Ideal Birth

Dahlia was an incredibly calming, comforting, and encouraging presence in a time of stressed out sleeplessness, confusion, and hormonal craziness, also known as postpartum. After a very discouraging experience with the lactation consultants at Kaiser, Dahlia was a breath of fresh air. She was reassuring and helpful for me as a new mom learning to breastfeed for the first time and most of all she made me feel as though everything I was going through was normal and healthy (in short, she really helped me stop freaking out:) And not only did she provide an incredible service for a reasonable fee, but she went above and beyond the one in home visit we paid for and has continued to check up on us and offer phone consultation, text, and email. Her care are dedication to helping mamas is genuine.

Dahlia is the BEST! We hired her for 3 months of postpartum work, which is no small task with twins! She was so caring, nurturing, and gentle with our babies, her experience was only outweighed by her sweetness and profound gift for «twinning».
I feel so lucky to have had her work with us, she taught us (first-​time parents) so much, from swaddling to bathing to infant massage! Every morning when Dahila arrived it was a ray of sunshine and positive energy, my babies responded so well to her songs, her feeding techniques, and her cuddles. We were so sad to say goodbye to her when it was time, and are almost jealous of the next family that gets to work with her! :) :)

We had a wonderful experience with Dahlia from beginning to end. She was the perfect mix of experience, professionalism and warmth. We met with 4 doulas and spoke with quite a few more while looking for the right fit. After my first phone conversation I had a good feeling that my search was over. We met her in person and that sealed the deal.
She has a ton of knowledge and shares it in a way that’s meaningful. She’s very responsive and was great at providing information and support that helped put my mind at ease and prepare me for the big event. My husband initially wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a doula but Dahlia was great at being supportive and educating us without stepping on his toes. We’re both the «do-​it-​yourself» types, but having Dahlia be a part of our birth experience was a fantastic call. During labor, it was so great to have both my husband and Dahlia there to support me.
I had an incredibly fast ramp up to active labor and Dahlia was at the hospital right away. She was a reassuring, calming and experienced presence and was instrumental in getting us admitted quickly and settled in. During the process, she was fantastic about asking the doctors questions that we hadn’t thought of to help us make the best decisions for myself and our son. She was completely supportive of the decisions we made and was there every step of the way to make it easier and more comfortable for my husband and I.
We were so pleased with our experience. We highly recommend working with Dahlia if you are considering a doula. She’s awesome.
We currently live in Oakland and delivered mid-​June at Alta Bates in Berkeley.

This review is long overdue. I was referred to Dahlia by our pediatrician for lactation services back in October last year. She did a home visit the next day and was so sweet and caring. She made me feel so comfortable during this process and eased my concerns and frustrations. She assisted me with trying out different feeding positions and techniques. She also provided me with an array of «tricks» to keep my LO latched on and engaged. In addition, I was able to contact her when I was having a rough day with our feedings. Lastly, Dahlia provided me with referrals to contact when she unfortunately was in a car accident and needed time to heal. Thank you for all your hard work and hope all is well.

We interviewed 8 doulas in preparation for for the birth of our first child. While all doulas were referrals, Danielle reached out to us after one doula that had no availability during the month of our due date, sent out an email announcement regarding our needs. Danielle stood out from this group of wonderful Doulas that we met. She has a wonderful personality, very engaging and passionate about her work; very professional, organized and efficiently clear about her process. It was a huge plus for us that she is also a certified lactation consultant and is currently in training to become a midwife. Though she has no children of her own yet, she has attended more births that most of the Doulas that we met with. Her experience, passion, knowledge and overall wonderful energy, made our decision to go with her and Ideal Birth, an easy one.
My labor turned out to be 26 hours. 16 of those hours without any pain management. She was with me the entire time and worked very well with my husband to create a supportive team. She was amazing at being able to keep herself hydrated and fed without us even seeing when she did that… making the experience as seem less and focused on my needs as can be. And when we had an issue with one of the attending nurses at the hospital, she was wonderful at communicating our expectations to the charge nurse and insuring that we had a nurse that gelled well with our birth vision. She used her «bag of tricks» and always had options and suggestions when it came to dealing with the contractions. A couple of weeks after the birth, Danielle followed up with a post partum visit and even brought her own baby tub to show us bathing techniques for our baby. We felt solid on the bathing, so we passed on that, but were grateful to have that option available to us. Lastly, she gave us wonderful advice/​tricks to help us and our little daughter sleep well. My husband and I consistently get 6 – 7 hours of sleep per night! Danielle is amazing and I can confidently recommend her as a Doula to anyone that asks.

I had a wonderful experience with Danielle from Ideal Birth. We hired her to be our birth doula. She was extremely knowledgable about every aspect of pre birth, labor, birth, and after birth processes. Any question we asked her, she answered with no hesitation. She is highly experienced and we were very lucky to have her support during my birth. I would definitely recommend Ideal Birth for your any of your birthing needs!

