Linzi Stahlecker Doula Profile

Linzi is an amazing doula who focuses on fitness: both physical and mental preparation for labor. I trained with her throughout my pregnancy and Linzi helped me stay fit by developing an awareness of my changing body and working toward the marathon of labor!

Linzi combines knowledge and intuition to bring reassurance to all the people on a woman’s support team. Linzi’s presence also brought my husband and I closer together as he also felt supported and thus better able to support me.

I spent the majority of my labor at home, so once we arrived at the hospital, I didn’t feel like any of the comforts of home were available to me. I didn’t know where to labor comfortably in the hospital (there was no balance ball, no soft surfaces, only cold, hard floors and a small bed). When Linzi arrived, she instantly brought reassurance. She suggested the nurses check my progress and then helped me to labor kneeling on the bed. She worked excellently with the doctor and nurses; her positive energy even rubbed off on them! After Linzi arrived, my labor progressed quickly and my baby was born within an hour. I do believe that her reassurance, comfort, positive attitude, and undivided support made my labor go more smoothly than it would have without her.

Linzi’s presence is empowering and her positive energy is contagious!

As a side note, Linzi was a doula for another birth on the same night as ours (a gal who was also training with Linzi and with whom I had become good friends). Her labor pains started after mine but her labor was much shorter so her baby was born before ours. Linzi did an amazing job navigating the two births and luckily there was no overlap. But, I know she had little rest between the two. She upheld her stamina and positive energy throughout and never once did I feel she was not there for me.

Linzi is incredibly level headed and thoughtful, and is a patient listener with so much heart. She harnesses a lot of faith in the power of the female body and what it can do (what it has done for centuries) and the inherent strength that each of us as women have in our bones, muscles and minds. I loved hearing this from her the first time we met. I knew I was strong, but she reinforced my strength and faith in my own abilities in this process. To have that much soul and that much strength in one person is very rare- and something EVERY woman could use in the throes of childbirth. Linzi helped us prepare for the birth ahead of time and worked tirelessly through 22 hours of labor. Her knowledge of poses, breathing and other techniques helped my body do what it needed to do and assisted me in having a totally natural childbirth. If you are considering bringing a doula into your birth, I would tell you that Linzi is at the top of her profession and that she will show you an incredible amount of care and compassion- but most importantly advocacy and strength.

Asking Linzi to be our doula was the best decision I made about giving birth and I am sure that it significantly shaped the experience. Linzi is an amazing woman, as evienced by her commitment to what she does, her belief in the strength of women's bodies, her empathy and warmth, and her abiity to say the most supportive and confidence-buiding thing at the right time.

I, like many first time Mom's, knew very little about childbrith before I began this journey. Linzi's first contribution was just guiding me to the right resources in terms of classes, exercise, the right accupuncturist etc. In our pre-labor visits, Linzi picked up on subtle fears that I hadn't even articulated to myself, and helped me give voice to these. When I went past my due date, Linzi was in constant contact, keeping me from becoming frustrated or impatient.

When i finally went into labor, I was surprised by the strength of the contractions and initially unsure of my ability to get through them. Thanks to Linzi's voice, reminding me to breathe, and use the techniques we had practiced, the contractions became manageable and I was able to stay on top of them. When I had moments of doubt, Linzi helped me move through these by suggesting different positions, holding my hand and reminding me that I could do it. Perhaps most importantly, Linzi did an incredible job of fostering the connection between me and my husband, building his confidence, reminding me to rely on him, and helping us become unified in our experience.

Although my labor was long, I was able to get through it without any interventions, and was present for every single moment, including the amazing moments when my child first entered the world. I left the experience feeling empowered, amazed by the miracle of life and the capacity of my own mind and body. I think this has also impcated my recovery and I attribute a tremedous amount of this to Linzi!

I worked with Linzi for prenatal training (excercise) and as a doula for the birth of my son. I found her down-to-earth approach reassuring and her entusiasm contagious. Linzi is truly tuned to the power of pregnancy and birth and is able to show you just how powerful you really are even when you aren't thinking so.

The prenatal training I also found to be valuable in getting to know Linzi better, but also to prepare you with tools for labor. It was incredibly valuable to have worked on different movements and poses before the big day. I highly recommend doing this training.

Linzi is a caring, attentive and understanding person. She confidently came into our lives with chocolate and guidance. My wife Sandra and Linzi met first. Sandra appreciates Linzi's candor. Linzi paid attention to us even if we asked what we considered to be silly questions. Ultimately, she prepared us for the most wonderful experience of our lives. I appreciate Linzi for being so generous. She helped Sandra with breathing exercises and she helped Sandra to be confident in her own decisions, while Linzi backed her up. Linzi also helped me understand how I could be helpful in the process. It was a great experience and we love Linzi for helping to make it that way. Linzi is a honored friend of our family now. I strongly recommend her care to any expecting moms.

