Jen not coached me through each stage and gave me the strength and confidence to keep going. My recovery was quick and easy due in large part to how Jen helped me to prepare before and during labor and delivery. If you are thinking about getting a doula, look no further - get on her schedule before she fills up!

Michelle was our postpartum doula for our second child, a baby girl. She helped us rest after rough…read morenights with the baby with her all-encompassing care. This included bathing the baby, helping her get to sleep when need be, and of course changing diapers. She even guided us in successfully introducing bottled breastmilk, which we had completely failed to do well ourselves with our first child. Additionally because she has worked with many babies, her reassurance whenever we had behavioral or symptom-based questions about our daughter was very helpful. Since our daughter is a mostly agreeable baby, in her downtime Michelle also took care of laundry and cooked us delicious meals with leftovers that we heavily relied upon when we were too tired to cook ourselves. Beyond doing her job well, Michelle is a very warm person whom we loved being around and conversing with. Her personality and experience make her an excellent doula who I highly recommend.

Michelle was my birth and evening postpartum doula for the birth of my daughter. Her nurturing wise…read morepresence eased both the UCSF L&D staff, my husband and myself during a most fantastic birthing experience. She knew when I may have pushed pain threshold too far and gently reminded me of alternative pain relief. Not to mention she used a technique called Spinning Babies to bring my daughter out of an awkward position. Once home, she kindly showed me changes in breastfeeding positions to diminish pain, cleaned dishes and watched the baby so I could take time alone. She held space for this incredible time and we love her like family.

Claudia was an incredible doula all the way through. - Since we met, she gave me and my husband…read moreconfidence and made sure we "knew we were and were going to be taken care of". During birth Claudia made me feel safe, and that helped me tremendously through the change of plans and the whole birth experience. Moreover, Claudia took care of my husband making sure he was in his best shape to be with me. During birth, Claudia brought a combination of her knowledge as a doula, as a nurse and as a Spinning Babies expert, bringing in an outstanding support combo. She just knew what to do and when. My birth was a wonderful experience, and I would have Claudia again in a heartbeat.

We hired Claudia as our birth doula and had an amazing experience with her. Her prior experience as…read morea nurse, as well as her training as a doula really solidified our confidence in her and her abilities to support me and my partner during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum. She coached us beforehand, setting up visits to discuss what to expect, go over our birth preferences, and showed us some stretches to do to help prepare me for the labor and birth. She checked in frequently to ask how I was doing, and was attentive, professional, and caring to our needs and birth preferences. The day of the labor and delivery, she provided reassurance, information, and solid on call support for over 24 hours! She was right there at the hospital encouraging and helping me through and after my delivery, anticipating what I and my partner needed and providing it in a non-intrusive and warm way. She also has been checking into see how I and baby are doing postpartum, touching on many aspects of care and recovery for both me and baby. I would highly recommend her!

We can't say enough good things about Margo. She was our night doula and sleep trainer in the early…read moreweeks with our baby, and she was truly wonderful. From the very first night, it was clear she cared deeply, not just about our baby, but about our entire family. She checked in on how we were doing, made sure we were rested and supported, and treated our home and our little one with so much warmth. Her care went far beyond the nights she was with us. She would reach out throughout the day to see how the baby was doing, and even checked in while she was on vacation. That level of dedication is something you just don't find often. Her knowledge was incredibly helpful in those early days, but what has really stayed with us is the foundation she built. The sleep training routines and guidance she gave us are things we still use today. We recommend Margo to all of our friends, and we'd recommend her to anyone looking for a night doula or sleep trainer without hesitation.

The postpartum period is notoriously difficult, but Margo made ours relatively easy. She's an…read moreexpert doula and sleep trainer, and she is a great educator. Plus she's a warm, calm person with solid social skills who is a pleasure to be around. Honestly, I missed just talking with her after our contract had finished. She's also accessible-- if you are working with her at night and you have questions during the day, she will answer and help. Margo is worth every cent; you couldn't do better.

