Testimonials

“My husband and I agree Clara is an angel on earth sent to guide mothers and their partners through the craziness that is pregnancy, birth and transition into motherhood. No matter what type of birth you are planning, Clara is a valuable addition and free of judgment which was so important to me and made me feel confident and safe. This was my first child, and Clara was there by our side helping us as we navigated pregnancy, labor and made decisions that were right for us to get our boy here healthy and safe!

From the beginning, Clara and I clicked, and I knew she was the right person for us to work with. She was extremely supportive through all the ups and downs of the pandemic and kept us up to date as policies constantly changed. But more importantly, she kept us focused on enjoying the pregnancy and planning for an empowered and informed birth experience.

My husband and Clara made the dream team. She works with partners just as much as you to teach them techniques and answer questions they may have. My husband is now a huge doula advocate! I feel that having Clara with us gave my partner the support he needed to be fully present for me emotionally.

The two in-person appointments closer to the birth day are very comforting and valuable. Clara is a wealth of knowledge on all things pregnancy and birth! Her presence is positive and calming. Clara was by our side every second of labor and extremely respected by our staff at UCSF (and we had 3 shift changes!) One of our delivery nurses came to visit us in postpartum, and mentioned how amazing Clara was.

After birth, she is still there for you, your partner and your new addition except now as a friend sharing in the joys of new motherhood. I would work with Clara again in a heartbeat, and strongly recommend her!”

“We feel so lucky to have had Clara on our team as we brought our son into the world! Ahead of delivery, Clara ensured we understood birthing options, provided guidance as we developed our birth plan, and shared many helpful educational resources, tools and practices that made delivery as smooth and comfortable as it could be. During the birth, she was right by our side and helped us feel confident in the decisions we were making. Ultimately, we had an incredibly positive experience working with Clara, and highly recommend having her with you at this most important moment.”

“We are beyond grateful that we chose Clara to be our doula for the birth of our first child in October 2020. Clara is so thoughtful, easygoing, and sensitive. It is obvious that this is not just a job for her; she truly loves what she does!

We met several times before I gave birth (mostly virtually due to COVID). I always felt like a friend rather than a client; she never rushed through meetings, and we got along great! As my due date approached, Clara checked-in regularly and sent me many great resources to prepare for my birth. She stopped by for one in-person visit before I delivered with a yoga ball and a bag full of goodies for my labor. Since the delivery, Clara has stayed in touch and checked in on us along our journey as new parents.

Giving birth has become more complicated these days because of COVID, and we are so thankful we had Clara’s support while navigating these challenges. We gave birth at UCSF, during the short window of time that they were allowing in-person doula support. It was particularly helpful working with Clara because she often assists with births at UCSF, and had just had another birth there the same week as ours, so she was familiar with the changing policies and procedures there due to COVID. My 24-hour labor did not go according to my birth plan, but Clara was calmly reassuring during the whole difficult experience. Talking through my birth experience with her helped me process everything that happened and feel at peace with all of the challenges. She also took great pictures and videos of our delivery without us even noticing!

All in all, Clara is an amazing doula and person. My only regret is that after everything that we went through together, I haven’t been able to give her a hug due to the pandemic. I highly recommend her to anyone giving birth – and especially to first-time parents like ourselves.”

“We cannot say enough wonderful things about Clara - she is the absolute best.

I admittedly was skeptical about hiring a doula and felt that way as we met with several other potential doulas. After meeting with Clara, we felt that there was something special about her. We decided on the spot to work with her and are so glad we did. She is experienced, warm, patient and empathetic. She was incredibly important to our safe and healthy pregnancy, delivery and post-partum.

We had several unexpected surprises at the hospital. I am convinced the only reason we were able to have a safe delivery was because of Clara’s support, coaching and advocacy. If you are even thinking about getting a doula, you should work with Clara. You will be so happy that you did. ”

“Clara was my doula for the birth of my son (my first) in early March 2020 — born right before limits on support persons were put in place due to Covid. Both my husband and I are beyond thankful that we chose Clara as our doula and that we were able to have her support during my labor. She has an amazing warm, calming presence, which is exactly what I (and I imagine, any other woman) needed during delivery. While I preferred to deliver naturally, I was open to getting an epidural if needed. Working with Clara and having her there during labor helped me stay the course — not because she was pushy about natural birth in any way but because she was able to gently remind me of my own strength and ability to do so. If I had opted for an epidural, I’m sure she would have been equally supportive.

