My partner and I recently completed the Hypnobirthing three week course at Brilliant Births. We had…read morean absolutely incredible experience, for many reasons--The information we learned was invaluable, but also the instructors' teaching styles and depth of personal experience they offered was appreciated, comforting, and helpful. They clearly have a deep well of wisdom and experience-based expertise to share. We started our class with Keira and absolutely loved her--originally we were a bit bummed to know we would have a different instructor for our last day of the course. However, it turned out that Heidi was equitably wonderful and all things lovely-- instead of only one great instructor and guide, we ended up with two...which leads me to believe you'll be in skilled hands with anyone you interact with at BB. We will definitely be returning to take advantage of their other offerings!

We had the best experience with Maureen, one of the many talented doulas at Brilliant Births. We…read moreopted for a private Laboring together class, and it exceeded every expectation. Maureen guided us with so much knowledge, warmth and patience. She gave us practical tools, hands on techniques, and the confidence we needed as we prepare for our baby. We both walked out feeling way more prepared. If you're looking for someone who empowers, educates and genuinely cares, Maureen is incredible. We're so grateful!

Itzel treated me with respect and empathy through every step of my care. Her package emphasizes…read morebirth education. Itzel was with us for 30-some hours for our birth and never wavered in her energy and support. I would highly recommend her services for any first time mother.

Itzel is an absolute gem. From the moment I met her, I knew that I had the right woman to guide me…read morethrough my first pregnancy where there are endless questions and concerns that arise along the way. She was a gentle and intuitive guide that ultimately led us to our special day where our daughter was born. She offers a wonderful balance of guidance and advice for the mom and dad to be, which I believe is so important. My partner really valued having her support, especially on delivery day. Itzel recommended on the day of labor that my partner and I should find our own pace before calling on her for help. We did just that, and it was perfect. She arrived when I needed her and she assisted us the whole way through. I was lucky enough to only labor for 12 hours, so the process was pretty smooth. She surprised us with wonderful photos and a timeline of what had occurred the entire day. It was so beautiful and touching. What an amazing gift! I highly recommend Itzel for her expertise, authenticity, intuitiveness and kindness. Thank you, Itzel!!

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!

I am certain that my experience with Keelia made THE difference in achieving the birth of my…read moredaughter the ways that I wanted it- delaying at home for as long as possible, no pain meds and a positive, empowered experience. My biggest fears were my low pain tolerance and lack of control over knowing exactly how it would go. Shortly before our due date, Keelia came over to review our birth plan and a timeline of what to expect for pre-labor, active labor, travel to the birth center, transition, and delivery. She made sure we practiced comfort measures, breathing and how I wanted to be supported verbally. It wasn't until the last moments with Keelia where she looked me in the eye and said I was ready, that I actually felt prepared to go into labor and meet my daughter. 2 days later, my water broke in the middle of the night. For the next 44 hours of contractions, naps, two car rides up to the birth center, a traumatic cervical check on day one to then be sent back home, many walks around the neighborhood, yoga ball bouncing, 1 game of Monopoly, snacks, massages, and support - Keelia was at our beck and call. By the time we got to the birth center (again) on day 2 after 36 hours, I was only at 1cm and 50% effaced. Keelia helped me calm down from exhausition and frustration at this news, and we made a plan to get misoprostol to thin my cervix but hopefully proceed with no other interventions. Miraculously, Ava was born 7 hours later. Keelia coached me through contractions which came back to back for hours, waved lavendar oil in front of my face for nausea, massaged my back, covered the clock when she noticed it stressing me out, got me into the shower with Joe when I hit the wall of transition, and helped me breathe through pushing - 3 contractions! She reassured me every step of the way - calmly & knowing I could do it at all moments. In this amazing doula's hands, I felt loved, safe, and supported. Thank you, Keelia.