Dahlia from Ideal Birth is a blessing — she was there for us as a birth doula for our first child and we couldn’t have done it without her. She spent a great deal of time with us in advance, preparing us for the big day. And when our lil one came 2.5 weeks early, she was able to really get my husband and me up to speed about newborn care immediately afterwards. Dahlia made herself available via phone/​email/​in person as needed and since Gemma was colicky and had reflux issues off the bat, we really needed that additional care. Also, we had need for referrals for other services, like postpartum nurse/​doula, chiro, etc. and Dahlia ensured we received the information quickly. Thanks a million, Dahlia!

Dahlia is the best! I’m a new mom and found breastfeeding to be harder then i expected. She came to my home and helped me feel more confident and gave plenty tips tonmake babies mealntime better for both of us. Thank you, Dahlia!

Dahlia from Ideal Birth came highly recommended by my sister who had also used her. My husband and I were a bit skeptical at first of using a doula but once we began the process we found it well worth the cost. It’s the difference between going to a gym on your own and having a private instructor — it makes all the difference in the world! She answered all our questions via text, email and phone and during the birthing process she was gentle, informative and kind. Even though she had another client who had their baby mere moments before we arrived at the hospital — she came to our room once we arrived and didn’t leave our side until our baby latched 19 hours later! She marathoned TWO births and never flinched. Even after our birth she has generously replied with her wisdom and encouragemen regarding breastfeeding and any other baby related questions. We highly recommend Ideal Birth’s services!

I highly recommend Ideal Birth to help usher your babies into the world. Our experience with Dahlia and Danielle was priceless. Because of their kindness, their guidance and their knowledge, I was able to bring twins into this world under duress and do it with grace and ease. Dahlia helped guide me through an emergency C-​section (something that was totally unexpected and left me completely unprepared). She was there to help me nurse immediately after and she has been there ever since checking in, or answering questions I may have as a new mom. Hiring Dahlia as our birthing doula was the best decision we ever made. What she added to our birth experience exceeded expectation. She helped make the unexpected easy and beautiful.

Dahlia is soo sweet. When I was on bedrest she came to our house and did a one and one breastfeeding class since I couldn’t make the actual class. We learned a lot and really appreciated her spending the time with us.
She followed up with me a few times and gave me a lot of great resources that only someone experienced would know. I used a lot of those resources too.
6 months and still breastfeeding Dahlia is still answering my questions and is so patient and sweet. I highly recommend her services!

Dahlia came immediately to my house when I became massively engorged and panicked as to how to feed my baby. She was warm, sweet, calm, professional and stayed for several hours to make sure I was confident the problem had been fixed. She also followed up with me with several phone calls and when I began having other breast feeding problems, she was very helpful and gave me solutions over the phone for no extra cost.
I highly recommend her and Ideal Birth. I felt like I got my moneys worth and then some. Being a new mom is very scary and stressful and having someone like Dahlia come help you was like an angel had walked into my house. I instantly felt reassured, safe and confident that the problem would get solved and my son would be ok. Thankyou Dahlia!

I was referred to Dahlia as my lactation consultant, by my pediatrician. Dahlia made a housecall 2 days after I gave birth and was very warm and acommodating. She helped me feel at ease with my learning how to breastfeed and also helped reassure my husband by giving him tips on how to support me during breastfeeding. She answered all the questions we had as first time parents. And with me being laid up in bed, unable to walk, her bedside manner was by far much better than the nurses I had while giving birth! While some of my nurses had a slight air of impatience with my inability to walk to the bathroom (3^rd degree tear, man. C’mon.), Dahlia was MUUUCH more sympathetic & gave me some advice on how to ease the obvious pain I was in. Such a breath of fresh air after that hospital stay. After our initial consultation, she was readily available on the phone to answer any further questions.
Five months later, I call Dahlia up since I’m having trouble bottle-​feeding my baby. With her help, I’m able to get my boy to down a few ounces in just minutes – Hallelujah! A breakthrough! Thanks Dahlia.
As a lactation consultant, I highly recommend her. And for my next birth, I would definitely consider having her as my doula.

