Thank you, Sunshine, for giving us the most pleasant experience throughout our pregnancy journey…read more I really enjoyed each appointment/meeting we had. She created an atmosphere of warmth, calm, support, and safety. She allowed me to have the birth I hoped for by educating me, guiding me, and giving me the options and agency to choose the birth we wanted. Never once did I feel pushed, judged, undermined, or neglected. Sunshine has such a kind heart and a listening ear, and knew exactly how to make me feel so empowered and secure during my pregnancy and birth experience. She defused all the worries I had, and gave both my husband and I the confidence that I could have the natural birth I was seeking, and in the beauty of our home. I felt so safe having her by my side. I'm truly grateful that you were our midwife, the captain of both the pregnancy and the birth. Thank you for taking care of me, as well as taking care of my husband and our baby during and after the pregnancy. I hope every woman has the opportunity to receive the same care, love, and attention that I received from Sunshine! Thank you Sunshine for giving me this amazing experience. It has planted a seed within me that maybe I'd like to experience another birth... Hahaha..

Yes, you should birth at home if you're low-risk and yes, you should do it with Sunshine (and…read moreChristiane) by your side. I have the good fortune of having experienced both - a hospital birth and a home birth so I can confidently say that if you have a healthy pregnancy with the right support and care, there's absolutely no need for you to be in a hospital environment. All you really need is a strong body and mind. In fact, deciding to go to a hospital at the cusp of my first baby almost ready to come out, only delayed things to a point where I pushed for 7 hours. That story for another day. This is about Sunshine. There is something about her presence that is reassuring from the word go. She was there in the critical moments of a hard labour with my first birth, listening to my baby's heartbeat, holding my hand, and lovingly talking to my baby, asking him if he was ready to meet us. With my second baby, it took some time for us to fight years of conditioning -- "people like me don't give birth at home" - and get to a place where we felt confident with the decision. It would not have been possible without Sunshine answering the million questions we had - she did it patiently and thoroughly. Hearing about her experience in managing any complications during birth, knowing when something needs more attention (her own father was a nurse in the emergency room), and most importantly, the genuine love and concern she showed for me and my husband while listening to all that we had to say about the first hospital birth, convinced us that with Sunshine, we'd get the birth we'd dreamt of with our second baby. A rock. A solid pillar of strength. Sunshine's baby-first approach to birth is her biggest strength. It's all a birthing mother wants. For her perfect baby, to make a perfect entry, and for someone like Sunshine to guide her through it. I miss those prenatal visits where Sunshine would lean over and whisper to my baby in my tummy. I think even my baby kicked back in excitement hearing her sweet and gentle voice! During the actual birth, Sunshine and Christiane went above and beyond to make me comfortable. With them around - it felt like I could power through anything. Christiane knew exactly when to put a bag of ice on my lower back. It helped turn my baby. Sunshine knew what position was working best to help me push better. I still remember going through several moments of "I can't do this, please take me to the hospital" during the final stage of pushing, and looking up to see that peaceful and almost unaffected (comes from experience) expression on Sunshine's face while she reminded me what my goal was and how I was made to do what I was doing. You need just that. She was also instrumental in taking some key steps to ensure I don't tear (I didn't!) I think of Sunshine as an angel who came into our lives for the birth of both our babies, reminding us that birth goes perfectly when it is undisturbed and that for everything else, she's going to be there. Sunshine's years and years of experience watching and bringing babies into this world shine through at every prenatal visit, during birth and after. She's also the best person to do a newborn screening test with - you don't want cold clinical hospital staff poking your few-hours-old tiny human. My second baby didn't even wince when Sunshine did the test for him. She's truly special and you would be lucky if she's your midwife - she will be with you, every step of the way, on your beautiful journey into parenthood.