We interviewed a couple of doulas but the minute my wife and I met her, she felt an instant…read moreconnection with her and knew that she was the right person for the job. We met with Keelia at our place for dinner and knew she was the right person for the job. She has a very soothing and calm personality and is a great listener (which is a rare quality). She made herself available for texts and calls before the pregnancy and we had to text and call her a few times anytime my wife was exhibiting symptoms she was concerned about. Keelia was responsive to our questions and did her best to answer them even though some of them were of a medical nature. During the labor process she was also fantastic. Very calm and composed under pressure and very responsive to my wife's needs. My wife, in no uncertain terms, declared that she wouldn't have been able to do it without Keelia. Keelia massaged her during every contraction and it seemed that was the only thing that would help with pain management. In fact because of the massaging my wife was able to make it to 9 cm without an epidural -- she was super fatigued which is why she ended up doing the epidural but I'm pretty sure if labor hadn't occurred during the wee hours of the morning Keelia's massage techniques would have helped her give birth without using any medication. Thanks Keelia, you were great.

If you're an anxious mom to be, Anna is your gal. When looking for a doula, it was super important…read morethat I worked with someone who was trauma informed, and who had a very calming grounding energy. Anna was all of that and more! I felt prepared and supported leading up to the birth, even despite complications that were super stressful. She has a direct but extremely warm style, and can help pull you out of your head if you start spinning in a stress cycle. Having her at our birth with all of the prep of getting to know her helped me feel supported and calmer going into this, knowing that I had an advocate and a support system there during our daughters birth. She help us navigate difficult conversations with our doctor and reminded us of our autonomy in our decsion making. She's not afraid to assert herself when she needed to, both in telling my anxious husband to take a nap and rest and in helping us communicate our needs during the chaos of the birthing experience. If we have a second baby, we will 100% be looking to work with Anna again. I can't recommend her enough!

I hired Anna after my doula from my first birth was unavailable. There are not enough words to…read moredescribe how cared for, safe and secure I felt with her before, during and after my birth. Right away she took time to hear our birth story from our first birth and talk about big and small changes we wanted to make this time around. She even took the time during our consults to get to know our first son and include him in the converstation (He LOVES her btw). I had a difficult time with my pregnancy during my last trimester and she went out of her way to check in on me and my family to see if we needed additional information and support. When the time came she arrived quickly and even reminded my husband to eat some food. She helped calm me through my early contractions and stepped up with awesome hip squeezes when transition began. She stayed long after the birth to help the midwives and my family settle in before quietly slipping out so we could rest. My husband and I are beyond happy with her services and dedication to my birth. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

As a new parent, the postpartum period is challenging enough without having to deal with the stress…read moreand disappointment of a difficult agency. While Stork and Sprout does have some excellent doulas on its team who provided great support and coaching, my experience with the agency's leadership was overwhelmingly negative. We had a particularly difficult time with Brittany. She demonstrated a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting, and lying, both to us and, from what I understand, to her own employees. Our contract promised consistent coverage, but the scheduling was erratic and communication was poor. We were left to wonder many nights if we would have support, and for several weeks, we only received 1 to 2 days of support instead of the 6 to 7 we paid for. When we requested a refund for the services not provided, Brittany refused and even fought our bank with out-of-context emails and more lies. She claims she "offered a refund" but is even today refusing to honor it as she says in the response. The lack of professionalism extended to some of the staff as well; one sick doula was sent to our home and intentionally caused our newborn physical pain. Brittany treated us like we were the difficult ones and responded with empathy-less chatGPT emails to manage the situation. We were also led to believe we would have one primary doula with a backup, but over the course of our service, we had seven different doulas come to our home. This complete lack of continuity made an already difficult period even more stressful. Based on my experience, I would advise new parents to skip Stork and Sprout and work directly with an independent doula. You will not only save the 30-40% extra fee the agency charges for scheduling, but you will also avoid the toxic and difficult management. This experience is unacceptable for a service that costs tens of thousands of dollars and demands payment upfront months ahead of providing the service. We were not able to switch easily due to the inflexible Carrot reimbursement process through the employer.

I truly couldn't have accomplished my VBAC goals without the incredible support of the Stork and…read moreSprout birth doula team. From the very first moment I needed them through labor and all the way until I was settled into the maternity floor with my new little boy, they were there every step of the way. Their calm presence, deep knowledge, encouragement, and advocacy made all the difference during such an intense and meaningful experience. I felt supported, empowered, and never alone. I am beyond grateful for their care and dedication and would wholeheartedly recommend Stork and Sprout to anyone preparing for birth--especially those pursuing a VBAC.

