My husband and I took the Childbirth Prep Class. I didn’t really think a birth prep class was necessary. Women have given birth for centuries without a class why give up a Saturday and spend the money on one? Luckily my husband pushed us to do it. Hilary our instructor was great. I ended up asking more questions in a six hour class than I probably did in four years of high school. The class is extremely well organized and every bit of information was relevant and will be extremely helpful during the birthing process. The only downside to it was I had to tell my husband “you were right.”
Katie F, NY, NY
Hilary is perfect. My husband and I took the Childbirth Prep Class a few weeks out from my due date and then I followed up with Hilary for virtual lactation consulting about 1 week after I gave birth. I initially was not planning on attending a childbirth class… figured the medical team at the hospital would tell me what I needed to do once I got to the hospital- but I am so glad that I did- my husband and I learned a lot about things we had not considered RE: the birthing experience and it definitely helped having a broad understanding of what the birth experience could look like. This definitely gave us more peace of mind on the day of delivery.
I am now successfully breastfeeding after not being able to for the first 1.5 weeks– and I am certain that I am able to do this because of Hilary. As I gave birth during the corona virus outbreak, Hilary and I did not meet in person for the lactation consult, but I feel that she was able to address my breastfeeding challenges over the video chat just as well as if she was in the room. Her warm energy, humor and supportive personality made me feel really comfortable – and through a follow up call and emails (she is very prompt/responsive) she answered all of my questions and then some. I would definitely recommend moms to be/new moms connect with Hilary for support!
Meredith K, Larchmont NY
We worked with Hilary as a virtual doula over the course of my pregnancy and the birth of our first child. Honestly, it was some of the best money we’ve spent. Ever! After our initial chat, I knew that she was smart, down to earth, funny, and took a balanced, well-researched approach to pregnancy and birth – all things that were really important to me. But throughout our 7ish months of working together I only grew more and more impressed with her. She is caring, patient, reliable, proactive, encouraging…I could go on and on and mean every word to its fullest extent. Because of her, I felt supported, safe, and confident in my choices throughout every stage of pregnancy and childbirth. I plan to recommend her to all of my friends (and any pregnant strangers I come across 😉 ). She’s that good!
Jamie O, Westchester, NY
Just wanted to say my husband Paul and I really enjoyed your birthing class! I can imagine a class that long being somewhat dry and boring at times with the wrong delivery of the info but you really made it engaging and fun! We couldn’t stop raving about it to our family and friends after. (Officially “that” couple) They were all like sure you guys really liked a birthing class, sure you did?!! We’re like no the teacher Hilary was awesome! 😉 Even with the countless books, podcasts, grilling of my mom friends, etc – I still walked away with several things I hadn’t thought about prior from your class. And, Paul said he feels even more confident now! Yay!
Heather P, Westchester, NY
My husband and I signed up for both the Birth Ed class as well as the Newborn care/Breastfeeding classes with Hilary. We are soooo glad we did! She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to babies and parenting. We crammed in so much helpful information in just two days! She provided handouts and was open to all questions and topic discussions.
Hilary is absolutely incredible! To be quite honest, she was my first experience with a doula. I always had a misconception that doulas were against any sort of medication during the birthing process and always naively pictured home births in a bath tub 😉 I was so wrong! Hilary is supportive of all kinds of birth plans. The great thing about her is she has experience in all of them and never passes judgement. We highly recommend taking these classes with her… whether you’re novices like my husband and me, or pros like some of the other couples who also took the classes with us and equally found it incredibly helpful.
Thank you again, Hilary, for such great classes and all of the support you have provided during a very challenging and anxiously exciting time for us 🙂
Lori B, Westchester, NY
We took Hilary’s Labor class last week and we are SO glad we did. She has an equal balance between science based fact and natural/primal birth processes. I went into it having a basic grasp of what goes on but feel better now that she has broken down the process from pre labor to post. No question was too weird, she gladly answered everything with thoughtful and at times funny answers. She makes you feel very comfortable!
