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.

The office was lovely and Stephanie was very prompt. She made me feel relaxed even before I got on…read morethe table for my session ! I got to choose 2 top of the line essential oils for my session and then got on the table. Stephanie has a great touch. The reiki and reflexology was awesome. I floated out of the office and had the best nights sleep. I can't wait to go back to see Stephanie again.

Stephanie is a wonderful pregnancy support. I started going to her prenatal yoga classes from my…read more19th week and there is really no way I could have survived the pregnancy without her support, guidance and practice. I am full term at the moment and feel as prepared as I can get due to her exercises and lessons learned in class. She creates a supportive environment for first time moms, teaches at a slow, but challenging pace, and is very attentive in and out of class. I take other prenatal yoga classes at the studio, but the fact that Stephanie is also a doula makes a huge difference in knowing what the students need, our anxieties and how to best prepare for pregnancy (oh! those pelvic floor exercises!). I highly recommend her classes! She's the best!

I highly recommend Rachel and Sherraine! Rachel attended our birth but it was lovely meeting…read moreSherraine beforehand. Writing this review almost 6 months after giving birth so I had time to process everything. Rachel has this calming yet confident presence. She helped me tremendously during labor and worked well with my husband. It felt like she knew exactly what I needed without me saying much. She also knew when to hive us the time to be by ourselves and helped with food and drinks (birthing center). I am grateful she was part of this special day and she also took amazing pictures

I'm very disappointed with my experience with Sierra. We hired her to be our postpartum doula in…read moreDecember. We had our first baby, knew nothing about babies and had no support in the area. After the initial call and prenatal appointment, my husband and I felt that we were in good hands. She claimed to be a support for me and my baby and to be knowledgeable about all things newborns. Unfortunately that was not the case. The pros: - she taught us how to give our baby his first bath - she was communicative in the beginning via text and phone - she ended up acting as a very expensive babysitter for our last four visits The cons: - having a newborn is hard and I had a lot of questions she didn't know the answers to. Instead of finding the answers and calling me or offering to come over, she sent lengthy articles with links to other articles. When you are trying to figure out a problem with your infant in your arms, you don't have an hour to read an article that may or may not help - she knew nothing about breastfeeding, period. She gave me advice when she shouldn't of(she told me not to move my breast a bit away from my baby's nose because he would pull off if he was suffocating- this was corrected by two different lactation counselors) - 90% of her answers were "I don't know, I'll have to look that up" - in the end she was not communicative and it felt like she just wanted our sessions to be over - we were so uncomfortable having her in our home when we were around we asked her to just babysit our already sleeping newborn after he was in bed for the night This service is clearly dependent on who you get. Sierra was part of a lower, less trained tier of doulas. Regardless of the tier, it was a bad experience at a vulnerable time in our lives as new parents.

Rebecca was both my prenatal massage therapist and my doula…read more I got such a good energy from Rebecca during our first virtual meeting that I immediately knew she would be my doula. She offered me her prenatal massage services at a discount price which was was awesome. I saw her from week 24 until I gave birth. The location: I went to the Manhattan office conveniently located in the Flatiron district. The area was clean and serene. Temperatures are checked and Rebecca wore a mask during our sessions. The massage: I wish it lasted forever. As someone who was pregnant and working at a hospital in the middle of the pandemic, these massages were heaven at the end of a busy work day. Rebecca took the time at the beginning of each session to ask how I was feeling and where I was feeling tension. The massage was so good I often fell sleep something I never did during massages. I honestly never wanted it to end. Rebecca also provided tips on stretches to do to help with my tension. I am currently on maternity leave but I plan to get some postpartum massages once I am cleared by my doctor. I highly recommend her!

Rebecca is a well trained and experienced masseuse. As a dancer looking to massage to help maintain…read moremy physical condition, I felt that she listened carefully and responded intuitively to my physical issues.

I only have nice things to say about Love Child! I cannot speak for the yoga classes since I have…read morenever attended them. We have a child membership and we go to the wonderful baby-toddler classes they offer! Love Child has been a little haven for me that I look forward to go to a few times a week. As a stay at home mommy, going to school, Love Child is offering me the opportunity to step out of my bubble. Holly and Sarah-Grace are wonderful. They are so loving and creative, each class is a treat! We love French class on Tuesday, and art class on Thursday. There are also music classes on Monday and Wednesday with Corbitt and Alex. They offer Spanish classes and toddler gym. Really, this place is amazing. Every day of the week, there is an activity for your baby. It's also a great space to meet other parents, nannies and babies! It's a safe and clean environment where my baby can explore under the loving eyes of Holly and Sarah-Grace. Under Neelu's vision, Love Child is beautiful community. They offer doula services, as well as pre-post natal classes, breastfeeding circles, and a all lot of holistic baby-parent care. This place is a gem, and I will thoroughly miss it when my family moves across country in a few weeks!

