We truly cannot say enough good things about Meredith. She was with us overnight for the first 8+…read moreweeks after our son was born, and as first-time parents who were truly starting from scratch, she was exactly what we needed. She helped us with everything--from teaching me how to even use a breast pump and helping us find our groove with breastfeeding, to newborn care, postpartum recovery, and all of the million questions that come with bringing a baby home for the first time. She is incredibly knowledgeable, honest, down-to-earth, and completely nonjudgmental. She never made us feel like there was one "right" way to do things--she helped us figure out what worked for us and gave us so much confidence along the way. Meredith is also just the kind of person you want around during those early weeks. Nothing flustered her, she was incredibly calming, and she somehow always knew what we needed without us having to ask. We felt completely comfortable with her from the beginning and trusted her completely with our son. By the end, we didn't just miss having the help--we genuinely missed having Meredith around. She became such a special part of those first weeks as a family, and we feel incredibly lucky to have had her. We could not recommend her more.

Meredith was extremely caring and attentive to our son. She helped us navigate the next steps with…read morehis feedings and diaper sizes. Meredith allowed us to get some much needed rest since we knew our son would be in good hands while we slept. We are so happy we decided to hire her as our doula.

Yael is the best! My wife was having our first baby at home and we knew that we needed some extra…read moresupport. Yael came over twice during the pregnancy to talk to us and answer any questions we had. She assisted us not only with preparing for the birth, but also with newborn care basics. During my wife's labor she was a calm spirit, who helped my wife feel comfortable and helped support me in knowing how I could help best. She was the best decision we made. In fact one of the first things my wife and I said the day after our daughter was born was that we didn't pay Yael enough. She is worth every penny! My wife is pregnant with our second child due this Winter and we are thrilled that Yael will be part of our birth team again.

Yael lives, breathes, dreams, and loves all things babies and mamas. She's insanely knowledgeable…read moreabout everything from pregnancy to birth to nursing and early babyhood. Her demeanor is calm, sober, empathetic, supportive, and pretty silly if that's what you're in to. She anticipated my needs before I knew I needed them and made me feel like I was the only person who mattered in life - and of course, my son too :). I recommend Yael to anybody looking to have the best, most authentic birth possible. And even if breastfeeding is going fine, it can always go better with Yael's help and attention. I love her. My little family and our birth experience wouldn't have been the same without her.

Do not see Dr. Archibald if you are a sensitive person or have anxiety. Awful bedside manner. Worst…read moreI've ever experienced.

Absolutely no compassion, worst bedside manner of any doctor I've ever had. A staff member who no…read morelonger works there told me that she is terrible to them, treats them all like servants.

We count ourselves as incredibly lucky to have had Karla by our side throughout our labor. She…read moreoffered so much knowledge and advice on resources available throughout the pregnancy, and went out of her way to research some more unique medical needs I had and how we all could best navigate them during our labor. In choosing to give birth at a hospital, we knew we wanted a doula who would be able to help us understand where and when we could push back and stick to our birth plan. From the minute our labor process started, Karla helped us feel confident in our decisions and ultimately helped us dodge a situation where we would have been admitted to L&D way too soon. We are so grateful for Karla's support during this experience and cannot imagine having gone through it without her!

Karla is amazing. I knew from our first meeting that she was the right person for our little…read morebirthing team of my partner, myself and doula. Completely professional, and at the same time warm and funny, she put us at ease as she prepared us for our birth plan. When I needed to find a new practitioner at 35 weeks, she helped me research, evaluate and find an OB I was comfortable with. She taught my partner and me to advocate for ourselves, so that when it was time to go to hospital, we were able to insist on our plan despite the fact that our OB was not on call and neither the doctor who was, nor the nurses, were interested in our preferences. While nurses bumped into one another and fumbled with monitors and machinery, filling the labor room with distracting chatter, Karla kept me focused. Just before interventions began to be introduced, Karla anticipated the aggressive attitude of the medical team and redoubled her efforts with me, magically Macgyver-ing a rope out of sheets so that I could pull on it, because of a detail she remembered in a previous conversation, in which I told her I imagined myself pushing while holding onto a branch from a tree in my yard. This did the trick and the baby was born 100% healthy, 100% intervention free. Postpartum, Karla spent time with us laughing about how we bucked the system and helped us with breastfeeding, baby-wearing and swaddling. There's no way we would have had such a good experience without her.