Melissa was incredible and I COULD NOT RECOMMEND HER MORE. She SAVED our labor and delivery !!…read more Melissa was invaluable to my girlfriend (34), to myself, and to avoiding what may have been a very traumatic labor experience for my girlfriend. My gf went into pronounced labor at 4 in the morning, and when we decided to head into the hospital at 7, Melissa headed right over to meet us. The scene at the hospital when we arrived was very overwhelming and confusing (doctor, midwife, and multiple nurses in a small room, many questions being asked at once, and multiple interventions immediately being offered (insisted on?)). My gf was overwhelmed by pain and the energy of the room, and Melissa was AMAZING in asserting and advocating for the preferences my gf was asking for ("She said SHE DOES NOT want a cervical exam right now" / "She said that hurts and she wants you to STOP"). I want to emphasize that at no point did Melissa interfere, but rather simply emphasized and upheld the boundaries my gf was stating. This was particularly helpful when I had to leave to move my car out of the emergency room lane. We had many decisions to make over the 25 hours of my gf's labor (Magnesium?, Fentanyl?, Epidural?, Pitocin?), and the Doctors were always too insistent and overbearing, while also being evasive when they thought our questions weren't aligning with what they wanted us to do. Whereas Melissa always gave us the information we needed ("Yes, it's possible to give birth on Magnesium without Pitocin" / "If she's shaking uncontrollably, she doesn't need to start pushing, you can hold her and help her 'labor down' for an hour so she can rest before she starts pushing"), along with the language that we needed to state in order to get the doctors and nurses to give us the "breathing room" to make the decisions patiently as a family. The doctors and nurses did not have bad intentions, but they were often lacking in solidarity, or overly impatient with us, and throughout the entire 25 hours, the only person we felt was ON OUR SIDE, was Melissa. She gave us the support and information we needed to feel confident asserting our preferences, while also feeling safe. Without her there, I am certain the Doctors would have been able to leverage my gf's stress and fear into railroading her into an experience that would have been much more rushed and traumatic, and with less of a sense of agency or control. I have not touched upon even 10% of what Melissa did for us (bringing us food, setting up candles, acquiring the Peanut and Birthing Ball for us from the staff, amazing coaching of my gf during the pushing, taking pictures during the birth, and constantly reviewing our decisions with us, and supporting them, no matter what we chose). Her knowledge and experience as a Doula, with her own two labors and births, and her strong, supportive, and caring manner were the rock that we relied on, and that ultimately provided a magical experience that my gf will treasure and remember forever. One final note to the men out there, but I was initially quite the skeptic of the whole Doula situation, and I could not have been more wrong. With her intelligence and confidence, Melissa supported me as much as my gf, especially when my gf was either passed out or too overwhelmed with pain to be going over all the details, and I was trying to weigh and research all the medical options. Never was I more happy to not feel alone in trying to navigate a situation.

Hiring Melissa was hands down one of the best decisions I made during my pregnancy…read more I went into birth with hopes for a natural labor, but those plans went out the window when I arrived at the hospital in an emergency preeclampsia state. I was in extreme pain and totally overwhelmed. What could have been a traumatic experience became something I felt empowered through because Melissa was by my side. Months before labor even began, Melissa helped me build a more substantial and thoughtful birth plan. She provided educational materials, answered every question with care, and made sure I understood my options. We went over pushing positions in advance, which ended up being incredibly helpful when the time came. She also explained various medical interventions the doctors were recommending so I could make informed decisions. When you're in labor, especially in an emergency, it's easy to feel like things are just happening to you. Melissa made sure I felt like I had a voice. I refused to even start pushing until Melissa arrived at the hospital. (I was in labor for over 24 hours and melissa went home to sleep) That's how much I trusted her. Once she was there, she guided me through everything. She helped me try different positions, showed me how to use the peanut ball, the birthing ball, and the squat bar, and even held one of my legs when I was getting ready to push. Her presence was both deeply physical and emotionally steadying. She knew exactly when to step in and when to hold space. She didn't override me or speak for me. She helped amplify what I wanted when I couldn't speak up myself. The hospital staff meant well, but they were rushing decisions and not always transparent. Melissa helped me understand what was being offered or pushed, and gave me the language to advocate for myself. Even when I was in too much pain to say much at all, I felt safe and supported because of her. She also brought warmth to the room. She brought battery powered candles, dimmed the lights, helped to calm the energy, and even captured a few photos that I'll treasure forever. And she supported not just me, but my partner too. When I was checked out or overwhelmed, she was someone he could lean on to understand what was going on and how to help. Melissa was the only person in the hospital who I truly felt was on my side the entire time. I honestly don't know what my labor would have looked like without her, and I don't want to imagine it. I'm endlessly grateful, and I recommend her to anyone looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, grounded, present, and completely devoted to your care and autonomy. She changed my experience, and I'll carry that with me forever. Thank you Melissa!!!

I received postpartum care with Amber and she has truly filled in the gaps I didn't know even…read moreexisted. This is my first experience with a doula and I am so appreciative. She and her sister are knowledgeable, supportive, patient, and compassionate.

