Made an appointment, got multiple confirmation emails, including an hour before the appointment…read more She never showed. I also emailed her two days before to try to get a response since I assumed the confirmation emails might be automated. She never responded. Phone number listed on Kaiser goes straight to voicemail. Unprofessional - can't imagine trusting this person with anything

Davon is just the BEST person you could ever have as your Doula! My husband and I are extremely…read morehappy for choosing her and will definitely recommend her services for everyone we know. Since our first interview, we felt a deeply connection with her and we chose her because of her KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, NATURAL APPROACH to pregnancy and childbirth and, most importantly, because we just felt that she understood us and would support us in the way we needed. This is my second baby and I've had a very traumatic experience with my first kid birth, so I wanted to have someone by my side who I could trust and who would help me to trust myself and my body to have a positive birth experience. My husband was a little reluctant to hire a doula, but after meeting her he was already feeling supported and more confident in the birth process. During the pregnancy she was always making herself available for questions and/or concerns and sharing resources to help us navigate through the different stages of this process. She also has an amazing Childbirth Course, that helped us to prepare for the big day. During the prenatal visits, we had an amazing time together, just like friends hanging out. She would spend enough time talking to us about everything we needed; she was never rushing out and would listen to us carefully. Davon is so KIND and she made us feel so comfortable from the very start. She is also very knowledgeable and would help us with our questions, doubts and insecurities. The whole time she was showing her trust in me and my body to go through the birth. On the birth day, she was available right away when we contact her. She arrived at the Birth Center at the same time we did and was there for the whole time. We arrived there at 2am and my baby was born at 7:30am. She never left my side and stayed there until the first hours of postpartum were over, making sure we were both fine. During labor, she always knew what to do and what to say to help me cope. She had many comfort measures for me during my painful contractions. Although I was almost giving up and asking for medication, she never got discouraged or let me feel that I couldn't do it. Her positive affirmations, calmness and confidence were definitely the reason I was able to go all the way through with the unmedicated birth, even when I thought I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't have done without her!!! She also has an amazing back up doula (Tanara), who we met virtually and then in person at our last prenatal appointment. This made us feel even more comfortable because we knew that if Davon couldn't make it to the big day for any reason, we still would have someone we trusted to support us over there. She also encapsulated my placenta. She took care of everything in the birth center and brought the capsules to my home on our postpartum appointment. She also made a cute keepsake out of my dehydrated cord, which was a special touch. Davon is like family to us know! We are extremely grateful that she came into our lives and will never forget this experience.

Words will never fully capture the gratitude I feel for my midwife, but I will try. From the very…read morefirst appointment, she created a space of warmth, trust, and deep understanding that carried me through one of the most vulnerable and powerful experiences of my life. As a Black woman, there is a unique kind of peace and comfort that comes from being cared for by someone who understands not just your body, but your culture, your fears, and your strength. Her presence made me feel seen--not just as a patient, but as a whole person. There were no explanations needed. She just got me. That kind of connection is rare, and it made all the difference. She was more than a care provider--she was an advocate, a teacher, and a calming force during moments of doubt and discomfort. Her knowledge and confidence reassured me at every turn, and I always felt she had my best interest at heart. She didn't just deliver my baby--she helped deliver a new version of me. To any woman--especially Black women--seeking a midwife who will treat you with respect, dignity, and genuine care, I wholeheartedly recommend her. Her presence is powerful, her care is rooted in love and knowledge, and her impact will stay with you long after your delivery. She is a gift to this work, and to every mother she walks beside. Thank you for keeping me alive, Mama Lisa.

I hired Lisa and her assistant, Bria, in 2024 to support me in my second pregnancy and was beyond…read moresupported and cared for. I appreciate Lisa's approach to care, her straightforwardness, and humor. When I was struggling with breastfeeding, she also supported me in that and I am still breastfeeding my son seamlessly 10 months later. Lisa is a seasoned midwife who absolutely knows her stuff. Thank you again for all your support and care.

