Welcome to
Joyful Roots

Rise into motherhood rooted
in heart-centered support.

Come As You Are

Doulas have the great honor of walking alongside birthing parents during one of life’s great journeys of transformation. This process is precious, but we hold on to it lightly, so that you are the owner of your experience and valued as the expert on your own path. Being a part of this is our calling and our absolute privilege.

Our work is founded on the desire to bring compassionate, nonjudgmental, inclusive support to families throughout the San Diego County seeking Birth Support, Postpartum Support, Belly Binding, Birthing Story Healing, and Placenta Encapsulation.

Birth Doula Peanut Ball San Diego

Every parent deserves support that awakens their own resiliency, self-love, and compassion as they navigate the life-altering path of birth and parenting.

Pregnancy and birth are more than merely a physiological process, but one that is also social, emotional, psychological, and even spiritual.

Pregnancy, carrying a baby, birth, and becoming a parent is a rite of passage, each a pivotal life experience deserving of care and support. 

We are deeply honored to be invited to accompany families through such an intimate and miraculous time.

We welcome working as a team with medical professionals in our community, providing our clients with a complete circle of care.

Our Philosophy

Birth
Support

We are your ally and are here to provide you with the emotional, informational and educational support you need so you can meet your baby with confidence.

Placenta
Encapsulation

The placenta was made by your body to sustain the growth of your baby and now it can be used to nourish you during the postpartum period!

Belly
Binding

Belly massage and binding is a celebratory way to close the womb and begin the healing process after birth.

Postpartum
Support

We all have an image of how we would love our first days and weeks at home with our new child to be. Let us help you create these beautiful memories.

Birth Story
Healing

Birth processing sessions where you can have your birth story heard, and to reflect, re-frame, and begin to see your story in a new light.

Our Roots

Joyful Roots was founded in 2018 by Joy Kobrick and Dara DeSoto out of the mutual desire to bring professional, compassionate and generous care to our clients. Dara stepped away in 2021 to pursue her dream of becoming a licensed midwife and Joy has welcomed April to join her as they continue to bring seasoned doula support to families throughout the San Diego area.

  • "Joy is a unicorn, I have no idea how she does it all. She is a wealth of knowledge, a personaility that radiates, and she is forged with experience. It was an honor to work with her."

    Leslie K.

  • "I was drawn to Joy's calm, grounded energy from the very beginning. Her background and skillset was impressive but it was Joy herself that really sold me. She just has an ineffable presence about her that gave me deep comfort as I prepared to head into the wild unknown."

    Shari C.

  • "Feeling comfortable with my Doula in every capacity was very important to me for the day of, and she exceeded every expectation I had. First of all, her energy is contagious. She is compassionate, encouraging...and funny! She's genuinely fun to be around."

    Leyla B.

  • "Vast in her knowledge, intuitive in her wisdom, healing with her touch, fiercely protective of a mother's birth space, pure love and compassion in her heart, Joy embodies all of these and more. I will be forever grateful for her support on our birthing journey."

    Laura D.

  • "It has been such a blessing to know and work with Joy! She is a treasure chest of women's health knowledge and a true advocate for empowerment and choosing the birth that's right for you."

    Amy S.

  • "Something about Joy immediately put me at ease. I felt that she had the perfect combination of warmth and professionalism; I totally trusted her expertise from the very beginning and somehow knew I could relax with her."

    Caroline G.

  • "Joy is absolutely amazing!! I had the most wonderful experience having her as my birth doula. She is vastly knowledgeable, incredibly gifted at what she does and she has the most warm and beautiful personality. I cannot recommend her enough!"

    Jess S.

Follow Our Journey

Hi friends! I haven't been spending much time on social lately, so I wanted to introduce myself for those of you who are new here. 😊 I attended my first birth as a doula in 2012, and since that first initiation, I've supported over 400 mothers as t
Hi friends! I am co-hosting a photoshoot that is focused on celebrating the motherhood journey. We are seeking a diverse group of women - from not even thinking about pregnancy, to trying to conceive, to baby in arms and beyond. We’d love for
When a mother is fully held, surrounded by love and honor, she starts to see the vastness of her own strength. 🙌 This Saturday, we gathered around this incredible woman, supported her with hearts and hands, and witnessed her instinctually birth he
Birth is a process of emerging as matriarch, mother. And for many of us, there will be gates of doubt and uncertainty we pass through. There will be new layers of vulnerability we may never have experienced before. These moments are important thres
🤍Self-Compassion🤍 As you prepare for birth and motherhood, one of the greatest things you can do is to begin a practice of mindful self-compassion. When we take mindfulness (paying attention to the experience, without judgment), and add in self-c
✨"No thank you."✨ This can be hard to say. It can be hard when our provider may be suggesting something to us, or even just telling us what they will do. The people-pleaser inside us can feel uncomfortable saying "no" and it can
✨Informed Choice✨ Informed decision making is when you are told your options (including the option to do nothing!), the details of those options, and the benefits, risks and expected outcome of each. But informed choice can only happen when there i
Each year, I take rest in December so that I can slow down and reflect on my life. As my work is such a deep and integral part of my life and who I am, much of the reflection is spent thinking about the many incredible mothers I have had the privileg
Welcome earthside, sweet one! 💕 📷 @joyful.roots.birth #uprightbirth #birth #doula #normalizebirth #birthprep #childbirth
Sway, move, be upright, and keep your face serene, loves. All of this helps our body to relax and in turn allow our uterus to be most effective in labor. ✨ I remember a yoga teacher, a long time ago, telling me as I struggled through some challengi
Maybe you have seen this already, maybe you haven't...but it's currently a favorite of mine! Our jaw and pelvic floor are connected, so when you hold tension in your jaw, your pelvic floor responds and also holds tension. In turn, keeping the jaw so

Let’s connect, today.