Jana K, Pelham, NY
My husband and I loved Hilary’s birthing class. It was the perfect amount of time to learn all of the essentials and most important details of childbirth. Since the class was small Hilary was able to tailor her discussion of each topic to each of our unique plans for birth and there was plenty of time to get to all of our questions. The space was fantastic- it was clean, modern and eco-friendly and there were couches for all of us to sit on and be comfortable. Most importantly, Hilary was extremely knowledgeable and up on all of the recent literature. She has a strong understanding of the benefits of natural labor practices but wasn’t pushing any specific agenda on anyone- just telling us the facts. I would highly recommend this class to anyone. We will be joining her newborn/breastfeeding class soon.
Hilary was great! She was very informative and kept the class engaged with her wonderful sense of humor as a mom who’s done this twice. Appreciated her insight and guidance! Highly recommend the class. I thought it was helpful to have a notepad as there was a lot of information and so would recommend that for people who like to take notes and look back (esp if it’s a while away!)
Shwetha I. NY, NY
My husband and I just took a Childbirth Education class and it was wonderful! Hilary, our teacher, was knowledgable, up on current research, clear, and made the class really fun. She has a sharp sense of humor which was helpful as the subject can be a bit overwhelming at times. We learned all aspects of childbirth, stages of labor, as well as what to expect during the postpartum experience. We learned many pain management techniques as well.
A.H. NY, NY
My wife and I took the full day childbirth preparation class yesterday. What a great class! Hilary, the teacher, was fantastic. She was extremely knowledgable, thorough, and answered all of our questions. We would highly recommend the class and the teacher!
Jason H. NY, NY
We took a labor and delivery class with Hillary and it was fabulous! Very organized and informative. I feel much more prepared now and armed with information!
Jenna W, Westchester, NY
My husband and I took Hilary’s Labor class and we were very happy we did. Our class was small, which helped make it feel more personal and made us more comfortable. She was able to speak specifically to our hospital and our midwife practice. She does a great job of covering a lot without making it feeling too overwhelming or too boring. She uses a presentation but supplements it with videos, props, take home worksheets and personal stories – which makes the information more digestible. Her class includes information about natural and medicated labor and provides techniques for both. I would highly recommend her class.
Emily S. Westchester, NY
My husband and I and our dear friend who will be supporting our birth took Hilary’s class together and loved it! I’m a crunchy-leaning but very down-to-earth, science-based person, and this class was right up my alley. Lots of facts, good info from both medical and “natural” perspectives without either side being pushed or vilified, some good coping techniques (but with the theory behind the techniques explained, rather than just “breath this way”, which I think is much more useful than blindly following a particular “method”). I know my husband in particular feels much more prepared/involved and is suddenly more interested in taking an active role in labor and delivery prep whereas I think he had been feeling a bit “along for the ride” before. Hilary is excellent. Super friendly, personable, straightforward and has a great sense of humor. Also, I love that she was familiar with all the various hospitals and care providers we and the other class participants will be working with, so could speak to what we could each expect and should know to ask about/be aware of. Very helpful.
Erin F, Tarrytown, NY
We took a birthing class with Hilary and liked her so much that we asked if she would be our doula! The birthing class was casual yet very well researched and informative. Hilary is an excellent communicator who was engaging and clear throughout. She is progressive, yet down to earth and did not push any particular viewpoint on us.
As a doula, all we can say is…. WOW. This was our first baby and we cannot imagine going through the process without Hilary. We had an initial meeting where she made a birth plan with us and we discussed specifics. She was available through text for any questions as the due date approached and even checked in several times with calls.
We went a bit late and had an induction. Hilary stayed with us in the hospital from the moment we checked in until 2 hours after our baby was born (27 hours later). She was incredible. She helped us to understand every step of the process, including our various options and potential complications or issues. She helped enormously with pain management and making us comfortable. She especially helped to keep us calm when we were ready to push but the doctor was not available. She also took several photos throughout and logged a timeline of all the events throughout the day. This was hugely appreciated as it was such a whirlwind of a day.
She stopped by our house a week later for a follow up where she provided lactation consultant services as well as helping with follow up questions. She brought us four delicious dinners as well which was such a sweet gesture!
We were on the fence about doula services before the birth. Hiring Hilary was the best decision we could possibly have made. We encountered some complications during our labor. Having someone with Hilary’s experience in our corner massively helped to ease our minds and provide reassurance. If you are on the fence – stop wondering now and just hire her! You won’t regret it.
John G, Cold Spring, NY