What a great birth experience with Napa Valley Midwives. Originally we hired Heather as our doula…read morefor our second baby. Once Covid hit we decided to change course and have a home birth. From the very beginning Heather and Kristina were so engaged with me and my pregnancy. It was the complete opposite of my OBGYN who changed all my appointments to be virtual and even forgot to schedule a few. Heather and Kristina saw me in their office and in my home following all the best practices during the pandemic. I felt safe every time I saw them. I really enjoyed the fact that they rotated which one of the saw me each appointment so that I could develop a relationship with each of them. By the time I went into labor I felt so comfortable with both of them. I believe this made the birth experience just that much better. During my labor and delivery, they were so professional but also felt like close friends since we had developed a great relationship and they truly care about their mamas. Once I delivered my baby, they gave us time to bond as a new family. While we did this they busily cleaned up. It was so impressive- you'd never know a birth had taken place in my house (haha). If you're considering a home birth, you'll be in loving and supportive hands with these two fabulous midwives.

I am not one to write yelp reviews, however, the care we received from Kristina and Heather was so…read moreegregious that I am scared for other women and feel an obligation to write about it. Our care with these midwives ended when I was 37 weeks pregnant and on day 5 of contractions. These contractions were not "real" labor contractions but rather contractions brought on by drinking large quantities of red raspberry leaf tea. They prescribed this to me because they said my son was too big and needed to be induced 2 weeks before his due date (this was later proven to be incorrect, as my son was born 11 days after his due date at a normal size and weight). During this bout of fake contractions, they registered a high blood pressure reading and told me that they feared for my life and needed to take me to the hospital or call 911 and have me removed from my home in an ambulance. I knew my high blood pressure reading happened as a result of feeling stressed out by the midwives and ultimately unsafe in their presence. They seemed to have little knowledge of white coat syndrome (a common occurrence where people have higher stress levels in the presence of a medical professional). I decided to fire them on the spot and switch my care to another midwife. Thank goodness I made this decision, otherwise I would have had a traumatic, premature hospital birth for no good reason. There were several signs along the way that Heather and Krisitina were incompetent. They made several incorrect diagnoses which were later proven incorrect by an MD at the hospital who said I was "a healthy pregnant woman ready for a homebirth." Misdiagnosis: Gestational diabetes: They put me on a very restrictive diet which caused me a lot of stress. When I raised concerns about the validity of at-home diabetes testing, Heather said she still thought it was in the ball-park. My health really suffered because of following their weird diabetes diet (I was encouraged to eat large amounts of meat, even in the middle of the night--this was the worst!) They told me they feared my son was too big and needed to be induced. This put enormous stress on me in the later phases of pregnancy and was completely inaccurate. My son was born at a totally average weight less than 8 pounds even 11 days after his due date. Another misdiagnosis! GBS. After my own research about this, I decided against antibiotic use. They went along with this, but encouraged a very expensive regime of supplements and consistently encouraged me to have antibiotics during the birth. Heather admitted to my mother that she herself had GBS and refused antibiotics in the birth of her own child. Hypocrisy?! They misdiagnosed me with a fever. Thankfully my mother was there and suggested it was warm in the house because of the heating (In December). When I went outside, my temperature was totally normal. Lack of Professionalism: They were late to most appointments. Kristina was 45 minutes late to one appointment. One time, Heather completely forgot an appointment and never showed up. She never even followed up with me to apologize, and I had to reach out to her to schedule the next appointment. They frequently did not have the right supplies for tests I needed to take, were missing batteries for their devices, and they only gave us the birth supply list at 37 weeks, when the baby could already have been born! As a first time parent this was very unsettling! Poor Communication: They didn't tell me which provider from their team would be at my birth, which was very unsettling. Then they set up an appointment with a colleague of theirs who gave me totally different suggestions about how to manage my "gestational diabetes," and at the next appointment Heather said I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do even though I was following her colleague's recommendations. Lack of Emotional Attunement. Both of these midwives acted from a place of extreme fear, rather than actually being able to see the person in front of them. They both never checked in with my husband and barely acknowledged his presence in our appointments. They asked questions in a style that felt more interrogatory rather than helpful/understanding. We left every appointment in fear, which was the last thing we wanted to feel approaching the birth! In addition to all of the grievances listed above, when we reached out to them to let them know that we had a healthy home birth and requested a refund for the fees we paid them, their response displayed a lack of compassion and accountability. They only gave us a 25% refund and never even congratulated us on the healthy home birth of our son, which was supposed to be their number one priority! I think their lack of professionalism, incompetence and lack of knowledge is evident with the numerous examples above. If you want to have a safe home birth and get good quality care, I would highly recommend choosing more experienced midwives.

