Yes! Our evidence-based childbirth education PLUS doula-led telehealth prenatal sessions are fully covered by most California Kaiser and Health Net plans for eligible members. We bill your insurance directly through our billing company, Loula!

Modesto Birth & Beyond, LLC is a doula agency based in Modesto, California, providing education, as well as birth, postpartum and lactation support to local families.
Made for Birth & Beyond is our comprehensive online childbirth education program, created by the owners of Modesto Birth & Beyond; certified doulas, Lamaze childbirth educators and an IBCLC. After years of working directly with families, we created this course to make the same high-quality education and birth preparation accessible to families beyond our local community. You will meet with an experienced doula on our team for each of your telehealth prenatal sessions.

Loula is our insurance billing provider. They hold the insurance contracts and handle the billing and benefits verification for your prenatal telehealth sessions. Your telehealth services are provided by Modesto Birth & Beyond and billed to your insurance through Loula. This applies whether you live locally in Modesto or anywhere else in California. Once your insurance benefits have been verified, you’ll receive an email from Loula asking you to “opt in” to electronic communications. This step gives Loula permission to communicate electronically and submit claims to your insurance plan on our behalf.

Doulado is our HIPAA compliant client portal. All of your telehealth sessions will be in the video room within Doulado. It’s very easy to navigate! When you submit your benefits for verification, you will receive the option to “opt in” for SMS notifications. Once your sessions are scheduled, Doulado will send you appointment reminders via email and/or SMS notification according to your preferences. We recommend SMS reminders as they are most helpful.

No problem! We’ll help you determine whether your specific plan is eligible and walk you through the next simple steps. Most California Kaiser and Healthnet plans cover this benefit with no cost or reimbursement paperwork for you to deal with.

You’ll learn about the anatomy & physiology of birth, the stages and phases of labor and what to do when, timing contractions and when you should plan to leave for the hospital, advocating for evidence-based care and making informed decisions, benefits & risks of common interventions, birth preferences, labor positions, comfort measures, non-medicinal and medicinal pain relief options, postpartum preparation, breastfeeding, newborn care and so much more!

Yes! We encourage partners to participate, so your main support person feels confident and prepared to support you.

You’ll receive access to our comprehensive online birth course along with a digital workbook to guide you through your learning. Before each session with your doula, you’ll complete designated modules so you can come prepared with questions. Your insurance covers 8 doula-led sessions, giving you the opportunity to ask questions about what you’ve learned, gain clarity on your options, and receive personalized guidance and support (according to your unique circumstances & preferences) throughout your learning journey.

No! This is comprehensive childbirth education designed to give you more than information, it gives you a voice in your birth. As for hospital-based birth classes? They mostly teach you how to be a good patient, not how to advocate for yourself. Our goal is to help you understand what’s happening, what your options are and why those options matter, so you can confidently participate in decisions throughout your birth. And because this education is paired with personalized support from experienced doulas, you’re not left trying to figure it all out on your own.

Because being informed gives you a seat at the decision-making table, and having a seat at the table can avoid birth trauma. Birth doesn’t always go as planned, but when you understand your options, ask questions and feel confident making decisions, you can remain an active part of the process, even when things change. When you feel heard and involved in your care, you can still walk away with a positive birth experience, even when the outcome looks very different than you imagined.

That’s exactly why preparation matters! The power of a birth plan isn’t the actual plan. It’s the process of learning about ALL the options you may have. We discuss the importance of a birth plan, which should be flexible. It is a list of your preferences and wishes for birth. We often say “Birth can throw some curve balls” so being prepared to navigate other scenarios is important. We help you understand different possibilities, from inductions and epidurals to cesarean births, so you can feel prepared no matter how your birth unfolds.

Absolutely not! We support all birth preferences. Our goal is to give you the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions that are right for you. We aren’t against interventions. In fact, you’ll learn about them throughout the course so you can understand their benefits, risks, and when they may be appropriate. It’s about making informed decisions and understanding when the benefits of an intervention outweigh the risks. Most importantly, we believe you should never cross the line between coping and suffering. You deserve to understand your options and have the support to make choices that feel right for you and your baby.

You’ll still benefit! Every pregnancy and birth is different, and our education can help you prepare for this birth based on your current needs and experiences. We’ve had so many parents tell us they learned so many new things even though this isn't their first! As they move through the course, those “lightbulb moments” start happening, suddenly understanding why certain things happened during previous labors and seeing their past birth experiences in a whole new light. You may have given birth before, but there’s always more to learn & understand. The more you learn, the more confident you will be and the better your birth experience will be.

You're not alone! Between social media, family, friends, providers and the endless opinions on the internet, preparing for birth can feel overwhelming. We're here to help you sort through the noise, learn the actual evidence, understand your options and focus on what actually matters. You don't need another opinion. You need evidence-based education you can trust!

Absolutely! You can still have a birth doula, and we highly encourage it, if that is what you are wanting! In fact, your doula’s job will be even easier when you have a strong understanding of birth and the terminology that comes with it. The education you receive gives you a shared foundation, allowing your doula to focus on supporting you, answering questions and helping you navigate your birth experience. Your insurance will still cover a 90-minute session with your birth doula, continuous birth support, immediate postpartum support after your baby arrives, and an additional 3-hour in-home postpartum session. Take advantage of all the support your insurance covers! You deserve to feel informed, prepared and supported every step of the way.

For best results, we recommend getting started early enough to give yourself plenty of time to work through the education but not too early that you will forget it all. Ideally, you’ll want to start and complete the sessions between 26 and 36 weeks.

It's simple! Submit your insurance information and we’ll help you determine eligibility and get you started! We look forward to guiding you through this amazing journey!