Her participation was on our terms.  She would respond when we contacted her when we had questions, but she was respectful of our space.

“Initially when Stephanie suggested we hire a doula, I was on the fence regarding the benefits of doing so.  Now I couldn’t more strongly recommend adding a doula to your support team and Lindsey, specifically, was a perfect match for our needs and birthing plan. Stephanie and I did everything we could to prepare for the big day and then when it finally arrived we forgot some integral details of what we had wanted from the experience.  Having Lindsey there to guide and remind us of the plan she helped develop was invaluable.  Lindsey reminded us about pain management techniques that we had talked about in the planning process to help achieve Stephanie’s desire for an unmedicated birth.

As the support person and not the person giving birth I really felt having Lindsey in the room was beneficial.  The birthing process progressed to active labor fairly quickly, but active labor turned out to be much longer than the midwife and nurse projected. Lindsey was a great assistance for Stephanie and helped me be a better aid by reminding me to eat so I could better support her.

We were particularly happy with Lindsey’s availability in the months leading up to the birth of our daughter.  Her participation was on our terms.  She would respond when we contacted her when we had questions, but she was respectful of our space.  It was thoughtful and appreciated that she followed up after prenatal appointments with the midwife.  The meetings with Lindsey were informative and helpful in making us feel ready.  The prenatal yoga session was an added bonus!”

-Jonah, baby #2

Her calm, confident demeanor and the way that she listened inspired trust immediately.

“I knew I wanted a low intervention birth, but I didn’t feel comfortable having my first child outside of the hospital.  At the same time, I was very nervous about being in a traditional medical setting where interventions may be encouraged.  Finding a doula seemed like the best way to get the birth experience I wanted.  I was initially nervous about inviting a stranger into our lives at this vulnerable time, but a friend (who had used Lindsey’s services) encouraged me to at least meet with her. 

My husband and I met with Lindsey when I was early in my second trimester and she instantly put us both at our ease.  Her calm, confident demeanor and the way that she listened inspired trust immediately.  We met with Lindsey twice more officially.  During these meetings, she helped us with specific techniques to get through the pregnancy, and she also connected us with local resources (Blooma, Spinning Babies). She helped me make sense of everything I read and answered my husband’s many questions.

Throughout the pregnancy, Lindsey kept in touch without ever being pushy or making it feel invasive.  She helped us keep track of the various classes we discussed, to make sure we didn’t drop any balls during this hectic time.

The end of my pregnancy was drawn out - I was in early labor for over 2 weeks. During this time, I was both nervous and impatient.  Lindsey kept me from doing anything rash (scheduling an induction) and helped normalize my experience.  She was firm in reminding me of the birth plan I wanted and how various decisions might undermine that.

When I finally went into labor, Lindsey was a wonderful coach. I was in no shape to communicate coherently, but she just kept encouraging  me and keeping me on track with the techniques I had worked on.  She helped apply some of the Spinning Babies “moves” at just the right moment to keep baby moving.   In the end, I was able to have exactly the birth experience I wanted- both physically and psychologically. 

I’m so grateful that we had Lindsey’s empathy, expertise and guidance throughout. I cannot recommend her enough.”

-Asya, baby #1

She taught me the importance of finding my voice in this experience and not being afraid to express my needs.

"Lindsey is an extremely caring and compassionate person and those qualities shine through in her work as a doula. Prior to the birth, Lindsey met with my husband and me multiple times to answer questions, provide helpful resources and ensure that we were all on the same page. 

Most importantly, she helped me feel empowered in the birth process by promoting self-advocacy. She taught me the importance of finding my voice in this experience and not being afraid to express my needs. Throughout the birth, Lindsey was by our side ready and willing to help on any level. From holding my hand through contractions to massaging my legs and feeding me ice-chips, Lindsey remained calm and encouraging every step of the way.

The birth of Hannah was better than I ever could've hoped for. I was able to use the breathing techniques Lindsey had shown us to labor longer at home and arrived at the hospital in a peaceful state of mind. I felt extremely supported and at ease throughout the entire birth. Following the birth, Lindsey remained in the hospital to make sure I was ok and assisted in ensuring my recovery went smoothly. She continued to check in with me and made a home visit shortly after I was released. We were so impressed with Lindsey's knowledge, dedication and care throughout this entire process and are incredibly appreciative to have shared this experience with her."

