Mychal Shifrah Photo

Mychal Shifrah

Rethinking Reproductive Health

Los Angeles, CA Service range 35 miles

https://www.rethinkingreproductivehealth.com/

Birth Fee

$2500 to $3500

Postpartum Rate

$40 to $60

Birth Fee

$2500 to $3500

Postpartum Rate

$40 to $60


Medicaid and Third Party Insurers

Currently approved to receive payments from the following programs:


Birth Doula Experience

8 years and 150 births attended

Postpartum Doula Experience

7 years and 250 families served


Birth Doula Certifications

  • Doula Trainings International - Certified Birth Doula

Postpartum Doula Certifications

  • Doula Trainings International - Certified Postpartum Doula

Doula Training

  • DONA International-Approved Workshop, October 2018
  • Doula Trainings International , April 2020

Type of practice: Solo practice

Clients per month: 2 to 3 births and 1 to 2 postpartum families

Attends hospital births? All Hospitals

Attends birth center births? All Birth Centers

Attends home births? Any Home Birth


College Education

BA/BS


Special Services Offered

  • Abortion support
  • Antepartum doula support
  • Aromatherapy
  • Baby-led weaning
  • Babywearing education
  • Bereavement doula (pregnancy & infant loss)
  • Birth counseling for survivors of childhood sexual abuse
  • Childbirth education services
  • Cloth diapering education
  • First Aid and CPR
  • Lactation consultant/counselor services
  • LGBTQIA+ Support
  • Miscarriage support
  • Monitrice services
  • Mother blessing celebrations
  • Newborn care and parenting classes
  • Newborn care specialist
  • Pelvic floor health education & support
  • Photography - Birth
  • Placenta encapsulation
  • Satellite doula (for remote and rural clients)
  • Sibling support (for your older children at the birth)
  • Sleep educator
  • Stillbirth and infant loss support
  • Surrogates and intended parents
  • TENS units rental
  • Therapist or counselor
  • Vaginal steam/peristeam services
  • Virtual and remote doula support

Relevant volunteer or advocacy work

Queer, Midwife in residency, abortion activist and organizer, community sex educator.

Service Area

Los Angeles, CA Service range 35 miles

Certifications for Mychal Shifrah

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Certification

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Client Testimonials for Mychal Shifrah

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Joanna Gibbs

10/23/2019

Mychal was the third doula I spoke with on my birth doula search and I instantly felt a positive connection. Her knowledge and experience in labor and birth in combination with her kind, patient and down-to-earth personality was a great fit for me and my husband. My plan was to attempt a VBAC for my second birth and it was so helpful and therapeutic to have Mychal to discuss and debrief the outcome of my first birth and prepare for my second birth. She was very helpful in empowering my husband and giving him tools in which to support me during labor, which made us both more confident. The weeks leading up to my baby's birth were somewhat stressful and Mychal was such a calming and reassuring voice and ear during this time. During my baby's birth Mychal was a confident yet calming presence. Her firm yet gentle touch and reassurance gave me strength and confidence. She was amazing at working with and communicating with the hospital staff and providing helpful directions to my husband and other members of our birth team. We had a successful VBAC, which was such a healing experience for me and my husband and I am so happy and thankful we had Mychal's support in this outcome. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Mychal!

Zel and Andrew

10/10/2019

Mychal was amazing! She has a caring, supportive, and open doula practice that guided us through the birthing process. From coming to our home for multiple pre-birth visits to staying in touch via phone and text, all of our questions and concerns about giving birth along the way were answered. And on the birth day, Mychal went above and beyond. She was with us from about 5am when labor became intense through the birth over 12 hours later. It's hard to describe the support she provided that day without giving our full birth story. But suffice to say, with her support we were able to have a birth that followed our birth plan. And even more than that, Mychal's support helped make the day, while long and challenging, a beautiful and memorable day for our family. We couldn't have asked for a more thoughtful and positive person to accompany us on this birth journey. Anyone who has her as their doula will be lucky to benefit from her care, knowledge, and guidance. We recommend her so much!

Alyssa V.

10/8/2019

Mychal was everything we hoped we would find in a doula and more!! I wasn’t sure if a doula was for me as I wanted to have a hospital birth and knew I wanted an epidural (although she is perfect if that isn’t your preference too). I was concerned that many doulas were better suited for mom’s looking to feel the pain and was worried about being judged or persuaded about my birth preferences. Mychal made me (and my husband) so comfortable from the moment we met her at our home. She felt absolutely right to have at our son’s birth. Mychal was a wonderful advocate at the hospital, kept our delivery room super zen until it was time to push, and was an amazing team player with the nurses. She worked with the nurse to do several positions to help with delivery after I received my epidural. If you are looking for a doula who is caring, warm, assertive, but not pushy, and a wonderful listener, Mychal is your person. She was a major part of how wonderful my son’s delivery went and even came to visit us the next day! A huge (and priceless) bonus were the tons of photos she was able to grab right after he was delivered allowing us to be present in the moment then and remember that magical time now. Trust me, I’ll be calling her when it’s time for round 2 :)

