: Not a nice person. Be sure to check her return policies…read morefor any items you consider purchasing as the belly binder a is ripped up sheet (muslin) that you can purchase at your local Joann's . This is the video I was given for the technique. I can't include it due to Yelp rules, but it is a regular person's YouTube account, not even one of the doulas or Maura. Search Bengkung Belly Binding on YouTube and a ton of videos will come up. The binder did not help me feel held in. I asked for a refund and was told the price was mainly for the doula coming to my house--which was unnecessary because the YouTube video was the guide. After continued times trying to reach a reasonable resolution, Maura told me that I was harassing her. (What the heck weirdo woman?) What doula worth anything speaks to a mom of a 2 week old that way. Beware!!!!!!!!! This doula is unstable and no new mom needs that. Get a Bellefit binder. It helps without dealing with a psycho doula.

Maura was a joy to work with before, during, and after the birth of my little one…read more She obviously approaches her work with a great deal of professionalism that isn't always present in the birthing world. For example, her email communication is clear and prompt, she is obviously very well organized, and she gave me sweet little new-mama-related gifts at our first meeting, as well as after Baby's birth. But all that is not reason enough to hire a doula, right? When I first met Maura, I must confess I was a bit dismayed by her youth. Although I knew she had lots of experience supporting births and more medical training than most doulas, there was a part of me that wanted an older presence on my birth team. Well, thankfully the rational part of me won out over this other, ageist part, because Maura was wonderful and everything we (my husband and I) could have wanted. And I'm sure she's probably not quite as young as she seemed that first day ;) My labor and birth were pretty quick, uncomplicated, and relatively painless. I don't think I actually noticed Maura much during the process. However, when I watched the video of my baby's birth (which Maura was happy to film and photograph for us), I noticed Maura was the one who'd pick up on how I was feeling and cheer me on when I seemed to need it, and my husband and mom (who I wanted hands-on with me) would follow her lead. She just seemed to have this way of fitting in and being exactly what we needed her to be at the time, even though we ourselves didn't know what that was. After Baby's birth, she provided encouraging support and a postpartum visit to see that all was going well for our family. She was pretty awesome answering my questions via text, about all things from newborn poop to homeopathic remedies. I know that she will soon begin to study midwifery, but if you find her still offering doula services, I would highly recommend adding her to your list of doulas to consider.

Just received our pills and salve from Holly and could not be happier with all that she does. She…read morepicked up at Prentice, delivered to our home in West Town. The pills were a gift to my wife and the presentation was beautiful. The experience of her receiving the gift was amazing. The salve was beyond my expectations. The ingredients are of the highest quality and pure. Do it whether you are a true believer or curious. If you do, make sure Holly provides the service, she is a true expert and professional and the only person I would entrust something so personal with.

We decided to do the placenta encapsulation at the last minute and I am so glad we did. I got a…read morebrief taste of what the baby blues felt like around days 7-9 postpartum. I was exhausted, extremely emotional, and very anxious when I started taking the placenta pills on day 7. After a few days of taking them things changed for the better. I had more energy but most importantly for me, my mood changed. The difference was remarkable. I am so glad we decided to take advantage of this wonderful service.

100% recommend. All I can say is WOW. This was a service I never knew I wanted or needed so…read moregreatly. Robin was an angel and a confidant. Real and trustworthy. She was there for me, my son, and my husband before, during, and after birth. Having her as part of my birth story will be something I'm forever grateful for and if I'm blessed enough to have another child, I'll want her on my team again. Ps: She offered to snap photos of when I gave birth, capturing moments I would never have had without her. What a gift.

