Leah is all around an amazing doula to work with! She is knowledgeable, patient, calming, and…read moreoffers great advice to new parents during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. I knew from the first introductory phone call with her that she was the perfect fit for my needs. My review will go into detail on my labor and delivery experience and how having Leah made all the difference. If you purchase the L&D inclusive package, Leah's prenatal lessons are split up into three sessions so that there is no information overload. Since my pregnancy occurred during a time when all prenatal classes were converted to virtual web based lessons (COVID concerns), having Leah come to our house and show us ball exercises and techniques in person was really helpful for both me and my husband. I went into early labor which lasted for almost a week (baby was late). It was very painful for me with an extremely itchy belly and contractions keeping me up at night. I was in tears at one point just wanting to go to the hospital, and it was helpful to call Leah to consult with her what I should do. She calmed me down, talked me through my options, understood (from my tone) my pain level, and offered positive encouragement to remind me not to give up. Eventually, I found out via a blood test that I had a liver bile complication (cholestasis) which required me to head to the hospital on short notice for an induction. Luckily Kaiser allowed two support people (protocol as of early December 2021), so when I went into active labor, Leah was allowed in the delivery room with me. Without prompting she started massaging my legs/neck/shoulders, tied back my hair, and put a towel on my forehead to help relax me. I chose to go with an epidural, so each time I needed to flip over (so that the medication doesn't pool on one side of your spinal cord), Leah would help adjust the peanut ball to be comfortable so that I could keep on laboring until it was time to push. At a critical point after two hours of pushing, the doctors told me I needed to make a choice between vacuum assist or a C Section, both of which were undesirable to me. There must have been 15 nurses and doctors swarming in my room all trying to talk to me at one time while I was trying to make a decision. Leah helped by offering a middle ground option for me to try pushing in different positions first because she sensed my hesitation to go forward with only those two options. In the very end, I still had to go with vacuum assist, but if not for the extra pushes in other positions, the vacuum attempts would have failed and I would have needed to go to the operating room. Without Leah advocating for us, my husband and I would have likely just listened to the doctor and I probably would have needed the C Section, so I'm very grateful Leah was there to intervene in a sensitive way that didn't undermine the doctors professional judgment. I also purchased postpartum visits from Leah and she is an absolute gem when it comes to being supportive of all the things a new mom is trying to figure out in the first month postpartum. She is like a baby whisperer, always knows how to calm down my newborn (he loves to fuss and cry when it's just my husband and I). I'm very grateful to her for helping with household chores, giving me time to take a nap, watching the baby, and even bringing us hot meals. She also showed us how to give infant massages and a mind-blowing way to change diapers with no hassle and no more messy blowouts. Please trust me when I say Leah is a superstar! You will not regret working with her.

Having Leah as our doula was one of the best decisions we made for the birth of our daughter. We…read moreweren't sure about having a doula at first, but we heard how beneficial they can be to your delivery and we wanted to learn more. Leah met us at our house for a consultation and a friendly chat. We knew immediately that she would be a great fit for our family. Leah helped us feel comfortable and she showed genuine interest in getting to know us and our expectations for the birth experience. She was warm and kind, but we could tell she would be able to stand up for us if necessary. We especially appreciated Leah's philosophy of healthy mom and healthy baby, whatever it takes. We knew she would be an advocate for our birth plan no matter what. Leah helped make our delivery more comfortable and calm. She provided guidance for my husband and encouragement for me. She came super prepared and stayed with me the entire time to make sure things went as smoothly as possible. She tirelessly supported me emotionally and physically through her words and massage throughout my labor. We were so pleased with our birth experience and we owe so much of that to Leah. After the big day, she came by a few times in order to check on us and show us how to use things like the breast pump and baby carriers (and also get baby cuddles). She's been available to help us with any questions we have had. It was so helpful to have her as a part of our team and we strongly recommend any nervous parents-to-be to think of including her in theirs. We would definitely ask for Leah's help again!

Lisa has helped me tremendously. She provides relevant info to the specific problem. She helped…read moreme write a birthplan, which Kaiser sort of followed. Breastfeeding was a disaster, from my low milk supply, baby being tongue tied, mastitis, the wrong size flanges for the breast pump that Kaiser gave me. Lisa helped me with homeopathic remedies, support, and information about medications that others have found useful (she does not prescribe or give specific medication dosing advice for prescribed medications). I don't know that I will be able to breastfeed, but it isn't for lack of trying, and Lisa made me feel better, that I have done everything humanly possible and if I can't it's not because I didn't give it my all. I highly recommend using her service. She is responsive, kind, reassuring, and just a lovely person who wants you and your baby to be healthy and strong. She loves babies and respects mamas. What could be better?