This review is long over-due as Love Child has been such an amazing resource for my family! As an…read moreexpecting mother, I attended Prenatal Yoga regularly from my second trimester. I joined a weekly Prenatal Circle with a group of soon-to-be first time moms. We frankly discussed the physical and emotional toll that pregnancy and motherhood takes on you, your career and your relationship with your partner. Love Child also offers classes to prepare for parenthood. My husband and I took classes on multiple topics at different facilities throughout the city, we both agreed that the Breastfeeding course we took at Love Child was the best and most useful. The week after I delivered, Neelu came to my home to help me with early breastfeeding woes (included in the membership!) Since my daughter was born, our relationship with Love Child evolved. When she was a young infant, we were regulars at Baby and Me Yoga (the cutest thing ever), New Parents Circle and Baby Play Date. Now as a toddler, our caregiver takes her to Love Child for art, movement or music classes. Even on days she is not at Love Child, my daughter is likely on a play date with another Love Child toddler. My husband and I love taking her to weekend events (they throw great parties) or Sunday Family yoga. Love Child is so much more than a yoga studio! Neelu, Holly, and Sarah-Grace have created an amazing community for parents, caregivers and children.

This Bradley Method preparation class is amazing! I chose Bradley Method over hypno birthing or…read moreLamaze because as a long-distance runner it's approach to pain made more sense to me. Also, it seemed like a method that fully incorporated the partner and I wanted the birth experience to be for both of us, and for my partner to not simply be a mildly supportive by-stander. I chose Mary Esther's class based on the recommendation of the midwifery practice we are with and signed up months before it started. By the time it started I was sorry I'd chosen such an intensive class. 8 weeks instead of the couple of hours one session that most people I know had chosen for their birthing class! I was worried it was a waste of time and money, a rookie mistake from being a little too gung-ho at the beginning of the pregnancy. Those fears were gone by the end of the first class. We'd chosen the Sunday afternoon class since the weekday evening classes seemed too hard for this early bird (how does dinner work?) Our group was a a great and diverse mix of hospital/birthing center/home birth going with midwife/ob. We were surprised by just how diverse it was in terms of childbirth choices. The classes themselves were tremendously enjoyable. Mary Esther keeps a relaxed energy going through the class and from the beginning mentioned we should eat, drink and go to the bathroom as we wanted. With so many pregnant ladies in the room, we all did! I was worried about having to sit for so long, but though the main seats are uncomfortable, there are plenty of props to make yourself comfortable on the mat, and there are these little chairs that don't look very comfortable but are surprisingly comfy pregnant ladies. (I'm actually trying to figure out where I could get one for home. They're adorable and could double as kid's seats for later.) Plenty of people simply would simply lie down on the mat when they felt like it. But the main reason I recommend this class is for the effect it has had on me, my partner, and our relationship through this pregnancy. We've learned so much, and we're approaching this birth with a sense of joyful calm excitement I don't see in others who have not taken this class. As a type A, make the list and check it twice, and boss everyone around kind of person, it's been hard to get used to not being able to do everything I used to do before my pregnancy. But it seems like pregnancy and birth go much better when you learn that you can't control everything. You have to trust your body, and trust those around you. Learning to lean on my partner more has helped deepen our bond, and having my partner be so involved and so knowledgeable about what helps and what doesn't and giving me nightly massages (it's part of the homework! true story!) has helped me relax and go into this knowing I've done all I can, and that I'm in the best hands.

I hated this class with Mary Esther Malloy. Hated. I actually threw up from how much stress this…read moreclass caused me, not once but TWICE. So we quit after 4 sessions even though it meant forfeiting the $450 fee (although ME said she would refund it if I took down my review...). I had heard great things about this class before enrolling. This review is my opinion and you should feel free to trust other people as you see fit. I am having a hard time organizing in my head all of my issues with this class and with ME so I will just try to make a list. Some things might not be that carefully explained though so send me a message if you want more information on anything I say. 1) ME spends a lot of time telling stories from births where she has been the doula. She does not spend enough time with the students on preparing for their own birth experience. She spends a short period of time going over labor positions and a short period of time on techniques to deal with pain. She never in any way ties in the Bradley Method with the stories she tells. 2) The Bradley Method is very partner oriented. AKA, I felt fairly unimportant in the class. I felt like my husband could have gone to the class without me and when he got home asked me to hold ice for a minute while deep breathing. That sounds super useful in labor. Wait, no it doesn't. 3) ME is really condescending. She showed scientific pictures to the class and asked the class to guess how dilated the cervix was in those pictures. In one picture my husband guessed "5" and she laughed. Actually laughed. Then a doctor and a midwife also taking the class said they thought 5 or maybe 6. And she let it go. There was no answer on the picture but if a doctor and a midwife agrees, I think you should apologize to my husband for laughing at him. Twice in the first class I felt like it was better to keep my mouth shut than to offer an answer. And so I really did become mute. Oh, then after the class I cried. At least it wasn't on the first day of class when I threw up. 4) Everyone in the class is expecting a different birth experience. Some were using a birth center, some a hospital and just me and my husband were planning a home birth. I felt like she taught the class for those using a hospital and glossed over the other options. She would teach something oriented to being in a hospital and then as an after thought say how it would differ in a birth center or at home. So I felt really confused taking in all of this unnecessary information and trying to identify what actually applied to me. 5) ME is entirely unreachable by email or phone. She might reply a week later - Depends what her three kids have going on that week, you know? The contract for the class states that she would be accessible by email or phone throughout the class but that's laughable. 6) ME ignores the needs of pregnant women taking the class. I was signed up for the summer intensive course which is 8 classes that are each 3 hours long. She would take a break where people would gobble down some dinner at around 8:15pm. She didn't take any other breaks. The chairs are super uncomfortable but so is sitting on the floor. No pregnant woman can really sit still for 3 hours. By the end of the classes my back and stomach would be killing me. There was nothing I could do to make sitting for 3 hours comfortable. 7) ME never told us to bring the binder she handed out to every class. In fact, looking through it it seems like extra information (which it for the most part is) so I was never even sure what pages from it she might want us to bring to the next class. Stating that to the class would be really useful. Again, ignoring the needs of pregnant women (to not carry around an unnecessary binder of articles that barely matter). 8) The materials are very outdated. The creators of the Bradley Method should be embarrassed to show videos from the 1970s and videos where the words "civilized people" are uttered. 9) It is hard to wrap my own head around why this class caused me such extreme stress so bear with me. If you are a Type A person like myself, you like to feel in control. Now, with labor, there is a lot you can't control. I get that. But the idea that I have to hand over control to my husband or I will fail at my natural childbirth is really disarming. It caused me to feel physically ill to think that the success of my birth plan really has very little to do with me and a lot to do with how well my husband interprets my needs. 10) After quitting this class we decided to purchase Hypnobabies. Hypnobabies puts me squarely in control of my ability to completely relax and treats my husband like the support person that he is. It is a way better fit and apparently what ME used herself!