-Laura, baby #2

Lindsey empowered me to provide the loving care and support that my wife needed.

"My wife initially reached out to Lindsey because the birth of our first daughter was both long and difficult and we wanted a different experience the second time around. Lindsey was so incredibly helpful through the planning, labor, and birth of our beautiful daughter. She took the time to meet with my wife and I in the months prior to the birth to ensure she knew our birth plan and to provide us with important information. As a father, I was initially concerned that a doula would make my role obsolete. On the contrary, Lindsey empowered me to provide the loving care and support that my wife needed. I was still the primary support for my wife throughout the process, but I was always able to rely on Lindsey for advice or to provide a helping hand. Lindsey was a very calming presence in the delivery room and helped put us both at ease. The labor and birth were an extremely positive experience for both my wife and I. We can't thank Lindsey enough for her guidance and support." 

-Chris, baby #2

Through it all I felt her completely focused presence. It was as though she had loaded her arsenal of support with precisely the kind I needed.

"Andrew and I met Lindsey only once before my birth, but we both liked her right away and knew that at the very least, that she would be a nice person to have in the room with us. She ended up being the most outstanding support for both of us, and nurtured to fruition a strength in me that I didn't know I had.

At our initial meeting, Lindsey and I got to know each other a little and spoke about what I wanted for the birth. I wanted two things besides the obvious outcome of a healthy baby: a VBAC (my first birth having ended in an emergency C-section after many hours of too-slow progress, leaving me feeling weak and blindsided), and an experience that was positive and made me feel strong. I expressed these to Lindsey, and she encouraged me to write my birth plan, giving me pointers for what I might want to include to let the hospital staff know what my preferences were. Sharing these thoughts with my husband, Lindsey and the hospital staff helped me prioritize what I wanted (i.e., plenty of information, time to make decisions) and gave Lindsey and others the ability to guide me back to a place of clarity later on, when all I could think was “it hurts so much.. what should I do?”

While I knew in theory that to achieve vaginal birth after my C-section, I'd need to minimize medical interventions that might slow down the progress of my labor, I was apprehensive about being able to do it as my only previous experience with labor had been back labor that I was able to numb with an epidural when it became unbearable. I'd never managed to breathe through contractions before into the middle and later stages, and I'd underestimated how badly I'd need someone to stay by my side, remind me to breathe and to relax my muscles, to grab onto when I needed to grab someone, and to steady me as I sat on the ball, trying to hold it together as the baby bore further and further down on my cervix and the shock waves of labor at its most intense, unmedicated strength took over my body.

While Andrew would sooner have had me out of agony, Lindsey, without actually reminding me of my increasingly-idiotic-seeming ambition of no epidural (to keep labor progressing in the hopes of avoiding a repeat C-section), seemed to take for granted that I could and would progress on my own strength. And when my strength flagged, she seemed to lend me more.

Orthodox Jewish spouses traditionally refrain from physical contact in the later stages of labor and during birth, which made Lindsey’s support even more essential. Even then, she encouraged Andrew to be my Number One, first having him apply counter pressure to my back and hips and later calling on him to encourage me and remind me of the joy awaiting us. Since Andrew knew that Lindsey had my pain covered, he was able to be present and not panic over being helpless to take away my pain. And having someone else there whose every move was attuned to my comfort took away my anxiety that my husband would somehow fall short in meeting my every need, which relieved us both.

While my nurse popped in intermittently and Andrew tried to hold it together nearby, Lindsey stayed close. When I started to have back labor, she had me lean forward on the birthing ball and that helped move the pain forward. She stayed right beside me, straddling the ball as well, and never flinching when I grabbed onto her, even though the soreness in my arms the next day told me I must have been grabbing her with brute strength.

She had a really keen sense of what my needs were at any given moment, and was able to say the right things. She never spoke too much, only just enough, and she seemed to know where particularly the pain was emanating from and went after it. Through it all I felt her completely focused presence. It was as though she had loaded her arsenal of support with precisely the kind I needed, and whether it was massaging exactly the right place, whispering my mantra to me, checking in that I had the information I needed along the way, telling me which muscle in my face or shoulders needed to relax, adjusting the lighting or airflow, handing me something to squeeze, lifting a drink to my mouth, having me try a new position, getting my hair out of my face, letting me know it was okay when I finally chose opiates during the transition phase,  or whatever it was I needed at every precise individual moment through the hours of 2:45 am and 9:05am (when, squeezing Lindsey’s and my nurse Kelly’s hands and bearing down with every fiber of my strength, I pushed our gorgeous, chubby, screaming baby Ollie out into the world), she had my back. I feel so much gratitude to her for invaluably shaping the experience that I call to mind frequently, of when I did just what I had set out to do."

