Nicole Hodges

1/11/2023

It was such a gift to have Linda at our birth. From the first meeting we had, we were so helped by the resources she provided, the information she gave, and the responsiveness and care that she gave us each step of the way. During the birth, Linda provided consistent support, helping me brethe steadily for hours, applying helpful back pressure and helping to create a peaceful enviornment that made me feel taken care of and at ease. Linda is amazing! She is gentle, compassionate and confident, all things that were needed before, during and after birth! Such a gift she was! Thanks Linda!

Kristen Martinez

12/9/2022

I had an incredible experience with Linda. I'm so grateful she was my doula. She is so knowledgeable about all things body and birth. She gave me great tips and advice for what I could do to help baby get into the right position as well as how to ease discomfort among other things. Having her help breastfeeding after birth was invaluable. She was a calm comforting presence during my labor, and I would recommend her to anyone! 

Tess Reller

12/7/2022

Linda has been present for each of my daughters' births and I can't imagine bringing a baby into the world without her! Her calming presence, and experience help overcome any fear or challenges that may arise during labor. She is someone you want to have in your birthing room.  I can't recommend her enough! 

Elena

10/29/2022

When I got pregnant last year I knew immediately that I wanted a different birth experience than my previous children. I'm (now) a mother of 9 (!!) and my first 8 were born in hospitals and I had an epidural with all of them. I knew I wanted an unmedicated and a low/no intervention delivery. For the first time ever, I explored getting a doula. I came across Linda's profile and immediately felt like my gut was telling me "she's the one! pick her!" but Linda's calendar had my due date blocked off as unavailable. I reached out anyway and Linda was willing to take me on. I was certain I would deliver early, as I had for my previous two children, and Linda would be available to deliver this baby with me!

The weeks leading up to delivery were difficult. Prodomal labor at 37 weeks made me a miserable mama. Linda's dynamic body balancing was so integral in helping me relax, bringing baby into position and helping me get as comfortable as possible while contracting off and on for the next few weeks. 

As we prepared for the possibility that we would have an alternate doula for our delivery, Linda made sure I was comfortable with what was happening and that the alternate doula knew everything she needed to know about us and our hopes for the birth. In the end, we delivered our beautiful baby girl exactly how I'd hoped: without intervention, unmedicated, and with the best birth team a mom could have asked for. 

Linda's postpartum visit reaffirmed that I made the right choice in insisting she be our doula. She took such good care of me and baby, brought us a meal, answered my questions and helped with my concerns. Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening to me cry, reading my frustrated texts, and covering me and my baby with love and care. 

Tristyn B

7/4/2022

Linda is an absolute gem, and we could not have done a natural delivery without her! From the very beginning, Linda was kind, professional, and incredibly knowledgeable and she was a huge blessing to us during labor. She was fully engaged from the very beginning of labor through the end, and provided us with many different things throughout labor to minimize pain and keep things progressing. Linda also helped navigate breastfeeding issues postpartum, and truly went above and beyond to provide exceptional care and service to our family. We couldn't imagine anyone other than Linda by our side during our delivery of our precious baby, and would GLADLY use Linda again and recommend her to anyone searching for a doula.

Esther Koch

5/9/2022

Choosing Linda Sarna as our doula was the single best decision related to our wonderful birth experience. She was a game changer for me and my husband to be able to fully let go and embrace the process of labor and birth. Her bodywork and pre-labor meetings were extremely helpful to get my body / mind in "balance." She helped prepare me mentally by giving us a "map" of labor & birth and where the most challenging transitions are, which helped me to make it through them much more easily when the time came. Linda helped me to physically progress when my baby was "stuck" using her training and experience, and intuition. She was just the right balance of suggesting positions to engage baby and speed things up, and encouraging me to rest when I needed to. I so appreciated her guidance, calmness, clarity and encouragement at every step - her follow up care was also incredible and comforting, and she helped our baby through her craniosacral therapy to relieve tension and promote better sleep and health. The birth of my firstborn son was an absolute gift to me that I will forever treasure - it was everything I hoped and dreamed, such a positive, powerful experience that was partly made possible because Linda was there with me. She helped me to trust my body to do what it was meant to do, and we had an intimate, peaceful, love-filled birth that made the transition into parenthood truly special. I can't say enough how much we recommend her to anyone looking for a confident, supportive, faith-filled doula!

