Nichole  Virag Photo

Nichole Virag

Birth Doula and Photography

Brooklyn, NY Serves families in Brooklyn and Manhattan

https://nicholevirag.com

Birth Fee

$1200 to $1800

Postpartum Rate

$40 to $50

Availability Remarks: Available around the clock! Overnights available.

Birth Fee

$1200 to $1800

Postpartum Rate

$40 to $50


Birth Doula Experience

6 years and 55 births attended

Postpartum Doula Experience

6 years and 10 families served


Doula Training

  • Life Cycles Doulas, September 2017

Type of practice: Solo practice

Clients per month: 0 to 3 births and 0 to 3 postpartum families

Attends hospital births? All Hospitals

Attends birth center births? All Birth Centers

Attends home births? Any Home Birth
I cannot attend home births where there is no midwife present d/t liability.


College Education

BA/BS

MA/MS


Special Services Offered

  • Abortion support
  • Antepartum doula support
  • Bereavement doula (pregnancy & infant loss)
  • Cloth diapering education
  • First Aid and CPR
  • Lactation consultant/counselor services
  • LGBTQIA+ Support
  • Miscarriage support
  • Photography - Birth
  • Reduced rates for women considering adoption
  • Satellite doula (for remote and rural clients)
  • Sibling support (for your older children at the birth)
  • Surrogates and intended parents
  • Therapist or counselor
  • Virtual and remote doula support

Relevant volunteer or advocacy work

Certified Lactation Counselor w/ The Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice Masters of Science in Midwifery: newly graduated! Master of Social Work: Specializing in community advocacy and children's mental health

Fee Details

Hello! I am a birth doula with a background in supporting families through big changes. With extensive education in midwifery, lactation and social work I am fully equipped to support my clients throughout their birthing year. In addition to the standard of providing information about birth and comfort care measures, I specifically specialize in protecting your emotional space. I want to make sure that you feel involved, empowered and in charge of your birth experience. I offer birth photography so clients can look back on the biggest day of their life with an extra tool to process. Visit my website to learn more and scroll through some pretty empowering birth photography. I offer my fees on a sliding scale based on need and package size.

Service Area

Brooklyn, NY Serves families in Brooklyn and Manhattan

Client Testimonials for Nichole Virag

Post a testimonial for Nichole Virag

Jess G

2/26/2020

Nichole was recommended by my Midwife, saying that she had a wonderful presence to her. This was absolutely correct! I had researched and interviewed several doulas for my planned homebirth. From our first phone call and then subsequent inperson meeting I knew Nichole had the calm and balanced personality I needed. She met with my husband and I two additional time prior to the birth and befriended our dog which helped for my lengthy labor.  During my labor I was focused inward while my husband supported me and Nichole supported us both.  She offered motivation and encouragement when I was exhausted and labor was stalled. Nichole was helpful throughout the process and was able to capture some amazing moments on camera that I will have forever. I am very grateful for Nichole being part of my daughters birth.

Elena Lonergan

6/16/2019

My husband and I truly appreciate having Nichole by our side for the birth of our first child. When we first met with her, we both felt she is genuine, supportive, down to earth, and a social justice advocate who cares deeply about empowering women and their families. I appreciated that Nichole is trained as a social worker and is knowledgeable about mental health and trauma-informed care. In addition, she is well versed in research and evidence-based practices. All of this very much resonated with us, so we agreed that we wanted to have her as our doula.

Nichole met with us for two sessions prior to our delivery, in which we discussed what to expect at the hospital, our birth plan, and different coping strategies. Nichole also shared a list of websites and articles with evidence-based information, which helped us feel informed and empowered about our options. She was unbiased and truly wanted us to make choices that reflect our needs and values as a couple.

On the day of our delivery, Nichole came to the hospital and helped us cope with my initial labor. I was in labor for 5 hours before having a Cesarean because our baby was a breach. Due to the position of my baby, I was not allowed to get out of bed or move freely, so Nichole offered emotional support, gentle reminders to breathe, and empowering words that I was coping well. She also offered soothing and comforting massage. She truly helped me feel grounded and supported.

While Nichole was not allowed in the OR during the Cesarean, she met with us immediately after. Again, she was extremely encouraging and supportive. We also met with her once we were at home with our baby.  At that meeting, she spent time checking in and offering support with breastfeeding. She was extremely knowledgeable and gave us resources and information in an empowering way. Overall, we highly recommend Nichole and appreciate her sensitivity and thoughtfulness. 

Kaitlyn Hils

1/23/2019

We are so thankful that we found Nichole and that she walked with us during this incredibly special season in our lives. Once we met Nichole, we both knew that she was the perfect addition to our birth team. Our personalities were a great fit. She was very relatable and we appreciated her knowledge and experience.

Nichole came to our home twice before the birth.  We reviewed birth planning and comfort measures.  During each session we reviewed a lot of things that we had not thought about before. It was very helpful and we learned a lot. In addition to these sessions, Nichole would check in with me quite often throughout the pregnancy to see how everything was going and ask if we had any questions or needed any support with anything. It was really wonderful to have another resource to turn to when we had questions.

Nichole’s real value came on the day of delivery - I can’t imagine how I would have done it without her.  As things were progressing, Nichole came to our house and worked with me through just a few contractions before gently suggesting that we start to think about heading to the hospital soon. While she was not at the house with us for long, I was thankful that she was willing to drive to the house first before going to the hospital with us. At the hospital, she provided the perfect support and was truly invaluable. She let my husband and I work together but knew when to step in to give him a break and offer a little extra support. My husband and I both greatly benefitted from Nichole’s support.