If you are wanting to hire a doula or have extra support, definitely hire Lisa. When my husband…read moreand I found out we were pregnant, I knew I wanted to have a doula assist with the birth. I also knew that I wanted to have a natural birth and that doulas could be a great assistance in reaching this goal. I spent a lot of time emailing doulas, a lot of them. Lisa was only one of a couple I heard back from. She responded promptly and was willing to work around our busy/late night schedule to set up an interview. Once we interviewed, I knew that I wanted to hire her. My husband was more apprehensive and had difficulty spending the money when he felt he would be helpful and not need a doula. However, he knew how much it meant to me and went with it. Throughout the pregnancy, we received so much useful information from Lisa. Any questions I had, she was always available to answer them. Towards the end of my pregnancy I had high blood pressure and my doctor wanted to induce me because of concerns regarding my blood pressure. I knew that it would be very difficult to have a natural birth with being induced but felt confident that given the support, I would be able to do it. I ended up having three different types of inducement measures, cervidil, a balloon, and pitocin. My labor was incredibly difficult, with a recommendation of an epidural discussed twice and a c-section discussed once. Lisa saved me from having to have any of this done. She suggested two specific positions to utilize while having contractions that are never done in hospitals. My doctor worked with Lisa and was willing to have Lisa try them with me. These positions saved me from having a c-section and made my goal of having a natural birth possible. She was not only available and there for me during my pregnancy and labor & delivery but afterwards as well. I have asked so many questions regarding breastfeeding and other things and she has always been available for me. She responds promptly to me and is constantly checking in on me (my baby was born 8 days ago). I cannot say enough positive things about Lisa. Hire her as your doula, it will be the best decision you can make. Following the delivery, my somewhat skeptical husband prior to labor and delivery said that it was worth all of the money we spent. He said hiring Lisa was one of the best decisions we made during this process. That, to me, says it all. Hire Lisa.

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!

Kristal has continued to keep in touch with me after she delivered my encapsulated pills. She…read morechecked in on me and showed that she cared ever since I first emailed her. It was the fact that she went above and beyond with her communication that caused me to choose her about the various others that offer the same service. The pills are helping me with the recovery after the birth of my daughter and I am grateful to Kristal.

I used Kristal for my 2nd child's birth, oh do I wish I had her help with my 1st. Kristal is a…read moresweet easy person to be around. She fit in perfectly with my friends and family. Making a birthing plan with Kristal was helped put me at ease, my pregnancy had complications and I was overwhelmed with the stress and all of the what if?!. Kristal was a wonderful support and she help me manage the pain during some extremely difficult back labor. If you take the time to meet with her you won't be disappointed.

We were incredibly lucky to have Andrea Berkey as our postpartum doula for six weeks, starting the…read moreweek our baby boy was born. As first-time parents, those early days felt overwhelming, and Andrea's calm presence and support made a world of difference. She has an amazing depth of knowledge about newborns and patiently taught us the basics--burping, de-gassing, bathing, and feeling confident handling our extra-small newborn. As a new mom, I was especially grateful for her help with feeding. She walked me through different feeding positions and helped me get fully set up and comfortable with pumping. Andrea was incredibly gentle and patient with our baby, often lulling him to sleep and holding him for long stretches. Knowing he was in such caring hands gave us so much peace of mind and allowed us to truly rest and recover. She consistently went above and beyond--staying an extra hour on her first day to accompany us to our baby's first pediatrician visit, keeping our baby's dresser organized, always refilling the water in our bottle cleaner before leaving, and sharing age-appropriate activities along with helpful tools and resources. We are really thankful for her little acts of thoughtfulness. She was always flexible and adapted her approach to what worked best for our family. Because of Andrea, we were able to enjoy the first weeks of parenthood without feeling constantly overwhelmed. We are so grateful for her support and cannot recommend her highly enough to any family looking for a knowledgeable, compassionate, and thoughtful support system!