LINZI IS THE BEST!!!!  She is amazing and was essential to the healthy, natural, and unmedicated birth of our daughter.  Her energy and spirit are delightful, warm, and envigorating.  Somehow, she manages to be both an unobtrusive and a powerfully anchoring presence at the same time.  My labor lasted 33 hours (!!), and I can say with absolute certainty that without Linzi, I would have ended up accepting many, many interventions that I had desparately wanted to avoid.  She kept me on task and focused while dealing with the endless hours of contractions and helped to keep me centered and calm when fatigue and panic began to set in.  She monitored my water and food intake with unwavering resolve and endurance, and, on top of looking after me and keeping me on track, she also looked after my husband, ensuring that he, too, was eating and drinking in order to keep his strength up.  My husband and I absolutely love her and could not be more thankful that we stumbled upon her and hired her as our doula.  She was instrumental to our process, and we both can't imagine having done it without her.  Hiring Linzi was honestly one of the best decisions we've ever made.   

Should you wish to know more or have any questions, please feel free to contact us at danandshanna@yahoo.com. 

We were so glad to have Linzi Stahlecker as a doula for the birth of our first child! Linzi was a grounding force before, during, and after the birth and she brought pragmatic expertise and much-needed humor to the entire process. Her relaxed manner helped to put us at ease, while her extensive knowledge helped to get us through the more difficult parts of labor and birth. We also appreciated her experience as a personal trainer and found that she had excellent advice related to pregnancy and post-partum wellness and fitness. Our birth was not an easy one, and was much longer than we had anticipated. Linzi was available to us at every step along the way and was always supportive, pragmatic, and knowledgeable. We would highly recommend Linzi as a birth doula.

Linzi was everything I could have possibly hoped for in a doula - and more. My wife, Eileen, trained with Linzi all through her pregnancy and ended up being in the best shape of her life - both physically and emotionally - while on the road to motherhood. By the time we took our class, most of what we learned about labor and child birth was old news to Eileen after her sessions with Linzi.

As a first time father-to-be, I read the books and took the classes and did everything in my power to prepare myself to be a competent birth partner. At the end of the day, however, I am a man and I had never been through a birth before. As our labor began, I genuinely felt that both of these realities limited my ability to empathize with Eileen and to comfort her. Linzi filled this gap magnificently and provided a rock of support for the both of us as we navigated an unusually complicated labor over the better part of a week.

After seeing Linzi in action, I find myself at odds trying to capture her qualities in mere words. She is patient, caring, humorous, knowledgeable, and wise. She stayed with us for days and made us the center of her universe throughout our labor. I can not think of a single instance where she did not rise far above her duty in supporting us as a couple.

As an aside, while Linzi was obviously focused on my wife, she managed to constantly worry over me as well. From sleeping to eating, Linzi helped make sure that I was taking care of myself as well as the days went on. I know now that this helped me be a better partner to my wife as time went on, and it also just felt nice to have the stress and strain on me acknowledged during the process.

I strongly recommend Linzi without hesitation. Especially if you are a first-time parent, you owe it to yourself and your birth partner to give her a call. I would be happy to talk with you further about our experience with Linzi. My personal email is dustinpearson@gmail.com.

I can’t imagine having to go through our difficult labor again without Linzi's  wit, optimism, support, & level head. First of all, she has a wealth of knowledge stemming from her work as a fitness trainer as well as being the mother of three beautiful children. There are so many misconceptions about exercising while pregnant & I loved that she was such an advocate for staying fit & eating well. She often referred to preparing for labor and delivery in a lot of the same ways that you would a marathon – and that includes a heightened mental & spiritual awareness. Secondly, Linzi is one of the most genuine people you will ever meet: this is a person you will feel a deep kinship with, you will feel the passion & emotion with which she approaches her job, she will treat you like family & you will be glad that this is the person you chose to help you bring your child into this world. While natural birth was our goal, we also knew that childbirth is not something that you can predict & we ended up having to make some difficult decisions. Not only was Linzi optimistic and calming throughout the entire experience but I am certain that we were able to avoid a c-section once we transferred to the hospital because she wasn’t afraid to fight for what I wanted and spoke to the doctors on my behalf when my labor spanned almost another 15 hours (after the initial 24 hours spent at home & at the birth center). Her instincts are invaluable and I felt completely safe in her presence - she knew what I was capable of and she knew that I was strong enough to continue when the mummers of possible other interventions started getting louder. After having Linzi as a doula I know that this is a job she was destined for and I can not emphasize enough the extent to which she was an essential part of our journey. She will forever be an important person to my husband and I for her invaluable role in the birth of our son.