VBAC Doulas in San Jose, CA

Planning a vaginal birth after cesarean? These providers list VBAC support as a specialty, from preparing for labor to helping you talk through your options with your care team.

35 VBAC Doulas near San Jose, CA

Joanne Gomez BSN, RN, CD, CCE, CLE

Los Angeles, California

5.0 (4 reviews)

Joanne Gomez BSN, RN, CD, CCE, CLE

27 years of experience
Accepts insurance
Responds within an hour

Hello! I am the Founder and Nursing Director of Peaceful Passages Birthing Support Center. I am an experienced Labor and Delivery RN and Certified Doula of 25 years. We serve CA and FL, with multiple office locations . We offer a vast array of services, including, maternity concierge services , birth and postpartum doula services, Montrice services, Lamaze classes, Lactation support, placenta encapsulation, postpartum meal service, belly casting, mother blessing ceremonies, and cord burning ceremonies. We accept most insurance plans, including Medi Cal and Kaiser. We look forward to being a part of your empowering birth experience and journey!

Recent review

Hiring an overnight doula from Peaceful Passages was one of the best decisions I made for my postpartum recovery. Not only did my doula lovingly care for me and my newborn, she went above and beyond—prepping nourishing meals, providing breastfeeding support, organizing the baby’s nursery, and even helping with my twin toddlers so I could rest. Her calm, professional presence made my healing after a c-section so much easier. I was especially impressed by how seamless everything was—she was professionally dressed, compassionate, and incredibly knowledgeable. On top of that, Peaceful Passages accepted my Carrot insurance and handled all the billing with ease, which lifted such a burden off my shoulders. This service was truly a lifesaver for me and my family. I felt cared for, supported, and able to focus on bonding with my baby. I can’t recommend their overnight doula services enough!

- Bri L.

Nubia Jones

Palo Alto, California

Nubia Jones Background checked · Sep 2026

14 years of experience
Responds within an hour

I’m Nubia, a mom of five (teens & young adults). I have 25years of experience in the birth, postpartum & newborn care field. This is my passion work. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude being able to do this heart-centered work professionally & full-time. I support mothers & families as a certified birth doula, postpartum doula, parent educator, certified breastfeeding counselor (CLC), an integrative nutrition health coach (IIN) and a student midwife. My journey started in the year 2000 in my hometown of Washington, DC. In 2015. Since then, I’ve supported a diverse clientele in New York City and now Cali. My philosophy: Mothers deserve to be respected, heard and nurtured doing this major transition in life to becoming a mom, whether it’s for the first time or the 8th time! I truly believe It takes a village to raise a family which is what led me to my purpose, heart-centered work of supporting mothers & families. I’m a strong advocate for mothers and families birthing in all settings including hospital, home & birth centers. I respect the many choices in mothering and parenting. It's an honor to walk the path of mothering with women as they navigate the many options we have today. I strongly believe in the woman's ability to grow, birth and nourish her baby with her natural, innate abilities while also respecting the need or preference of medical support along the way. It's all about the balance of holistic & medical. My support also includes follow up postpartum healing practices for mom, lactation and pumping support, newborn care and parent coaching. On my spare time I enjoy indulging in health & wellness therapies, spending time in nature, traveling, cooking, dancing, and enjoying quality time with my family. Let’s meet!🌷🤲🏽 www.doulavivabirths.com IG: @doulaviva_births 240-273-5088 Cell