I really wanted a great doula for a complicated pregnancy. But Robin slept through my son's birth,…read moreeven after I told her at 5 pm I was checking into the hospital the week of my due date. When I talked to Robin, she said she was at an event and didn't have a car with her so she couldn't leave to come to the hospital at that time, because she was dependant on someone else for a ride. She assured me she would come and said she'd never slept through a birth. She also told me most mothers labor for 12+ hours and not to worry since I wasn't dilated at all. I was given Cervidil. In the middle of the night my son's heart rate started dropping. Cervidil was removed, my son's heart rate stabilized and I was given two options: Do a more controlled C-section or try to labor longer and then likely have an emergency C-section. I tried to get ahold of Robin. She slept through the text and phone call. So I opted to do a more controlled C-section which took a while since I couldn't have an epidural and it took more than 30 minutes for the spinal to take. Robin never showed up to the hospital and it took weeks, months, to get a partial refund. I never got a full refund. She also didn't call a back-up doula. She made a really frustrating situation -- of sleeping through my son's birth -- even worse by having to spent weeks of back and forth emails (and my son was a NICU baby) trying to get some of my money back. More troubling she also sent an NDA to me -- which I didn't sign -- to try and make sure this wasn't disclosed. Accidents happen but the follow-up was more problematic. Yes, her father died in the weeks after my son's birth and that is awful, but sending an NDA to try and cover-up the situation of sleeping through a birth was really awful and weeks of emails to get a partial refund difficult as I was recovering from a difficult pregnancy and delivery was troublesome. This happened in the summer of 2017. It's taken me a long time to process everything. I'm sure most births aren't like this, but other expectant moms need to be aware. I would hate for anyone else to go through something like this.

I recently had my first baby and worked with Brandi during my pregnancy and postpartum…read more Brandi was amazing during the entire process! She always took the initiative to check in and see how we were doing, was always proactive about sharing endless resources, was always extremely prompt in answering questions I had and providing tips and was always so positive and chirpy. As a first time mom I had so many questions and Brandi made me feel so empowered in asking questions- there was no such thing as a silly question. My birth was a dream come true and Brandi was extremely instrumental in how my experience turned out! Please do yourself a favor and hire Brandi to walk alongside you during your beautiful maternity journey.

A few days ago I delivered my second baby. Brandi gave me so much support before during and after…read morethe birth. She gave me resources and made sure I knew my rights, and helped me with pain management while pushing, held my hand and encouraged me the entire time. She still checks on me and baby which means so much to me. This was my first time having a doula and It was definitely a great experience. If I were to do it again, I would want Brandi by my side! Thank you soo much Brandi for all you've done!!

Caley is a delightful, warm, calming, competent,…read moremakes-you-wish-she-was-your-mom/best-friend-in-real-life kind of person. My wife hemorrhaged after her labor, which was really scary for both of us. Somehow, even in the middle of a medical emergency, Caley made sure my wife's voice was heard (she had to pee and needed a bedpan, she was freezing and needed blankets) in a way that was absolutely perfect and never overbearing. Our care team loved her; we loved her. She checked in with me exactly enough (I was doing my best to stave off a panic attack and was so relieved that Caley was supporting my wife so I could keep a little distance and shield her from my own anxiety). In the middle of an intensely stressful situation, she managed to make my wife smile and laugh, got our son to latch, and allowed me to get my emotions together. She even grabbed our camera and got some pictures of the first few minutes after birth. FWIW she was completely supportive and excited that we planned to encapsulate our own placenta, even though she offers professional encapsulation services, which was super nice. Zero weirdness/upselling. The postpartum visit was also great - our baby had trouble gaining his birth weight back, and she was far more reassuring and helpful than the lactation consultant we saw at his three week check up. She even helped us get in touch with a breast milk donor and brought a cooler full of donated milk to us - and to top it all off, offered to help out around the house! You seriously can't go wrong - she's excellent.

We enjoyed working with Lindsey as a birth doula for my recent birth. She is very calm, friendly,…read moreknowledgeable about pregnancy and infant care and familiar with navigating the hospital environment. She helped me during a hospital birth where I made use of tub and tried to avoid interventions. During labor, she assisted by putting heat packs on my pressure points, guiding me into different positions to make laboring easier and effective, making use of a tub for labor, and creating a calm, reassuring and positive atmosphere. Her experience, knowledge, confidence and personality make her a great doula. She also has kids of her own and can relate to moms.

