I cannot emphasize what a crucial part of my pregnancy and daughter's birth Stephanie was for us…read more Stephanie provided the exact support we needed; from the moment we hired her to the days leading up to my labor to the birth of our daughter to the days after and everything in between. Any question, request, guidance needed - Stephanie was there. She made us feel no shame in asking the smallest questions. She was clear about when something was evidence-based vs her intuition/experience. She never pushed us to do anything and was always supportive of decisions we made. It was important to me and my husband to have a natural birth, which was my main motivation to hire a doula. Truly could not have delivered this baby without Stephanie (I mean, I would have, of course - but likely after much more pain and decisions I would later regret). She was with us on the phone (my husband, mostly) as soon as my water broke and she was with us in person by the time contractions got heavy to get us through the later stages of labor and the pushing/delivery process. Stephanie worked so in sync with the midwife and nurse on my delivery team - it took a village! In addition to Stephanie supporting me, she was also an amazing guide and support to my husband - equipping him with reading materials before delivery and coaching him on best ways to support me throughout labor and delivery. In the days after our baby was born, we talked to Stephanie every day. She visited us to make sure baby was latching properly, showed me some other tips and tricks for feeding, and has continued to provide us with guidance on feeding and pumping and all feeding things! When I become pregnant with baby #2, Stephanie will be among the first to know - could not imagine doing a totally natural birth again without her!

Hiring Stephanie as our doula was one of the best decisions we made while preparing for the birth…read moreof our first child. When my partner and I started looking into childbirth education, we quickly realized how much we didn't know and how overwhelming it could be to research everything on our own. From our very first meeting with Stephanie, it was clear how knowledgeable she is. She focuses heavily on evidence-based information, which was exactly how we wanted to approach decisions around birth. I became interested in attempting an unmedicated birth, although I was only about 60% confident I could actually do it. Stephanie never doubted me. From that point on, all of our preparation and meetings were geared toward helping me achieve that goal. She was always quick to respond to texts and emails and provided detailed, thoughtful information whenever we had questions. Stephanie also did an incredible job coaching my partner ahead of time so he knew how to support me during labor. In our prep meetings, she walked him through different techniques and ways he could help when things became intense. Because of that preparation, he was able to really play an active role during labor. Even during labor itself, Stephanie continued guiding him on how to support me in ways that were actually helpful in the moment. When things were very intense, she would gently coach him on what to do, whether that was how to help with breathing, positioning, or encouragement. If he wasn't sure whether something he was doing was helping, she gave him feedback and reassurance so he could keep supporting me confidently. That support for both of us made a huge difference. When my labor started, I was able to text Stephanie updates and questions and she was always quick to respond and help ease my worries. At one point she had another client in labor (which we knew was a possibility), but her backup doula came to my house and provided wonderful support until we went to the hospital. Stephanie met us there and immediately helped me focus on breathing and staying calm. The moment I'll always remember most was during the pushing phase. I was exhausted having been awake for nearly 36 hours, but Stephanie's coaching and encouragement made such a difference. Her reminders to breathe for the baby and "blow out the birthday candles for the baby," along with her steady counting and encouragement, helped me push through and ultimately deliver my baby the way I had hoped. One unexpected benefit of working with Stephanie is that she is also a lactation consultant. She helped us prepare for breastfeeding, explained how pumping works, and helped us troubleshoot breastfeeding our baby a few days after coming home. I didn't expect that level of support, but it ended up being incredibly helpful. Stephanie is incredibly knowledgeable and very honest. She gives you the information and may offer a recommendation, but she never pressures you if you decide differently. She's straightforward, fact-driven, and clearly very dedicated to her clients. Working with her truly showed me how valuable doulas can be. Stephanie was wonderful to work with, and I would not want to have another child without her by my side.