Maya Jones

Oakland, California

Maya Jones

7 years of experience
Accepts insurance
Responds within an hour

Hi, I’m Maya Jones a Certified Full Spectrum Doula and Placenta Care Specialist dedicated to supporting you through every stage of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. My mission is to create safe, empowering experiences for all birthing people—honoring your unique birth preferences, whether natural, medicated, cesarean, or VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). Growing up in East Palo Alto, I was inspired by the strength of my community and the compassion of my grandmother and mother, who were community leaders and nurturers. Their example taught me to lead with advocacy, care, and an unwavering commitment to uplifting others. With over a decade of childcare experience and a passion for birth work sparked in 2017, I founded All Hues LLC in 2023 to provide holistic, personalized care. My comprehensive training in Birth, Loss, and Postpartum Care, alongside certifications in Placenta Encapsulation and OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Safety, equips me to meet your needs with evidence-based knowledge, practical tools, and emotional reassurance. I am committed to addressing inequities in perinatal care and providing inclusive, affirming support to all families, especially Black families, families of color, LGBTQ+ families, single parents, and surrogates. Through compassionate guidance, I help you navigate the challenges and joys of parenthood with confidence and ease. Whether you’re looking for birth planning, hands-on labor support, lactation guidance, postpartum recovery care, or placenta encapsulation, my goal is to ensure you feel seen, respected, and cared for every step of the way. Let’s create a birth and postpartum experience that empowers you to not just survive but thrive!

Kim Knapp

San Francisco, California

5.0 (39 reviews)

Kim Knapp

7 years of experience
Accepts insurance
Responds within a few hours

Hello! I'm Kim I am a full service birth and postpartum Doula and a member of DONA. I recognize the magical, miraculous wonders of pregnancy and childbirth and offer unconditional, judgement free support for all families. I love to share my knowledge and passionate enthusiasm with expectant families and offer confident, continuity of care to ensure you have a positive birth experience, in alignment with your birth preferences. I live in San Francisco and have a lot of experience at UCSF, CPMC and the Kaiser Network. I also support births on the Peninsula at Mills.

Recent review

Kim is great! We hired Kim as our birth doula and had a wonderful experience. - She's super knowledgeable & experienced-- with her prep sessions, I didn't feel the need to do any additional birth prep classes and I felt informed & empowered going into my birth. - I really trusted her to help us navigate choice and make good decisions that were medically safe & aligned with our preferences. This was a huge stress reliever for me-- it let me avoid sifting through endless info on the internet. - She helped bring my partner in to the birth experience and supported both of us throughout. - She worked flawlessly with the staff at UCSF. Kim felt like a trusted member of our medical team. This was especially nice when hospital shifts changed or when we needed help weighing options. - Her support during the birth itself was exactly what I needed, from physical comfort measures to brainstorming options to emotional support. We had a wonderful birth and Kim's support was a big part of that. Can't recommend her highly enough.

- Sarah Jundt

Dr. Rae Banks, DrPH, MBA-HM, CD (DONA)

Walnut Creek, California

5.0 (5 reviews)

Dr. Rae Banks, DrPH, MBA-HM, CD (DONA) Background checked · Sep 2026

2 years of experience
Accepts insurance
Responds within an hour

Birth is unpredictable. Being prepared doesn't have to be. Do you ever wonder... - How do I prepare for labor and birth? - Will I know when it's really time to go to the hospital? - What happens if my birth doesn't go according to plan? - How can I avoid feeling overwhelmed during labor? - Will my partner know how to support me? - What if I need an induction, epidural, or even an unexpected C-section? - How do I make confident decisions in the moment? I support all births - normal to high-risk pregnancies - through personalized prenatal coaching. When we work together, I'll help you prepare for your actual birth. You'll understand what to expect from the first signs of labor through the Golden Hour, learn how to navigate unexpected situations, communicate confidently with your healthcare team, and approach birth feeling informed, empowered, and ready. In the hospital, I'll guide you to have a faster labor through meaningful position changes and breathwork. I proudly serve families covered by Kaiser Permanente, giving birth at Oakland, Walnut Creek, Antioch, and Vallejo. I also support all Medi-Cal patients, regardless of health plan. If you're delivering in Contra Costa County or at a designated Kaiser hospital, I'll join you in person for your hospital birth. Families outside the area can receive the same comprehensive birth preparation through convenient telehealth appointments. I'm a Public Health Doctor focused on maternal health and a Certified Birth Doula by DONA International. I trained at UC Davis Medical Center as a birth doula for high-risk births, where I still volunteer today and train new doula cohorts. For patient safety, I am background checked and maintain medical clearance. Ready to secure a doula? Schedule your initial telehealth prenatal visit with me at www.yesidoula.com. If you're still deciding on a doula, have questions about insurance, or simply nervous, book a complimentary telehealth instead and let's talk about your goals. Looking forward to meeting you! - Dr. Rae

