Nakomi is an incredible ray of light, highly talented, and with such a beautiful energy! She came highly referred by an amazing woman in my Pilates classes, who knows all the best of the best! I was sharing that I wanted to find the best induction massage in LA, and she came in with raving reviews. She came to my home and the entire thing felt like a dream. Nakomi’s massage felt amazing, and also we had a beautiful talk about pregnancy and postpartum. I didn’t work with a doula, but I can tell she’d be the best, and will certainly be telling my clients all about her and her offerings. My water broke within 48 hours, and I had the most incredible, grounded labor and birth of my baby. I couldn’t be happier. Less

Where do I begin? Nakomi has been an angel and shining light in my pregnancy and newborn journey! I felt comfortable with her right away and was excited to have found my doula. During the birth of my daughter, Nakomi was the calming and stable presence I had hoped for. My husband and I were smart enough to book Nakomi as a night nurse for the three months after our daughter was born. While reserving a night nurse initially felt like an unnecessary indulgence, I can’t say enough how much this helped me in so many ways: with recovery, getting some much needed sleep, and most importantly in helping my little babe learn how to sleep through the night! To top it all off, Nakomi provided me with an incredible in-home massage that allowed me to relax and release much of the tension being stored in my body post-birth. I truly can not recommend working with Nakomi enough. Your birthing journey will be better for it! Less

Working with Nakomi was a really great experience. She is so warm and kind and absolutely lovely. Her experience with babies is unparalleled and she is truly a baby whisperer. I cannot recommend working with her enough. Less

Nakomi has been an absolute godsend during our first months as parents. Her expertise is invaluable and a good complement to our baby’s care team, and we look forward to each of her visits. She respects our choices as parents and offers supplemental advice that helps us adjust as we get to know our baby and our role as a parent. And, most importantly, she has helped us feel more confident and to feel safe in trusting our own intuitions. With our baby, Nakomi is sweet, gentle, and cares for her as if she were her own. She’s helped us take a breath as parents while knowing that our child is well-cared for and nurtured. I cannot recommend working with Nakomi enough. She’s played a vital role in helping us develop as parents, and we’re incredibly grateful for her. Less

We had the pleasure of working with Nakomi as our infant doula and would highly recommend. She has a natural, calm, supportive demeanor, that is very much needed in those first few weeks with your little one. She gave us strategies, suggestions, and also just checked in lovingly (human first) on us as we progressed through the process. A doula really see's your family in a vulnerable place, so a loving connection is vital - for us this just happened naturally. We loved working with Nakomi, and had finances allowed, we would have extended her timeframe even longer. Thank you Nakomi for being our support system during this time! We miss you already! Less

Nakomi was my birth doula as well as our postpartum doula. She has been knowledgeable, informative, compassionate, and helpful throughout this journey. I had a difficult pregnancy and experienced multiple complications in my labour and in the early weeks of motherhood. Nakomi provided us with evidence based research and information that assisted us in making informed decisions that aligned with our values as a couple and as new parents. Nakomi provided lactation support and newborn care as well as helping us find support for postpartum depression. She truly has gone above and beyond in helping me adjust to motherhood. We cannot speak highly enough about her and recommend her to anyone that is looking for help navigating pregnancy and new parenthood. Less

We booked a co-doula package with Nakomi Kirby and Debbie Benton. To say that their help was essential for our delivery would be an understatement. Due to our unique circumstances, we were two months away from our due date and felt very unprepared. Some of the challenges we faced included: - Inadequate birth classes from Kaiser. Due to COVID, we were given 3 online classes with 50 other parents. Though informative, it was impossible to retain all this information without a 1:1 relationship with the teacher or other parents. - My wife’s work schedule was brutal during the last two trimesters of the pregnancy. This contributed to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion leading up to the due date. - We were preparing for a last minute move into a new apartment, which ultimately took place 2 days before our due date. The mental, emotional, and physical stress took us to our limit. Due to the toll our circumstances were taking on us, it occurred to us that we needed additional support. Because of the cost of preparing for a new baby, we were hesitant to hire help. It initially seemed so luxurious but as we got closer to the due date, it became obvious that it was a necessity. Our knowledge of and experience with doula’s was extremely limited but we decided to try our best to find a doula one month before our baby’s arrival. By coincidence we ended up getting the support of two! Due to the last minute nature of our booking, Nakomi worked together with a second doula, Debbie Smith, to support us. Nakomi focused on pre-natal education and post-natal follow up and Debbie was with us in the delivery room and visited us at home after the delivery. Their individual strengths were perfect for our needs and their teamwork was seamless. These were some of the highlights of our work with them: - On the due date, the hospital wanted to induce my wife. We were uncomfortable with being medically induced and Nakomi provided an induction massage instead. In addition to helping my wife’s body relax, we believe it also gave her body the “nudge” it needed to get started. Within 4-5 hours, labor was underway! - When my wife was in active labor, our daughter got “stuck” in a position that resulted in near-constant back pain. Debbie guided my wife through various positions, kept her breathing on track, and provided steady and calm support, so my wife could focus. - As I focused on emotionally supporting my wife, I watched Debbie provide practical support and emotional stability to the room. Our doctors and nurses were uber competent but there’s no question that the labor would have been more stressful without the experience and steady support that Debbie provided. - After 20+ hours of active labor, my wife was exhausted and our baby was “stuck”. My wife decided to pivot from our birth plan and to accept the epidural and pitocin. Nakomi and Debbie are natural birth advocates (it’s why we chose them) but they had also prepared us for a scenario when medical intervention was appropriate. We just so happened to be in that situation and we were so grateful that we were mentally prepared for this decision. - After the baby arrived, Nakomi and Debbie knew how to periodically check in while also giving us the space we needed to decompress and adjust to our new normal. Nakomi and Debbie helped us troubleshoot some feeding issues (though we ultimately ended up pumping/bottle feeding our daughter). Overall, we couldn’t be more thankful that Nakomi and Debbie were our doulas in our great time of need. The only thing we would have changed would have been to contact them sooner and enjoy their guidance earlier in our pregnancy journey. Nakomi and Debbie: thank you from the bottom of our heart! Less