My last review was removed because I didn't provide enough "details" about my experience employing Melissa 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? read more

I had been hoping to have a home birth for a really long time, so when I got pregnant, I knew I wanted 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. read more

I didn't have Melissa when I had a baby, if I had I probably would have had the VBAC that I wanted. My "babies" are a little older now, but I would definitely have considered her as my doula. Why? Melissa is calm, nurturing and can also be firm when needed. She listens to people when they speak, which is what a Mom who is going through labor needs, someone that will be able to be firm yet nuturing and listen (as sometimes a Mom in labor is dismissed in her pain). Melissa's calm spirit makes me sad that I didn't know her nearly 9 years ago! read more

We are extremely happy that we met Melissa and her Team when we moved from Canada during our pregnancy. The service we got was highly positive. The labor of our child was successful at Melissa's birth center (Casa Natal). From the very first meeting we were surrounded with thorough and precise attention. We like that Melissa pays attention on details as she has plenty of experience. We asked for a water birth and we got it. Melissa is flexible from the payment standpoint. Moreover, she accepts insurance which is really convenient. One more time: We are so happy that we chose her. read more

I am so glad that we chose Melissa Dean as our midwife for the home birth of our first child. Melissa has such a calming presence - when she's in the room you just know that everything is going to go exactly as you've planned/hoped/dreamed. We got pregnant shortly after moving to the bay area. And without a lot of friends to turn to for medical practitioner advice, we of course turned to yelp. There are only a few midwives with reviews out there on Yelp - and if you'll notice this is the first Yelp review for Melissa's midwifery services (the other reviews to date were for her doula services). We set up appointments to meet with three different midwives with good reviews (none of which were Melissa) but we just hadn't met anyone who we thought - "Yes, this is the woman who is going to delivery our child!". Then we attended a "Meet the Doula Night" at Harmony Birth Center in Campbell (also recommended!). One of the doula's we met there pointed us toward Melissa Dean, and we are oh so thankful for it! Melissa is relatively new to midwifery in the bay area, but certainly not new to birth. Prior to becoming a midwife, Melissa had been a doula for years and is very well respected in the community. As an example, when we told our doula (different than the doula we met at Harmony) that we were thinking of choosing Melissa as our midwife she got really excited. "Melissa is just awesome, definitely choose her." Two doula recommendations for Melissa, made us feel pretty good. We also loved that Melissa trained with a hospital-based midwife whom we thought very highly of. If we'd decided to go the hospital based midwife route, we would have gone with this particular woman. So even though Melissa only got her CPM in 2011 (per http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/wllqryna$lcev2.startup?p_qte_code=LM&p_qte_pgm_code=6200 correct me if I'm wrong) we felt very confident with her credentials. Credentials are great, of course. But really made our decision to choose Melissa was her sparkly personality. She radiates confidence and positive energy. Melissa is the sort of care provider who makes a point to get to know you as a client, woman and mother and to tailor your prenatal appointments and your birth experience to fit you as a person. I did concurrent care with an OB-GYN (unusual for home birth mommies, I think). My OB-GYN appointments included 7 minutes of face time with the doc. My typical appointments with Melissa were 45 minutes, and covered a gambit of information - how to prevent tearing, how to bolster my body to better handle the pain associated with delivery, why breast feeding is important, what supplements help prevent spider veins, tips for strengthening your uterus, how often to do kegels, and on and on. But we also talked about "non-baby" stuff. That might not seem important at first, but when it comes down to delivery who do you want by your side - someone you have a strictly business relationship with? Or someone whom you admire, respect and can count as a friend? I'd choose the later, every time - and that's who I found in Melissa. As for delivery, we were blessed with a very textbook and tender experience. I felt really well educated about what to expect going into labor, and confident enough with the whole process that we waited until we'd been in early labor for seven hours before we even called Melissa (it was the middle of the night, and while I certainly could have called her - I felt a-okay waiting). Melissa arrived right away with her whole bag of midwifery goodies. She and my husband set up the birthing pool (yes ladies, you want one of these even if you don't plan on delivery in the pool - don't think your bathtub or shower is a substitute - it's not) and got all of the other supplies out and organized. Then labor proceeded, and proceeded, and proceeded. There were moments when labor was mentally very hard, but Melissa was like a lighthouse guiding me towards my ultimate goal of a healthy happy unmedicated baby. If you want any details about Melissa's style during labor, private message me. After delivery, Melissa did all of the new mother and new baby checks. Then she stayed for several hours to clean our house, make sure breast feeding got off to a good start, and just generally make sure our medical and emotional state of mind were on track. Then she came back for a 24-hour check, a 48-hour check, and a 72-hour phone check-in. Our beautiful little boy is 15 days old now, and Melissa still hasn't gotten rid of us. She's made herself available for consult by email or phone, and I've definitely taken advantage of her unbiased advice. She truly was integral part of what made our birth experience so magical, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. But don't just take my word for it, ask other women in the community what they think of Melissa and they'll say the same. She's a treasure! read more