Recent review

YOU NEED A DOULA!!! If you're on the fence about whether or not you should get a doula, I'll save you the time of reading the rest of this review. The answer is YES! And Dr Rae is 1000000/10! Having a doula should be a requirement to give birth. I really would not have made it through my birth without Dr Rae. I had a traumatic birth with my first so going into my second pregnancy/birth I knew I wanted extra support. Dr Rae has a really strong medical background so not only did she provide incredible emotional support but I felt really confident having her on my support team because I knew she could help calm my anxiety and reassure me everything was ok or what signs to look out for if it wasn't. During labor she provided coping tools (god bless that TENS machine and massage gun!!) and position changes. She was right there with me rubbing my back through contractions and coaching me through pushing. She helped my baby latch right after birth and made sure I was settled in the postpartum unit before leaving. My husband was great and all but I truly couldn't have done it without Dr Rae to provide all the experience and knowledge (even he said he wouldn't have known what to do and was so thankful for Dr Rae)! I had such a positive birth and Dr Rae will always hold a special place in my heart because of it.

- Tanya S.

Marlene Kleffel

Boulder Creek, California

Marlene Kleffel

2 years of experience
Accepts insurance

I began my doula journey in July of 2024, and I’ve had the privilege of supporting families through the beautiful, transformative experience of childbirth. Whether I’m helping first-time parents navigate the birth process or providing reassurance to parents welcoming their second, third, or even more children, my role is to create a space of calm, connection, and empowerment. I am a certified doula through The Circle Family Center, an organization dedicated to supporting expectant parents through educational classes, workshops, and community groups. Their holistic approach to parenthood has shaped my practice, and I strive to mirror that support by helping parents feel informed, confident, and fully supported throughout their birth journey. As your doula, my focus is on your unique needs and desires, ensuring that you feel heard, respected, and empowered during your birth experience. I am here to offer physical, emotional, and informational support before, during, and after labor, helping you feel calm, confident, and fully present for one of the most important moments of your life. Your body knows how to birth and having a support team to ensure, guide, and advocate for you during this process is so important to having an empowering birth you can look back on. Whether you’re planning a home birth, a hospital birth, or anything in between, I look forward to supporting you as you bring new life into the world. I cannot wait to chat with you.

Sampaguita C. S.

Oakland, California

5.0 (3 reviews)

Sampaguita C. S.

10 years of experience
Accepts insurance

Hi — I’m Sampaguita Thank you for being here. I’m a birth worker, student midwife, and lifelong advocate for reproductive and sexual bodily autonomy for every body. My work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves choice, access, safety, and power in their reproductive journeys. I’m especially honored to support individuals and communities whose lineages have had to fight for this freedom — whether that meant the right to give birth and raise children, or the right not to. It is a sacred calling to support people through the transformative journeys of pregnancy, labor, postpartum, and parenting, and I hold this responsibility with deep gratitude. I bring a lived, embodied lens to this work as a... - Non-binary lesbian - Mixed 2nd-generation Filipino-American - Birth worker with nearly 10 years of experience - Working-class upbringing - Covid cautious and harm reductionist - Living with chronic pain and disabilities

Recent review

It was a privilege to have Sampaguita be our doula and I couldn't have imagined a better birthing experience than the one I've went through with her by our side. Sampaguita provided a safe safe for us to explore our vulnerabilities and fears and helped guide us through it so that we'll feel more confident stepping into our role as parents. From beginning to end, she created an environment of warmth and support that shaped my birth into a positive experience. We couldn't have asked for a better support system and it was a honor to share this part of our chapter with her. I highly recommend having Sampaguita as part of anyone's pregnancy and birth experience as we will definitely have her be a part of ours for our next pregnancy!

