East Bay Birth Doula & Herbal Support | Berkeley, Oakland, Albany

Welcome!

If you have reached this page, congratulations on your pregnancy and I look forward to talking with you soon.

My name is Lauren Samuel. I have been a birth doula since 2006 - that's over 20 years of holding space for families as they welcome new life. My doula practice is woven into my own years of birthing and mothering three children.

I came to be a doula after working with the elderly and sitting with people as they died, feeling into how important it is to mirror and be completely present with someone as they journey on. I became curious and drawn to the dual gateways of life, with herbal medicine and a passion for women's health eventually bringing me to birthwork.

Birth Doula Services in the East Bay

Based in Berkeley, California, I provide birth doula and postpartum support throughout the East Bay. Whether you're planning a home birth in Oakland, delivering at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, or welcoming your baby at John Muir Health in Walnut Creek, I'm here to support your journey with over two decades of experience.

Areas I Serve

Priority areas (closest to home base): Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito, Piedmont

Extended service area: Alameda, Moraga, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, and anywhere along BART

Priority given to families with less travel distance from Berkeley.

View Doula Packages Schedule a Consultation

I deeply believe that access to support and choices around the childbearing years is crucial to the way we birth our feelings about ourselves as women, as well as our relationship to our children and environment.

I have loved attending births both at hospital and at home over the last fifteen years, and believe that it is who you are with more than where you are that counts.

My focus is to attend your birth in ways that support your full expression, facilitating conscious choice, knowing that each has their own journey and truly, your body knows best. I support partner participation to increase intimacy and trust.

I studied Herbal Medicine alongside my Doula training in 2006, and lived on a Herb Farm with a large home-birthing family who nourished a sense of ease and trust in our natural processes. I make herbal medicines and continue to integrate my love of plants with women's health. www.homemadeherbals.com

20+ Years of Training & Experience

I began my journey as a birth doula in 2006, studying herbal medicine alongside my doula training while living on an herb farm with a home-birthing family. Since then, I've continued to deepen my practice through ongoing education and real-world experience supporting hundreds of families.

Certifications

Certified Labor Doula & Postpartum/Infant Care Doula - ProDoula (2021)
Herbalist - Ongoing study since 2006
Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED - Red Cross certified

Professional Affiliations

Member of Imeinu Doula Collective since 2012
Member of Redwood Doula agency since 2021

Specialized Training

Spinning Babies Workshop (2022) - Optimal fetal positioning techniques
Sexual Trauma in Birthing Women (2022) - Trauma-informed care
Breech, Twins and ECV (2021) - Complex birth presentations
Austere and Disaster Birth Worker - Herbal Medics Academy (2020)
Overdose Prevention and Response - National Harm Reduction Coalition (2021)
Homeopathy for Birth (2012)
Ongoing education in herbal medicine, birth work, and women's health

Why Families Choose Birth Botanica

20+ Years of Experience

I've been supporting births since 2006, bringing calm presence and practical wisdom to every birth I attend.

Herbal Medicine Expertise

As an herbalist, I offer unique support with pregnancy teas, post partum healing herbs and natural remedies.

Your Body Knows Best

My focus is supporting your full expression and facilitating conscious choice. I trust in the birthing process and help you trust in yourself.

Partner Participation

I support partner involvement to increase intimacy and trust during one of life's most profound experiences.

We give over to our children
the deepest deepest part of ourselves
what is underneath… …… ….
…. …..we can only hope that what we give over to our children
is not the layer of fear
filming the eyes of people in cities
that it is not our pools of disappointment
collecting lint in our pockets
nor our funds of fantasy casting
false shadows and making us startle
at the sounds of a stray cat

But that it is our heart of good
at the bottom of it all
that we pass over to our children
the souls of joy
who remembers Oneness
and a dancing that never stops
and a voice sweetening the air never tiring
and a silence full of inner growth
budding, flowering, reaching
towards the sun, towards light and truth gracing all
this is what we hope to give our children.

Chava Rachel Saban

Art by Mathilde Cinq Mars