Theresa W

6/7/2023

Christine was a God-send when we were having trouble securing a postpartum doula from an agency. She was gentle, kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely cared about our baby and family. She went above and beyond and took initiative to help with things we didn’t even realize we needed because our brains were so fried. She always offered to make us lunch before leaving. Her motherly nature was a comfort when my mom couldn’t be there for us. She was easy to schedule with and flexible and accommodating. We highly recommend her! 

Natalia Ramos

5/22/2023

We hired Christine as a postpartum doula to provide assistance after the birth of my first child.

I first contacted her as she had a more comprehensive set of professional certifications when compared to many other doulas I found online. Then, when I first met her, she also seemed to have a warm and kind personality, which I felt would be essential during the chaotic postpartum period.

I am glad we chose her services. Christine helped us with anything from cooking and light cleaning, to breastfeeding counseling and all sorts of tips to keep a newborn alive :) . She was always punctual, efficient and (as I had hoped) kind, patient and nurturing.

Sarah

7/4/2022

We are so grateful to have had Chris with us for several overnights a week the first three weeks. We originally hired her for the first two and asked her to stay a third because her presence was so comforting! Chris enabled us to focus on our newborn by being present while she slept so we could sleep too - responding to her needs and comforting and changing her before waking me up to feed her when needed. Overnight when the baby didn't need anything, Chris would do household chores like dishes, laundry (including cloth diapers), and even preparing padsicles. It was such a relief and felt like magic to wake up to a clean and orderly home when we were so focused on just our baby. Chris made sure I had snacks and water while breastfeeding and she shared her wealth of knowledge and so many resources, leaving a personal library of baby books with us during her weeks here. Chris's commitment to nurturing babies and whole families is so clear - we all felt really taken care of in our first weeks as new parents, and we'll absolutely hire her again for our next.

Lauren Moatz

11/19/2021

Christine was an incredibly helpful and wonderful doula! 
We hired her for postpartum overnights. She was kind, caring, attentive, and informative. She helped us improve our feedings, breastfeeding techniques. She offered helpful and valuable motivation. We truly credit her with keeping us on tract with our breastfeeding journey, despite our initial obstacles. She provided us great resources to further improve out knowledge and be better parents. She helped keep our place clean while we transitioned to parents and made us breakfast so we could the groun running during the day! We would highly recommend her to anyone you won't be dissappointed! 

Cat

11/7/2021

Chris provided our family with amazing postpartum support after I had an unplanned c section. Her calm confidence and kindness was exactly what we needed as we made the transition to parenthood. Chris not only was a wonder with our daughter she taught us how to do all the silly things we were unsure of, provided references for additional help and honestly just built up our confidence. Beyond that she is extremely efficient with her time and I cannot recommend her enough. Thank you Chris! 

Rachel Hodas

8/13/2021

Thanks to Chris's guidance, we were able to have the birthing experience that was best for us and our family. We went into this pregnancy with little knowledge of birth plans and the many decisions we would have to make. Chris walked us through this process, using evidence-based tools to help us make our own decisions that aligned with our values and preferences so that we could enter our birthing day prepared, confident, and aware of our options. I have been extremely anxious about labor and delivery, and Chris helped make our experience not only tolerable, but one where my husband and I felt empowered and in control. I went in simply wanting to survive labor and delivery and left it feeling proud of and empowered by what we were able to accomplish as a team.

In our prenatal visits, Chris did a wonderful job explaining our options and teaching us relaxation techniques. In the hospital, Chris brought a calming presence that helped my body to relax and continue progressing so that we could meet our baby as soon as possible. We joked that Chris was like a birthing Mary Poppins, with so many tricks up her sleeve, including bringing a stockpile of essential oils for the hospital room and a crockpot for warm compresses to use during pushing. She helped me and my husband advocate for our preferences, collaborating with the nursing team to find positions backed by research to help my body progress and help push baby out as peacefully as possible. After I got my epidural, she and my husband helped move my body into different positions to continue our progress despite being confined to a bed.

We have felt like we are in incredibly good hands with Chris through this entire process and are so appreciative that she helped give us the smoothest birthing experience possible. We highly recommend her as a part of your birth plan!

Emily Hurst

7/11/2021

Christine was wonderful. We had a very hard delivery and complications afterwards and she provided just the support we needed. She calmly and knowledgeably supported us and still let us figure out what we needed and take the lead. And she let us get precious sleep I needed to begin to heal. Very grateful for her help. I'd highly recommend. 