Betty was incredible. She helped me with my breastfeeding journey in quite literally one hour,…read morebrought an arsenal of tools and advice, and did it with such care and compassion during a super vulnerable time for me. She responded quickly and came the next day, which I also really appreciated. Betty saved me - I can't recommend her enough!

Betty is so wonderful!! My son was born at 37 weeks and weighted less than 5lbs. We had trouble…read morewith him gaining weight and latching. Once i reached out to Betty she was able to see me a few days after at home! since then my boy has packed on half a pound !!! Anytime I've reached out with a question or concern, she was quick to respond and made two home visits! My older kiddos loved her. Amazing energy and so gentle with her guidance and advice. Highly recommend

I cannot speak highly enough of how instrumental Anne's support was leading up to and during the…read moreVBAC delivery of my son. My husband & I chose Anne as our doula before we even picked a care provider! Anne is very familar with the VBAC community in NJ/NY and was able to give us great advice. Having had three VBAC deliveries herself, I felt that Anne understood where I was coming from as far as the motivations, fears, and concerns I had about the delivery. She's accessible and incredibly easy to talk to, and we were in touch frequently throughout my pregnancy. It was very important to me to have a doula who would support me through a VBAC or repeat c-section. I truly believe that no matter the outcome, Anne would have been a positive force in the delivery room. Anne's calm presence and demeanor during my labor was a huge part of what got me through it. I distinctly remember the incredibly warm look she had on her face the entire time, which gave me confidence in myself. She struck the perfect balance between supporting me physically and emotionally, while also giving my husband & I space to go through the experience together. If you are considering a doula, especially for a VBAC, you must talk to Anne!

Anne was our Doula for my son's birth. She was very supportive and gave us a lot of information…read moreprior to the birth but didn't push us in any particular direction, instead helped us make informed choices. We loved having her with us during a very very long labor. She kept all of us calm (especially my husband). We were very grateful to have her. After the birth Anne checked in on us which was so wonderful, especially since I was struggling with nursing and was overwhelmed with a total lack of sleep. Again, her presence was so welcome, calming and reassuring. I highly recommend hiring a Doula for your birth and recommend Anne without reservation! Thank you, Anne!!

Catherine saved me! My daughter was in the NICU when she was first born and received formula…read morefeedings, but I really wanted to breastfeed. She gave me options and helped me forward. Catherine intuitively knew what I needed.

When Catherine came to our home to help me and my family after the hospital, it was as if the…read moreclouds parted and heavenly disco music blared from the universe. She was knowledgable, funny, and kind. When it comes to breastfeeding - which is one of the hardest things that I ever did - I felt as though no one really talks about it. The clogged ducts, problems with latching, PAIN, exhaustion, mastitis, being tethered to your baby for what seems like forever, cluster feeding, low milk production, pumping, and on and on!!!! Tack on the guilt and shame you can feel when nothing seems to be going right, and you have yourself a recipe for a heaping dose of PPD. I was LOST and felt ALONE. Catherine not only knew what to do, she was an unconditional supporter of everything I needed and wanted to do throughout the process. No judgement. Not pushy. She always knew exactly what to say to steer my thought process into a productive and positive place (AND make me laugh). I cannot recommend her enough and I'm not sure what I would have done if she didn't come into our lives. I was able to make the best decisions about my breastfeeding journey for me and my baby BECAUSE of her. If you feel like any of the above, just know that there is help, and her name is Catherine :) Thank you, Catherine. Me and my little dude are forever grateful. Xo

