Dessirá Swan Postpartum Doula in Sacramento, CA

There are people who do a job, and then there are people who change your life. Dessira is the latter. She entered our lives when our son was born premature and jaundiced. Dessira helped our baby gain weight and, at the same time, provided calm encouragement that helped us become confident parents. That gift is priceless, and I will never forget it. She returned to us when our son was two and stayed until he was six. During those years, she helped us build a nutrition and activity plan. This kept him energized, curious, and challenged--without empty calories or screens. The positive effects of this plan are too many to list here, but the best was his dramatically improved sleep schedule. My son had a mildly rocky transition from nursery school to a TK/K mix to a TK-only class. At the time, I worked 60-70-hour workweeks and cannot overstate the comfort of knowing my son was safe, stimulated, and thriving with Dessira during the day. At night, I was able to be fully present with my son because Dessira handled housework and other distractions that would have taken away from that precious time. She did this without being asked. I'm grateful to her because if she hadn't, I wouldn't have thought of it. Dessira is exceptional with infants and children of all ages. She is calm under pressure because she has a deep well of knowledge and experience to draw from. She prioritizes safety -- the safety of their bodies, of course, and also their minds and hearts. She values imagination and curiosity, and she brings genuine warmth, humor, and fun to every day. Dessira is unique in that she cares for the whole family as a single ecosystem, where the health of all depends on the health of each. She is a wonderful listener, and as she learns what matters to you -- as parents, as people -- she reflects that back to you with encouragement and practical creativity. When I said, "Well, ideally we'd do this, but that's probably unrealistic," her response was, "Maybe so -- but let's talk about it for a minute, just to see." Most of the time, with a bit of creativity and brainstorming, we made it happen. When we didn't, I felt supported and seen, which I found to be equally valuable. It makes a big difference in my life when a smart, energetic person is on my team. I'm better at my job, I'm a better partner, and I'm a better mom. If you are lucky enough to get Dessira in your corner, I am genuinely happy for you and your family to have the kind of support that will enrich your lives.

— Alicia K.

I cannot say enough good things about Dessira. I literally was able to skip the exhausted, out of my mind phase because of her. Dessira spent 4 nights a week with us and took such amazing care of my son and myself. I was able to sleep throughout the night while I knew she was taking care of my son. She fed him, changed his diaper, changed his clothes if it needed to be done, put away all of his laundry anytime it needed to be put away and sure that he was well taken care of and looked after She snuck into my room anytime she needed to grab my pump or pumped milk. She set alarms whenever I needed and make sure to wake me up to pump or if I fell asleep while pumping she would come in and make sure I got unhooked and took the milk and stored it in the fridge or fed my son with it. My biggest thing was being able to sleep so I could be the best mom and wife I could be throughout the day and I was only able to do this because of Dessira. She was so loving and kind to not only me, my husband, but my son as well too. I cannot recommend her enough! It was always the sweetest thing when I could hear her greet my son, she was always so happy to see him and so loving towards him, it was just wonderful! She also helped make a suggestion to a wonderful chiropractor when my son was having issues with torticollis and tummy problems. Due to her recommendation, he no longer has any of those issues and I am very grateful because I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise. Anytime I needed someone to listen to me or to have a helpful suggestion. She was always there and supported me along my journey as a first time . My husband was able to sleep all night long with her and so was I. She always cleaned the everything was ready to go for the next sure my son was taken care of, clean, fed washed, changed... You name it she did it! I highly recommend Dessira!

— Kiki K.

She repeatedly endangered our child's life. After finding a blanket in our infant's crib, a clear violation of safe sleep guidelines, we confronted her. Her response? She refused to even discuss safe sleep practices. If you hire Dessira, understand this: she will not follow safe sleep guidelines, period. Against our better judgement, we gave her another chance. We were punished for this mistake by finding her asleep with our child precariously balanced on her shoulder. Thankfully we caught her before something terrible happened. If you're going to hire Dessira, you'll need to watch her constantly - your child's safety depends on it. Dessira doesn't just endanger children—she keeps your money when she does. She requires full payment upfront, which we paid in good faith. When we terminated her services after she violated our contract, she refused to refund the unused hours. She kept our money despite breaching our agreement. She will do the same to you.

— Andy K.