A NorCal Doula Collective

The Birth Companions operates across Northern California, connecting expecting families with trusted doulas. From the South Bay to North County, our network of birth, postpartum, and community doulas is within reach wherever your family is growing.

Dedicated to Making Doulahood a Sustainable Career

We are dedicated to nurturing a community where experienced doulas mentor newcomers, ensuring every birth benefits from wisdom and professionalism.

Through our mentorship program, we make doula support affordable for all, while equipping junior doulas with essential knowledge and experience.

Together, we strive to deliver high-quality support nationwide, empowering parents throughout their birthing journey.

What We Stand For

These core values guide everything we do and shape the care we provide to families.

Heart Centered

Our doulas have a clear WHY for what they do. We value doulas who show empathy, compassion, warmth, nurturance, and good listening ability.

Always Learning & Listening

Our doulas are always seeking to learn from each other and build upon their expertise. We created the mentorship program to support new doulas in becoming master doulas.

Diversity

Our doulas represent a wide array of backgrounds and experiences so you can find the doula who meets you where you are.

Celebrating Motherhood

Our doulas see birth as an opportunity for women and mothers to embody their greatest strengths and inner wisdom.

Community

Our doulas have a community of support for information, resources, referrals, and back-up. They have the backing of decades of experience to rely on.

Sustainability

Our doulas prioritize sustainability in their work. They take care of themselves so they can take better care of you.

About Maya

After years of working closely with growing families and fellow doulas, Maya founded The Birth Companions in 2024 with one core vision: to make the doula matching process easier and more tailored for expecting families.

What started as a passion for birth work quickly evolved into a calling to bridge two important gaps: helping families find the right doula match and creating a strong community of doulas who valued continued growth.

Through firsthand experience, Maya witnessed the challenges couples face when trying to connect with someone they trust during such a vulnerable time. At the same time, she saw how much doulas thrive when they're supported, guided, and mentored.

The Birth Companions is built on the belief that when doulas are surrounded by a supportive community that fosters sustainability and growth, families are better supported.

View Maya's Profile

Frequently Asked Questions

If you don't see an answer to your question, please reach out to us.

The ideal time to hire a doula is between 12-37 weeks gestation. The earlier you find your doula the more time you have to establish a trusting relationship with her in addition to having more time to implement the prep work that your doula suggests for you to do in preparation for your birth and/or postpartum period.

While both support pregnant individuals, their roles differ significantly. A midwife is a medical professional who can provide clinical care, perform exams, and deliver babies. A doula provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support but does not provide medical care. Many families choose to have both.

Doulas provide continuous support throughout labor and birth, including comfort measures like massage, breathing techniques, and position changes. They offer emotional encouragement, help communicate with medical staff, support your partner, and provide evidence-based information to help you make informed decisions.

The most important factor is the connection and trust you feel with your doula. You'll want someone whose communication style, personality, and approach to birth align with your values and preferences. We recommend scheduling consultations with multiple doulas to find the right fit.

Prenatal sessions help you build a relationship with your doula, receive 1:1 education, discuss your birth preferences, learn coping techniques, and prepare mentally and emotionally for labor. These sessions ensure your doula understands your needs and can provide personalized support.

A doula supports both the birthing person AND their partner. We help partners feel confident in their support role, offer them breaks when needed, and guide them in providing effective comfort measures. Partners often report feeling more involved and less anxious with doula support.

Research shows that continuous doula support can reduce cesarean rates by helping manage pain naturally, providing positioning suggestions, offering emotional support that reduces stress hormones, and helping you stay patient through labor's natural progression.

All of our doulas have backup arrangements with other experienced doulas in our collective. If your primary doula is unavailable, you'll be supported by a qualified backup who has been briefed on your birth preferences.

Postpartum doulas provide emotional, physical, and educational support during the early weeks and months after birth. They help families adjust to life with a new baby by offering newborn care guidance, feeding support, light household help, emotional reassurance, and practical support so parents can rest and recover with more ease and confidence.

Many families begin searching for a postpartum doula during pregnancy, ideally in the second or third trimester, as availability can book up quickly. Hiring in advance allows time to discuss your goals, preferences, and the type of support that would feel most helpful once your baby arrives.

Every family's needs are different. Some families hire a postpartum doula for just a few weeks, while others continue support for several months. Support can be customized based on your recovery, comfort level, feeding goals, sleep needs, and overall transition into life with your baby.

The goal of postpartum support is to help parents feel nurtured, rested, informed, and emotionally supported during the transition into parenthood. A postpartum doula helps create a calm and supportive environment so families can focus on bonding with their baby, recovering from birth, and building confidence in caring for their newborn.

Postpartum doulas support the entire family unit, not just the birthing person. We help partners feel more confident in newborn care, encourage healthy communication and teamwork, and provide practical guidance that allows everyone to feel more rested and supported during the adjustment period.

Yes. Postpartum doulas can provide non-medical support with infant feeding, whether you are breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, formula feeding, or combination feeding. We offer encouragement, education, and practical tips while helping families find a feeding rhythm that works best for them.

Many families find overnight support incredibly valuable, especially during the first few weeks postpartum. Overnight doulas help care for the baby so parents can get longer stretches of rest, recover more fully, and feel more supported during an often exhausting transition.

A postpartum doula provides holistic emotional, educational, and practical support for the entire family, while a night nanny is typically focused primarily on infant care during overnight hours. Postpartum doulas are trained to support newborn care, feeding, recovery, and the emotional adjustment into parenthood in addition to helping with the baby.

The word “Doula” is a Greek word that means “female handmaiden for the child-bearing woman.” Today the word has come to mean “one who mothers the mother.”

Have more questions? Contact us

Interested in Joining the Team?

Whether you're an experienced doula or just starting your journey, we'd love to hear from you.

Learn More

Stories from Our Families

Hear from the parents who have experienced the transformative support of our doulas.

4.9 stars on Google|5.0 stars on Yelp

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“Every mom needs a doula!! Bailey was truly incredible throughout my entire pregnancy and birth experience. She made me feel supported, informed, and completely at ease. Working with Bailey and the Birth Companions was so easy for me, the admin did a great job filing claims with insurance and everything was taken care of.”

Iffat B.

Doula: Bailey · Google

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“TBC was by far the most responsive of all the agencies and had the most doula matches for us. After several conversations with different doulas, we found our amazing doula, Jessica Larsen. TBC handled all billing/reimbursements for us through Kaiser which was a huge relief.”

Anna K.

Doula: Jessica · Google

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“Bailey helped me and my husband prepare for unmedicated birth. She told us what to expect, taught us comfort measures, gave me exercises to prepare my mind and body. My labour was quick but thanks to our sessions, we were prepared for every step of it.”

Deepika A.

Doula: Bailey · Google

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“Choosing Bailey as our doula was the best decision. She gave us clear, easy-to-understand information so we knew what to expect. During the delivery, she was a calm and steady person in the room and knew exactly how to help me feel better.”

Alice A.

Doula: Bailey · Google

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“We worked with Mackinzie and we are so appreciative of her! She was communicative and patient with all of our questions. During my delivery, my baby arrived weeks early and Mackinzie really helped ease my worries. It felt like a bonus that she's a lactation specialist!”

Allison H.

Doula: Mackinzie · Google

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“Sylvia was our doula and she was supportive, knowledgeable, and incredibly comforting throughout my pregnancy and labor. Her guidance made a huge difference in my birth experience. Highly recommend!”

Alexa

Doula: Sylvia · Google

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