Carmen helped care of us postpartum and our newborn with the utmost compassion. She helped us…read moreadjust to our lives with our little one. Would highly recommend her if you're looking for support!

Carmen is the best of the best. I can't imagine a person better suited for doula work than Carmen…read more She's a true wealth of knowledge and made my time postpartum significantly more peaceful. She constantly went above and beyond for our family and we can't say enough good things about her. Our baby basically melted into her arms and stopped crying the moment she picked him up. I'm still not sure how she does it! If you're looking for doula care don't look any further :).

I feel so fortunate that I found Heather and Maliya to be my birth doula duo (SF Home Girls!). They…read moreare such gifted guides for the birthing journey. I felt so empowered by their deep knowledge, insights from years of experience, and their ability to facilitate emotional safety. As someone who did not think I needed a doula in the first trimester, I cannot stress how much of a difference it made to have had their guidance and support leading up to and especially during labor. Most aspects of birth are outside of our control, so choosing to prioritize having Heather and Maliya on my birth team was the best decision I could have made. Heather and Maliya have a really thoughtful preparation process and resources. Maliya is super knowledgeable as a midwife in training, and I felt like she facilitated a very open, non-judgmental, and affirming birth preference process. Her curiosity, delight and passion for everything about birth made an overwhelming time much more manageable. Though I became a client closer to my due date, I was able to join one of their sweet monthly co-hosted gatherings of their pregnant clients. When my baby came over a month early (and before my partner and I had our last prep session with Heather), that ended up really mattering! The duo model ended up being helpful -- Maliya was able to respond immediately and help me process the early start to labor. I then knew that Heather, who tagged in for the vast majority of my labor and delivery was able to come after being more rested (having been at another birth the day before). Heather was a steadfast guardian, advocate, advisor, motivator, body worker (some very clutch massage!), companion, and unflappable source of both emotional and physical support. At UCSF Mission Bay, there were staff that recognized and shared appreciation for Heather -- and I can understand why. I always felt that Heather gave easily understandable context to the updates and questions coming from hospital staff and answered my questions in an affirming way. I could hear her skillfully expressing my desires, and ultimately facilitating the ability for me to have the (mostly) unmedicated birth that I had hoped for; really minimizing intervention. In the midst of some chaotic moments, she was a constant source of calm, softness, and strength (both physical and inner strength!). I cannot imagine what labor would've been like without her verbally and physically guiding me through each movement and breath and different position or comfort measure to support my body's progression through labor. I also deeply appreciated that she helped my partner be such an integral part of labor--it is really a beautiful gift to have had such an intimate bonding experience with him during labor. In the challenges of the postpartum "fourth trimester", I kept going back to memories of Heather helping me conjure equanimity and reach for a strength I did not know I had. They say that when a baby is born, a mother is also born -- and I am ever so grateful that Heather is the mother of mothers that I was able to have by my side.

Heather was an integral part of our birth experience as we welcomed our first baby into the world…read more She is absolutely amazing! Words truly cannot express how grateful my husband and I were to have her by our side. From the moment we spoke with her, we knew she was the doula for us. Her calming, grounded presence was exactly what we needed. Our prenatal sessions with Heather were so informative and reassuring. She provided guidance and encouragement that helped us feel confident heading into labor and delivery. Throughout every unknown and scary situation, Heather was our constant. Her zen energy brought calm to even the most stressful moments and she always seemed to know exactly what to do or say. Heather was an incredible advocate for us at the hospital. Our birth ended up being not so straightforward but she made sure we felt supported and informed every step of the way. In the early postpartum days, she checked in frequently to make sure we were physically and emotionally okay and helped us navigate early recovery with compassion and warmth. She became like family, even our dogs could not wait to see her! From her amazing cooking that nourished us after birth to introducing us to amazing overnight support when we found ourselves in a pinch (especially with no family on the West Coast), she always came through for us. Her love, intuition, and genuine care made all the difference in our experience. We already miss her so much. Heather will be our first call when it's time for baby number two. Trust me, you want Heather by your side. She is a true gift!