As first time parents who chose to not have family around post-partum, we needed a lot of support,…read moreexpertise and care -- all the things Amber and Alisa provided us and more! During the fog of very first weeks post partum, we relied on Amber and Alisa a lot for multiple hours a day, where they made very tasty and nutritious meals for us, tidied up the kitchen, loaded-unloaded dishwasher, washed baby bottles and pacifiers and answered so many questions we had regarding newborn care. Amber showed us how to setup a car-seat, answered a bunch of breastfeeding questions and offered helpful tips, helped us give our newborn her first bath, read one of the first books to our baby! They helped us in so many ways that its hard to list them all, but they were our go-to support system for first few weeks post partum. They are both very experienced care-givers and our family felt really cared-for! We also had multiple long and diverse set of conversations with them which was very beneficial for us, because other than feeling unsure, we also felt lonely! They became an integral part of our life post-partum and we are very grateful for that time with both of them! I cannot recommend them highly enough for post-partum care and support.

I just had my second session of energy work with Linda; my first session was actually last summer…read more I don't know why I didn't write a review then so this is waaaay overdue. She is a wonderful healer who listens wholeheartedly to her client's needs and works from there. I went at times when I truly was "stuck" and just needed a change in attitude if you will. Mostly some help getting there! Linda gave me that in such a way that is priceless! Her rates are soooo worth it! Forgetaboutit if you have a Groupon or some other special! She is super and you won't be disappointed with whatever treatment you go with.

I had my first session with Linda in March. It was great! I'm very interested in energy work and…read morewas extremely pleased with how my session with Linda turned out. I felt like I was in a comfortable, warm, safe place. Linda is a caring person and with a glowing presence. I was glad with how I felt after the session and enjoyed being able to talk with her about my experience afterwards. I'm looking forward to going back.

My last review was removed because I didn't provide enough "details" about my experience employing…read moreMelissa Dean as my midwife. So Yelp reviews have set standards in terms of the number of details you must leave now? Let me give you more details. These are my OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. DO NOT REMOVE THIS REVIEW. 1. Melissa was busy with other births all scheduled around the same time as mine. There ain't no way of scheduling your birth to be when someone else's birth isn't. FYI - it's her and Ricki. That's it. So when you in the middle of a 48hr labor and Melissa's been gone for 12hrs since you crawled on your hands and knees into SCVMC. Just realize that things could have gone differently. 2. If your baby has any number of problems that could be detected with modern tech, she cannot help you with that. She'll put you in touch with other facilities for ultrasounds etc. (all extra costs) but that should be a red flag. She really ain't scientifically or medically equipped to make decisions for you or your baby. All of your visits will be soothing and cozy. But your just paying for nothing more than contact with someone who has delivered babies away from hospitals. That's great. But sometimes problems can be prevented. 3. You will be charged the full amount no matter whether or not she does anything at all when you deliver apart from direct you to SCVMC hospital. 4. If you end up needing to go to the hospital she will ask you to drive yourself to SCVMC. And by the way, there are some really smart and talented medical staff there. In the end I owe them my life. But, are there also some not so great staff there? Most definitely, in my opinion. Will you have any idea who will be there? No. The doctors will also tell you point blank that you were naive (that's the nicest way I can think of describing what I was told by multiple nurses and doctors) to put your trust in a midwife like Melissa Dean. Hopefully you don't pay for that decision with your baby's or your own life. You won't need to be told that, you'll get that exact vibe from everyone there the minute she walks in. 5. If you end up at SCVMC, and there's a bed available for you after a few hours, and you get a doctor who isn't completely disgusted with you that you endangered your own life and the baby and now you're there begging for your life to saved.... *If* that happens, and if it does happen, and you're lucky to get away with your health and the baby's health. That's awesome. But if like me, you could be separated from your baby for a week because you almost died (doctor's words not mine) and your baby is on a ventilator in the NICU as a direct result of the trauma caused from not seeing a doctor earlier. 6. Finally, you'll have paid Melissa Dean and you will have to pay her 100% of her costs. But you should budget and figure out whether your insurance is accepted at SCVMC and what your costs will be for delivering there. It might be best if you don't have insurance because it is a teaching hospital and as far one of the doctors told me they won't turn away patients in need regardless of if they have insurance or not. How the bills work out afterward for everyone, I have no idea. But the bills I got from an emergency C section and a week in the NICU were, as you can imagine, astronomical. Why two stars and not one? Because she doesn't mean any harm and she's a nice person who believes what she's doing is a great service to people who want to deliver at home or with a midwife at a birthing center. But that's not always the case. My point in leaving a "review" that gives a different side to the one that Melissa Dean tells you is so that you can be informed and ask questions. Don't go into this process without having some sort of check on the facts of what you're getting yourself into. With hindsight, if I was to give advice and you really want to deliver at home, don't be afraid of it. But also have a plan B organized. And that means having a doctor that supports your decision and also can provide you with immediate care and deliver your baby for you at a moments notice. Check in with that doctor regularly. Ultimately I blame myself for not preparing in this way for my delivery. A doctor that can tell you it's okay for Melissa Dean to leave now and he/she can take over. And does that have enough detail? Or Will Melissa Dean complain again and have the review taken down again?

