Grace, Joel, and Lily

6/24/2024

Working with Michelle as our doula was hands down the best decision we made when preparing the birth of our first baby! From the first consultation, we immediately felt a strong connection with her and knew she would be a wonderful support person for us. Michelle has a deep passion for helping families have a safe and comfortable birth, and her knowledge and experience made us feel much more at ease as we prepped for our little one.

Michelle helped us develop our birth plan with compassion and care, asking what our biggest fears or anxieties were, and providing helpful ways to work through those feelings. She was always organized and prepped to answer our questions and provide additional, evidence-based resources to us. We really valued that she validated our feelings and wholeheartedly supported our decisions to help us have the birth we wanted to aim for. 

Michelle went through comfort measures for us to practice at home and provided us with supplies which were perfect for prepping us to labor at home. At the hospital, Michelle helped to navigate the lingo or questions staff had for us, always making sure we were feeling informed and comfortable with next steps. When I doubted myself, she helped to give me the strength to keep going, and her words of affirmation and physical help were always just what I needed to meet our baby in the way I'd always wanted.

Our labor was a truly empowering and joyful experience thanks to Michelle's guidance and support.

Rachel

2/12/2024

Michelle took it upon herself to make sure not only did she know our history, but also our desires. She made no judgments and supported our hospital birth. During my induction, we stayed in touch via text and then once it was time to come in Michelle was there very quickly. Michelle made sure we asked all the right questions during the birth. During the pushing phase of labor I had to make fast decisions. The baby wasn’t in danger so Michelle encouraged me to think about next steps to make sure that I was making decisions with a clear head and could process the information the doctors were giving me. Michelle made me feel safe and reassured. Her confidence yet compassion really helped me get through. I’m so grateful for my living baby and I’m grateful for Michelle being part of the equation that made it happen.  Michele even stuck around to continue taking pictures and help my baby learn the perfect latch.

Tammy F

1/31/2024

When we first found out we were expecting our first child, we immediately knew we wanted to explore the idea of having doula support us through our labor and delivery experience. We first met Michelle through a video visit and fell in love with her level of care and support.  My reason for seeking doula support was due to a lot of medical anxiety surrounding giving birth. Michelle listened to our anxieties was so kind and understanding. I loved her trauma-informed care and she made me feel safe during my prenatal experience and in the delivery room.

Michelle provided multiple visits, check-ins, and phone calls under our perinatal timeline. She kept us accountable and asked thought-provoking questions. On the evening of our delivery, she adjusted to the last-minute change of our birthing hospital and met us in Oakland instead of San Jose. Having her in an unfamiliar hospital and space made my partner and I feel safe and secure. We felt that Michelle's experience, care, and compassion allowed us to focus on the pregnancy, labor, and delivery with love and excitement. She honored my birth plan, taught us so much, and empowered us. We felt her presence was invaluable and would recommend her service to anyone seeking doula support. My partner and I couldn't have done it without her. Even to this day, we remind each other of how grateful we are to her and everything she's done for us. 

Anne S

11/8/2023

My husband and I loved having Michelle as part of our birth journey for our first baby. We live away from our families and wanted to have someone who has been through the birthing experience with us on our pre-birth prep and in the hospital with us during labor. I specifically was worried about the pain of labor and how to handle it and my husband was most concerned about how to advocate for me and what we wanted in the labor and delivery room at the hospital since we've never been through a birth before. Working with Michelle before delivery, she helped us both to work through those fears. During our meetings she took the time to talk to us about how we were feeling and to understand where we were coming from. From there she used her knowledge and experience to give us advice on how to face those worries that we had. I think that was the most helpful part of having a doula - helping us understand what to expect and how to handle our fear of the unknowns. An unexpected perk, which was nonetheless extremely important were all of the resources she gave us for the delivery plus the physical prep she did with us in advance. I can't begin to express how comforting it was to have Michelle with us during delivery in the hospital. Even though we felt well cared for by the nurses, because we had been working with Michelle for months, having her with us meant so much more. She brought a comforting, calming and known presence into the room. She even took some photos and videos that I cherish of the moment my daughter was born. We truly loved having Michelle with us and would highly recommend her to a friend or family member looking for a doula.

Priscilla

11/7/2023

Michele was everything I needed her to be: kind, compassionate, warm, understanding, and invaluably helpful.

She listened to the fears I had leftover from my previous traumatic birth and gave me the tools I needed to feel at peace and prepared during this new pregnancy. I felt heard and cared for.

Perhaps most importantly, she educated and prepared my husband as well, ensuring he would be ready and well-equipped to support me during labor and birth. She shared resources with him through a variety of ways (books, video links, printed cheat sheets) and communicated with him during my three day labor at home. With Michele’s guidance, my husband knew which exercises to help me through to get baby in a good position and what to do to help relax me during contractions.
It was because of Michele that my husband became the best birth partner I ever could have asked for.

We are forever grateful to her.

Tom Albert

11/6/2023

Having Michelle as my birth doula was the best decision we made! She exudes calmness and kindness. She is very knowledgeable and also empowers you to make the decision that's aligned with your values. She was truly my advocate during the birthing process, encouraging me to take time to ask questions and validated and supported me during a difficult and stressful labor. I had a lot of anxiety throughout my labor and she was able to validate my concerns while also making me feel safe and taken care of. She taught my wife supportive positions to help me during the labor and guided us through movement. Birth comes with so many unknowns and intense emotions, and having Michelle in the room with me provided a sense of safety and support that's hard to fully describe. She also provided support postpartum as she helped me process my birth story. I'm so grateful for her and would recommend her to everyone!