Andrea is a wealth of knowledge about newborns and postpartum: nursing and latching,…read more mastitis prevention and management, baby weight gain, wake and sleep patterns, identifying types of baby cries, burping tricks, pumping, bottle and syringe feeding, baby quiet alert state, integrating older siblings, rhythms and strategies for getting through the nights, setting boundaries with overzealous friends and family, and just generally getting your sea legs with a new baby no matter how seasoned a parent you are. Some of this info, tips and tricks seem to be lost over the years and generations but she has honed it and is holding the flame alive for us. She is a sought out favorite of other doulas and midwives themselves. I'm not sure there is a bigger recommendation than that! I initially thought the most helpful move would have been having a night doula but I actually benefited much more from Andrea's support and education during the days - which turned out to make the nights so much more manageable and less mysteriously hard. This was not intuitive to me but I'm now an absolute believer in daytime doula support. She delivers all of this learning with a cheerful and steady calm I've rarely encountered and I look up to so much as a mother. I feel so lucky to have gotten to spend some time with her - she is unforgettable and her impact on my parenting is forever. I hope to pass on everything I learned from her to others.

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!

Stacey was our night doula for 8 weeks after we brought home our first baby…read more Having Stacey there to help us navigate the first few nights and weeks of newborn life was invaluable, she was able to give us advice and support for feeding, fussiness, extending sleep lengths, etc. The nights that Stacey was with us allowed my husband and I to truly rest, knowing our baby was under expert care. At first, we only booked Stacey for 6 weeks, but her experience and advice was so valuable that we extended for an additional 2 weeks, and we have no regrets! We'll miss having Stacey's help and guidance, but we feel so much more prepared for the next phase of parenthood after having her help.

Stacey was our night doula for our second child and a real game changer. We would count down the…read moredays before her next visit! She was really flexible in working with our schedules and provided such loving care to our baby girl. It's a big deal to have a stranger in your home with a newborn, and we always felt at ease with Stacey. I just wish I could replicate the long stretches of sleep she got with our baby haha.

I lucked out with having Sophia as my Doula!!…read more Sophia helped me deliver my first born baby boy this September 2022. I thought I was mentally prepared to have my first baby but I soon realized that if it wasn't for the support of the nurses and Sophia, my experience could have easily turned out not to be so great. The day of my delivery was the first time I met Sophia, but I instantly felt comforted by her with her calm demeanor and willingness to make my feel as comfortable as possible. As soon as Sophia got into the delivery room, she began helping me with my breathing and massages. She knew exactly what I needed. I asked her for recommendations on positions and technics to help with the contractions and she provided a selection (some that were new to me) to help with easing the pain. She helped me mentally with consistently providing encouraging words during each contraction and during my labor. Even after my delivery Sophia checks in with me during my postpartum. She really cares about my recovery and provides advice on whatever she can. She made my birth experience one to be proud of and I highly recommend her!!

My midwife recommended Sophia to me. I never knew I needed a doula until I met Sophia, I can't…read moreimagine the birth of my baby boy without her. As first time parents, she gave us insights what to expect before and during birth, and also helped us with my birth plan. When my contractions started, she came home and helped with pain reliving massages. Once in hospital, she kept continuing to support me. She made me and my husband be relaxed during the birth. I was able to handle the pain with her support ( no epidural or other pain relieving methods). She stayed with us in the hospital till my baby boy and I were well rested and kept checking on us with messages. She also visited me during postpartum and helped with a sitz bath, breastfeeding and pumping tricks. She is very easy to talk to and makes you feel comfortable quickly. Recommend her 100%

Deanna was not my doula; but I wanted a consultation with her to possibly become my doula. Her CV…read moreappeared impressive, an educator and DONA certified, which is why I emailed via Yelp and her website to set a consultation up....never received a reply. Ended up going with someone who was prompt and responsive. Expected more from a veteran doula.