I can't imagine going through my childbirth experience without having a doula, and Collective…read moreHearts was absolutely wonderful. Here are some of the reasons why I considered not getting a doula, and why I'm really glad I ignored those and got one anyway: - What if I get an epidural, will the doula be useless? I wasn't planning on getting an epidural, but I had back labor and I was in labor for 48 hours. Shannon helped me so much throughout that time. I probably would have gone to the hospital after 4 hours of labor and been sent home if not for her. 100% because of her support, I was able to labor at home for the first 24 hours. And Shannon continued to be an amazing source of strength, advocacy, and support over my next 24 hours at the hospital. - My husband can be my birth partner and support person, why do I need a doula? My husband has never been through labor before, and had no idea what to expect going into it. We read books, took online classes, etc., but there is really no way to prepare for something as intense as labor. Because of Shannon, my husband felt so much more confident about knowing how to best support me. Also, I needed someone to be angry with during the worst contractions, and if Shannon wasn't there I think I would have been angry at my husband. Having her there is what allowed it to be a really positive and beautiful experience in our relationship. - Will it be awkward if some other person is just hanging around the whole time I'm in labor? I'm slightly introverted and my husband is VERY introverted, so I was a little worried that having someone new around would be awkward for us. But this wasn't the case at all. Shannon has a sixth sense about when to step back during the labor process; since my labor was 48 hours long, there were times when she asked us if we preferred that she leave for a few hours and come back later, and we took her up on it. Her ability to intuit the right times to ask this was amazing.

This review is so long overdue! Alli was the doula for the birth of our daughter, Ellie. Ellie is…read morenow 5 years old. And still I think of Alli often. Her presence at the birth was invaluable. Her knowledge and experience guided both me and my husband through some tenuous medical decisions. Her easy going, caring and loving support got us both through the rest. (And thank goodness she had Altoids on hand when my husband was trying to comfort me.) When I first told my husband that I wanted a doula when I was pregnant, his response was "Why? I can be the doula.". Very sweet, but having been through a birth now, he is the first to say to all our friends, "You need a doula. It's worth every penny and more."

We hired Meghan to take care of our newborn twins and she immediately made us feel comfortable. She…read morewas so easy to communicate with, did a walkthrough of our nursery, and shared great product recommendations even before the babies were born. Once they arrived, she handled their newborn colic and gas with ease. We slept well each night, knowing our babies were in good hands. She always went above and beyond to help, washing and sterilizing bottles, doing the babies' laundry, and even occasionally throwing in a load of our laundry. She sleep trained them towards the end of her time with us, and it was helpful to have her lead the process and give us a detailed plan to follow for naps during the day. She is such a treasure trove of info, I still occasionally text her now, even though our twins are older. If you have a chance to work with her, take it!

We worked with Meghan as our postpartum doula during the newborn phase with our twins…read more As first-time parents, there's an inexplicable amount of anxiety that comes with entrusting someone new in your home overnight, caring for your most precious little ones while you're asleep. From the start, Meghan helped ease that concern. She consistently made us feel that our babies' health and safety were being thoughtfully attended to, which was ultimately the most important thing for us. Meghan is very kind, easy to talk to, and approachable, which made communication feel straightforward and collaborative rather than stressful. She was also punctual and reliable, and on the rare occasion timing needed to shift, she was always proactive and communicative, which we really appreciated. Knowing that Meghan was caring for our newborns overnight allowed us to rest (as much as anyone with twins can), and that sense of security is invaluable in those early weeks. We appreciated her calm presence and professionalism, and would recommend her to other families looking for dependable overnight support, especially those navigating the newborn stage for the first time.