Throughout our time working together, Clara was incredibly responsive, knowledgeable, and kind. She has an energy that puts you at ease, As a first-time parent I never felt uncomfortable asking her questions. She really knows her stuff and provided us with a myriad of great resources to help us feel more prepared. It’s clear that Clara loves what she does and she is excellent at it. I would 100% recommend Clara— you’re in great hands!”

“Clara was the most wonderful doula, we were so lucky to work with her! Throughout many unforeseeable changes to our birth plan, Clara was a solid source of light and hope and calm. By the time birth came around, we felt so well prepared- she thought of everything, down to little fairy lights to hang in the bathroom at the hospital. She is an absolute wealth of knowledge about birth/unmedicated birth and we felt so encouraged and protected in her presence. Cannot recommend Clara enough!”

“We can’t say enough good things about Clara! She was knowledgeable and attentive from the moment we met her. Her expert guidance along with the classes at Golden Gate Doula Associates helped us feel fully prepared for our birth experience. She was an amazing calming presence during our entire labor and enabled me to stay at home and comfortable until the last possible minute. At the hospital I was relaxed as she navigated the process for me and was a gentle firm force/ advocate for my wishes at a time when I could focus only on getting through. I did not give myself pressure to meet expectations on how my birth would go, but Clara guided us through a birth that greatly exceeded my expectations for myself and our son. She was so supportive and I know I wouldn’t have been able to labor so efficiently and naturally without her there.”

“We began working with Clara at the start of Shelter in Place during Covid-19. Upon our first call, Clara was calm, nurturing, and easy to talk to (all meetings were done through video chat). I was planning on delivering at UCSF and Clara and the Golden Gate Doula Associates team were well connected with the L&D team at the hospital. This was incredibly helpful given things were changing at the hospitals on a weekly basis. Leading up to our due date, Clara was so helpful to explain everything and anything that could come up during the L&D process, and made sure I understood my choices. Most importantly, Clara stressed that we would need to speak up during the process at the hospital. This definitely came in handy on the day of as did having her on hand via video calls. Thanks to Clara, we felt well-informed, knowledgable, confident and supported during our birth process.”

“Clara Love is an angel in disguise! I had an extremely fast labor and ended up having an unplanned home birth. She arrived 2 minutes before my daughter was born and helped deliver my baby. An unplanned home birth is an intense situation to come into and she handled herself (and my husband and me!) so well. She is calm and nurturing and immediately put me at ease. I’m so grateful for her help and expertise. I cannot recommend her enough. You will be in excellent and capable hands with Clara.”

“As others have mentioned, my husband and I felt like we clicked with Clara right away. Since we were having our first child, we knew we wanted doula support to help us through the experience but we weren’t really sure what we were looking for.

When we met with Clara, we realized what we needed was someone with a calm and assured demeanor that would help us navigate through the journey as first time parents with as much ease as possible.

I am a very type A personality, whereas my husband is much more laid back. Clara was able to work with both of us to help us feel comfortable with the whole process. When I was in extreme pain during labor, she was able to help my husband ask me the right questions so I was able to get the right care for myself from my hospital team.

Clara really respected what we wanted out of our birth plan. We learned quickly that plans are hard to stick to, but she adapted with us and I ended up having a very quick and easy delivery.

Clara asked me the right questions to help me get to a good place in my own delivery journey. If you ask my husband, he would tell you that having a doula is just as helpful for a partner, if not more, as it is for a delivering mother.

Clara continues to be a resource for us and her kind and calm manner is so refreshing. Our hospital team loved her as well. I also practiced prenatal yoga with Clara and I highly recommend her for that as well!”

“My husband and I had a great first impression meeting Clara. We clicked right away, she was so warm, friendly and approachable and I knew she would be the one we would engage! She was extremely organized, super responsive and knowledgeable about the various aspects involved in the birth process (e.g. birth plan preparation, breathing techniques, pain management etc.). She would provide us with evidence based articles to help support various claims relating to specific areas such as delayed cord clamping, breastfeeding techniques, big baby fiction etc. She was so positive and cheerful during the entire labor (which was pretty long in my case of 26 hours!), helped my husband take critical decisions (e.g. amniotomy, dilation timing etc.) and was always by my side helping me get through the contractions via breathing techniques. She took pictures of our precious moments with the baby and provided us with notes throughout the labor. Clara also supported us postpartum and provided us with useful resources on increasing milk supply for breastfeeding and formula options. I’m so excited to start our postnatal yoga sessions soon! Thank you for all your assistance; we would not have gotten through all of this if it was not for your support!. ”

“We feel so incredibly lucky to have found Clara! My husband and I knew we wanted a doula to support our birth but were skeptical we could find someone that would match our personalities and make us feel comfortable. We met Clara about 3 weeks before our due date (a little late in the game) and we immediately clicked! Clara is so supportive and easy to connect with. She did a wonderful job of providing resources and asking questions to help us create a comprehensive and personal birth plan. She offered great advice, but really focused on empowering my husband and I to support one another through the process.