As a first-time single mom, I contacted Rebecca to receive supportive and effective lactation…read moreconsulting. Unfortunately, my experience fell significantly short of expectations, prompting me to remove my initial positive review. It seemed adequate the first day as she seemed to be a nice person, also relentlessly asking me to leave it, and I had no experience or opportunity to compare it to anything. But in a few days that followed, as advised, practices started leading to the worsening of my milk supply and led me to seek immediate help, which led to a change in my opinion. Despite Rebecca's apparent expertise, the session failed to address crucial issues, such as my son's latching difficulties and my inadequate milk supply. Even though Rebecca advertises such services as checking tongue ties and assistance with the latch, she is an entirely hands-off consultant, which, if I had known ahead of time, I would've not booked her. Rebeca sat on the chair most of the appointment and left promptly at the 1.5-hour mark, citing that I hadn't had more questions. At the time, I did not because I didn't know what I needed to ask. Addressing my pump usage alone would have taken over 30 min, but Rebecca doesn't offer such a review unless you explicitly tell her it's needed. Notably, Rebecca's advice against pumping & burping and her passive approach to the session contributed to a near loss in my milk supply. It exacerbated my son's digestive discomfort due to incorrect shallow feeding positions and lack of burping guidance. The lack of practical assistance, particularly with latch correction and pump usage (Rebecca did not offer to review my pumping practices, check if I was using the pump correctly, or measure my nipple, all that despite me telling her that I was using flanges three sizes bigger than what I'm supposed to), forced me to seek another lactation consultant, whose hands-on and proactive approach starkly contrasted Rebecca's. After the visit, Rebecca has shared many links with me to help me learn some information on my own. Many of those links weren't working, and those that did left me wondering where I would find the time to read and watch them when I have a tiny human requiring my 24/7 attention. Her advice to watch movies in the morning and try to get some rest/sleep also seemed a little out of place for a mom with a newborn child. For $450, the services rendered were inadequate and detrimental, leading to stress and additional expenses needed to rectify the issues caused. This experience has not only been financially burdensome but also emotionally taxing, highlighting a pressing need for Rebecca to reevaluate her service delivery and pricing model. I share this feedback not from personal dissatisfaction alone but to caution future clients about the potential disparity between expectations and the reality of the services provided. Requesting a refund, unfortunately, did not lead to a response or negotiations. Despite the quite apparent issues, Rebecca believes that her services were adequate and was unwilling to negotiate. I hope for acknowledgment of these concerns and adjustments in practice to prevent future clients from enduring a similar experience. Just be aware that with the way Rebecca's visits are structured, you need to proactively advocate for yourself and ask her questions, because she won't touch upon topics you personally don't find challenging. Meanwhile, the other LC I hired has an in-depth protocol where she is entirely hands-on and goes over every detail of your nursing journey without you even realizing how many details you are missing. To future customers, I can recommend never to rush to review services you can't compare to anything, and take the time to see if the provided services do lead to long-term positive outcomes. Also, don't pay cash. Otherwise, you risk never getting any reimbursement, even if the services you'll receive won't be what you've expected.

Rebecca is hands down amazing! I reached out to her when my son was three weeks old after…read moredeveloping a painful blister from breastfeeding. Rebecca responded immediately and came to us the very next day. She noticed right away that his latch was shallow and taught me tips and techniques for helping him get a better latch, along with muscle exercises to loosen his lips. She also showed me more comfortable feeding positions than the ones I was using (with her very own doll and stuffed toy breast, which I thought was cute). She also weighed my baby before and after feeding and helped me figure out the correct size flange to use for pumping. The very next day she provided us an email with her observations and a detailed care plan. Rebecca is delightful, informed, patient and kind. She listens attentively and provides detailed and technical information. I emailed her with some follow up questions and her response rate was incredibly fast. You can tell that she is passionate about this line of work and genuinely cares about her clients. I can't recommend her highly enough.

