Yes! We proudly work with families using Carrot Fertility benefits. If your employer offers Carrot, your postpartum doula care may be eligible for reimbursement or direct coverage depending on your specific employer plan. Every employer’s Carrot benefit is different, so we recommend checking your Carrot account or contacting us before booking. We’re happy to provide the documentation and invoices needed to make the process as seamless as possible.

Soft Landing Postpartum partners with Loula to help eligible California families access postpartum doula care through participating health plans. If you’re unsure whether you qualify, contact us and we’ll help determine your eligibility and walk you through the next steps. 

Our Onboarding Process

We believe postpartum care works best when you already know and trust the people walking alongside you. Our onboarding process is designed to help you feel supported long before your baby arrives.

1. Discovery Call

We begin with a complimentary discovery call to learn about your family, your birth plans, and the kind of support you’re looking for. We’ll answer your questions, discuss your goals, and help determine which services are the best fit.

2. Meet Your Doula Team

Once you’re ready to move forward, we’ll schedule a virtual meet-and-greet with the doulas who are most likely to support your family. Because we are an agency, your care team is assigned based on your schedule, due date, and each doula’s availability. This ensures you always have reliable, consistent support while also getting to know the people who may be caring for your family.

3. In-Home Walk-Through

Before your baby arrives, one of your doulas will visit your home for a prenatal walk-through. We’ll become familiar with your space, learn your routines and preferences, discuss newborn care, feeding plans, and household logistics, and answer any remaining questions. This visit allows everyone to feel comfortable and connected before those first postpartum visits.

4. Welcome to Soft Landing

Once your baby arrives, simply let us know you’re home. We’ll confirm your schedule and your doula team will begin providing the care outlined in your personalized postpartum plan. From your very first shift, our goal is for it to feel like welcoming a trusted friend into your home—someone who already knows your family and is ready to help you rest, recover, and settle into parenthood.

Our team-based model means you’ll always have dependable support, even if your primary doula is unavailable due to illness, vacation, or attending another family. Every doula is thoroughly vetted, trained, and committed to providing the same high standard of compassionate, evidence-based care, so you can feel confident you’re in good hands every step of the way.

We understand that every family’s postpartum journey is different. That’s why our contracts are designed to provide both guaranteed support and built-in flexibility as your needs evolve.

A Retainer That Works for You

To reserve your place on our calendar, we require a non-refundable retainer at the time of booking. This retainer is not an additional fee—it is applied toward your final scheduled weeks of care. Rather than paying for your last weeks all at once, your retainer is simply held and used to pay your doula during the final portion of your contract.

Committed + Flexible Care

Every care agreement includes two portions:

Committed Weeks
These are the weeks reserved exclusively for your family. Your doula team blocks off this time well in advance, ensuring dependable support during the early postpartum period when families typically need it most. Because this time cannot be offered to another family, committed weeks are subject to the cancellation terms outlined in your agreement.

Flexible Weeks
As your confidence grows and your family’s needs change, the remaining weeks of your contract are intentionally more flexible. You may reduce, reschedule, or discontinue these weeks with advance notice according to your agreement, allowing your care plan to adapt as your recovery unfolds.

Personalized Scheduling

No two families need the same level of support. We’ll work together to create a schedule that fits your goals—whether that’s several overnight shifts each week, daytime postpartum care, or a combination of both. Your contract clearly outlines your committed and flexible weeks so expectations are transparent from the beginning.

Our goal is simple: to provide reliable, consistent care while giving families the flexibility they need during one of life’s biggest transitions.

We recommend booking during your second trimester, as overnight availability fills quickly. However, we welcome last-minute bookings whenever our schedule allows.

Can I hire a doula before my baby is born?
Absolutely. Many families meet with us during pregnancy to create a postpartum plan, prepare their home, discuss feeding goals, and ease the transition into parenthood.

We strive to provide consistency whenever possible. Because we are a doula agency, you’ll meet your care team before birth and your schedule will be built around the doulas assigned to your family. This team approach ensures dependable coverage if someone is sick, on vacation, or attending another family.

We thoughtfully match families based on availability, personality, experience, feeding goals, family dynamics, and any specialized support you may need, such as twins, NICU graduates, LGBTQ+ families, or sleep consulting.

What does an overnight shift look like?
Your doula cares for your baby throughout the night, supports feeding, changes diapers, soothes your newborn, washes bottles or pump parts, and keeps notes on feeds and sleep if requested. The goal is for you to get restorative sleep while knowing your baby is in experienced hands.

What do daytime visits include?
Daytime visits are customized but may include newborn education, feeding support, light meal preparation, baby laundry, emotional support, infant care, and practical help around the home related to the baby.

Do you support breastfeeding and bottle feeding?
Yes. We support every feeding journey without judgment. Whether you’re breastfeeding, pumping, formula feeding, combination feeding, or working through feeding challenges, we’ll meet you where you are.