Our birth didn’t go exactly to plan, but with Clara there we felt confident and capable of making the right choices for our family along the way. Clara made sure we could stay at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, and was so helpful in guiding us in different comfort measures and positions throughout the process.

Even after our birth Clara has continued to be a fantastic resource and friend. She has continued to provide resources (anticipating questions and needs as the weeks have gone by) and continues to help us feel empowered and confident in parenthood - even with the constant changes and surprises that are thrown our way!”

“Clara was the best doula I could imagine. My husband and I feel so blessed to have found her to help me deliver our son. We were immediately attracted to her warmth and supportive nature and found her evidence-based expertise and range of experience incredibly valuable. She helped us prepare for an unmedicated birth with a wide range of techniques including physical movements, mental coaching and props (eg heat packs, tennis ball back massager, yoga blocks). In addition to showing us the moves and preparing for birth in person, she gave me a binder with information compiled from expert sources. It gave me an opportunity to learn more, practice and mentally prepare.

As many mothers will tell you, the birth went nothing to plan, primarily due to my son’s arrival style (nothing to do with Clara) which required medicine. But Clara was flexible and helped me make decisions on the fly that I was happy with including avoiding a C-section! She helped my husband know what to do to support me. And she was an advocate when we needed one, following up with nurses on our requests. She kept the atmosphere positive, collaborating well with the nurses and a doctor who isn’t the most doula friendly. My primary nurse commented on how terrific she was. Since there were many nurses who cycled in and out, it was nice to have Clara there the whole time. She even took photos on my phone of our son’s first few minutes of life—photos that my husband and I never would’ve had the chance to get without missing the moment. I feel like she is my son‘s guardian angel who brought good spirit and good fortune to his birth.”

“Clara was amazing! I ended up having an unplanned C-Section with my first (and no doula) and really wanted a natural VBAC for my second, so that’s how I ended up working with Clara. She was very calming, supportive, and knowledgeable.

At 37 weeks, my baby flipped, and I was really upset. I was scheduled for a version a few days later, and Clara jumped on the phone with me to help me process the news and sent me a ton of excercises to do in the meantime and research on versions. She even offered to come over! Fortunately, the baby turned on its own.

As my due date approached, Clara checked in frequently, which I appreciated, and once I was overdue, she was really helpful in giving me tips to naturally induce labor. The night I went into labor, she was texting with me at 1am and then met us at the hospital at 6am. I ended up getting sent home, but she stayed in close communication with my husband to check in while I rested and then came to our house later that day while my labor intensified. She was so calm the whole time and also helped coach my husband so he could better support me.

Once we got to the hospital, she made sure the nurses had my birth plan (she had printed out a copy, thankfully, since we had not!), and she helped me stay calm even when we had a few complications. When my doctor suggested an epidural, Clara helped me stay focused on a natural birth, and gave me the positive reinforcement that I needed to stay on the path.

I ended up with a successul natural VBAC and couldn’t have done it without Clara. I would highly recommend her to anyone!”

“Clara was an amazing doula to have guide my husband and me through the birth of our first child. Her warm and calming presence helped me to feel supported and confident going into the birthing experience. I’m also big on understanding things that are new for me through background reading materials and she was great about providing all types of resources to become familiar with the ins and outs of pregnancy and delivery. During my labor she was amazing at providing calm support and empowering my husband to be a partner with me through the process. She was also a huge support to my mom, who was with us during my labor, in playing a meaningful role in the experience. She also provided great emotional support to my mom when my labor didn’t go exactly as expected. I am so grateful to Clara for her expert support to us and highly, highly recommend her.”

“Simply put, Clara far exceeded all of my expectations and I couldn’t say enough kind things to repay her for the amazing support she gave my husband and I. She guided my us through pregnancy, the birth experience and post-partum with grace, patience and loving support. I frequently called and texted Clara with questions in the weeks before and after my daughter’s birth. She always responded quickly and with research that empowered my husband and I to make the most informed decision for our family. I had a long, 30 hour labor - Clara came over in the middle of the night early in my labor, supported me through my labor time at home, helped us know when to head to the hospital and then stayed at the hospital with us. She literally never left my side except when medically necessary (she didn’t sleep for over 36 hours). Her dedication and care cannot be overstated - she still checks in on me 6+ months later! As I look forward to expanding our family further in the future, I simply can’t imagine not having Clara by my side. If you have the opportunity to work with her, don’t pass it up! She’s the most incredible resource and generous caregiver. I can’t recommend her enough!”