I had been hoping to have a home birth for a really long time, so when I got pregnant, I knew I…read morewanted to find a midwife who would help facilitate that. After our initial interview with Melissa and her assistant Ricki, my husband and I really liked them and felt like they would be a great fit for my pregnancy. My husband is fairly skeptical of any kind of hippy, holistic medicine, but Melissa was great at balancing the holistic and scientific sides of midwifery, and I really appreciated that she never pushed me to try any of the more woo-woo aspects that can come up with a home birth (such as anything to do with the placenta that didn't involve disposing of it as medical waste or telling me that I need to eat any kind of specific diet or buy expensive products). All throughout my pregnancy, Melissa and Ricki were super supportive and answered all my questions really clearly and provided so much reassurance when I started feeling anxious. They were great about responding to texts and emails, and provided me with great care. I really liked having one hour appointments, so I had time to chat with them and get all my questions answered. I was able to get all the standard testing done through their office; Ricki drew my blood to get genetic testing done at 13 weeks at my regular appointment, and when it came time to do the gestational diabetes test, they sent me out to eat pancakes before they drew blood at my appointment - no nasty orange sugar drink for me! When we were nearing the end of my pregnancy, they visited my house to help us figure out the best place to set up their inflatable birthing pool, and answered all our questions about what it would look like when I went into labor. When my baby was overdue and then my water broke but labor didn't start, they gave me suggestions for how to try to naturally induce labor, and checked in with me every day to see how things were going and listen to the baby to make sure we were both staying healthy while we waited for labor. Unfortunately, none of that worked, I ended up having to be induced at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, but I was so thankful to have them on my side. They were there with me when we checked in at the hospital and prepared us for what the medical team was going to do to get labor going. Ricki was there to support us when my contractions were getting really strong, and Melissa made sure I only had the best doctors checking in on me. When my labor didn't progress as quickly as we were hoping, Melissa was there to answer all our questions about when they would start talking about c-sections and what that experience would be like. She was so supportive and caring as I watched all my birthing hopes and plans went right out the window. Perhaps the most important thing Melissa did, though, was to make sure my baby was able to start nursing as soon as possible. She checked on him in the nursery and told the nurses that they needed to give him to me right away to nurse. She then came and helped him latch on and showed me how to hold him and get him situated so I could do it on my own later. We have had so many friends who did not have that advocacy after their births who really struggled to breastfeed their babies, and I am so so thankful that Melissa was there to make sure we didn't miss the window to feed in the first hour. My baby has been a champion breastfeeder ever since, and we had so many fewer struggles in that regard. I also really appreciated that we had Melissa and Ricki to check in on us in the days and weeks post-partum. They texted, called, and visited us at the hospital and at home to see how we were doing and to answer any questions. I really feel like they helped get us off on the right foot, and I would absolutely use them again to try for an at home VBAC.

My family and I worked with Sunshine Tomlin for the home birth of our second son. She was…read moreabsolutely fabulous and we are so thankful to have her in our lives. My first son's birth was also unmedicated but in a hospital setting and I experienced quite a bit of trauma from that experience (as well as the postnatal care I received through that provider). As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I had to work through a lot of fear and some anger as well. It meant so much to me to be able to share that with Sunshine and have her support and understanding. My younger son's birth was a completely different experience, and beyond my hopes and expectations. Another thing I loved about Sunshine's care is that she is very gentle in her exams, both with mamas and babies. One of my favorite parts of my appointments with Sunshine were when she would talk to my son and let him know what she was checking, both through my belly before he was born and when she lovingly cared for him after his birth. If any mamas have questions about working with Sunshine or the whole home birth process, I'm happy to support you in any way-please feel free to message me.

I am so grateful to Hope for the amazing care I received throughout my pregnancy, birth and…read morepostpartum! She is amazing - warm, knowledgable, caring and considerate. My partner appreciated that she was very balanced and non-judgmental in her approach to birth. I was so sad to say goodbye at our 6 week check up... wish she could be part of our lives forever! Thank you Hope!!!

