Birth Doula Recs for Alta Bates

I've recommended Jessica Catano in the past, and would still do so - she was my doula for 2 births and happens to be a CMT as well, so that was VERY helpful with both a short and long labor. You can find her contact info here: www.jessicaspeacefuljourneys.com

I’d highly recommend Erin Chapman who is also an IBCLC. You can look at her Yelp for a review from myself as well as many other mothers and parents. 

I had a great experience with Allison Stanton. I was similarly looking for someone who would work at Alta Bates and who was evidence-based (the latter of which I think is quite hard to find). This was my second child, and I had a successful VBAC. https://www.allisonstantondoula.com/

I worked with Pamela Star for my delivery at Alta Bates ~ 2 years ago. She is very experienced and was a calming presence in the delivery room. She helped me respectfully advocate for myself with hospital staff and was a huge support to both me and my husband during a very long labor. Here's her website: http://www.doulastar.com/

I strongly recommend Leonora Willis. She is familiar with the staff at Alta Bates and she was an amazing doula. Before birth, she visited with my husband and I twice in our home and gave labor suggestions based on the furniture and layout of our home. During her visit she also did Hands-On rehearsal with my husband. She is also a yoga teacher and has pregnancy classes that are great. As part of her doula package, includes post birth body work sessions and a closing ceremony  - I felt she was a hybrid birth doula and postpartum doula. Overall, she was phenomenal, highly recommend: https://leonorawillis.life/

I had a great experience with Lenore Musambacine (Luna Birth and Wellness https://www.lunabirthandwellness.com). She is very down to earth, warm, and knowledgeable. 

Hello, my husband and I recommend our doula we worked with, Brijett. She is definitely down to earth, warm and has a science background so her evidence based approach resonated with me. Seriously can’t imagine our birth experience without her, and she delivered my friend’s baby at Alta Bates, so she’s familiar.

https://sites.google.com/view/sfbirthservices/home
 

We have had great experiences with LorI Jaffe (I couldn't find an individual website for her but Googling her name pulled up several affiliated groups). She supported us through two births, one VERY LONG induction and one very fast non-medicated birth (baby was born in the car 5 minutes from Alta Bates!) I think she's doing mostly postpartum work now but might be worth reaching out nonetheless. 

With our hospital birth, she was great at helping us advocate for ourselves with medical professionals. She made my husband lie down and take a nap after 2 days of labor. She held one of my legs at the end to help me stay in the right position. And she was a quietly supportive presence through the whole process. 

The second birth she was the one sitting in the backseat with me who called 911 and said "so we're going to be at Alta Bates in a minute with this newborn what do we do?" Kept a cool head through a very chaotic car drive. 

Highly highly recommend :) 

I worked with Allison Stanton for the birth of my second at Alta Bates, in Oct 2022. She is fantastic. For the birth of my first in 2018, I interviewed almost a dozen doulas and while I found all to be highly qualified, I just didn't 'click' with any of them, and ultimately did not hire one. So I'm cognizant that this is a very personal choice but the qualities I really appreciated about Allison were her incredibly calm demeanor, her professionalism, that she was wholeheartedly supportive of a wide range of birthing approaches and outcomes (medicated, unmedicated, etc), and perhaps most importantly - that she had a ton of experience with Alta Bates births and a positive rapport with the staff there). 

I might recommend asking your OB for additional recommendations so you can interview a few people (again knowing that this is a very personal choice). Allison was a recommendation I got from my OB, who I trust immensely. Some folks want a doula who is staunchly in their corner and not afraid to butt heads with the hospital staff, but I did not want that kind of energy in the delivery room. I felt that Allison was an even more powerful advocate for me thanks to her solid relationship with the OBs and Alta Bates nursing staff.  If you ask your OB for their recommendations, there's a good chance you'll get someone with that same solid working relationship.  

We worked with Allison Stanton, who has lots of experience at Alta Bates. She did an amazing job of helping us understand our preferences, our strengths and challenges as individuals and as a couple, and to make a plan for the birth we wanted. Then, when the birth itself went completely off plan - as it tends to - she helped us navigate through the medical stuff and make the best of it. She was also an amazing support in the weeks afterwards as we processed some challenging experiences. 

https://www.allisonstantondoula.com/

Allison Stanton supported me and my partner as first time parents and I loved her. She knew the team and system at Alta Bates and felt that the staff respected her, which was great.  She was a wonderful advocate for us and let us know when/how to get more information/push back. She even brought Xmas lights for me to stay in my happy place, captured the birth on video and wrote up our birth story. She also helped me laborband push for 4 hours. I would recommend her in a heartbeat.