Amy L

3/13/2022

Linda was fantastic both before and during labor. We greatly appreciated her insights and expertise for questions we had, and always felt comfortable with her. Delivering my first baby felt intimidating at first, but Linda was consistently helpful and encouraging, including by my side during the birth. I'd highly recommend her to anyone looking for a doula.

Joy Austinson

12/29/2021

Hiring and partnering with Linda was the best decision we made during my twin pregnancy. Linda has an incredible attention to detail she’s the client portal reflected that. All of my preferences were well documented and discussed thoroughly. I was given options, kind suggestions and the freedom to choose with no judgements and I felt completely supported. Her bodywork session in her home was incredible and relieved a lot of low back and hip pain. In the hospital things weren’t going as planned and Linda worked with me doing exercises, stretches, massage and suggested tons of great remedies to progress labor. She even stayed the night. At the end of it all we were very happy and had no regrets whatsoever!

Even my husband, a typically analytical person agreed that Linda was fantastic and we’d refer her with confidence to anyone!

Anne

12/14/2021

Linda was amazing! This was our second child's birth and we wanted to feel "heard" and make informed decisions. Our birth experience with Linda was better than I could have hoped for. She gave us the knowledge to make informed decisions and taught us how to work as a team. She also advocated for us to have bonding time directly after our baby was born. We had such a postive, empowering birth! Thank you Linda ???

Katie Plutowski

10/24/2021

Linda is AMAZING!!! She was so incredibly helpful from the first prenatal meeting to the last postpartum visit and everything in between! She brought a wealth of knowledge about everything from what to expect in labor, how to get baby in the optimal positioning, how to naturally induce labor, what the risks and alternatives to medical interventions were, breastfeeding... the list goes on and on! Even though I had to be induced, I managed to get through labor without an epidural or any pain meds, and there is NO WAY I could have done that without her! She made the whole labor feel calm and peaceful and reminded me to breath and relax. I was hesitant about hiring a doula, and she has made me a true believer... worth every penny and then some! Do yourself a favor and hire Linda, you won't regret it! 

Kaia

10/4/2021

I am so grateful we had Linda on our birth team. We had prepared and strategized ways to help me cope ahead of time, but it's so different in the moment. When we got to the hospital my husband and I were struggling, but Linda took the reins which allowed me to just focus on getting through labor. She helped my husband find ways to help me through and be involved. And during all of this she was helping get our baby to turn, she had switched sides just days before labor and need to flip back around.

While I can't say I enjoyed labor, I can say that I'm very happy with my birth experience and it wouldn't have gone the way it did without Linda's support. We are so glad she was there to help bring our daughter earthside. 

Elizabeth

8/23/2021

I don't have the words to express all that Linda contributed to my first birth experience. She was the perfect addition to our birthing team. Linda was informed, compassionate, innovative, understanding, grace-filled, joyful and she empowered me to pursue my birthing goals. She supported my husband, allowing him to better encourage me throughout the process. This was our first pregnancy and we had so many questions and doubts along the way - Linda was there each step guiding and encouraging us.

A few weeks prior to our daughter's birth we discovered she was not in an optimal birthing position, Linda went above and beyond to help us work on moving her into a better position and we know that the birthing process was enhanced due to her wisdom and guidance. We are so thankful we met Linda and can't recommend her enough to other parents! She is a dream to work with and will bless your family more than you could ever imagine!

Angela Lundgren

8/16/2021

When I became pregnant I began searching for doulas in my area. Something about Linda's page caught my eye and I decided to meet with her. Wow am I glad I did!! Linda has gone above and beyond for my family. We had a meet and greet with her at the beginning of my pregnancy to see if she was a good fit and I remember leaving that meeting and my husband saying "I could tell how much her presence just calmed you!" From the moment we chose her, she was available at all times for texts and phone calls. She gave me advice and researched answers to our questions so that she could give me researched based articles. She performed craniosacral therapy during my pregnancy and on my little newborn to help with alignment and ease pain. She educated my husband and I on pregnancy, childbirth, spinning babies and postpartum by helping us to not only feel confident but feel empowered. She gave us endless resources and was such an amazing person to have by our side throughout this amazing experience. My birth did not go as planned but Linda was there helping me along each unexpected turn. My husband and I think of her as our little baby's fairy godmother! She is truly the best of the best!!