My experience with Joanna is similar to many of the other women who posted reviews here. In our…read morefirst appointment, my son had a known tongue tie but we were waiting on an appointment to fix it. I had been pumping and already needed to supplement with formula due to low supply. I really wanted to be able to nurse him, but Joanna didn't really provide any helpful guidance on how I could do this. She just said to use Doctor Brown's bottles and come back after the tie was fixed. I came back after the tie was fixed but she only spent about 10 minutes with me. He latched for a few minutes and said his latch was fine. I told her we were still struggling at home and I could not get him to latch. She said again his latch was fine and that was it. I drove 30 minutes each way with my baby just to be made to feel completly inadequate. I'm honestly surprised she still works at PAMF.  I recently had my second baby and was so lucky to have had a wonderful lactation consultant at the hospital who helped me with positions and sent me home prepared. Due to some swelling issues, I had to see another lactation consultant a few days after going home. I found one who spent an hour with me and I haven't needed another appointment since. She ensured I was comfortable in different positions, did a weighted feed, showed me massage techniques for the swelling, and much more.

Joanna has been amazing in helping us establish a practical, baby- and mom- conscious feeding…read moreroutine combining breastfeeding and pumping from day 1. She quickly noticed the baby's tongue tie and referred us to a great specialist to get it fixed: she called him several times to arrange a tongue tie release within a week. She has supported our breastfeeding journey through surgeries and complicated travel plans. She is very direct (ie no sugarcoating) and this style may not work for everyone, but it worked well for us. I almost gave up on breastfeeding in the first month, but with her help we are still going strong. Joanne is very responsive over the phone and you can get an appointment with her within several days of an initial request

I had a hospital birth with my first and knew I wanted a different experience for my second. We…read moremet with Hope when I found out I was expecting and we knew she would be the perfect fit for our family! Hope is incredibly warm, understanding, and knowledgeable about prenatal care, delivery and post partum care. She was patient with my crazy two year-old during our prenatal check-ups and it was so helpful to be able to text her quick questions throughout my entire pregnancy and post partum care. When I went into labor Hope showed up within fifteen minutes of calling and was amazing! She went above and beyond our expectations and we had an amazing homebirth experience. I am so glad we made the choice to Birth with Hope and have the baby at home. I highly recommend Hope to anyone interested in homebirth; she's the best! I can't wait to have more babies in the future just so Hope can catch them :)

At 38 weeks in my pregnancy I decided that I wanted to have a home birth instead of the hospital I…read morehad been going to for my pre-natal care. At the Kaiser hospital I had been going to I had been feeling pressured to do procedures that I wasn't comfortable with, and didn't feel that my desires were being respected. It felt like what I wanted was consistently over-looked and all that mattered was their "standard of care" that I needed to comply with. Essentially, I started realizing that if I was going to deliver my baby at the hospital I would have little-to-no control over my body, and that felt very scary to me. So a few weeks before my due date I started researching local midwives and it didn't take me too long to find Hope! I just remember seeing her picture and knowing that I needed her as my midwife. I contacted her immediately over the phone and set up an appointment to meet. I remember going to that appointment just praying that she would be able to take me on as her client, and she did!! I only had 3 weeks of pre-natal care with her, but it didn't matter because I felt so unbelievably comfortable with her. My husband (who had been so picky about choosing a doula *thank goodness*) absolutely loved her from the moment we all met. He hadn't really been on board with having a home birth, but was willing to comply because it was a huge desire of mine. After that first appointment with Hope he had a completely different attitude about having a home birth. He was so confident that we could do it! I know that had a VERY large part to do with how comfortable he felt with Hope. We both just knew that we would be getting the best care available and let me tell you, we were right. My birth experience was by far the most surreal, beautiful, intense, powerful moment in my life. I never once felt any concern over myself or my baby's safety because I was confident that we had the very best provider taking care of us. Hope is incredibly skilled, sweet, thoughtful, fun, loving and easy to be around. It took me 2.5 hours to push my baby out and she never once made me feel rushed. Instead, she was so encouraging, and just let me go at the pace my body wanted to go. Her presence was so peaceful and calming, which was so important for me during that intense time. I remember watching her with my baby afterwards, she was so tender and gentle, taking her time and making sure she wasn't making my daughter uncomfortable. It was just so different than how I had ever seen any other provider handle a baby. My home birth was so empowering. I had all the control, with Hope just gently guiding and being the safety net if something were to happen. Throughout our entire experience with Hope, she continuously gave us the option of what we wanted to do. Even when I asked for her advice, she would give it, but then immediately say that it was our choice and she would gladly do whatever we were comfortable with. My heart is overwhelmed right now just remembering how Hope took care of us and how blessed we were to have had her. My husband still tells me that the best decision we have ever made was having a home birth, our doula, and choosing Hope to be there on the very best day of our lives. We love you Hope. Words will never be able to describe just how important you are.