Anne Fan

9/17/2019

Mychal was my birth doula in April 2019 when I had my first child. She is informative, caring, knowledgeable, compassionate, and experienced. Mychal guided my husband and I throughout the pregnancy and gave us excellent referrals and research information so that we were able to make informed decisions. On the day of the birth, she rushed over to my home and accompanied us to the hospital. She was extremely helpful during the delivery process, coaching and supporting me. She also took amazing photos and videos of the birth. She interacted professionally and courteously with the UCLA midwives and nurses. I highly recommend Mychal as a birth doula. She is absolutely wonderful! 

Sarah Khoury

7/6/2017

My husband and I are so happy that we found Mychal after a tough search for a doula. We felt that we clicked with her right away and were glad she took us on as clients even though I was late into my pregnancy. We mainly decided to look for a doula in order to prepare us for and ease our anxieties about potential complications and pain management, but Mychal ended up being even more critical to us in that her advice and advocacy saved us from an unnecessary medical procedure. She gave us the knowledge and confidence to advocate for ourselves in the hospital by asking the right questions, and she was a complete professional in the way she spoke to the hospital staff on our behalves. She treated all staff with respect while also making suggestions that worked for us and made the birth of our daughter a positive and memorable experience. She was also an incredible help postpartum, and I can’t imagine what labor and recovery would have been without her.


We highly recommend Mychal and wish her the best in her career as a doula. She’s a natural at this and an amazing, caring, intelligent human being!

Cynthia Yilmaz

6/15/2017

Where do I begin???  From my very first meeting with Mychal, I felt extremely comfortable.  She has a soothing presence about her that immediately put me at ease.  Moreover, I was impressed with how knowledgable she is about her profession.  Though where Mychal really stood out was during the birthing process.  She was such a support and an advocate on my behalf with the hospital staff, my husband and I were beyond grateful that she was there.  Mychal knew when to give words of encouragement and when to provide soothing back rubs.  Mychal will always occupy a special place in our hearts and we will forever be appreciative for her help as we welcomed our baby girl into the world.

Alex Yaghoub

12/18/2016

My wife and I had the privaledge of having the assistance of Mychal Balazs in the birth of our third child.  From our first meeting, we felt completely comfortable with her, and it was evident that she had our best interests as her top priority.  Her knowledge and experience helped ease our tensions and anxiety associated with the birth process.  Her knowledge about things that we hadn't even heard of became the tools that helped our birth experience become a spritual and memorable experience. We highly recommend Mychal, for helping us bring our precious little one into the world!

Kara Maguire

10/28/2016

Mychal was our doula for the birth of our first child this fall, and we're so happy we found her! Her two prenatal visits were a great chance for us to consider all the aspects of birth and baby related decisions for post-delivery, and her support during labor and delivery were invaluable. Mychal is well-prepared, knowledgeable and has a great calm energy. She was an excellent resource to both my husband and myself during the birth, and helped us process decisions under stressful circumstances! We'd highly recommend working with Mychal.

Alisa Mishayev

4/20/2016

My husband and I needed a doula who is smart, independently minded, assertive but gentle, professional, non-judgemental and caring. We met 4 doulas before we considered giving up. Mychal was our last interview, and we knew right away that she embodied all the qualities we were seeking.

We can’t say enough good things about Mychal. She had SO much information to give us including handouts to fill out, links to articles addressing our concerns, even games to play. She has so much knowledge and a keen intuition, which helps her to be empathic and also open and expressive with any needs or thoughts of her own. We were so glad she had been trained in the hypnobirthing and although she is a young soul, she approached our relationship with so much maturity, confidence, and love, that we trusted her whole heartedly to be there when we needed her. She brought many tools to our meetings, and often checked in on us through text and email. She has a HUGE heart and an awesome ability to anticipate a laboring woman’s needs and then meet them.

Mychal was wonderful with the staff at the hospital. We were truly impressed. She knew her role and assumed responsibility for it right away while also being extremely kind and considerate of the hospital protocol. She was up ALL night through my labor, and into her own birthday! She then couldn’t wait to meet our daughter again and came over that same week to check in and give us even MORE information about breastfeeding, etc.

Mychal has a very successful and long career ahead of her as a doula, as she possess all the qualities of a genuinely good person and outstanding doula. We will be sure to call on her again for future babies, and will always be grateful we found her. We recommend her highly to other families without reservation, and are happy to talk with anyone who would like to hear more about her.

-A&C Rosenberg

Birth Availability for Mychal Shifrah

= Available. Calendar last updated: 03-26-2024

Postpartum Availability for Mychal Shifrah

= Available. Calendar last updated: 03-26-2024