Doula Recommendation for Alta Bates Delivery

We worked with Maureen Layag for my June delivery at Alta Bates and we LOVED her. She was the perfect mix of supportive, knowledgeable and practical - my husband and I were both so grateful to have had her support both during and after the birth.

I highly recommend Lori Jaffe. She was my postpartum doula but wish I had been able to hire her for my birth!

Hi and congratulations! 

We worked with the wonderful Elyse https://www.thetopknotdoula.com/, if she isn't available I'm sure she can recommend other incredible doulas. 

She truly made a difference in the preparation and the birth. 

I hope it all goes well

This is a good resource that I was able to find my doula through: https://www.rootsoflaborbc.com/find-a-doula.html

We enthusiastically recommend Allison Stanton (https://www.allisonstantondoula.com/). She helped us prepare for everything that came our way, even when a medical complication came up at the end of our pregnancy. She still knew how to help us feel comfortable and ready. She asked questions to help us get ready in ways we didn't know we needed. And when the baby finally came she set the right tone in the room and made sure my wishes were heard.

Congratulations on your baby. Best of luck.

Hi, congratulations!  Here's my personal experience:  When I was pregnant it was very important to me to have a doula.  I had a vaginal delivery at Alta Bates with my partner and doula for support.  After the fact, I felt like it was a mistake to have hired the doula and regretted it a bit.  If I have another baby at Alta Bates, I am not planning to hire a doula.  Of course, I can't speak to what my experience would have been without a doula so I guess you have to take this with a big grain of salt.  The L&D nurses at Alta Bates are very experienced and very good.  I actually felt like having the doula there prevented me from fully connecting with the main nurse on each shift and taking advantage of what THEY had to offer.  The doula I hired had many amazing reviews but I ended up feeling a little let down by some aspects of her support while I was at Alta Bates.  Whether or not you have a doula with you for your labor, I encourage you to ask for what you want.  If you want the doula to do something differently, ask for it.  If you want the nurse to stay with you as much as possible, ask for it!  More popsicles - ask for it! Etc etc.