Erlinda is amazing!…read more The care she put into encapsulating my placenta. She also educated me on the services and types of services she offers. I went with the traditional method and a keepsake. I kept in touch with her via text and provided a Zelle deposit then paid cash for day of service. My husband met with her to provide my placenta and it was ready before we left the hospital to go home. It has since been a year since I used her services and she does service contra costa county although she is in Solano county. My labor and delivery was in Walnut Creek. I still have all the keepsakes and beautiful jar she provided my capsules in.

I had never thought about placenta encapsulation until reading about it online and I thought I'd…read morefinally give it a try. My baby was due 2/20/24, however, she decided to come on 2/1/24 and I didn't even have time to reach out in advance. About 2 hours before having my baby I messaged Nor Cal Placenta Services and the owner, Erlinda, got back to me within 5 minutes if not less. I explained my situation and she advised that it wasn't a problem. She instructed me on what to do an about and hour after I had my baby, she picked it up. I didn't get to meet her but my husband did. He said she was kind and professional. I was released from the hospital on 2/3/24 and she also delivered my capsules about 2 hours after. I don't know if I'll have more babies but Id got through Erlinda again and highly recommend her. I'm approximately 3 1/2mo PP and finally finished my capsules. I do feel like they made a big difference in my 4th trimester. Thank you so much!

My experience with Paula was so traumatic it's taken me almost a year since my birthing experience…read moreto finally leave a review. As difficult as this, I feel responsible to share the truth so others can be informed. I wish others would've done the same when I came to check these reviews before hiring her for the prenatal care and delivery of our first baby. Her 5-star rating turned out to be devastatingly misleading. Initally Paula seemed so supportive and caring, but once she had our money it was downhill from there. She was constantly distracted, forgetful, negligent, and often disrespectful - all signs I should have gotten the hell out of there. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how bad everything was until it was too late to get my money back and I couldn't get another midwife in time. I told Paula straight up "dealing with you has been the most stressful part of my pregnancy." The anxiety she caused me was unreal and seriously harmful to me and my baby. Sadly, things only got worse when I tried to deliver at her "birthing center" in Napa. Do not be deceived by how beautiful and welcoming it seems. It turned into a dreadful place after 3 days of labor with very little support and care from her.  Maybe at one time Paula and Fawn were great at midwifery, but my experience with them was quite contrary. This was very confusing for me and took time to process how horific my experience was with them, since I was so convinced I was working with wise women. Paula did nothing to comfort me or support me during labor. She would only pop in the room for cervical/doppler/blood pressure checks. She told me to take a benadryl, Tylenol, and drink a glass of wine and try to get some sleep. She sent my husband to the store multiple times - for these items as well as nausea medicine, leaving me all alone and him scrambling for things she should have provided.  When I was 8 cm dilated she called in her team and laid down in my bed...ON MY PILLOW! She literally laid there until my labor stalled and I went down to 3 cm. My baby and my body knew it was NOT SAFE to give birth in this woman's hands. The next day my water broke. She laid a diaper on the bed and promptly walked out, leaving me legs spread with gushing fluids and unable to help myself amid contractions. Thankfully, a godsend doula - Denise Lee Haye- kindly stepped up and helped me into the diaper. Every time it needed changing Denise and my husband were the only ones to help. When my best friend asked Paula how much time does she have after the water breaks? Paula replied "indefinitely!" This turned out to be not true and put me and my baby in harm. We barey escaped ICU due to this. At the hospital, Paula struggled to provide the nurses with all of the pertinent info and left as soon as she could. In her stead, a doula named Carolyn stayed with us. She was very sweet, but in retrospect, she prolonged my labor by questioning everything the doctor was doing, imbuing more doubt and hesitation than the confidence and reassurance I needed. I wish she would have questioned and advocated for me like that where I really needed it - at the birthing center. We paid Paula $6,500, $100 for the birthing kit $50 for her "insurance woman," plus those random items she sent my husband to the store for. After submitting her superbill, we were only reimbursed $700. As brand new parents in the thick of everything, this was super stressful and such a huge distraction at a crucial time for our little family. We weren't in a place to be in contact with Paula at all, it was too triggering and unhealthy. Now, we are sharing our story, and now we will reach out for this much warranted refund. A refund is the least whe can do for such a damaging experience. I will update my review when we receive a response on this. Her refund policy ensures she keeps most of your money, even if you don't deliver with her (which should be the most expensive part). In the future, I would look for someone with a more reasonable financial policy, who doesn't have a conflict of interest - ie, will send you to the hospital when it's warranted without the motivation of keeping you to birth with them so they can receive a higher insurance payout. I would also look for a midwife who offers community/group amongst clients, which provides support for parents and babies and more transparency/accountability within the practice (AKA, nothing to hide). SF birth center is really good with this.  I am so lucky my precious baby and I are both okay, although the trauma is hefty. I am grateful for the skilled, caring (unpaid) souls who did help me in my darkest hours and I would highly recommend working with them and paying them directly, not through Paula or Fawn: Jamie Weaver, Kim Stanford, Denise Lee-Haye. And of course, (divine) Providence/Queen of the Valley.