Melissa Dean - Melissa, and Baby Jett. Thanks for a wonderful delivery! - Midwives Near Me - Los Gatos, California

I live in the Bay Area without any family other than my husband & so I knew I needed a doula by my side from the minute I got pregnant. We went to a the Midwifes Afternoon Tea at El Camino Hospital & spoke to a number of doulas. We chose Melissa because she had so much experience, she is kind & was very supportive of how we wanted to approach pregnancy & our birth. She was invaluable for me. It was event better than having a relative around. She knows so much about pregnancy & labour that she became my first point of contact throughout the pregnancy. I called her with any question & she was always happy to share her knowledge. When I had round ligament pain & thought I was dying, I called Melissa, when I was concerned about the baby not moving, I called Melissa for anything I was worried about, that I didn't feel was an emergency. If you are looking for a doula to support you through this amazing time of your life, then you must at least talk to Melissa to see if she is what you are looking for. She turned what could have been a very frightening & uncertain time, into the beautiful event I'd hoped it would be. read more

Melissa is absolutely amazing! We were so lucky to have her as our doula for the birth of our son a few weeks ago. Her presence all the way through the process - from the first home visit to coming to our house during labor and staying by my side all the way through delivery to our postpartum home visit- was invaluable. She knows so much and is so calming and encouraging- it was essential for me as a first time mom! We sincerely believe Melissa was instrumental in our having precisely the kind of birth we had hoped for. I just can't say enough good things or recommend her highly enough! read more

Melissa Dean - Our family with Melissa several days after the birth of our son - Midwives Near Me - Los Gatos, California

Before I even was pregnant I knew I wanted to have a home birth. I didn't find Melissa until well into my second trimester, but she wasted no time getting to know me. Despite not working together for all that long before my 1st delivery she got to know me very well and made me feel so safe and cared for with her strong, calm, caring presence. I liked that she has her own birthing tub so I didn't have to worry about getting that lined up. I also was exceedingly grateful that she was able to use her wide network to find a doula, wanting home birth experience, to bring along for my labor. I found it really helpful to have the extra support of a doula present. After 31 hours of labor, in the comfort of our home, Melissa helped me deliver a healthy baby girl. She then made us breakfast (hands down the best eggs I have ever tasted!), cleaned up and quietly left. I couldn't have done it without her and her trusting in me! We can't wait to work with her again. Updated 2/2019: I have now had three babies delivered by Melissa. Still love her, possibly even more as I have shared so many intimate life changing events with her. read more

I switched from my OB/GYN to Melissa halfway through my pregnancy. We started by looking into her birth center then ended up going ahead with a home birth. I am so glad we chose Melissa. I felt secure with her from our very first meeting through to my last follow up appointment. She is confident and caring, knowledgable and empowering, and had a great balance of taking charge and letting me do what I needed to do. If we are blessed with a second pregnancy in the future, we'll start the process with Melissa from the beginning! If these reviews aren't enough, be sure to look at the reviews that are hidden, and feel free to message me for more thoughts if you'd like! read more

A day like today a year ago Melissa was there with me helping me with the birth of my first child at home. I am so happy I chose her services. Before I was pregnant I knew I wanted a water home birth. I started my care with an OB, I mentioned to her about water birth and she was not supportive at all. She was actually trying to scare me! Checking where my incision would be for c-section. That's when I decided to start interviewing and start care with a midwife. Melissa was my first and last! After talking to her I knew she was the one. She is very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. She was always there throughout my pregnancy. My water broke at 4:00AM that's when I text Melissa. She called me right away and guided me. Her voice is is very calming, she lets you know you can do this. There is a point in labor where you think you won't make it, and there she was, helping me breath and letting me know it would all be ok. She was also helping my husband and telling him what he could do to make me feel better. I really recommend Melissa! She made my birth experience a great one despite all the pain. I miss her and will definitely call her if I have another baby! read more

