Gabrielle Cohen

Gabrielle was our doula a few months ago and we are so happy she was there to help. I felt comfortable around her which is very important when sharing such an intimate experience. She is well versed in labor positions and in hypnosis. One thing I remember well about her is how soothing her voice was, both for hypnosis narration and for instruction of when and when not to push. She helped my husband be part of the labor by teaching him in advance how to apply pressure to my back which was very helpful in the initial stages. She kept me fed and hydrated, bringing drinks with a straw to sip from. Gabrielle has a great sense of professionalism and is a knowledgeable and caring friend during an intense time.

Hands-​down the best decision we ever made preparing for the birth of our first child was hiring Gabrielle and her colleague Liz Palmer. We were so impressed with Gabrielle and Liz from our very first meeting with them both. They exuded great, positive energy. They really listened to us and provided thoughtful feedback to help us talk through our preferences and develop our plan for a natural birth. By 38 weeks, it became clear that the baby’s growth had slowed and we were advised to undergo induction. We were able to lean on both Gabrielle and Liz as we tried to figure out how to proceed. Ultimately, a fully natural birth was not in our cards. However, with Gabrielle’s presence, coaching and support, I was able to give birth to our baby girl without additional intervention aside from pitocin.
My partner and I are forever grateful to Gabrielle (and Liz). Gabrielle helped me stay calm and tap into strength that I wasn’t sure I had during the most intense parts of labor. And during it all, she was coaching and providing support to my partner. We cannot recommend Gabrielle enough!

If I could give her 10 stars on here, I would. Gabrielle was such an incredible support before, during, and after my labor. But especially, and most importantly to me, during. She kept me hydrated, constantly feeding me coconut water, kept me calm, led me through relaxation techniques, let me crush her hand while having contractions, gave my sweet supportive hubby breaks when needed, and communicated all my wishes to the hospital staff. The end result? A medication free, relatively quick (only 6 hours in the hospital!), and beautiful birthing experience. And, of course, a healthy, happy, alert baby :) Without her and my husband as my birthing team, I don’t think my ideal labor/​birth would’ve been possible. I am so incredibly grateful for having found Gabrielle :)

We had an awesome experience with Gabrielle. I knew I wanted to try to have a natural birth but I wasn’t sure where to start looking for support and guidance. I found Gabrielle’s information through the yoga community and I felt like it would be the right match as soon as I visited her website. Gabrielle was attentive, insightful, informative and enthusiastic. She knew what she was talking about and she didn’t push any agendas. She teamed up with her colleague, Lis Palmer, and they gave us prenatal visits, Gabrielle came to the birth and Gabrielle also followed up with us a few weeks after baby was born.
We were very lucky to have a positive birth experience overall and Gabrielle was there to help during the most crucial moment. We had waited a little too long before transitioning to the hospital, so by the time we called Gabrielle and she showed up, I already had the urge to push. She was very calm and grounded with me, she coached me and was able to communicate with me. She was also amazing with my husband. I was so focused on the birth that Gabrielle and my husband were able to team up to get me out the door, drive to the hospital and get me set up in a room. Gabrielle advocated for my preferences as far as IVs, check-​ins with the nursing staff, cord cutting, and all other medical preferences. Our baby came very fast and we were so grateful to have someone there with us through the whole process.
I also really appreciated our postnatal visit with Gabrielle. We don’t have any family in the Bay Area, so it ended up feeling really important to have a follow up with her. The visit was positive and she checked in about how we were doing emotionally and physically.
I am so glad we had Gabrielle as our doula for our first baby. It made me feel a little security and confidence going into the most intimidating and amazing experience of my/​our life!
Gabrielle is a wonderful doula and she is a great resource. I am so grateful to her and I recommend her with all my heart!