In addition to everything mentioned, Nichole offered birth photos which are incredibly special to have.

We could not be happier with our little one’s birth and Nichole played a key part in making it so special. We look forward to working with Nichole again in the future!

Jessica Brewer

11/17/2018

Nichole was our first interview, but after meeting with her, we knew we had found the right fit. As soon as she walked into our home, I felt her calm and warm presence fill the room. She was confident, understanding, supportive...and this was just the first time I met her! Throughout the rest of my pregnancy, she checked in with me often. Each time I reached out for advice, she listened intently to what I was trying to say, supported me with encouraging words, and offered a variety of solutions to try if needed. At my birth, she was an incredible support. She checked in with me during early labor and left it up to me to decide when I would need her, but made herself available to me the entire time. While at the hospital, she knew when to give me space and when to step in. She was quick to meet my needs and thought of comfort measures I wouldn't have thought of myself. I think she was also a huge asset to my partner, who was able to joke with her, look to her for guidance, and simply stay by my side while she took care of other things. Besides her incredible emotional and physical help, her photos were phenomenal. It was an extra bonus that I didnt even realize I'd be so grateful to have. My partner works in videography and photography, so he was more than capable of taking great photos. I originally hired Nichole because of her personality and who she is, but was so so so pleasantly surprised by her work. I've looked through the photos hundreds of times already. My partner was so involved in the moment, that he wasnt able to capture the moments that Nichole was able to. Having those first moments of my daughters birth are worth all of the money in the world. In a nutshell, Nichole is kind, loving, confident, welcoming, humorous, intelligent, supportive, passionate, and calming. It was such a sense of relief to have her at my birth, and anyone would be lucky to have her as their doula.

Alyssa Cheman

10/8/2018

I am so incredibly thankful that we came across Nichole. My midwife had been bugging me to get a doula and I didn't know if it was something that we could afford. I posted in a facebook group about my options and many doulas responded, but when I saw Nichole something just kind of clicked! We talked on the phone and she was our doula! We had been planning a homebirth and I didn't feel nervous about it, but as soon as we had our first meeting with Nichole I realized that we had needed her and felt so calm about our plans because of her. She is so knowledgable about birth and when she told me she was only 25, the same age as me, I was honestly shocked! She seems like she's been doing this forever. My baby decided to stay in until 42+6 so we had to change our homebirth plans to an induction at the hospital. Nichole was so supportive of everything and we met with her the day before we would go to the hospital. She calmed my nerves and made me feel so much better about everything. She met us at the hopsital when we checked in, and as soon as I texted her in the morning that I needed her, she was there in 20 minutes. She worked wonderfully with my husband and I am so thankful for the two of them. I am so happy with my birth and how it all went and I honestly don't think I could have done it without Nichole. She also took the most beautiful pictures!!

Laura Weir

4/5/2018

We were pregnant with our second baby but planning our first hospital birth. Being new to the area, we were thinking it could be helpful to have a doula. We met with Nichole and felt very comfortable. At 37 weeks we found out our baby was breech and decided to switch providers. She helped us through a lot of the stressful decisions involved in a breech baby and was very supportive. We appreciated her help with writing our birth plan and knowing what was most important to include in it. She also was very accommodating in our meetings despite how far away we lived.

WhenI went into labor we were afraid the delivery would go quickly, so she met us at the hospital early on. She and my husband worked well together at encouraging me, suggesting things to help with labor, and giving me space when I needed it. It was a really nice bonus to have her taking photos too! Her sense of humor helped us relax when we were stressed. She stayed a little while after delivery to make sure we were settled. Having a postpartum visit in our home was really nice. She had our photos edited within a week and they turned out great.

Overall we were very pleased with Nichole as our doula and would recommend her to other expecting parents! She loves what she does and goes above and beyond.

Bianca DiStefano

2/7/2018

Nichole was the single best asset we involved in our birth. Proactive, warm, engaging, informative, and affirming, Nichole was not only an amazing source of strength and practical support for me, but she empowered my husband during our entire birth to make the experience of becoming a family of 3 positive and inclusive for everyone. Although we hired her late in our pregnancy, she was informative and reasuring throughout the end of our prenatal care, actively finding us resources and encouraging us when it came to the things that we were still uncertain or worried about. When the time for birth came, she brought a grounding, engaging energy and comprehensive knowledge on physical, emotional, and spiritual support through every step. When our birth did not go according to plan, Nichole was an invaluable asset in helping us make informed choices that we felt good about even when they deviated from our ideal scenario. Her gentle advocacy with hospital staff made a huge impression on everyone around us and allowed me to experience birth in a positive, transofrmative way that I treasure. Her presence, diligence, and caring changed everything about that day, and my husband and I reminisce positively on our birth and feel completely that becoming a family of 3 was healing and transformative, filled with understanding and absolute support rather than fear and frustration. She is not only an amazing doula but one of the most wonderful people we've ever met with the ability to meet us exactly where we were at every step of the way so that when the time came, we felt incredibly good about our birth.

Birth Availability for Nichole Virag

= Available. Calendar last updated: 12-01-2023

Postpartum Availability for Nichole Virag

= Available. Calendar last updated: 12-01-2023