If I could leave a 0-star review I would. I applied to be a birth doula with this service. I…read morereceived repeated requests to fill out the same video interviews. I should have stopped the process then but alas I persisted in hope this would work out. Then I I have to go through repeated rescheduled onboarding interviews with Jada because she kept having "schedule conflicts" and no respect for my time. When we met it was awkward and the discussion mostly focused on other doulas who don't want to meet with their client until they are way into active labor and then Boober worries about refunds. I do not operate in a way that would entail these risks happening. I spent a lot of time on the application and intake process for boober yet I continued to get leads for potential clients way outside of my geographic area of service. I got clients that were not serious about hiring a doula or I was one of many doulas who would meet with clients. I responded to some potential leads and sometimes wasn't followed up with, other times was matched with clients along with several other doulas or I was sent redundant messages about client requirements which I had already met. As a newer doula (with about a year of experience) I felt I couldn't compete with being matched with clients who were also introduced to several other doulas. I invested a lot of time and effort into my Boober application and profile and saw NO returns for it. I would get no responses, clients would hire other doulas or no doulas or no one from boober would follow up with me for the leads I was actually interested in. At some point I can no longer tolerate such disrespect for my time. While I believe in providing strong customer service our time as birth workers and service providers also needs to be respected and it's just not at Boober. I'm sorry I every signed up for the service. Also there are different commission structures based on race which I'm pretty sure is illegal. I'm all for birth equity but I'm not looking to be disrespected over and over again.

I am a black man in an interracial marriage. Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Prospect Heights…read moreTribeca Pediatrics in Brooklyn, NY, for the Infant CPR and safety. As the only black man and the only interracial couple in the class, I believe Geoff Gohacki gave me disparate treatment. My wife could not do the CPR on the floor because her belly made her uncomfortable to do so. The instructor told her to do CPR on the chair. I decided to be next to her because she is my wife, and I did not want her to be alone and feel inadequate. The instructor told me to get on the floor because my wife is pregnant, and I am not pregnant. That was very insensitive, rude, and uncalled for. I don't care if you were joking. You cannot make that kind of statement. My wife and I are adults and are not in high school or the military. I always tell people that my wife and I are pregnant. We are pregnant because we are doing this together. Lastly, if my wife and I are paying for the class, we don't have to look at how other people are doing it so that we can do the CPR. We could have stayed home and watched everything on YouTube. I was doing the infant CPR. I was not doing the chest compressions up to the instructor's standards. Instead of redirecting me, the instructor told me to look at the other people in the class. So you don't have a mouth to speak or are impatient to give me feedback on what I am doing wrong. My wife and I are not here to look at other people. After we left the class and walked toward our apartment, my wife started to cry about the unfortunate treatment this instructor put me through. It was distress we didn't deserve. Therefore, I would not recommend this instructor to a black man in an interracial couple.

We had such a wonderful experience with this service. The HFA team was incredibly responsive and…read moreproactive in connecting us with those who may be on our night nurse team which allowed for me to chat with each one ahead of time. It was our first time working with a night nurse and the whole experience made us feel at ease and in very good hands. Our night nurse, Janette, was wonderful and made us feel so confident that our newborn was in good hands that we could get some sleep back! Definitely recommend!

I am so glad to have worked with postpartum doulas through Happy Family After. We had peace of mind…read moreworking through this agency, knowing the doulas were vetted. We worked with Janice and Sara who were wonderful! On the admin side, Devon, Sondra, and Sara were all so kind and easy to work with. I was able to use my Carrot benefits with ease.

After my last review, Jada, the founder of Birth Day Presence, reached out to me for an honest and…read moreopen conversation about what she could do to improve not only my experience but classes there in general. Being a yoga teacher with pre/post natal experience I went into their classes already very knowledgeable so they weren't as informative as I would have liked but I think they are probably life saving for people who don't care to/don't have the time to do their own learning and research. Birth day presence and boober provide not only child birth and newborn care classes, but match clients with (and train) doulas, lactation consultants etc Most importantly though, and I got this sense from the beginning but really felt it after talking to Jada, they genuinely care about providing quality information and services to new families. They also understand that the birthing industry (because it is an industry) is far from perfect and they want to empower families and help them navigate it. I feel very grateful to Jada and Birth Day Presence and although I originally walked away feeling there was more to be desired I now feel like I couldn't recommend them more to anyone seeking childbirth/childcare education or training. Oh, and all their classes are conveniently online now due to covid.