Shaun

7/10/2021

We worked with Linda for the birth of our first child in May of 2021. As a first time mother, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from labor, but knew I wanted to feel empowered in my choices and supported regardless of the path my pregnancy and labor took. Linda supported my husband and I during our pregnancy and was a valuable source of information. She also supported me with bodywork services and daily stretching exercises to ensure my body was prepared for labor. 

Our labor ended up taking a different path than we had expected due to an induction related to hypertension and premature rupture of my water. Linda was supportive in helping my husband and me understand our options as my birth plan changed. Linda played a huge part not only in supporting me during labor and immediately after, but also in ensuring I was prepared for the varied possibilities of birth. Ultimately, my labor was fast and extremely positive, despite not adhering to my birth plan. I attribute the success of our birth to the mental and physical preparation of my body, and knowing what to expect each step of the way in labor - Linda played a huge part in all aspects of our preparation.

Martha

6/1/2021

Linda was there for us every step of the way! As a first time mom I knew I wanted a doula to support us during labor, but Linda provided so much more than day-of support! She has a wealth of knowledge and resources to share and made us feel comfortable and confident during this life-changing time. We are so grateful to Linda for everything she's done for us and will definitely be working with her again and recommending her in a heartbeat. 

Alissa

5/12/2021

We chose Linda to guide us in our pregnancy and birth with our first baby.  Throughout pregnancy during COVID, I never felt like my experience with my provider and hospital was what I really wanted for my birth experience.  Enter Linda.  She guided and taught us about pregnancy and the birthing process, making up for the lack of classes offered during the pandemic season.  Linda came to the hospital as soon as I asked, and stayed with us to help through an unmedicated labor process.  When the decision was made to have a c-section, she supported everything and offered assistance where she could.  Because of COVID she could not come with us any farther, though I so wish she could have been there to support through that exhausting time.  Since she had prepared me with postpartum knowledge, I was able to stand up for myself through our not so pleasant postpartum experience.  I would choose Linda again and again and again.  There are not enough words to express how thankful we are for her! 

Katie Webster

4/17/2021

Ever since I read Ina May's guide to Childbirth, I was interested in giving birth naturally, with the support of a doula. When I was about 6 months pregnant, I learned that doulas were not allowed in my local hospital, due to COVID19 restrictions. I considered  giving birth without the support of a doula, until I spoke with my friend, who recently gave birth, with the support of Linda. She spoke so highly of Linda, I decided to reach out to her for an interview. I ultimately decided to switch hospitals and doctors in order to work with Linda- and I am so glad I did! Linda provided excellent support before, during, and after birth. Linda was professional, respectful, and responsive. I grew to really trust her. Before I gave birth, Linda guided me to hypnobirthing and spinning babies resources. After I gave birth, she provided breastfeeding support and craniosacral & myofascial therapy.  My birth experience was very positive and Linda played an important role in making it a positive experience. Linda was wonderful! 

Danielle Anderson

1/21/2021

Hiring Linda as our doula was the best decision we could have made! From the first meeting with her, we knew right away she would be a wonderful addition to our team for the birth of our firstborn child.

Linda came to us with a wealth of knowledge all of which she shared with us through in-person meetings prior to labor, as well as through her portal. We felt so calm and prepared going into labor, all of which we can attribute to Linda.

Linda was so helpful and answered all of our questions. She was there for us every step of the way and checked in often to see how we were doing, both before and after our baby was born.

Linda has such a calming presence about her, one of the many redeeming qualities that made us choose her as our doula. You can tell she really loves what she does!

We highly recommend Linda and couldn’t imagine not having her support for the birth of our child. Linda still keeps in touch and we love hearing from her and sharing pictures and updates of our little one! Thank you Linda, for everything!

