We'll start with 5 stars, but I swear if my baby doesnt come out totally cute, I am going to dock…read moreat LEAST one, maybe two stars! Judith is a midwife... yes, a midwife. I am not sure what this means, but I am told that it means its a nursey'ish doctory type gal that is way more focused on the actual process of birth than the biological process alone. That is to say she spends more time with you talking about the little things... kicking babies, disability, and so on. Since I have no idea how an ob / gyn works, I dont know if this is true, but one thing is fer sure... I LIKES ME SOME JUDITH! I was sure she'd insist I have a water birth, that I hum melodically 24/7 to soothe me baby, that I - at all costs - avoid the evil and always detrimental epidural. Not so. She has been always reassuring, educating me while listening intently to questions. She's got a lovely demeanor - pragmatic, but also warm and congenial. And I cant help but feel there is wisdom there... and that, I like. If you're planning on having one of them baby things, call this lady. She can help. More to follow! :) Love, Sara

I saw Judith for my prenatal visits and she was helpful and lovely, however major docking of stars…read morebecause she neglected to mention she was on vacation the week of my due date. So when d-day rolled around I had to see another midwife for what I hoped would be my latst checkup. After looking for 30 minutes for a parking spot in the UCSF garage I showed up for my appointment with my blood pressure sky-high. I was told this was not okay and headed over to the hospital to be induced. Bummer! I totally understand every midwife/doctor cannot attend all of their patients births but it would have been nice of her to mention ahead of time how sweetly I'd be taken care of by another one of her colleagues should I have gone into labor on or near my due date. Finally the worst part was that I never saw anyone from her practice before, during or after the birth - all was handled by the UC Residents.

My family and I are very grateful to both Evaly and Morgan who were really thoughtful and…read moreknowledgeable midwives. We approached Evaly first since she is based out of Alameda where we live, and since I have a history of precipitous labors. Evaly took the first call while knitting which I found so cute (she later knit my kiddos the coziest beanie and socks which I cherish so much!) We then met Morgan through her and I have to say, they both are a great team together and complement each others' strengths. I find their energies to be grounding and receptive, and they were very on top of their games at the time of the actual birth. They were very flexible and non judgmental throughout and I didn't feel any shame around them because they're so salt-of-the-earth too. Postpartum care was tender and sweet. The combination of wisdom, experience, holding space, and judiciousness when it came to making sound medical decisions were the big brownie points for me! If you're considering a home birth in the Bay, we cannot recommend both Evaly and Morgan enough and we hope that they'll be there for my next birth as well!

Planning to have a homebirth was a dream of mine. And my daughter being my last baby , I was so…read moreexcited to be getting my dream. Evaly was amazing for my prenatal care, I felt so comfortable and cared for. I had a rough pregnancy with severe hyperemesis. I was also receive care through a OB's office. Hybrid care so to speak. My pregnancy took a turn when I developed Cholestasis of pregnancy and my dream of a home birth was no longer an option. I had to have a scheduled induction to make sure my baby would be okay. Evaly was there with my partner and I. She helped me through the hardest labor (no pain medication during the induction). She empowered me! I almost had my baby over the toilet! Her postpartum care was fantastic. We welcomed her like she is part of our family. My birth may not have gone as we planned but she made my hospital birth much better than I ever hoped. She is highly recommended!

Julianne was referred to me by a retired lactation consultant. I'm a FTM and sought out her…read moreservices in the early weeks of having my newborn at home. Julianne has a very supportive approach-- which balances best practices and real life situations. She has helped me with positions & latching and is open to incorporating whatever works best for baby. She has also provided guidance on pumping and I look forward to working with her on how to manage breastfeeding once I return to work. We've done weighted feeds during her visits, which might feel nerve wracking at first... but they ended up providing useful information that gave me more confidence that me and baby were on the right track.

Julianne was very kind and knowledgeable in helping me during my breastfeeding journey. She not…read moreonly helped me with positioning my baby, but she also supported me during those hard times when I felt like giving up. She encouraged me to continue creating that loving bond with my son. She is truly empathetic, a wonderful companion who understands the needs of the whole family. Thanks to her support, I was able to breastfeed my baby for two years.