- Annie

Krystal Vélez-Gómez-Edwards

Oakland, California

5.0 (4 reviews)

Krystal Vélez-Gómez-Edwards

4 years of experience
Accepts insurance

My name is Krystal Brisette Vélez-Gómez-Edwards and I am of Indigenous-Mexicana and Nicaragüense descent. I am open to supporting all births of all beliefs and practices. I am passionate about my own cultural work and practicing as a traditional, Mexican doula, acknowledging birth as ceremony. My first career path was in nursing until I discovered my dismay with Western medicine and healthcare. Years later I experienced the birth of my son, Michael, who is now 16. I was 21 and had no support outside of my marriage, I had no clue what I was doing and I didn't know what I didn't know. I ate awfully and gained at least 70 pounds. When my water broke and I was admitted to the hospital, I was soon told I would need a cesarean due to my son going into "distress." I planned to have a natural birth, but here I was receiving an epidural (fentanyl!) and being cut open and tugged at from within. I was so detached from my own body. My baby was taken from the room and I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits and pleasure of skin-to-skin bonding, our 'golden hour' to breastfeed peacefully. I suffered from postpartum depression and learned to bury and forget the experience because I figured that's just how it was. It wasn't until years later that it came up for me and was a catalyst for many positive changes in my life. I was a few years into healing work with indigenous medicines and in one of my own ceremonies, I received a calling to bring ceremony back to birth, along with visions of burying a placenta at a sacred tree. I began researching traditional Mexican birth work to discover that this was in fact an indigenous tradition. I dedicated myself to the journey of birth work. I obtained training in many facets of holistic birth work and traditional, Mexican birth work, including herbalism to support birth and postpartum, womb healing, rebozo work, techniques for comfort and pain management as well as repositioning breech babies, lactation support, craniosacral therapy, cerrada de caderas (traditional closing ceremony), and the list continues to grow. I have been studying safe use of psychedelics during pregnancy and birth. As a traditional, certified holistic birth and postpartum doula, my primary role is to provide emotional, physical, and informational support to you during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and beyond. I believe birth work is sacred and magical. Most importantly, I'm passionate about incorporating traditional practices into my work, which means I can also draw on indigenous knowledge and rituals to enhance and support your desired birthing experience. Together, we'll navigate this journey, ensuring you feel empowered and well-supported throughout.

Recent review

Cristal was absolutely essential to my uncomplicated delivery of my child. Her warmth and knowledge gave me the confidence and peace to go within myself and have an unmedicated delivery in the hospital. Being able to text her with any questions during and before early labor was incredibly comforting and helpful. Cristal was also a tremendous support for my mom and husband in the hospital, making the whole experience more personalized and less stressful. She provided them with the confidence and reassurance they needed, creating a calm and supportive environment for all of us. At the end of my quarentena, Cristal performed my cerada de caderas ceremony, which was beautiful and just the pampering I needed. This ceremony helped me reconnect with my roots and heal from my previous two birthing experiences. Cristal's support, both during and after delivery, was invaluable, and I am deeply grateful for her presence during this important time in my life. Thank you, Cristal, for everything you've done for me and my family!

- Rocío G.

Shelby Stewart

Oakland, California

5.0 (3 reviews)

