Your Partners in Pregnancy, Birth, & Postpartum Care

My wife and I worked with Brood for both birth and postpartum support as we became first time parents. This was, hands down, the best money we have ever spent. Emma was incredibly attentive, thoughtful, ridiculously patient and knowledgeable of the most up to date, evidenced-based birth and postpartum information. Emma made us both feel supported throughout the entire journey, starting from birth prep all the way to 5 weeks postpartum. Throughout our work together, Emma took their time to deeply listen and understand our context and preferences. My partner had to be induced in the end due to some potential complications and Emma was with us (physically and emotionally) through the entire process. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without them! As for the postpartum care: Not only is Emma incredibly attentive and empathetic, but they’re also an absolute joy to be around— it’s impossible to be in a bad mood around them, which is a MAJOR asset after 5 weeks of sleep deprivation!! Somehow the hospital lets you take babies home even when you’re a first time parent and frankly have zero clue what you’re doing. You can read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, etc. etc. but when it comes down to it babies are humans and therefore have unique needs and quirks. Emma’s personalized, in-the-moment support was critical during that massive life change for our family. They are truly a baby whisperer. We definitely both learned more from Emma helping us take care of our newborn than we did from any other resource. We will absolutely be hiring a Brood doula again in the future if we decide to have more babies!

I cannot say enough good things about our experience with Brood Care. Working with Brood helped my partner and I feel confident, safe, and supported during labour, birth and early postpartum. Emma was a guiding light as I navigated a complicated induction, 2-day labour, and c-section. Emma provided a ton of reassurance and logistical suggestions during the labour and birth process, helping navigate decision making (things like, what kind of questions to ask about my medically recommended induction? when to go to the hospital when on the cusp of early and active labour for hours and hours? etc). This was all so key at a time when I was very confused by labour proceeding in a different way that I had learned it would (and couldn't really discuss because I was in my own little induction pain cave!). I know my partner would have been really struggling to support me without additional--extremely knowledgeable and experienced--guidance and support. Emma also worked seamlessly with our hospital care team, including an amazing midwife (I'm sure due to the long relationship Emma already had with this midwife from many previous births). And critically, Emma's support was a huge part of me feeling truly at peace with every single decision I made during my birth and labour experience, despite nothing really going to plan in the slightest (as it seem things often do with birth!) I am so grateful to feel that way, because even though my birth was tough for me, I don't feel regretful, and I know so many people who struggle with those kind of feelings postpartum. Working with Brood/Emma helped me feel like I had asked the questions and gotten the answers needed to confidently proceed with decisions. I also cannot overstate how helpful and even necessary it was to have Emma's support in the immediate postpartum period. Emma brought so, so much joy and positive energy at a time when both my partner and I were struggling with sleep deprivation and overwhelm. I do not really want to try to imagine what this early postpartum period would have been like without Emma, because I know it would have been so, so much harder both emotionally and physically, on both my partner and me. We would have made do somehow, but I am certain that I would have been less able to take joy in our new baby. This ability to soak up all the newborn joy was a huge part of the gift that Emma gave us--the ability to begin connecting with her, rather than spiralling in hormones, anxieties, and exhaustion! We also learned so much from Emma about caring for a newborn. Emma taught us about feeding, soothing, getting our baby to sleep; they offered recommendations on gear, and fielded questions around "why is this happening?" or "should I worry about this?" Having them as a resource was so reassuring, confidence building, and just generally so much more mentally healthy than me googling things at 3 am...!! In sum, I can't say enough good things about our experience with Brood. It helped us manage a tough birth and early postpartum experience, enabling me and my partner to tap into so much joy and wonder, find our feet again, and feel confident to take on the next stages of parenthood. We're so grateful, and cannot recommend--Brood generally and Emma specifically--enough.

Working with Emma as our birth and postpartum doula was the best decision I made in my entire pregnancy. Here is why! - We had long, thoughtful prenatal visits, during which they asked me the type of questions that no one else had asked me during pregnancy, and thus got to know me in ways that no other care provider has before. - I had a person to text questions to, including the ones I was too embarrassed to ask anyone, or felt were ridiculous. The answers I got back were evidence-based, personalized, and made me feel much less ridiculous for needing to ask. - When plans changed quickly due to complications, Emma was there to talk everything through with me - not just explaining what was going on, but supporting me and my partners overwhelm, and, when we needed it, giving us step by step instructions for what we needed to do to get our selves, our home, and our hearts ready - As soon as I needed them for labour, Emma was there, bag packed to stay for as long as was needed, ready to do advocate for me in any way that was necessary. I felt at all times like they were ready and willing to go to bat for me and my partner. - Emma knew my birth plan better than anyone else, and was there to help me have the experience I wanted, while remaining flexible and safe. - In the fog of postpartum, the thing I looked forward to most were Emma's visits, where they calmed us down, gave us hands on demonstrations, and, in general, gave advice that was personalized to our actual individual baby. They followed up with me on my recovery so thoroughly and tenderly, and made it feel okay for me to take up the space I needed to heal. There's a lot more I could say, but my overall point is that I think that every pregnant person should have access to a brood doula, and my family is so, so grateful for the care we received.