Ashley Rickey

4/21/2020

A friend recommended Chris to us when we found out we would not be able to have any family with us for the labor or delivery of our baby girl due to the Coronavirus pandemic. She was offering to do virtual doula support since she could not physically be there at the hospital due to the restrictions. Once we met with her initially via FaceTime we knew that we wanted her support. She was on FaceTime with us for basically my entire labor, suggesting things to try and being a constant coach and supporter to myself and my husband. She really helped us through a non ideal situation that was totally not what we had originally planned. With her help I ended up having a great experience and gave birth naturally to a beautiful, healthy baby girl! Would highly recommend her to anyone. If she can be that helpful over FaceTime I can't imagine what magic she can work in person! 

Martina

11/13/2019

Christine was a godsend for us when we had our second son! She is kind, knowledgeable, and dependable. I would highly recommend her doula services to all parents. 

Alla Waxman

9/30/2019

Christine was an excellent and valuable member of our household for the first two months after my daughter was born. Her kindness and attentiveness to my needs, and also my daughters needs were evident at every visit. She is professional and extremely qualified to care for any newborn and their mother. I would recommend her highly all those searching for a Doula. 

Nerida Brownlee

9/23/2019

Christine was invaluable to our growing family as our post partum doulla. We feel so lucky to have been able to have her with us at such a special time in our lives and will always be grateful for everything she did for us.

Christine is a very kind and careful person who is extremely knowledgeable and resourceful about birth and post partum joys and challenges. She is professional, experienced and likes to be busy. She is very easy-going and I felt very comfortable having her in our home from the minute we met. Her support and recommendations were incredibly helpful and reassuring at such a vulnerable and often confusing time in my life.

Christine is also generous in her sharing of books and products to support getting back on your feet after birth and during the important first weeks of finding your 'new normal'. She shared recipes and suggestions to aid in healing mentally and physically. 

Christine worked with us mostly in the evenings, taking our newborn twins from 6pm-10pm many nights so that my husband and I could continue to have dinner with our rambunctious toddler and continue his all-important bedtime routine during this period of great household change. Our toddler absolutely adored her also. My husband would count down the minutes to when Christine would arrive! She also had the twins completely on many occasions and for many hours so that I could rest, take a shower, or go outside and get a coffee, which helped me feel normal and rejuvenated.

Christine is everything we could have ever asked for in a post partum doula and more. She is absolutely amazing and I couldn't recommend her more highly. Anyone who gets the chance to have Christine join them at such a special time in their life is very lucky.

Thank you Christine for everything you did for us to get us to help us transition from a family of 3 to a family of 5.

Helen P.

8/3/2019

Chris was an excellent doula, and my husband and I were so glad to have her by our side with the birth of our first child. She is incredibly professional, kind, caring, and supportive. We met with Chris for an interview and for two prenatal visits, where she gave us helpful information to learn more about the labor and birth process. In the second prenatal, we practiced different ways to manage and cope with contractions, and Chris helped my husband become an active participant in supporting my labor. When I went into labor and arrived at the hospital, Chris arrived within minutes after my husband texted her. During the labor, Chris supported me and my husband in crucial ways. She gave me choices of things she could do to ensure that I was comfortable (after learning what I liked during our prenatal meetings) including using aromatheraphy and massage. She also had ideas of different, creative laboring positions I could use to help the baby turn into the proper birth position so I wouldn't be flat on my back. During the pushing stage, Chris supported me emotionally and physically and gave me the confidence to keep pushing. When it turned out that I needed a C-section, Chris was in the operating room with me and helped keep me calm during the surgery when my husband needed to step out. She stayed with us after the birth of our daughter until we moved into a recovery room. 

I could not imagine going through this process without Chris' support. She was a fantastic doula and I highly recommend her services!

Elaine

4/12/2019

We found Chris through this site for postpartum doula services and couldn't recommend her more highly. She was a warm and friendly presence in our house and helped us adjust to new parenthood much more smoothly. We really valued her listening and responding to all our questions and all the ways she helped around the house. Chris brings a motherly presence and felt so happy we found her during this important transition in our lives.