Terry was an incredible birth doula for our family. As first-time parents, we had very little idea…read morewhat to expect, and I also had a medically necessary scheduled induction, which made us quite nervous. During our prenatal sessions, Terry walked us through the entire induction and labor process and helped us feel much more prepared and confident. She also gave us very practical advice on how to prepare for the baby, especially since we were planning to do combination feeding -- from choosing newborn pacifiers to using a breast pump. After delivery, when I struggled with breastfeeding in the early days, Terry continued to support us during our postpartum sessions and helped us work through different solutions. She was also incredibly dedicated during the birth itself and stayed with us for hours after delivery to make sure we were settled. We are so grateful for her guidance and support, and would highly recommend her to any expecting parents.

We are a couple with a 12 month old baby. Terry helped us for the first two weeks postpartum as our…read morenight nurse from 10 pm to 7 am. Even though it was only 2 weeks, it was a really helpful transitional period. She's deeply empathetic and truly cares for people. On the first day she arrived, she came with a thermos of soup which I did not expect but was so thoughtful during a time when I wasn't eating because of the stress. Our baby was very comfortable with her from the start. She has good intuition and experience. I learned a great deal from her about child rearing and development.

Annette is one of a kind, and I am so grateful that I had her by my side throughout my pregnancy…read morejourney, and birth of my son. To be very honest...I didn't even know what a doula is or if I needed one. But being a FTM, I had so many questions and worries about giving birth. I started to do research, and was recommended to check out Annette. And I am so glad I did! From the first conversation, I knew I was in the right hands. I am anxious and an over-thinker, but thankfully Annette's expertise and calming nature helped ease all of that. Most importantly, she helped me become informed in all of my options - so I was able to make the best choices for me and my baby throughout the whole experience - especially when dealing with doctors (which can be rather intimidating). Finally, she was also beyond helpful and reassuring to my support person, my mother...as the two of them together helped me welcome my son into this world. Annette takes on many roles while helping - a coach, a best friend, a cheerleader, an educator and many more. My family is forever thankful to her, and highly recommend having her in your corner to anyone on the beautiful, yet sometimes rather wild, pregnancy journey.

It's hard to even know where to begin. Last summer we welcomed our son into the world. Knowing that…read moreI was hoping to have an all-natural birth, and also knowing that my partner's tolerance for seeing me in pain is quite low, I was insistent on having a doula be a part of our birth story. I did a lot of research and we interviewed two potential doulas. Both seemed beyond qualified, but from the minute Annette entered our living room, it was like having a long lost friend come over. We chatted very easily. She guided our discussion, asking pertinent questions to make sure the fit was mutual. We had another sit-down a month or so before my due date to go over questions and review our desires. She went over our birth plan and reassured us that it would all go well. Fast forward to my water breaking and contractions starting. My wife was in constant contact with Annette throughout the night. The next morning when my labor was progressing, Annette came over. She was amazing. Reassuring and calm, her presence was the perfect blend of taking charge and letting our birth story unfold naturally. She guided me through breathing and various positions. When my contractions plateaued, she encouraged us to walk the dog around the block to get them started again. Her soothing and knowledgeable demeanor was encouraging and the exact support not only I needed, but my partner needed as well. She guided my wife to being the perfect support throughout. She knew exactly when to call the Lyft. We got to the hospital and our baby arrived 45 minutes later. I was hoping to be in the birth center at Mt Sinai West (which has since shut down), and found out it was closed. Thankfully, Annette guided us to laboring as much at home as possible - which was my requested goal. She was in the delivery room, and stayed until our baby learned how to latch (and he learned well - a year later he's still a breastfed baby). She was available for questions throughout the next few weeks. She came over two days later to make sure all was going well. I cannot rave enough about the virtues of having a doula throughout the birth experience - Annette was the perfect one for us!