So our daughter was born a few weeks ago and I’ve now had a chance to start processing the experience, sleeping, and, of course, reviewing the people and places that helped us along the way.
Gabrielle is the first on the list.
As our doula, Gabrielle worked in partnership with another doula to ensure that we were always covered by an energetic and ready person who was ready to be our advocate and our helper during the birth process, however it was Gabrielle who was there at the end of the process.
When my wife told me that she wanted to get a Doula to help with the birth, I was supportive, because, well, you support your pregnant wife. But I wasn’t sure I understood why we would need an extra person there, since we were pretty happy with the hospital where we were delivering (St Luke’s) and had taken some birthing classes (Natural Resources) and, well, people have been doing this for years, why do we need to hire someone additional to help?
Well, in the end, I don’t see how I could have done it without Gabrielle. And I mean «I», the father, with the easy half of the job. My wife relied on her through the whole process as an advisor, and stress relief. However in the end, as things got complex, stressful, and exhausting, I was at the end of my rope (my wife was already well beyond the end of hers) and Gabrielle was there for us, helping to keep things together, and keep us as comfortable as possible. That was an amazing relief for me, since I was very tired…
I’ll spare you the details, but the takeaway for dads to be was:
If you are confused about the need for a doula, or uncomfortable with the doula you are selecting, fix that. It’s important. Talk to Gabrielle and she’ll get you sorted out, and in my experience, will help you (and your wife) immeasurably.

Gabrielle is everything you could hope for in a doula and then some! After having a bad experience with a doula for my son’s birth in 2011, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take the chance on another doula. But working with Gabrielle restored my faith in doulas. Gabrielle was my doula for the birth of my second child in July, 2013. During our prenatal visits, she carefully answered all our questions and gave us her honest opinion when asked. She also included a private yoga session which was great physically and gave me the chance to listen to her voice and have her guide me through something before the birth. She is very gentle, yet direct and reassuring.
On the day I went into labor, Gabrielle was available and with us every step of the way. During early labor, she showed me a few positions I could rest in on my bed. I think this rest really helped me get through the 14 hours of labor & delivery. Once we were at UCSF and my labor became very intense, she had a wonderful bag of tricks to help me achieve my goal of birthing naturally. After my daughter was born she did 2 things that were heavenly: she fed me a few honey sticks and massaged my feet with oil. That’s when I knew I had picked the perfect doula! I highly recommend Gabrielle as a wonderful doula.

After hearing of HypnoBirthing through a podcast, my partner and I were eager to try it for the birth of our first child. We signed up for a series of classes at BirthWays in Berkeley and Gabrielle was our instructor. I cannot speak highly enough of Gabrielle. After taking the classes, we feel confident that we will have a calm and relaxed birth that honors our child. Gabrielle was extremely knowledgeable about HypnoBirthing and birth in general and was able to effectively communicate her knowledge. She was funny, approachable, kind, and inspiring. She took plenty of time with our questions and was respectful of each concern. She was also conscientious about following through with providing outside resources through email if we asked. I left each class energized and excited about the birth of our child and with confidence in my partner and myself. Gabrielle is passionate about the work she does and I could not have asked for a better instructor.

I felt right with Gabrielle after interviewing her. I was lucky to have her as our doula at the birth of our first baby boy on January 10, 2013, my husband was not able to attend the birth I was nervous and stress she was able to calm me down with her warm and positive energy. She understood what I want, explained to me what I need to know about a birth plan & helped me getting ready to birth with her great suggestions and her experience as a yoga instructor. On the actual birth day she was able to come in less than 40 mints and decided to go right away to the hospital. During labor She stayed by my side for every contraction, kept me hydrated, easing my pain with her soft voice reminding me to breath and to push right. I cannot recommend Gabrielle highly enough to anyone considering a Doula. She is great.

Gabrielle is an angel. She was our doula for the birth of our first son last December. She was warm, nurturing, compassionate, empathetic, and very knowledgeable. She was very understanding of our needs and wants, and help calm any concerns or stresses we had, and she was excellent at reading our vibes and placing herself where she was needed during our actual birth. Our post birth yoga session was amazing, (and much needed), as well. Also, I absolutely LOVED the placenta encapsulation she did for us, I felt energized and happy throughout my transition from maternity leave back into work. I would highly recommend Garbrielle for ANY of her services :)

Gabrielle, provided me with a wonderful personalized session that met my need for so many things. I’ll share that I don’t like the fast paced yoga practices and Gabrielle was able to facilitate and guide me through a Restorative approach that was highly beneficial for my scattered personality that day and was attentive to my injured knee. I found just being around her energy was gaining, because I have sometimes had classes or personal teachings with instructors that seem to have a sticky or brooding energy about them. Gabrielle seems to me like pure joy and is one that holds a space for learning and for allowing ease and pace. I think Gabrielle would be a good fit for most everyone no matter where your skill level with yoga is. I highly recommend her!