Need at-home-birth midwife & doula recommendations near Berkeley
Hi everyone!
I just found out I am 4 weeks pregnant. I have a toddler already that I did a homebirth with, and the midwife team I used was terrible during the labor, despite perfect reviews online. I don't want to go through that again, the labor was very traumatic and the exact opposite of what I expected a natural experience to be like.
So this time I need to validate I guess more carefully. Please provide any detail possible, from how prenatal and postnatal appointments were, to how you felt during the labor, to the position you were in when you delivered, to whether they allowed you to be in the water tub for comfort, to how they handled complications or long labors, and how compassionate they were with you.
I didn't have a doula last time, I had my husband helping me, but everyone I talk to swears by them and it was exhausting for my husband and he was not the greatest at helping me with things like pain management, and he moved slow when I needed help immediately. So I will take any doula recommendations as well, please.
Near North Berkeley is highly preferred so I dont get stuck delivering while they are commuting :-) My midwife was in and out constantly--if yours stuck around, I'd love to know that too!
Thank you so much for your help, I deeply appreciate your time and support!
Parent Replies
Hi! I had a hospital birth, but I highly recommend Emma Reyes! She was incredible- couldn’t imagine doing it without her.
https://www.birthflowerdoula.com
I am so sorry to hear about your prior birth experience. It sounds like you're doing absolutely the right thing by asking these questions.
I am currently pregnant and planning to deliver at a hospital, but my doula, Yula Paluy, whom I found through BPN reviews, mentioned at our prenatal meeting that she also works with home deliveries. She is an excellent communicator, evidence-based, responsive, kind, and thorough. I feel in extremely good hands with her. She is completely respectful of the birthing parent's wishes and wants to make your vision for birth happen; she will not push any birth choices on you. She expects partners (e.g., spouse) to be present at every prenatal meeting, which I absolutely love--even though she is my doula, I still want and expect my husband to be there as my birth partner, and I know that because of her guidance and presence, he will feel more confident, informed, and comfortable about how to help me. She is based in/near North Berkeley, so she should be a good fit for you in that regard, too!
Yula utilizes a sliding scale for her fees based on your gross household income, and has a fund that allows her to offer doula services to people with lower incomes, which I think speaks volumes about her thoughtful, community-based values. You can learn more at her website: https://yulapaluy.com/doula. I am really happy about my decision to hire Yula based on our prenatal meetings so far. Wishing you the best of luck!
Hi! Im so sorry you had a traumatic birth experience. On that front, wanted to pass along the Birth Trauma Mama podcast (hosted by a therapist named Kayleigh Summers). I’m a perinatal therapist and many of my clients have found it helpful.
I don’t have a home birth recc, but on the off chance you’re open to a midwife-based birth center, I highly recommend Pacifica family maternity center in Berkeley. Happy to share more details if you’d like.
Congratulations!
I had the most incredible experience with Michelle Welborn of Welborn Baby and recommend her wholeheartedly. I didn't have an easy birth by any means, but everything from prenatal through birth and postpartum care was the BEST healthcare of any kind I have ever received. She's extremely knowledgeable and skilled, deeply compassionate, went way above and beyond for me and my whole family throughout the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods. She's based in SF and we're in N. Berkeley, but she knows how to make contingency plans for births during rush hour, etc. I would be happy to share more details if you're interested. Can't recommend her enough!
Good luck!
I highly recommend doula stephattaran [at] gmail.com
(925) 708-5277
Our midwife was an absolute dream. We had to hospital transfer and she stayed by our side every step of the way. And she’s been by 3 times this first week.
Alana at Ritual midwifery
Our incredible midwife who delivered our baby at Pacifica Family Maternity Center recently went back to supporting home births. She is beloved by everyone I’ve met who has worked with her, very seasoned and compassionate. My wife and I looked forward to every prenatal and postpartum appointment with her, and were super sad when our care with her ended! I went into labor just as she got home from a delivery, and she went right back to the birth center (after a shower!) and was 100% present for the birth of our daughter, and spent an additional hour carefully and cheerfully suturing me back together. I felt incredibly safe and held the entire time. I recommend A’maya without reservations.
https://www.oaklandvillagemidwifery.com
I am sorry you had a traumatic labor experience. I had a high risk labor and definintely needed the support from my doula. I swear by them now as well because they are the one person in the room that is there for just you and your partner and we needed that extra support person with a clear mind because I'll kindly say my husband was going through it that day too ha.
Brijett with Mama Bear Birth Services is amazing. Calm, kind and really knowledgable as well as had a great balance of when to step in and make sure my birth plan was being followed. She recommended I labor on all fours as an option and I found it way more easy to stay in my labor zone that way and ride the contractions. Brijett made me feel really comforted, and kept boosting my confidence when I was feeling doubtful of the process. I am really thankful for that. This was similar to her prenatal appointments, she boosted my confidence each time, really listened to me, didnt dismiss my fears but helped me work through them. She is also a pre/postnatal pilates instructor so she also helped with my comfort throughout pregnancy and then prepared me for labor positions and great exercises for optimal baby position and comfort at the end of labor.
Check her out, and feel free to message me if you have any questions.
https://sites.google.com/view/sfbirthservices/home