I really went back and forth about this and I'm sorry I have to say this for the sake of other new…read moreparents. Maybe Erica was a phenomenal doula, but sleep coaching is just not her forte. During our consultation call with her, we really got excited. She was very sweet and took her time listening to us. We thought we found the perfect sleep coach. Our baby was 6 months old at the time and was going through a sleep regression so we were barely getting any sleep. Our weekly phone calls with her felt like police interrogations. For some reason she thought I was hiding stuff from my husband like co-sleeping and breastfeeding at night - I'm guessing because of the consultation call where I surprised my husband by saying that I still breastfed our son (only at night at that stage). As part of the coaching program, she sent a sleep log via Google doc. You have to scroll down for what feels like eternity in the middle of the night to update the log. She opens the log between 9-2:30p, Mon/Tues/Th/Fri. On Wed/Sun you'll notice that she pops in during the early afternoon 1-2x to check in/support. The check-ins basically entail back and forth notes via the Google doc in different colors and fonts which gets confusing after a while. She called us her "special clients" because we had so much groundwork to do, and went as far as to say that she wouldn't give up on us (this was 2 weeks in) and cares very much about her clients....and then the very next day sent me an email indicating that she has a family emergency and is no longer be able to provide her services / offered 50% refund. We were very worried for her and I responded saying not to worry about refunds during a family emergency. Here is how she breaks down her 4-week package: $250 first consult $450 first two weeks $400 second two weeks Fast-forward 3 months after her family emergency email and she didn't bother to email us once to ask how we're doing. This is not someone who cares. Not even a little bit. To us it's clear now that we were lied to. She gave up on us and didn't want another failed client to add to her list so she cut her losses. I'm sorry, but it was a HUGE disappointment and waste of money. Our son slept well on his own without us needing Erica as soon as his sleep regression ended. Don't waste your time and money on this.

I cannot speak highly enough about Erica. Not only did she provide invaluable expertise and…read moreguidance, but she also went above and beyond to support me during a very challenging postpartum period and demonstrated humor, compassion, and patience along the way. It was evident that she genuinely cared about my well-being and the well-being of my baby. She took the time to truly understand my unique situation, getting to know us on a personal level. Her compassion and empathy were truly remarkable, making her more than just a consultant - she became a mentor to me during this difficult start to motherhood. One of the standout qualities was her ability to address not only the sleep challenges but also the concerns I had as a new mom. She provided unwavering support, easing my anxieties and instilling in me the confidence to move forward with nap training. Her understanding and guidance were particularly impactful as my son struggled with severe eczema. She served as a wonderful mentor, empowering me to tackle the challenges head-on. Her attention to detail and dedication were evident in the excellent sleep log she created. This invaluable tool helped me understand my son's patterns, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately achieve successful nap training. With her guidance, I gained a deeper understanding of my baby's needs and developed effective strategies to promote healthy sleep habits. Thanks to her support and expertise, my baby's sleep has transformed, and I have gained invaluable knowledge and confidence as a mother. Her mentorship and caring nature truly set her apart in this field, and I am forever grateful for her support during one of the most challenging time periods of my life. She really went above and beyond. She's been there to not only help me nap train my son but has been by my side through a wide range of emotions. If you are seeking an experienced consultant who truly understands your needs and provides unparalleled support, look no further. Erica is your gal.

I had my daughter 6 months ago and my family and I had the pleasure of having Nancy as our doula. I…read moredidn't take any birthing courses so Nancy sat down with me and my husband and thoroughly went through the birthing process, including the many scenarios we could encounter. We read books and watched videos and she answered all of our questions with much detail. She really helped to prepare us for the day our daughter was born. We ended up with a very intense labor that ended in a c section and we are so thankful to have Nancy's compassion and expertise through the process. She was also very supportive to my family when they needed her most. After we came home from the hospital, Nancy cleaned and prepared our house for our arrival. I'm a new mom, so she taught me important steps for taking care of my baby. She cooked for me and our family and just truly made our transition into parenthood so easy. I would highly recommend Nancy of maternal instincts doulas. Her service, skills, knowledge, attentiveness and work is priceless!!!

Nancy helped me as a post-partum doula following the birth of my daughter in 2013. I was recovering…read morefrom a planned c-section for a breech baby. Nancy showed so much care for me, my husband, and my baby. She taught us a great deal about parenting and assured us with answers to our many questions about caring for a newborn. One of the things I will always remember is how she communicated with our many family members who came to visit in the first days following the birth. She helped them to be sensitive to the privacy I needed as I recovered, and the bonding time that we needed with our new baby. (Not to mention the sleep!) I am still in close touch with Nancy. She is funny, loving, and incredibly trust-worthy. I still go to her with questions about my now 14-month old!