“Clara was exactly who we envisioned when we set out to find a doula. Her energy, calm demeanor, and depth of knowledge was invaluable, we couldn’t be happier with her services. We clicked right away with Clara in our first meeting and quickly realized she would be a great asset in helping two people who have never been in this situation to navigate the process of having a baby.

Clara was immediately responsive at all times, and proactively communicative in the weeks before our due date. For any questions we had, she was able to help provide information and insight, as well as include her own personal experience. In the weeks before our due date Clara checked in with us constantly to see how we were doing, and provide valuable information for any questions we had. She also met with us and helped to shape our birth plan and state clearly and concisely to hospital staff what we wanted (and what we didn’t want) during our stay at the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital, Clara was with us the entire time, and her presence was invaluable. In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine what it would’ve been like without her there. She provided exactly the type of soothing, steady hand we had in mind, and she knew exactly what to do to manage pain effectively and get us through every aspect of labor and delivery.

In the weeks after, Clara checked in with us to see how things were going with our new baby, and her meetings with us were filled with thoughtful touches and included showing us how to do baby massage and yoga with our newborn.

We had a great experience with Clara, as a doula but also just as a great person. We highly recommend her for anyone that’s considering hiring a doula.”

“We are so very happy that we chose Clara, and that she agreed to be our doula for the birth of our first son. Clara brings the whole package, with her care, radiant enthusiasm, skill, and deep knowledge. She listened and really was attentive to our birthing preferences, she was very well read and knowledgeable in all the theory around birthing and early childhood care, she also possessed the breadth of practical skills and tools on how help me throughout labor. Moreover, she radiated enthusiasm and genuine care in every interaction we had before, during, and after labor and delivery. Mine was a long, almost 48-hour labor, and I felt her moral and physical support was steadfast throughout. Having Clara as our doula was an incredible blessing, and any mother-to-be and partner would be very fortunate to have her.”

“Having had no doula for my first birth and Clara for my 2nd, I can honestly say that she made all the difference in us being able to have the birth experience and outcomes we wanted. From getting to experience and work with the pain in labor, laboring in water, feeling in control of and during the process, to having a perfect healthy baby put on my chest to breastfeed and bond immediately- I couldn’t have asked for more.

From the beginning I felt an immediate connection with Clara as a friend but she happens to be a very experienced doula and mama of two herself. Clara is very passionate and informed about birth and labor practices and supplied us with so much valuable information and reading. She went above and beyond in her prenatal check-ins and her guidance and support during early labor was crucial in helping me avoid an induction- we were able to get my labor to progress naturally with her knowledge.

During labor, Clara was a strong and tireless facilitator of comfort strategies and rituals- and yet was able to almost invisibly coach my husband during the process so that he got to take the most central support role and the experience still felt really intimate and bonding (one of the reasons I hesitated to receive doula support in my first birth).

I’ve been interested in possibly becoming a doula myself someday but after watching Clara in action I’ve come to realize there is so much to the role and it takes a special person to do this work. I’m not sure that I’ve got it but Clara most certainly does. We were so lucky and thankful!”

“Clara Love has been my personal yoga coach for a rather long time. Her quiet presence alone could calm and relax me. I am the CEO of a market research and marketing consulting agency in Shanghai. There are 85 staff in the company and we served clients across China and in Asia. This means lots of traveling and juggling schedules.

The pace in China is very hectic and stressful. To balance this challenge, Clara came to my apartment twice a week in the early morning. I remembered feeling very refreshed and focussed after each session. At times, I requested for extra classes after work for meditation and unwinding. She was able to totally relax and strengthen me especially in my breathing and keeping me centered.

Clara has taught me how to breath differently and meditate through breathing. She has also tailored made different styles to help me hold better postures and strengthen the core muscles.

I totally enjoyed Clara’s company and professional guidance. I will not hesitate to refer Clara.”

“I met Clara when I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life. My health was not very good. I had not been taking good care of myself and was quite overweight. In my work life, I was quite stressed as there were a lot of difficulties in my business. My personal life was also going through many changes.

Clara and her kind and gentle manner helped me on all fronts. Her Yoga class helped me to gain strength and to take better care of myself. The deep breathing and relaxation techniques she showed me helped me to find good balance. The physical aspect of the Yoga got me into better physical condition and helped me to take better care of myself.

Having Clara as my teacher was a great experience for me.”