Allison has been such an incredible lactation consultant for me as I navigated learning to feed my…read morebaby. From latch, to clearing out my clogged ducts, engorgement, fears that Vivi wasn't getting enough milk, getting comfort and confidence. Allison was on speed dial and always there for me with the best advice backed with kindness and joy. Her love of babies and supporting mamas spills over. I recommend her to all of the new mamas and so thrilled to have had her shotgun through this journey. Side note for anyone reading this: If you are looking for a lactation consultant - know that this journey is not easy, but sooooo worth it and it will get easier with time. You got this mama!!!

Allison was such a HUGE help in my breastfeeding journey that is still ongoing. We started with a…read morepre-baby lactation consult to help me really understand the basics of breastfeeding, what to expect, what to ask for in the hospital, etc. she sent me videos and detailed notes post call so that I had all of this on hand when the time came which made me feel very confident going into birth. My baby was born with both lip and tongue ties and was having an incredibly challenging time feeding. I texted Allison and she came over in an instant with a calm and helpful demeanor to see how my baby was latching, show me different positions and assist me with those, help me set up my feeding areas to be comfortable, told me about nipple shields and how those can help with the pain in the interim, guided me with suggestions for my mental and physical well being during challenging times, showed me how to use my pump given I had to go on nipple rest while we got my daughters ties snipped to allow my breasts to heal - but gave me the confidence in all of these new and challenging areas to continue moving forward in the best way I could. She was so encouraging, knowledgeable, and kind throughout the process it always made me not want her to leave (haha) because I felt so at ease and peaceful with her presence around. After 2 in person sessions post birth, my baby was breastfeeding like a champ. I cried tears of joy being able to feed my baby thanks to Allison's guidance and expertise. I know I will continue to lean on her and have her support me and my feeding journey for years to come with more babies, too. Cant recommend her enough! It's been almost 3 months of successful breastfeeding and my journey is far from over, but if it weren't for Allison I probably would have quit up front. I appreciate you so much, Allison!

Thamires is such a gift! We had her as a postpartum doula for our first baby, and we could not be…read morehappier. She is extremely gentle, caring, and our baby immediately felt at ease in her arms. As a new parent with a background in healthcare, I wasn't sure how I would feel with someone caring for our baby overnight, but Thamires is truly the best we could ask for. We miss her!

Thamires is absolutely wonderful! We already recommended her to all of our friends who are trying…read moreto conceive or expecting and would 10000% hire her again if we have more children. Thamires was our night doula for 5 nights a week for the first 8 weeks with our first born. She was so kind and gentle with our baby and had great advice/support for us as first time parents. It was such a lifeline to have Thamires after birth and I'm not sure how we would have survived without her. First, the obvious benefits: -more sleep for the mom - I didn't have to stress about burping or changing the baby; I didn't have to get her back to sleep after a feeding (which took us sometimes hours on the 2 nights a week we didn't have Thamires); and I didn't have to clean or assemble my pump or bottles -full night sleep for the dad enabling him to handle day baby duties so mom could take naps and recover Second, Thamires really helped us transition and learn as first time parents. She had incredibly helpful tips about diaper rash (the cream we bought was a good preventative cream but was not as good for healing once our baby already had diaper rash), breastfeeding issues, and gas/fussiness issues our baby had. She taught us ways to soothe our baby back to sleep quicker while she was still having day/night confusion and gave us tips on how to set up solid sleep and bedtime routines once she figured out the day/night difference. We loved having Thamires and highly recommend her to everyone we know!

Dorin was one of the best parts of early parenthood. She was with us for 8 weeks and brought so…read moremuch joy, peace, and compassion into our lives as we began our parenthood journey. When I first met Dorin via a FaceTime interview, I was crying due to hormones and some post birth challenges, and she was present and kind and she wasn't deterred by my emotion. For the next 8 weeks, Dorin was up with me at night while I pumped and cared for our baby when they woke up. I always looked forward to the nights Dorin was here and we miss her already. I couldn't recommend her more to anyone who is considering a night doula. Lastly, personality fit with a night doula is really important and Dorin was a great balance of being knowledgeable without being pushy about her ideas or recommendations. She will always have a special place in our hearts.