When my husband and I were preparing for our first baby to be born, I knew I wanted to hire a doula…read morebecause I wanted to give birth naturally with no epidural or any other pain medications. We did our research and chose three doula services that we were interested in. After having multiple phone and in person meetings with all three, I knew Deanna was the right one for me. Meeting Deanna for the first time is like meeting a friend you haven't seen in a long time. She definitely gives you a sense of comfort. She's also very knowledgable and answered all of my husband's and I's questions we had about my pregnancy and prepared us for what to expect during labor and delivery. When that day finally came (about 2.5 weeks earlier than expected) Deanna and my husband were on it. Both of them worked so hard to make me feel comfortable. Deanna definitely helped my husband be more hands on during my labor which took over 24 hours. As much as I wanted to give birth vaginally, I eventually had to get a c-section after pushing for 6 hours and trying all the possible birthing positions Deanna recommended. I was also prepared going in to the operating room as Deanna also educated us about what would happen if I was to get a c-section. Deanna was by my side the whole time up until I had the c-section. When the nurses where not available Deanna was moving the bed to get me to a comfortable position and also helping me get to the bathroom. So if you're looking for a knowledgable doula with lots of experience and is hands on, I would definitely recommend Deanna.

We loved working with Redwood Doulas and would highly recommend them!…read more Kymberlie is SO incredibly warm, understanding, empathetic, and compassionate. She was a great help in setting up the initial meetings with doulas who she thought would be a good match for us and figuring out schedules and such. During a postpartum call, she was so kind and empathetic. I just can't say thank you enough to her for her kindness. Doula Thais was our birth doula and was amazing in every way. She was incredibly supportive to both my husband and I, helping us navigate the unknowns pre-birth, during labor, and afterward. I had some medical issues crop up that required an extended postpartum stay and she was so so kind and continued to reach out and check in on me, which meant SO much to me. We also did a baby wearing session with her and that helped both of us feel more comfortable that we were wearing our baby correctly (those darn things have so many darn straps and snaps and doodads, lol). Regarding postpartum night support, we had initially gone with a doula (who ran her own business) that we hired outside of Redwood Doulas. Within two weeks, we were desperately looking for other help as this private-doula-for-hire was just not jamming well with us. We reached out to Kymberlie and she was able to help us do some trials until we found a doula we matched well with. We were able to snag a couple weeks with Doula Ivette and we loved working with her just as much as we did with Doula Thais! Doula Ivette came in the first night and was able to identify that our baby was gassy and helped show us different techniques on how to de-gas her! We continued using those techniques for the next few months while our baby's digestive system was sorting itself out. We weren't able to continue with Redwood Doulas after a few weeks as we had contacted them too late and we weren't able to find continuity of care with just one doula. For this reason, we decided to hire another private-doula-for-hire outside of Redwood Doulas and similar to our first experience doing this, this private-doula-for-hire just was not as professional as the doulas from Redwood Doulas. I bring this up to highlight that our experience with Redwood Doulas was truly exceptional. I contacted and spoke with A LOT of doulas and different agencies around the bay area and the team at Redwood Doulas was my favorite to work with. They were always ON TIME! Which is like SO FREAKING KEY when you're a first time parent holding a baby who has been screaming their head off for hours hours and nothing you do is working and you need a break from that damn yoga ball bouncing you've been doing! Lol. When my private-for-hire-doula would come late, the intense baby screams tears at you every additional minute you're waiting. But Redwood Doulas never did this to us. They were always on time- thank. goodness. Lol. So all in all, work with them!! They're awesome. (Open to DM's if anyone has questions, etc!)

We went with Redwood Doulas for a night nurse. Our baby came 3 weeks early so our original doula…read morewas initially unavailable. Redwood doulas was responsive to help us get another interim doula right away. Doula Thais stepped in to help us super last minute. She was extremely professional and helpful. We were triple feeding when we first got back from the hospital, so doula Thais would every three hours bring me the baby, then bottle feed her while I pumped, then clean all the bottle and part pumps. When she left in the morning all of the bottle and pump parts were cleaned and organized and ready for the next day. She listened and helped us figure out our game plan for the nights. She was very communicative about her availability and it was great she was able to help on such short notice. We only had her for a few nights but would definitely recommend her to anyone considering her, she even followed up asking about our baby and how she was doing weeks later! Doula Suely was the other doula we worked with. We worked with Sue for about 7 weeks and she was so critical for helping us get peace and sleep. She was great and easy to work with and schedule shifts for the week. She went along with whatever schedule and plan we wanted for the night. But when we were uncertain about something, or wanted advice for reflux and spit up she was extremely helpful with her advice. You could tell the love and care she had for our baby! It's nerve wracking handing your baby over to someone for the entire night but it was so easy to trust Sue. She helped us get some extremely critical sleep and always ensured my pump parts and the bottles were clean in the morning. We ended up extending our contract by three weeks because Sue's help was so critical to our family. I can't recommend Sue enough!!