We used Brood (Hayaat) to welcome our first baby, in May 2022. I can’t imagine Hayaat not being with us throughout my pregnancy and at our birth. I felt so at ease. She helped us prepare for the day, and was an advocate for our birth wishes. I will never forget the support I also received postpartum. I can’t recommend Brood enough to families who are going through a pregnancy, welcoming babies or postpartum. The support you receive is incredible.

We had a great experience with our post partum doula, Tara. I felt at ease leaving my newborn with her so I could actually get some rest without worrying. She even figured out the best way to soothe my baby, she has such a natural gift for caring for babies.

My husband and I used help of Brood doulas for our baby who was born in May 2024. As first time parents we were very nervous about things to come and being thousands of miles away from family we could only count on ourselves to navigate different stages of my pregnancy, prepare for birth and then start to care for the newborn. We wouldn’t be able to succeed without professional postpartum help from Brood. I appreciated that Brood doulas pay you a meet and greet visit way before your due date and you can ask them questions, connect and are encouraged to message with your concerns. We requested both daytime and nighttime help and one thing I want to stress to all the parents to be: you will be grateful for all the help and support you can get in the first weeks! If I would do it again, I would definitely book doulas 24/7 for the first 2 weeks at home! Thank me later 🙂 Doulas that we were matched with took care of me and my baby as well as guided us and taught us how to wash, clean, feed, calm our baby, etc, what signs to look for to prevent skin rash, deal with gas and colic and many more essentials. I could quickly start trusting them to be left with our precious little one and have some time for my own needs and that’s invaluable for a postpartum mom to keep sane. We continued with doula care for several months, we kept the night shifts for almost half a year and we never had any questionable experience, issues or misunderstanding with Brood team and doulas, which says a lot about their professionalism, consistency of service and high standards of care. Highly recommend to all parents to be and new parents!

When I was pregnant with my second baby, I knew I needed to plan my postpartum time while still pregnant in order for me to get the support I know I'll thank myself later for. After my first, I underestimated how much sleep, recovery, and self-care mattered—not just for me but for the entire family. This time, I planned ahead, and having Kristy as our nighttime postpartum doula was one of the best decisions we made. To be honest, the idea of having someone stay in our home—someone I barely knew—felt a little daunting. But after meeting Kristy in person before our baby arrived, I felt immediately at ease. She’s super friendly, calm, trustworthy, and engaging in this quiet, soothing way that just makes you breathe a little easier. Kristy stayed with us for several nights, and I can’t overstate how much of a difference she made. Knowing I could hand off baby duties during the night meant I could actually sleep—restful, restorative sleep that made me feel human again - between short breastfeeding sessions. She also helped with little things around the house, like folding laundry and doing the dishes, which felt like big things when we didn’t have the energy to tackle them ourselves. She even baked muffins so I’d have something quick and delicious for those middle-of-the-night breastfeeding hunger pangs—or breakfast the next morning which delighted especially my first kiddo. It wasn’t just the practical support, though. Kristy brought a sense of calm and relief into our home. She made the experience of having someone care for our baby and stay overnight in our space feel natural, supportive, and so easy. In fact, I felt so cared for that we ended up booking a couple more nights with her. This time around, we made sure to prioritize sleep, knowing that when we parents are well-rested and cared for, everyone in the family benefits Kristy was such a big part of making that happen, and we couldn’t be more grateful for her warmth, expertise, and care. If you’re considering postpartum support, we can’t recommend her enough.

The Brood team has provided us with excellent care throughout our birth and postpartum journey with our first. We had Saphren help us in preparing for and provide knowledge of labour and delivery, and Ash supported us as Saphren’s backup during our labour and delivery- and both were absolutely fantastic in their roles, and Ash had such a calm presence throughout my labour, and knew exactly when to step and in and provide support to us. We have been very happy with the decision to have a birth doula, and 10/10 would recommend Brood! We are continuing with Brood through postpartum, and have so far had a wonderful experience with Roberta, who has helped us catch up on some much needed sleep throughout her night shifts and has been a wonderful baby ‘tutor’ during our day shift. We’re looking forward to her and the Brood team’s continued support!

We had post partum doula support overnight through Brood, coordinated through Lizzy. We had good and timely communication and they were flexible with dates when baby came early. Our doulas were Emily and Kristy, both were so kind and we were comfortable having them in our home. They really helped with those first few weeks helping rock my newborn to sleep so that I could get some sleep. I also found the online resources exclusive to Brood clients so helpful. I 1000000% recommend Brood. Thank you for being a game changing part of my postpartum journey! 🙂