Karen Revere

2/11/2019

When my husband and I realized that we desperately needed some nighttime support and sleep, Chris started taking care of our twins at night when they were 3 weeks old. We are both physicians, and my husband was also going back to work after 3 weeks of paternity leave. She stayed with us until they were 12 weeks old. She came 5 nights/week and saved our lives! I don't know what we would have done without her. She surpassed my expectations of what a night doula was supposed to be! She helped support me in my transition to new motherhood - we would discuss questions I had regarding newborn care, pumping, milk supply, etc. She often would send me really useful articles to read based on things we had discussed. She took incredible care of our babies. She used baby wearing approaches to get them to sleep, which I appreciated. In the mornings, when I took back over their care, they always seemed very calm and relaxed, as if they had had a good night in her care. As we were trying to get them on a more normal sleep/wake schedule, she helped to reinforce good nighttime habits (lights off in room, sound machine, change diaper, feed, and get them right back to sleep, low stimulation). She was very responsive to our wishes/feedback (i.e. we didn't want her to wake the other if one woke up). She did light household chores (laundry, emptying trash cans, changing diaper genie, bottle washing, dishwasher, etc) through the night while they were sleeping. She found things to do at night that made my life much easier during the days, so that I could focus on being with my babies. She always had breakfast and coffee ready for us in the morning, which was a welcome treat before the craziness of the day started. By the end of our time together, she felt like another member of the family. We also have 6 cats and 2 dogs. She handled the animals really well, which we were initially worried about when we decided to welcome an outside person into our home.

Alexandria Procacci

10/9/2018

Chris is AMAZING! There is no other way to describe her. From the moment we first met I knew she would be the doula I wanted in the room with me during delivery. She never stops moving to keep you comfortable (as comfortable as you can be in labor). Despite all of the crazy emotions that come with labor she has an unwavering calm energy in the room. She is the perfect blend of kindess, competence and compassion. She communicates well with nurses, midwives, doctors and family members. Always remaining professional during a stressful time. Chris is very reliable - she answers all emails, texts and phone calls quickly! She helped me have two natural deliveries and I would not have been able to go natural without her help. She is simply the best!

Lynda Klebanoff

6/18/2018

Christine is an absolute dream.  Friends of ours highly recommended her, and for that we are forever in their debt.  My husband and I have a 3 1/2 year old, a newborn, and a dog.  Christine worked for us for 5 days beginning when the baby was 5 days old.  We also moved into a new house during our time with Christine.  She gave me the confidence to breastfeed even though my previous experience breastfeeding my oldest daughter was frustrating and short lived.  She showed me how to keep a sleepy baby feeding at the breast and got me through some tough obstacles.  She helped us set up our new home and helped me to keep my sanity by being a calm and and comforting presence.  My older daughter loved spending time with her and will miss her kind company sorely.  Even my finicky pup warmed up to Christine.  We are forever grateful to her for the EXCELLENT service she provided and for the strong start she helped us achieve in our new home.

Tracy Russell

6/17/2018

We are so thrilled that we hired Christine to be the doula for the birth of our son! We knew we wanted someone to help us prepare for our first labor experience, give us an idea of what to expect, and provide tips on working through it together, and Christine more than delivered. She was a wonderful, calming figure to have supporting both of us.

What we appreciated the most was how much effort she put into making sure we BOTH felt prepared for labor and delivery. So often during prenatal care, providers focused only on the needs of mom and baby, but Christine made a notable effort to focus on dad, too. During our prenatal visits, she talked with him about how they could work together to provide support, and she gave him hands-on training in providing comfort measures during labor.

Additionally, Christine provided us a huge binder with an amazing amount of information that helped us really understand things like how to put together a list of birth preferences. She was extremely responsive via email and text, both with our questions as well as during early labor. She traveled to our house for all visits as well as to help us labor at home, and she helped mom breathe and moan through contractions in the car on the way to the hospital. At the hospital, she helped us make sure we were advocating for decisions in line with our preferences.

Overall, we are so, so glad we hired Christine. We would unquestionably recommend her to anyone looking for a calm, knowledgeable doula.

Jessica McDowell

4/24/2018

Christine got us through a very long and difficult labor. I'm not sure how we would have managed it without her. She was so supportive and came to our home and birth center on three different occasions during our two and a half day, dysfunctional labor. Christine's comfort measures got me through an entire day of two minute long contractions. We chose Christine because of her experience and calm, maternal energy and it was one of the best decisions we made when preparing for our son's birth.

Andrea Caldwell Pitcairn

11/20/2017

We are forever gratful to Christine for being with us during the birthing process and all the help she gave us in the sessions before the birth. She had a lot of amazing ideas to help keep me calm and to manage the pain. She was available to me by phone or email when I had a question, and was able to come to the hospital as soon as we needed her to. My husband was happy to have her at the hospital with us as a second support person, so that he could feel supported, which gave him the confidence to be a better support person to me. We would highly recommend Christine!