Emileah

1/11/2021

Hiring Linda was the best investment I made in preparation for my child's birth. Right from the start she was professional and warm. Linda has great resources and a clean, easy to navigate website and client portal. I knew she was the right fit for me when she described her doula style as "quiet, calm, and all about environment." She absolutely delivered on that during the labor and birth experience. She helped my partner and me cultivate a peaceful, loving, and intentional space for our child to enter the world into...even when the plans and birthing locations changed more than once. Linda provided excellent guidance during the labor experience, when things felt pretty intense for me physically, she coached me through different positons and instructed me to remain in a posture for "30 minutes" or "3 waves (contractions)" and that was SO HELPFUL because I was able to focus on managing the labor in tangible units of time. I know my partner really appreciated Linda's reassurance and presence because she was so familiar and comfortable with the birthing process. Her knowledge of the positions really provided relief for my partner because he could focus on supporting me emotionally without also having to remember everything he learned in the books, classes, and our prenatal visits. We agree that hiring Linda was absolutely vital to our positive, empowering experience and we definitely recommend hiring her, no matter what type of birth you are hoping for. 

Alyssa Messner

1/8/2021

We had a fantastic experience with Linda for our first baby! She was kind and thoughtful and checked in often. She has various areas of knowledge and was always prepared to give us (or find) information when requested. She was quickly and easily available when I went into labor and gave great reminders throughout the labor process to keep things moving smoothly and to keep my husband and I calm and in the moment. We are so thankful for Linda and the peace of mind she gave us as we went through pregnancy, labor, and delivery for the first time. We highly recommend her!

Carrie P

12/3/2020

The role of a doula throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum is profound. We asked Linda to step into this role just three weeks before my due date. Linda jumped in with both feet and immediately owned her role. She offered support, advice, access to educational materials, and encouragment. In the few weeks we had before my labor began, she made me feel comfortable and understood. Her wealth of information and creativity in problem-solving gave me confidence that she would be a true team member and support during the labor and delivery process - and she was! From the moment she arrived, Linda offered support and confidence, but did not detract from my husbands role or the family members present. She brought a profound sense of calm in the moments when I felt out of control, and gave me confidence that I could continue when I just wanted to quit. She took action both in the days leading up to my birth and during labor - encouraging me to pactice exercises and positioning, bodywork and Spinning Babies exercises. Linda didn't just care about delivering a baby, but the physical environment, my emotional health, my husbands well-being, my families presence, and the goals we had for our birthing experience. 

After Lottie was born, she was transferred to the NICU, and I was left alone at the birth center - without my husband or newborn daughter. Linda sat with me and helped me begin to process the trauma of what had just occured, and reassured me that all would be well. She validated my experience, comforted, and helped me laugh when that felt nearly impossible. 

I could not recommend the expertise of Linda Sarna enough - she is supportive, kind, nurturing, strong, and confident. Her tenacity and focus helped us through some of the toughest hours, and her gentleness and care brought comfort in some of the scarriest. Linda is exactly what a doula ought to bring to the table, and we are beyond thankful for her care and support.

Anna Andrews

8/25/2020

Linda Sarna was the ideal choice of a doula for my first birth! Being new parents, my husband and I knew we wanted a doula because several friends had great experiences, and Linda was highly recommended to us by a friend. Linda was a consistent calm presence during my pregnancy and subsequent labor and birth. Having a baby during the Covid-19 pandemic is stressful, and we experienced many changes to our birth plan because of it. Linda remained supportive, calm, and knowledgeable through my pregnancy journey. She made me feel like I was capable of having the birth I wanted to have, despite the complications and circumstances beyond my control. Unfortunately, because of the hospital's Covid-related policies, Linda wasn't allowed to be present in person during my labor or birth. But, she made sure to come to our home before we went to the hospital to give us some helpful things to bring to the hospital, like essential oils and a diffuser. She even took the time to walk me through some exercises to help my body prepare for labor. When we went to the hospital, she remained present via texting and FaceTime so my husband could check in with her during various stages of my labor. She was a huge support to him and I in the whole process! I truly believe Linda's presence helped me achieve the type of birth experience I wanted. We highly recommend her and we would definitely have her as our doula again if we have another child. Thank you, Linda!

Mackenzie Balken

8/22/2020

We so enjoyed our experience with Linda as our doula. Though our precipitous birth meant that we didn't have much time with her during the process, her unshakeable calm when she found me ready to deliver half-an-hour's drive from the brith center and her support before and after our daughter's birth were beyond helpful. We would highly recommend Linda to anyone seeking calming, informed, patient, joyful support through their birthing process.