If you want a natural, informed birth look no further. Melissa accepts insurance and is very professional with more experience than any other Midwife I found in my search. I highly recommend anyone considering their options for a peaceful birth outside the hospital setting to seriously look into Melissa and her team as an option. They have lots of the same resources as a hospital including fetal monitoring equipment and some medicines. Her rooms at the birth center are like big, remodeled spacious hotel rooms with all the amenities you could ever need! You won't regret the decision! read more

For my first birth, I chose midwives and took hypnobirthing and hoped that the midwife and my husband would be able to coach me through childbirth. I ended up getting induced, having an unpleasant experience with an epidural, and almost getting a c-section. Although my husband is wonderful and supportive, it was truly unrealistic to think that he would be able to coach me through labor (especially an induced labor!). For my second birth, I knew I wanted to have midwives AND to hire a doula. I also knew that if I invited someone else into my labor, I wanted that person to have a lot of experience. I chose to interview Melissa because she has so much experience -- I chose her to be my doula because I felt very comfortable with her right away. In the end, I ended up getting induced close to 42 weeks. Melissa supported me all the way through my pregnancy, including coming to my version (of a breech baby) and helping me decide when to be induced. Although I wasn't able to avoid induction, with Melissa's help I was able to avoid many interventions: no c-section, no epidural, and no episiotomy. I know that I was able to make it through labor without an epidural only because of Melissa's expertise and support. Another huge benefit was that my husband was so much more comfortable during this labor -- he was able to follow Melissa's lead and participate so much more and not get freaked out by my behavior during the really tough moments. My midwife was great during delivery but it was Melissa who was there from start to finish of the labor and upon whom I depended most during the very hardest parts. I hope I'll be able to have her attend any future births. I am sure that Melissa will also be an amazing midwife. We will be forever grateful to Melissa for helping us have a safe, healthy birth. read more

Melissa has been my midwife for two planned home births, one of which happened at home, and one of which necessitated transferring care to an OB and hospital setting. In both, she inspired confidence, respected my feelings and opinions, offered excellent knowledge and guidance, and overall provided professional, nurturing, effective and wonderful care. I cannot thank Melissa enough for the critical role she has played in the births of my two beautiful sons. Love! read more

We worked with Melissa for the birth both of our 2 kids and wouldn't have another birth without her! Although the birth of our first child didn't exactly go "as planned", Melissa was a tremendous source of support and helped us make the best decisions given the quickly changing situation. I believe that her presence helped us avoid a C-section and her calming influence was greatly appreciated (especially by my husband!). Our second birth was much less complex and we were grateful to have Melissa by our side once again. We found it tremendously helpful to have a birth "expert" to help us understand what was happening, what was going to happen and what our options were. This time everything went smoothly and we were thrilled by the process. One of the reasons we liked Melissa so much is that she is truly supportive of the couple's wishes and the mother's needs. She was just as helpful and supportive during a birth with multiple interventions as she was during a birth with no interventions. If any of you are afraid that doula's are only for hippie moms, think again - everyone can use an extra advocate during labor and delivery and Melissa is an extraordinary one to have on your side. read more

Melissa was our doula when we had our second baby and she was amazing. I can't thank her enough for a wonderful birth back then. You can read the previous review below. When we were considering having our third baby and I found out Melissa was about to get her license as a midwife, I knew I wanted to have a homebirth with her. We had considered a homebirth twice with the first two pregnancies and for one reason or another, we ended up having the babies in the hospital. But this time I was determined to have a homebirth because Melissa was the right midwife to deliver our baby and I was going to make sure it happened. Melissa was always available by phone or email and gave me tons of advice since I was planning to get pregnant. Once I was pregnant, I was seeing the midwife I had for my second pregnancy and I switched to Melissa at the end of the second trimester, but she was available and was answering my questions even before that. She is the kind of person you feel you can trust from the moment you meet her, and she was always the first person I called every time something came up. She always had the information and advice that I needed. She has been helping moms during births for a very long time and has a lot of experience. I'm an expert in worrying. I worry about absolutely everything. Every time I saw Melissa or I talked to her, I automatically felt better. She always seemed to be so calmed, relaxed and patient and was always smiling. She always knew exactly what to say or do to make me feel better. Every time I saw her or talked to her I had a feeling of peace that I can't explain. I knew that I could just trust her and everything would be fine. When I was in labor, I called her and we were in constant communication for a few hours, since things were moving along very slowly. As soon as I needed her, she came over and she was amazing. I didn't have to say what I needed because it seemed that she knew exactly what to do - or not - at any time. I was really afraid of things going wrong like with the first two births and she knew exactly what to do to help me not worry about them. It was a long labor and I never had regular contractions and Melissa never stopped believing in me. Her trust in me (even with my constant complaints) and in the process made things so much easier. She trusted me even when I didn't and I forever will be grateful for that. After birth, Melissa stayed for a few hours and everything was back to normal before she left. She made sure baby and I were fine. She came again the next day and three days later and was available by phone the whole time and checking on me. Baby is 7 weeks old and she has been great the last 7 weeks. Melissa has been answering my questions and helping and offering advice all this time. Last week I saw her again for the last time for this pregnancy and I know she will be available if whatever comes up. I had an amazing birth and I think anyone who is even considering having a homebirth should talk to Melissa first because she is just the best. I have met several homebirth midwives since I was pregnant with my first two and all I can say is that I'm very glad I had the experience of having at least one baby at home with Melissa. It was perfect and I wouldn't change anything. If I ever decided to have another baby, it would definitely be at home with Melissa. read more