Malissa Ha

10/19/2017

Christine is AMAZING! She came on short notice the day we arrived home after giving birth to B/G twins. From the beginning, she’s been very patient with us as new parents while giving valuable advice on breastfeeding, feeding schedules and making time for myself. Not only does she bring her expertise to the table but she’s also a huge help with household chores and running errands, something every new parent (especially with twins) needs help with intially. I cannot thank her enough and would highly recommend her to any family looking for a knowledgeabl yet personable doula to expetience parenthood with.

Veronika Ryjik

8/18/2017

Hiring Chris was one of the best decisions my husband and I made during my pregnancy. We were mostly interested in the postpartum services, since this was our first child and our families live far. However, aftre meeting with Chris, we decided to hire her for the whole process and we were 100% satisfied with the results. Chris is very experienced, professional and knowledgeable. She made sure that we had enough information during pregnancy to make informed decisions about treatment and delivery. At the same time, she was very respectful of alll our decisions, whether they coincided with her personal birth philosophy or not. As she told us, her philosophy was to support us in all our choices, and that is what she did. I decided to have an epidural, so during delivery, we didn't use any of the exercises / positions that Chris would've recommended for a natural birth. However, her presence was still invaluable. She made sure that I was comfortable and hydrated at all times and her peanut ball, which I held between my legs until it was time to push, probably reduced the total time I was in labor (less than 10 hours since our arrival at the hospital!). She was by my side all the time and made me feel much more confident about the whole process. After the delivery, we had Chris come in for several nights and later, for part of the day, for a total of 2 weeks, and I have to admit, I don't know how we could have survived those first weeks without her. She was great with our little son - he never cried when he was with her, so we could get some sleep. She truly has a magic touch with babies and I felt 100% safe when our son was with her. She was also full of extremely useful recommendations, from dietary tips for breastfeeding mothers to tips about changing diapers or cutting the baby's nails. She also helped me a lot with breastfeeding. In short, Chris was amazing and we highly recommend her to anyone as a birth and postpartum doula!

Zhiyuan Li

4/25/2017

I felt lucky to have Christine as my postpartum doula. She is very professional, considerate and knowledgeable.
I'm a first-time mom, having some theoretical understanding on babies without real experience. Our parents planned to come to help us, but had to cancel their trip in my third trimester due to some emergencies. Then I learned the term "postpartum doula" and decided this is exactly what I want. I contacted Christine, met her to discuss the plan, then my baby came out two weeks earlier than expected. We called Chris when we were still in the hospital, and she immediately said she could help us in the next day when we were discharged from the hospital. Our home was quite a mess then, as we were not yet fully prepared and left home in a hurry. She helped us in organizing necessities needed by the baby and mom, adjust my feeding position so I can be more relaxed, how to wear the baby... and so on-- all these valuable information are extremely helpful for the new parents, and cannot be obtained online without face-to-face communication. I cannot image how bewildered we would be without Chris. We are with Chris for two weeks, eight days in total, and she was always using her maximal efforts to make me and the baby felt better. I strongly recommend her to any parents who needs the hands-on coaching on caring newborns.

Maryana Nikolaevna

3/30/2017

We hired Christine to aid in the birth of our first daughter. I wanted a hybrid birth in a hospital with an epidural but with the guidance of a doula. My husband does not speak english and I wanted my doula to know my preferences (no episiotomy, no forceps, etc) to communicate this with my hospital team. Christine was so helpful, from the information she provided to the support she offered during the birthing process. I highly recommend Christine and was so glad she was alongside us for this experience of a lifetime.

Vivian Ng

3/27/2017

I hired Christine Golcher to serve as my doula for the birth of my firstborn child in July 2015. As first time parents, my husband and I cannot imagine reliving our first birthing experience without the care of Christine.

Upon meeting Christine, we knew that we had found the right birth doula. When I reached out to inquire of her services, she provided a welcome packet filled with helpful information. In our initial meeting, Christine was organized and professional. She was ready to help us as first time parents by offering a binder full of resources on creating a birth plan, deciding to delay cord clamping, and other key decisions in the birth process.

On each subsequent visit, my husband and I learned new skills to help prepare us for the birthing experience such as birthing positions, massage techniques, and making a birth plan. She made herself available by phone 24/7 in the weeks leading up to my due date and continued to send informative emails and recommend books to help us mentally prepare.