Our family was so lucky and grateful to have worked with our wonderful doula from Bay Area Night…read moreDoulas: Dorin Chromoy. She took care of our daughter right from the day we got home from the hospital until her eighth week, coming several nights/week from 10pm-6am. During that time, it really felt like Dorin was part of our little expanded family. She would come each night and talk to us for a few minutes about our daughters day, and give us advice about any questions we had. From the get go, besides the obvious help of allowing us to sleep uninterrupted for a few nights a week, she was so knowledgeable about everything related to the fourth trimester, from baby spit up and sleep to helping me latch in the early days. She helped us through a rough patch in the early days when our baby needed to go into the NICU, providing support and kindness and also helping her to relearn how to latch after she got used to faster flow nipples in the ICU. She also gave us lots of great recommendations on baby items to help our baby be more comfortable and sleep better, including items for gas, sleep swaddles and bottle nipple sizing to help with feeding. She also helped give us tips on how to instill good sleep habits in our daughter, including getting her lots of sunlight during the day and providing us with example sleep routines when she was a few weeks older. She also helped to clean bottle and pump parts before she left which was so helpful! She also obviously loved our daughter and was so gentle and patient with her all the time. Dorin was also extremely respectful, never pushy and only provided advice and information while still respecting our decisions as parents. I also appreciated that due to COVID, she was very proactive about being vaccinated! I definitely felt like she was protecting us as a family, especially our newborn daughter. We would text her constantly throughout that time with questions that dumbfounded us from simple things like "is this little dot on her skin normal?!" To much more serious questions like "what can we do to help her sleep better?" Every time she would come back with clear, knowledgeable answers backed up with research and science which helped us understand how to proceed. She helped us instill the earliest forms of sleep habits for our daughter and now she's basically sleeping through the night at 10 weeks! Even now after she has stopped coming, we still text her with questions about our daughters sleep and feeding routines and she always takes the time to reply. We really feel like we lucked out with Dorin! We honestly were not sure in the beginning if we should hire doulas to help, but honestly this is the best investment we could have made not just in our sleep but also in our education as first time parents. We highly recommend Dorin and all the doulas at BAND for any parents who want emphatic, warm and knowledgeable "professional moms" to help in their fourth trimester!!

Rosie is so good with our son. She's done so much to help him (and us) develop a healthy, regular…read moreschedule. And he's so much happier than before working with Rosie. She's super professional, but also clearly loves children and they love her. I would recommend her to anyone.

Rosie is the best in the business and she has been a dream to work with! she has been working with…read moreus as first time parents, navigating getting our little guy to sleep, adhere to a schedule, introduce solids and more. she has a wealth of experience and knowledge and she works with us every step of the way. we can't imagine being new parents without her.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Morgan and Evaly. They supported me through my…read morehomebirth, and even four years later I still look back on that experience with deep gratitude and respect for their care. My baby boy is now 4 years old and absolutely thriving--and a huge part of that is because of the knowledge, skill, and calm presence they brought to one of the most important days of my life. From the beginning, Morgan and Evaly were patient, attentive, and incredibly supportive. They took the time to truly listen to me, explain everything clearly, and make sure I felt informed and empowered throughout my pregnancy and birth. Their confidence never felt rushed or arrogant--it was grounded, reassuring, and deeply professional. After I pushed my son out, I experienced a situation that could have quickly turned into a serious medical emergency. Morgan and Evaly handled it with remarkable skill and composure. They recognized what was happening immediately, acted decisively, and supported me through it with such calm and competence that I felt safe the entire time. Their ability to manage that moment made all the difference, and I truly believe their expertise prevented a much worse outcome. They are extraordinary midwives and incredible humans.

Morgan is an insanely talented and skilled midwife whom I would put my life into. She navigated my…read moredeepest fears in prenantal care as I have a long history with loss. She also navigated both of my difficult births with such strength, confidence and precision. There's no one on this planet I would walk into birth with other than Morgan. I will forever call her the Vanessa whisperer. I stand with her in all her future endeavors. She is a mother to us all.