I wish I could give a 6th star. I was nervous to give birth so I opted to get a doula…read more I can't say enough good things about Holly--she was truly a lifesaver during my birth experience. From the start, her calm, grounded energy helped me feel supported and confident, even when things didn't go according to plan. When my labor stalled, Holly guided me through exercises that actually got things moving--my water broke soon after, and she also shared positions that helped my baby flip. Her pain management workshop gave me tools I leaned on hard during some intense moments. And when my epidural failed (twice!), Holly didn't miss a beat. She advocated for me when I was in pain and made sure I felt heard and cared for. I honestly don't know what I would've done without her. She played a huge role in turning what could've been a traumatic experience into something empowering. If you're considering a doula, do yourself a favor and call Holly. She's the real deal.

UPDATE 3/20/26: This is now my second time using Chicago Family Doulas and I'd give alllll the…read morestars if I could! Another amazing experience. We were paired with Tiana for sibling care and she was everything you'd want in someone caring for your children - kind, caring, professional, intuitive and FUN. My 5 and 2 year old loved spending time with her. She was extremely communicative before, during, and after her time with us. She sent us regular updates with videos and photos too. The whole team is very engaged and responsive including the admin team and the owner. You can tell they all care deeply about this work and their clients. I would not hesitate to use this team for any type of doula service in the future and I recommend to anyone considering these types of services for their family.

We had a great experience with birth doula and postpartum doula support. Erin and Brittany were…read moresuch great guides for us as first time parents and made us feel supported through each step in the process. Thank you!

We love Heather and Victoria. We worked with 312Doulas as we prepared for the arrival of our first…read morechild. They were fantastic. We engaged them at about 18/20 weeks in the pregnancy and were able to take advantage of the pregnant person weekly zoom meeting (which provided a wonderful support system through the pregnancy), the birth classes (which were more evidence-based and intimate than what my hospital offered), and they were available for any questions (which gave us another opinion outside of our OB). On the day of our birth, my husband was able to engage with them via text and let them know how things were going. Heather arrived at the hospital and was able to offer comfort measures, support, and coaching that helped both my husband and I feel that we could do THIS! :) In addition, they were able to relieve my husband and let him get some sleep and they got me ice and food, etc. Just so kind. Once I started to push, Heather was there to coach us and encourage us and then take pictures of our new family when our baby girl came. Heather had to leave (they work 12-hour shifts) and Victoria slid in, so quickly I didn't realize it was happening and never felt alone. Victoria then stayed to help us breastfeed and get settled in. After our birth, we had a postpartum call to ask any questions and now participate in the new parents' weekly zoom which already has been super valuable. We'd highly recommend working with 312Doulas.

312 Doulas was recommended by a friend, and I'm so glad I listened! My review focuses on my doula…read more(Marie Weiss) and a course my partner and I took as part of our doula package. I delivered 12/19/21, and our little one is just over 2 weeks old. My doula was supportive, knowledgeable, and responsive. I expected a slow labor (first child) but had the opposite. My water broke around 4pm, and contractions came on quick and strong. All Marie needed to see was a screenshot of the app I was using to time my contractions to say, "time to go to the hospital" (my partner and I would have probably held off--so glad we listened!). I arrived 6cm dilated, and she helped me navigate an unmedicated birth (consistent with my birth plan). She offered excellent labor support (breathing reminders, holding my leg, walking me through decisions) and advocating (e.g., anytime someone walked in the room, she immediately approached them and asked who they were, why they were there, etc.). As part of our package, we took the 6-week Evidenced Based Birth course (founder: Rebecca Dekker; teacher: Heather McCullough), and we both loved it. The course meets weekly for 2 hours to discuss material presented in asynchronous modules. The material is informative, clear, and helped us make many perinatal decisions. There were many topics my partner and I would not have discussed if it wasn't for the course, and they were so important. Thank you so much 312!

Melanie the owner is super passionate about pregnancy birth postpartum experience and helped me…read moreevery step of the way. I would highly recommend her for ANY experience/items that she offers you won't be disappointed!

I can't say enough great things about Melanie. this was my first time encapsulating my placenta -…read moreand she was so kind, easygoing, thoughtful and insightful with the process. Im only 2 weeks postpartum and she has checked in on me more than some family members! she's hands down super professional and super sweet. I will definitely recommend her to everyone lol