Kianna Elahi-Gedwillo

2/4/2020

Long story short: WE LOVED LINDA and would absolutely recommend her to anyone.

Linda met with us a couple of times before the birth to walk us through several helpful documents and pre-birth exercises to encourage optimal positioning for the baby. One document we particularly liked was a long survey of preferences to assist her in understanding what would be helpful and/or relaxing for me at the time of birth. It was a surprisingly helpful exercise for my husband and I to reflect on well! As she, my husband, and I discussed what the day might look like, she was very attentive and respectful of our preferences. She had great suggestions, advice, and guiding questions but never pushed anything on us. Taking our goals and wishes into account was clearly a priority for her. One example: I knew I wanted to have an epidural and she helped me narrow down when I might want that intervention. Another example: I was hoping the baby would come a little early. Once we were full term, she sent some suggestions that could gently help things along, while wisely advising us not to take any drastic measures. She was positive and encouraging, and baby ended up coming at 40 weeks and 2 days! Overall, Linda's flexibility to be the best doula she could for each individual couple was noticed and appreciated. She made herself available over phone/text if we ever had questions. In fact, she initiated reaching out several times, which was helpful as a first time mom because I didn't always know what I should be thinking/asking about.

A few final notes: Linda is clearly very passionate about her work as a doula. She exudes a very stable and calming presence and is just generally enjoyable to be around. Finally, she worked really well with the hospital staff and clearly respected their knowledge and experience. This was very reassuring to me since we chose to deliver at a hospital and weren't sure what that would look like, but she integrated incredibly well with them.

Betsy

12/5/2019

Through a fast birth and an unexpected NICU stay, Linda helped me stay focused and strategize how to work with my body and conserve energy both in labor and the bleary days postpartum. In addition to her skillful, calming presence at our birthing center, Linda provided so many creative suggestions to troubleshoot everything from getting labor started to getting back us on our feet after the NICU. 

Kenneth & Christine Williams

10/17/2019

Choosing Linda was one of the best choices we made for the birth of our first child. She was there for us through the whole experience from   first meetings to postpartum care she was educating and preparing us for the entire experience. One of the most helpful things in preparation for the day was helping us figure out what we wanted for the birth, another was enabling and preparing my husband help and support me during labor and delivery. With a naturally very fast labor, Linda was there with oils and music to sooth, words to encourage and direct, and ideas that helped progress labor. She was not only a huge support emotionally but also physically. She was the one helping direct me into different positions to help the baby move down the canal. She also documented the event for us by writing down the details that we would forget and even taking photos that we are so glad to have. Both of us highly recommend Linda as a doula, we are so grateful she was there with us. She truly cares about us and our baby, and it shows in her thoughtful care and support then and still now.  

Justus & Priscilla Witmer

8/23/2019

Our experience having Linda as our doula was absolutely phenomenal and we couldn't have asked for a better doula. During the pregnancy, she prepared us well for labor and delivery by answering questions and giving us exercises to work on in the meantime. She researched thoroughly when she didn't know the answers to our questions and always came back with good solutions. When I started labor, from the very beginning, she was a calming presence and strong anchor for both J and I, gently pushing me to do more than I knew I could, and constantly reminding J and me what the outcome would be and why we were doing this. She is caring, thoughtful, and excited to help. We would 100% recommend Linda to be your doula.

Layna K

8/16/2019

Where do I start?! As a first-time mama, I truly believe that having Linda as our family's doula was an invaluable part of my birthing experience. Without her, my birthing plan would not have gone as well as it did. I can honestly say that I do not have emotional scars or a horror story around the birth of my son. A huge reason why is because of Linda: her calm and confident presence helped me focus and enabled my husband to provide the support I needed. At our introductory meeting to see if she was a good fit, her last comment to me showed that she believed in me and that gave me a sense of confidence that I can do this! We hadn't even officially chosen her yet! 

Linda was great at answering questions during my pregnancy as well as helping me understand my options around labor and delivery. On the big day, she was available right away.During my labor, nurses and doctors came and went, but Linda was there throughout my labor and delivery. Because she was such a key part of my birthing story, I highly recommend Linda as a calm, knowledgeable, and confident doula.