Melissa was my Doula for both my first and second pregnancies. I had piece of mind with her because she's very experienced and was always responsive to my my questions and concerns during and after pregnancy. She is confident and empowering. With her support, I was feeling I'm in good hands. She helped me to cope with pain during very strong labors and was reassuring and supportive for both me and my husband. She also guided us to make the right decisions for the birth and I was able to have natural births for both my pregnancies although I was very close to having a c-section because the baby was at risk. She was supportive even a long time after delivering my first baby when I called her concerning a painful tear due to birth and she was willing to advise and help me with that issue read more

Melissa is not just an amazing Doula but also an incredible person who genuinely cares for people she works with. I thank my stars that we met her when she was training with the midwives and even though we interviewed several doulas we just clicked with Mel and picked her. I cannot thank her enough for her support through my pregnancy, during the birth of my daughter and postpartum. Even today two weeks after I have had my baby, I constantly seek her advice and help which she so generously offers. She always had answers to my questions during pregnancy - helped me with my diet, suggested exercises for my posterior baby, suggested alternative treatments like chiropractors and acupuncture and was always spot on. When I went into labor she kept checking on me and came over even though I was showing signs of being in false labor. There is a very strong yet calming aura about her and her assertive words just kept me going through those contractions and pushing. She knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing and I just went along with her guidance and had the baby before I knew it. You just feel like you are in safe hands. She seriously made it easy for both my husband and I. She continues to help me deal with breastfeeding issues and has been such a huge support. We are so happy that Mel was by our side through the whole journey and would not have it any other way. Melissa Dean, you are freaking awesome! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts :) read more

Melissa is an amazing midwife! My wife and I were expecting our first daughter and reached out to Melissa via email. After our first meeting, we knew right away that we wanted Melissa as our midwife. Throughout our whole journey, Melissa was very knowledgeable, confident, calm, and attentive. All which were very important to us considering my wife's gynecologist flagged her as high risk pregnancy because she had a septate uterus and a blood disorder called I.T.P. We left all of our prenatal appointments feeling knowledgeable, confident, and excited about our home birth. Our daughter was born on Christmas Day and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect birthing experience! Melissa made our experience the best it could be. read more

Absolutely love Melissa! I saw Melissa for all of my prenatal care, the birth, and postnatal care. Every single aspect was better than I could have imagined. After 3 very standard hospital births this experience showed me what birth should really be like. Having a trained midwife that you know, trust and care about is invaluable! Her knowledge is apparent at every turn, and she never once doubted my ability to birth a healthy baby at home. I wish every one of my pregnant friends could have Melissa as their midwife, and have their babies safely at home! Could not have asked for a better or more enjoyable experience. Melissa is knowledgeable, caring, encouraging, calm, and confident. Everything you would expect and need in a care provider. My one and only regret is that I didn't find her sooner! Highly recommend! read more

Melissa is amazing!! Our family was on the fence about midwifery and home birth and Melissa totally put us at ease. She is so knowledgeable and laid back. I loved working with her because she made me feel so confident! She was our midwife for both of our sons' births. Our first was a home birth transfer that would have very likely have ended in a c-section without her support. Our second was an beautiful, perfect, smooth, home birth that was an experience that I would trade for nothing. Love you Melissa! read more

Melissa was my midwife for both of my babies and she is absolutely amazing. I started out at a military hospital with my first pregnancy and was so relieved when transferring care to Melissa. She is so knowledgeable, patient, and wise. My son was born with some minor complications and Melissa was focused and calm through everything, I was not worried for a minute. She is also great at taking care of mom. I hope I can use her for all my births. read more