It's hard to put into words the gratitude my partner and I feel for Allison, who we worked with…read morethrough the Sisters Doula team. Allison is truly incredible (we refer to her as a birth angel). Before meeting her, we thought of birth as something to get through. Allison helped us see it as something to be experienced. The birth of our son became a deeply intimate, connected, and transformative experience. Even weeks later, we still find ourselves in awe, and we're certain it wouldn't have been the same without her. Allison and the Sisters team prepared us for labor in a way that felt both meaningful and empowering. The experience itself left us with a profound sense of awe, and we feel so grateful to have begun our journey into parenthood in such a beautiful way with their support. From our initial at-home meeting with Allison, we immediately felt at ease. Her calm presence and deep wisdom around birth were grounding from the start. Throughout labor, she was a steady, reassuring presence--gently guiding me through different positions, offering encouragement, and helping me stay grounded. The postpartum visits with Allison have been meaningful and supportive in ways we hadn't anticipated. Having the space to process the birth experience with her felt emotional and grounding. She has been incredibly helpful in normalizing the challenges of early parenthood while also sharing in and celebrating the joys.

I can't speak highly enough about our experience with Allison as our doula. As a first time dad, I…read morehad no experience with any of the things, and Allison was great with answering any questions we had. The pre-natal visits were so helpful to set a framework/context of what the labor/delivery date would be like, and both her and my role in it. She was so calm, caring, and reassuring. She helped talk us through during the at-home contractions part of labor until we decided it was time to go to the hospital. At the hospital,I was so appreciative of her experience and the relationship she already had with the labor staff. Because she had the context and experience, I didn't have to stress as much about anything I didn't know to ask or do and could focus on my wife and encouraging her through the process. Allison also helped to record some of the experience as well as explain the labor status. The post-partum checkups were also very helpful and reassuring/validating.

Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, dang, that human was born to do this kind of…read morework and has a real gifting for it? That was my thought about Lauren after meeting her for the first time (she taught our 6 week birth prep course). This woman was in her element. She cared, she was knowledgeable, and and she lit up the room. To our pleasant surprise and an epic answer to prayer, she ended up being our doula and what a gift she was in that space for us too. Lauren knew when to say or do something and the art of not saying or doing. We ended up having a dream birth and I'm not sure I would have been able to do it without her support. She was a part of the dream birth. She came along and partnered with me and my husband in a way that complemented and strengthened. Lauren helped me to trust myself and my body. There are no guarantees with birth. I don't love Lauren because I had a dream birth; I love her because of who she is and am so grateful she was with us and for us in the tender, sacred space of birth. No doula is for everyone, but if something about her resonates with you, book a call to see if there's a match.

Lauren is incredible! She helped me bring both of my babies into the world and I couldn't imagine…read morethe birth experience without her. She brought such a truly compassionate, intuitive, calming, and empowering presence to the experiences, and navigated all of the twists and turns with us. She felt like part of the family, and made us feel so held throughout the entire process from prenatal to postpartum. I couldn't recommend Lauren more highly. I almost want to have another baby just to be able to work with her again! If you're considering hiring her, DO IT! She's the absolute best.

If you are looking for an acupuncturist for fertility, postpartum care, or general wellness, look…read moreno further. Rachel is the most knowledgeable, kind, and empathetic practitioner I have ever worked with. She helped me get pregnant, supported me throughout my pregnancy, and has continued to care for me for four years after I delivered a healthy baby. I cannot say enough about how phenomenal Rachel is or about the way she practices acupuncture. She gave me a sense of calm and control during a time in my life--while trying to conceive and during pregnancy--when I often felt I had very little. That kind of care can only make life better, and it certainly has for me.

Rachel Alkire -- what a gem!! She is one of the most genuine, caring, generous, and thoughtful…read morepractitioners I have come across in the medical/healing space. At 38 weeks pregnant I had an acute/urgent issue and even though I hadn't seen her for an appointment in many months, she immediately responded to my message with a phone call and provided a wealth of sage knowledge and advice. Both her kindness and her holistic medical wisdom shine through when you interact with her. Highly recommend.