Choosing Paula and The Midwives was the best thing I have done for myself and my baby throughout my…read morejourney to motherhood. My care was supportive, kind, loving, knowledgeable, reassuring, personal, and professional. Each of my appointments throughout my pregnancy lasted as long as they needed to. All my questions and concerns answered and expanded upon. Pregnancy and birth are outrageously vulnerable times and the people you hire to help you throughout it can make a huge impact. My care team had absolute faith in me my whole pregnancy. By the time I went into labor I had no doubts that Paula and her team would support me through a healthy and safe labor. I delivered my beautiful son at the birth center in Napa unmedicated and completely undisturbed. I utilized their enormous birthing tub and had the birth of my dreams. All through the birth center I was able to encapsulate my placenta to help with postpartum healing. They made getting a birth certificate so easy. The postpartum care was amazing. I honestly feel like I can reach out to the team any time. I would absolutely recommend this path to any women. Not so long ago, women gave birth with the help and wisdom of other women in their community who had gone through it countless times and seen it done countless times- this is the experience you will have if you chose to have your baby with Paula and the Midwives. You will be led through your pregnancy and birth by women who believe in your biological ability to do it.

This was a disappointing experience. I was looking forward to working with Megan for Jenbert Jr.'s…read moresleep training. However it was impossible to work with her because she does not return voicemails or e-mails. Save yourself the trouble and look for another doula or sleep coach.

Megan was an absolute life-saver! She supported my family through sleep training our son. Before…read moresleep training, I was getting so little sleep and once it was done, our son could sleep 11 hours a night. Her advice was completely on point. Megan was always accessible and was able to work through any issues we were having. If you're looking for a sleep coach, I recommend Megan so so so highly. She is a warm and gentle person and a hero!

Donna was exceptional and we feel so lucky to have had her as our postpartum night doula for our…read moresecond baby. Donna was more than I thought we could even ask for in a night doula. Every week we were looking forward to the night she came because we could really rest and build up energy stores for the next few sleepless nights. In addition to looking after our newborn, Donna always made a meal for us for the following day and every single meal was delicious and healthy. It felt amazing to have something really nourishing without the dishes or time spent planning. She also frequently folded the laundry, washed all the pump parts and bottles, emptied the dishwasher and other things around the house that made waking up a joy. We never had to ask her to do any of these things, and didn't expect it - Donna simply saw something that needed doing and did it. We were so grateful! Donna also makes the most delicious lactation cookies. When she brought our newborn in during the middle of the night for feeds, she would also bring a warm and freshly baked cookie - which I swear was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. She knew that nursing (especially the first few weeks) causes so much hunger and I felt so cared for during those middle of the night feeds. When we were ready, she was also able to give our newborn middle of the night bottles to give me the precious extra hours of sleep. And even before then, she was amazing and rocking and comforting our newborn - which I swear helped him get on a good schedule of feeds even on nights she wasn't there. Wherever she saw the opportunity, Donna also had great advice. She recommended a lactation consultant who was great. We have already recommended Donna to several of our friends!

Donna is incredible! She is so knowledgeable, so kind, so caring and such a joy to be around. She…read morebrought such a sense of calm to our home during the first six weeks with our new baby girl. Donna truly loves caring for babies (and their families!) I would wholeheartedly recommend her for anyone seeking a postpartum doula.

The office lady was exceptional I apologize for not remembering her name…read moreThe doctor was exceptional Talk with me about everything and offered me care to help with my situation I would recommend this office to Every woman out there

I'm so grateful to have found Dr. Pahlavan! She took my concerns about perimenopause seriously when…read moreno one else would. While other providers dismissed my symptoms because of my age, she listened with empathy and validated what I was going through. I finally felt seen and understood. She created a safe space to talk openly and helped me feel more informed and empowered. I can't recommend her enough--especially to anyone navigating hormonal changes and not feeling heard.