Shelby Stewart

26 years of experience
Accepts insurance

As a full spectrum birth-keeper, sexual/reproductive & lactation educator, and womb-space ceremonialist, I hold space for you to have continuous, high quality support that is infused with culturally responsive care, and embedded within a framework of advocacy. As such, I provide physical, emotional, and educational support and guidance to all birthing people, their partners, their families, and communities across the lifespan, reproductive landscape, and for all reproductive circumstances and outcomes. Earthseed Birthwork praxis is steeped in the belief that within the hallowed grounds of your wholeness – your lived experiences and unique socio-cultural contexts, your dreams, and your life journey, there is an opportunity for YOUR divinely aligned birth journey to come forth. I specialize in serving as guide, helping you investigate and get curious about, cultivate, and then traverse your own birth ceremony, the complex and oftentimes daunting medical system's model of care, and matrescence – the wholeness (physically, psychologically, and socially) of becoming a mother/parent…all while centering the sacred and traditional practices that have safely held birthing people for time immemorial. Bearing witness to, being deeply present for, and reflecting your own innate power to call forth and touch into the dance of your intuition, are my gifts. Working with me is intended to be more than a mere hand-holding, it is meant to be a full person witnessing, and the sanctuary of safe space to support the expansion of your capacity to be present with all that arises on your journey. I believe all births are immeasurably transformative...birth shape- shifts us into whatever next iteration this life is calling forth for us. When allowed, birth may expose you to rapturous wonder, deep discomfort, indescribable joy, and the instinctive knowing that you will forever physically, emotionally, and spiritually be changed. Care Setting I meet people where they are, and not where I may perceive they ‘should’ be…literally and figuratively. I hold and offer care within in-person spaces, homes, virtually, office, and outside underneath the sky’s blanket.

Recent review

We give Shelby the highest recommendation. She supported our birth journey in so many critical ways, through her presence, knowledge and constant encouragement. She is very personable and answered all of our questions. We especially appreciated the way she could explain why the clinical setting would prefer or encourage particular interventions, while also letting us know about all of the options available and helping us to make informed decisions along the way. She empowered us. When it mattered most, during labor and delivery, Shelby was there, with the right presence, words and encouragement. She helped our baby come into the world. We hope other parents have this positive experience of a doula, like Shelby gave us.

- Heidi and Luke H.

Susan Galloso

Richmond, California

Susan Galloso

17 years of experience

Susi Galloso is a dedicated and skilled professional with a passion for supporting individuals and families during the transformative journey of childbirth and early parenthood. With a wealth of experience and expertise, she has been serving as a birth doula since 2010, a massage therapist since 2009, and an infant massage educator since 2014. In her role as a birth doula, Susi provides invaluable emotional, physical, and informational support to expectant mothers and their partners throughout the labor and delivery process. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of birthing techniques, relaxation methods, and comfort measures, she helps ease the anxieties and discomforts associated with labor, fostering a calm and empowering environment for the birthing individual. Her compassionate and empathetic nature allows her to connect deeply with her clients, understanding their unique needs and preferences to tailor her support accordingly. As a massage therapist, Susi possesses a strong foundation in anatomy, physiology, and various massage techniques. Since 2009, she has been utilizing her expertise to offer therapeutic massages that aid in relieving tension, promoting relaxation, and enhancing overall well-being. Her massages are not only a source of physical relief but also an opportunity for her clients to rejuvenate their minds and bodies, fostering a sense of balance and harmony. Additionally, Susi is a certified infant massage educator, demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the bond between parents and their infants. Utilizing her extensive knowledge of infant development and touch therapy techniques, she educates parents on the benefits of infant massage. Through guided instruction, she empowers parents to utilize gentle massage techniques that can aid in soothing and relaxing their babies, improving sleep patterns, and promoting healthy growth and development. Susi's combined expertise as a birth doula, massage therapist, and infant massage educator showcases her holistic approach to supporting individuals and families during crucial life stages. Her dedication to enhancing the well-being of her clients, coupled with her compassionate and nurturing nature, make her an invaluable resource for those seeking expert guidance and support on their journey to parenthood and beyond.

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“I wish I knew about Bornbir sooner, as it's so important to surround yourself with experts who understand during those overwhelming moments and share evidence-based information.”

Kristen P.
San Francisco, CA

“I found my birth doula on Bornbir. After submitting my needs, I was able to connect with several awesome doulas that are within a local distance from me.”

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Austin, TX

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Orlando, FL