Stephanie was amazing! I was late to finding a doula and then my induction date was moved up by two…read moreweeks. I was able to connect with an amazing doula who I interviewed on short notice and was amazing with my newborn. It made all the difference in not being sleep deprived and being lost the week we brought her home. Our doula ZIna knew her stuff! She helped me with latching and brewing lactation tea for me overnight. So sad when her last day came.

We were incredibly fortunate to be introduced to Gayle Lemke through Stephanie. She is extremely…read moreexperienced and surpassed all expectations for a doula. Gayle is calm and collected and has a beautiful positive energy. She is clearly very knowledgeable about some of the challenges of the New York clinical system and helped us navigate the system to best try to achieve our birthing plan. Gayle has also provided us with excellent post-partum support and has consistently had provided excellent recommendations and referrals on all of our queries in an extremely responsive manner. We could not recommend her more highly. Both Gayle and Stephanie also provided me with very helpful lactation advice that helped ensure that our son was quickly gaining weight.

I took Maeva's group course leading up to the birth of my first baby and she was an instrumental…read moreresource. Maeva helped me prepare for little things I could do now to help prepare for an easier labor - like certain sitting positions, yoga moves, and meditations - and made me feel strong and ready as the event approached. She was a wealth of knowledge about everything having to do with childbirth and her tips helped insure everything went smoothly when the time arrived. I recommend Maevas course to all my pregnant friends!

Working with Maeva during my pregnancy was the best choice. She taught us hypnobirthing technique,…read moreSpinning Babies, and coping strategies. We were able to go into the birth of our first baby confidently and without fear. Maeva's presence during my labor and delivery was invaluable - I truly feel I couldn't have done it without her physical and emotional support and calming presence. I would hire Maeva over and over again! Highly recommend her!

I have a high-risk pregnancy and asked one of the doctors at Maternal Fetal Medicine Associates for…read moref they could recommend a place that does prenatal classes, and the only place they recommended was BabyZone. I am so glad they did! My husband and I took three classes: Baby Basics 101 and a Childbirth class with Dominique, and infant and child CPR with Evelyn. They were both amazing and not only have tons of experience, but are really big on evidence and research based recommendations, which are invaluable. Being pregnant and high risk is scary (especially as a soon-to-be first-time parent), and having the science presented is so reassuring that I will know what to do that isn't the opinion of someone on the internet. You have no idea how important that is, and essential that is, and how rare that can be to find in a class. Classes are small, too! We had a max of 6 (3 couples) in Dominique's classes, which was great and allowed the classes to be tailored to the needs and concerns of the parents (and babies!). As a bonus, both Dominique and Evelyn are amazing, kind, and generous people who will stay after class to answer any and all of your questions. I cannot more highly recommend BabyZone!

I was referred to Baby Zone NYC through my OB and I'm so glad we did these classes! Both the…read moreChild/Infant CPR class and the Childbirth Prep: Crash Course were incredibly insightful and helped us better understand what to expect and feel more confident and prepared. After our baby was born I was looking for a lactation consultant who would do home visits and ended up working Dominique - not only is she incredibly knowledgeable with literally anything related to babies, she's also such a kind, encouraging, and supportive person to be around. I felt so comfortable with her during a very challenging and emotional time, and I cannot recommend her enough!