What can i say that hasn’t been said about Dahlia!!! She is simply amazing!!!
Hiring her as our Doula was the best decision we’ve made. From the first meeting i said to myself, it is her or i will not have a doula. She told me that she will have to travel, but that was 2 weeks after my original due date. And of course i was 2 weeks late. I was worried because i didn’t think anyone could be as amazing, knowledgeable and caring as her. Dahlia introduced me to Jaquelin, who was going to replace her. I have to be honest, i was a bit skeptical since i have already had this amazing relationship with Dahlia. Jacquelyn was just as fabulous!!! My husband and i do not know how we would have done it without her. Thank you agin Jacquelin.
It is not only the delivery, but Dahlia’s care before and after is also what made all the difference. We are calling her when we will be having our next baby :)

I would like to give many MANY stars to our incredible Doula, Dahlia Frydman. I have to say, it was the BEST decision we made on our birth plan. She is fantastic. She was so patient, experienced, gentle, loving, and brought such a wonderful energy to our experience, I can’t imagine having gone through this without her. She was our rock during one of the most vulnerable times during a couple’s life. She did everything she promised and more. She knew the Cedars protocol like the back of her hand so when we went, we knew what to expect. She helped me labor at home for several hours, keeping a close eye on me and helping my partner feel like he was an integral part of the whole process. As a first time mom, I had many reservations about not running to the hospital at the first sign of labor, but she made both of us feel comfortable and safe at home during what can be a painful and scary experience as labor escalates. She knew just when to get me to the hospital and continued to coach and support us throughout the entire birth experience, making sure our every need was met. She then supported us post birth and kept in touch, making sure the breast feeding process was on track and successful.
I love this woman and hope to keep her in our lives for a long long time.

Hiring Dahlia as our birth doula was one of the best decisions we could have made. I knew I wanted to have an unmedicated birth in a hospital, so I knew I would need support. We interviewed four different doulas before hiring Dahlia. Her knowledge, experience, and overall demeanor put her ahead of everyone else. From the moment early labor began, she was just a phone call away and gave me the advice and encouragement I needed to progress. She arrived at our home and was a perfect partner. She knew exactly when to go to the hospital and was an amazing advocate once there. We had the birth we wanted. And although it got very difficult at times, it would have been so much harder without Dahlia’s support. We also hired Dahlia postpartum as a lactation consultant, and again she got me through the difficult time I was having in order to give my son what I know he needed.

Dahlia is awesome. After a pretty horrible hospital birth experience with a whole bunch of rude and uncaring residents, I decided to hire myself a birth doula when I got pregnant again. I’m not the natural birth type at all. I knew that I wanted a hospital birth with my ob. When I first met Dahlia, I just wanted her to be on my side and take care of me at the hospital, but I got way more than what I ever expected.
Dahlia is like an ideal version of «professional pregnancy girlfriend.» She is truly supportive, caring, and also informative. During my pregnancy, she always replied my email and text messages quickly. We also met regularly to chat about issues of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I thought I already knew most things, since I’d done once and read books. But Dahlia really opened a new world for me. I learned so much more about my own pregnancy and birth through her. Even though I never wanted a pure natural birth, learning the midwives’ practices was really helpful. It helped me understand what was wrong with my first birth and even let me appreciate what my ob did for me in the delivery room after my second birth, all of which I would not have known at all without Dahlia.
I ended up with a super fast labor which I did not need her at birth very much, but I think it’s still worth every penny to have hired her. After I gave birth, she took care of everything for me at the hospital. She visited me at home after I got out of hospital, and through my whole postpartum period, she kept in touch with me. It was such a warm and enjoyable experience to have her with me through my pregnancy journey. I’d highly recommend her to everyone.

Dahlia at Ideal birth is amazing. As our lactation consultant, she is so smart and helpful. She has the most delicious way about her. Who knew breast feeding could be so trying in so many ways. I felt so comfortable with her and she helped me tremendously during one of the most vulnerable times of my life. My husband and i adore her and she feels like part of the family now. We recommend Dahlia to everyone!

The ladies at Ideal Birth are amazing. Each Douala brings such a unique and loving energy to their clients. I have taken several classes which Ideal Birth offers and have really come to rely on them as my support system and community of moms I trust.

I LOVE the ladies at Idea Birth. I moved here while I was already 2 months pregnant and I didn’t know anyone. They were so supportive, like a family.
After my son was born, my husband and I thought we could handle things on our own but we ended up calling them in the middle of the night desperate for help! Debbie came that first night and she was just wonderful, it was almost like having my mom here with me. I was able to get the rest I needed.
Then the next night I had Cindy come over and she was so incredibly sweet and caring with my little guy. I remember somthing she said to me that made me feel more connected with my new baby. When she brought him to me for a feeding, she laughed a little and said she thought it was so cute how he did an excited little kick in anticipation to eating. That really changed my perspective about waking up in the middle of the night to feed him!
And Malia, I can’t say enough about Malia. I probably wouldn’t have been able to breast feed my little guy if it hadn’t been for her. She went above and beyond the call of duty to help us. I called her more then once in tears with different issues and she calmed me down and helped me figure it out.
Holly also helped me once when I was just pulling my hair out with stress and I was able to get rested and back in gear with her help.
All of the ladies at Ideal Birth are just wonderful. I recommend them highly.