-Devorah, baby #2

"She was so helpful, I couldn't have had the birth I wanted without her."

-Kelly, baby #4

I sincerely believe that Lindsey's presence was a blessing to us as a family.

"My wife and I did vast amounts of research on anything that would help prepare us for the birth of our first child.  We actually met Lindsey in a Hypno-birthing class a month or so prior to the birth.  We chose Hypno-birthing simply due to the fact that we wanted to keep the birth as natural as possible with little to no interventions.  After our class had ended, we decided to work with Lindsey and have her attend the birth of our child.  Three words to describe working with Lindsey, "Best Decision Ever"!  Our birth plan was very well thought out and we wanted to try and accommodate that in any way we could.  Her presence was not only helpful from a physical standpoint but, an emotional one too.  Lindsey helped my wife and I with changing positions, taking care of beverages, and helped my wife move around while in labor.  She was very much a necessity from an emotional standpoint.  She spoke softly and used affirmations that were part of our birth plan.  She helped block out the undesired sounds and voices to make the room environment more accommodating to our plan.  Lindsey was with my wife and I all the way through and I personally, am so glad that we decided to work with her.  Lindsey is just a very knowledgeable person.  She helped us with concerns and questions prior to the birth and also followed up after our child was born.  

As a man, I truly thought that I was prepared individually.  I practiced our affirmations, read our birth plan front to back probably a hundred times.  What I've learned from the birth of our child is that, if you want your plan to work as smoothly and as accurately as possible, make sure your wife is emotionally sound.  I sincerely believe that Lindsey's presence was a blessing to us as a family.  She was so kind, and helped in so many ways, both emotionally and physically.  If we ever have another child, I will absolutely request Lindsey to be there and I highly recommend her experience as a Doula to anyone having a baby."

-Tom, baby #1

Lindsey did a great job listening to our needs and providing support.

"We decided to hire a doula for the birth of our second baby because we wanted extra support, another person to help with ideas, advice, and comfort measures. We chose to work with Lindsey because we felt she was open and flexible. Her ideas about birth seemed to fit well with ours. I expected a quiet, positive environment. I wanted to feel prepared for all sorts of possibilities. I wanted my care team to be knowledgable and supportive. I feel the prenatal meeting was important to discuss expectations and discuss the birth plan. I found Lindsey to be especially helpful when supporting me with my decision to have the version when my baby turned breech, as well as attending the procedure. During the birth, I really appreciated her words and ideas. I also received much relief from the counter pressure on my back. Lindsey did a great job listening to our needs and providing support. I would absolutely recommend Lindsey to a friend or relative. I think having a doula is extremely helpful and Lindsey was great!"

-Christine, baby #2

"We cannot begin to express how thankful we were for Lindsey. She was able to address our needs, offer suggestions, and provide emotional/pain management support. Her calming demeanor, “find your breath,” “slow down,” was a HUGE help. I don’t think that we could have completed a natural birth without her support, and we are very thankful. 

-Tina, baby #1

"As I have recently reflected back on the birth of my son Brennan, I am thankful that I chose to work with Lindsey.  My birth plan included waiting on an epidural as long as I could, but leaving the option open.  Lindsey was supportive of this flexibility before the birth and during when I decided to get an epidural.  Brennan's birth did not go as planned to say the least - I never expected to have a C-section and when they recommended it after I ended up getting an infection I was shocked.  Having a Doula who had experienced two c-section births by my side was a blessing, and I asked if she could also be in the surgery with my husband and I.  In addition to a traumatic birth experience, I was dealing with in impending death in the family and my son needed to be in the NICU for a week.  Postpartum depression set in almost immediately and I can honestly say that was the hardest week of my life.  I am so thankful that Lindsey was only a text away when I knew something wasn’t right and I needed someone to talk to.  In addition, she sat down with me weeks after Brennan was born to walk through my birth story and help me find some closure.  My husband and I both want to thank you for your support, Lindsey!  I believe it was meant to be that we worked together and I am truly thankful." 

-Katie, baby #1