My husband and I purchased weekend intensive childbirth education classes and we attended when I…read morewas 27 weeks pregnant with our first child at Birth Day Presence. We came here with an open mind and hoping to learn the important basics of childbirth. Needless to say, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We didn't feel prepared and we were hoping this class would make us feel more comfortable of what's to come. The classes we chose were on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am until 3:30 pm. Jen Buice was our instructor and she was very informative and knew her stuff. We also got to mingle with other couples who were due at around the same time as us. We got to share our experiences with each other, which I think my husband and I wouldn't have gotten a chance to do otherwise if it wasn't for this class. We watched some childbirth videos, learned about different stages of labor, pain management, labor exercises with and without the ball, a little about lactation, etc. We also went around the room and did some activities so it could be more interactive and social. Bring some snacks because the classes might seem a little long at times! We did get a short lunch break. One slight complaint I have is that I got a little antsy and didn't feel that comfortable with their seating arrangements. I felt a little claustrophobic. Overall, I think we feel better and a little bit more prepared about being parents. I would recommend this class if you have a chance to take it. It's located in a beautiful part of Park Slope in a beautiful brownstone. Price is a little steep at $395 but I think it's worth it. You can't put a price on your future bundle of joy.

Amazing service for getting a reliable and professional night nurse…read more Amanda was so easy to talk to and I told her exactly what I was looking for in a night nurse. I already had a terrible experience with my first and had to let her go. Amanda sent over Bianca who was the best. She handled by gassy, fussy baby with love and guidelines. She was very professional and left notes for us daily. She even pointed out things to change as my baby was growing. She left her nurse extra clean and organized. She also prepared bottles for the day and did my laundry. Of course my baby needed extra attention so baby comes first before anything else. I slept in peace knowing my girl was in good hands. Bianca was God sent and I wish she could have stayed with us longer. You do have to book with them way in advance because they are booked out. We only had Bianca 3 days a week because she only works those days and we were on waitlist for another night nanny but couldn't get another person. Very professional and great with new born.

The Bella Nurses were truly a life saver! Not only were they amazing with my twins but they…read morecomforted and pampered me!! I recommend them wholeheartedly!

My experience with the medical staff at Hackensack Meridian has been nothing but amazing. I am…read moreforever grateful for the incredible care I received in the past and most recently from Dr. Kim, cardiologist, nurse Sossi, Lynn Sauer, Matthew, Nikki, Hortense and all the other nurses who were involved with my procedure. Thank you all for your dedication to our community. I'll try not to make a habit of being here, but I'm so thankful you were here to take care of me. God bless you all!

In 2010, Hackensack University Medical Center is where I had my fibroids removed with the, "DaVinci…read moremachine which is a robotic-assisted surgical system that is used to perform complex procedures with greater precision through small incisions. It works by giving the surgeon a magnified, 3D high-definition view of the surgical site while they control robotic arms with instruments from a console." Dr Michael Pitter (RIP) was my Doctor who performed this masterful work. The nursing staff was simply divine with their TLC, compassion and professionalism kindness towards me. I was preparing to have my Mammogram and Ultrasound done. However, I was informed by my scheduler at Columbia Doctors that I needed my images from my last mammogram (2014) with Hackensack University Medical Center. Today, nothing has changed with the remarkable, caring, positive staffers, that give TLC as their standard. A professional body of heartwarming staff at Hackensack University Medical Center. I called and requested my images. They returned the call the next day, and my images and report were ready. I drove to NJ, got my ticket stamped for free parking from the Breast Cancer Screening Center. Dropped off my images to Columbia Doctors on West 51st Street in the heart of Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall (so cool). At the end of the movie, it was a joyous experience that made me feel truly gratefully happy and cared for by Hackensack University Medical Center and Columbia Doctors/NY Presbyterian Hospital. The great news is that my Mammogram and Ultrasound was negative. AMEN