When I went into labor, Christine acted as a mediator between us and the medical staff, and she relieved my husband from having to do all the massaging and counter-pressure on his own. During labor, I distinctly remember hearing this calm, confident voice coming through the rush and bustle, reminding me about what was happening and how to move through the pain, supporting both my husband and myself. After the birth, Christine stayed with us until we were settled in the postpartum unit, imparting useful early parenthood tips and offering breastfeeding support.

In the end, I felt empowered by my birthing experience with Christine’s help and gave a natural birth to a healthy baby boy. If you are looking for a doula that is not only experienced, educated and wise beyond her years, but also kind, supportive, and thoughtful, I highly recommend speaking to Christine for what she can bring to your pregnancy and birth experience.

Qariyah A

3/25/2017

Christine Golcher was everything I was looking for in a Doula. As soon as I met her I immediately got a motherly vibe from her! Which was amazing and important to me because my own mother was thousands of miles away and wasn't able to give me that motherly support desired and needed so much. I felt very comfortable with her.  She was extremely attentive as well as informative.  I truly don't believe I could have asked for a better Doula then Christine, as it was a great pleasure of mine having her for the labor and delivery of my second child.  Warm hugs and a BIG thank you to you Chris!  I don't feel I could have done it without you :)

Noreena Lewis

3/22/2017

Christine provided wonderful care for me and my family after my twin daughters were born.  My husband and I had the opportunity to meet with her prior to the girls' birth, which was nice.

I had terrible complications after my c-section and she kept in touch with me while I was in the hospital.  When I was finally discharged home, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't do a whole lot.  She helped with feedings, laundry, etc., so I could sleep.  She has great resources, too - book recommendations, essential oils, and vitamin recommendations that were really helpful.  Our dogs really liked her, too, which was a bonus!  I felt 100% confident in her ability to take care of my daughters, offer me advice, and help out around the house.  I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone seeking a doula of any kind, especially if you are expecting multiples.  I can't thank her enough for her help, compassion, and support.

Joelle Roberts

3/21/2017

Chris was my doula for my second pregnancy and I hired her to support a VBAC.  Chris was extrememly knowlagable about VBACs and how I could educate myself when confronted with push-back from my providers.  She provided so much support emotionally and most importantly with resources so I could build my confidence and truly believe I could do it.  During the actual laboring process she supported my desire to want to try Hypnobirthing and also brought a ton of support products to the hospital. Her support was not only physical, but emotional and intellectual.  She also helped my husband a great deal and I feel she went above and beyond ALL my expectations.  Chris was also there for me as a post-partum doula the first week at home.  I'm honestly not sure I could have made it that week without her support.  I had a ton of trouble with breasfeeding and managing a toddler with the new baby.  It was a very stressful time and she was the light that got me through each day, no exaggeration. I strongly reccommend Chris as a doula and post-partum doula, she was amazing and knowledgable and gentle and supportive and I can't possibly reccomend her more highly.  You will be so thankful that you hired her.

Rose Rodriguez

7/15/2013

I delivered a son via VBAC with Christine's help.  My goal was to labor at home for as long as possible for fear that if I went into the hospital too early I would be trapped to the bed with all sorts of meds and IVs in place and not be able to move around.  Christine helped me reach my goal and then some!  I labored at home for 23 hours and by the time we went into the hospital I was 8cm dilated and progressing quickly.  The hospital staff pretty much ignored my begging for drugs but as soon as I said the code word (meaning I was serious about pain relief) Christine told the staff - "luckily" they did not humor me and I delivered my bouncing baby boy completely natural with some tearing to boot! Were it not for Christine, however, (who also trained my husband to help) I would not have have reached my labor and delivery goals - no way, no how.  This baby was my last chance to have the vaginal birth that I desperately wanted and Chris was there to help me despite my fears/anger/and obscene screams throughout my labor and delivery pain.  Please don't hesitate to hire a doula to assist you in labor (they are heaven sent) and consider Christine to help you - she was incredible and I could not be happier with the outcome of my final birth.

Brittanie A. Weber

4/29/2013

Thank God I found Chris when I did!  Right after our interview, I gave birth to my twin girls and was so glad to know Chris would be coming to our home about 3 times per week for several weeks after their birth.  Chris was such a huge help, allowing me to sleep while she watched my daughters.  Chris took care of feedings and changing, but cared for my babies as she would her own children.  In addition, she managed to complete other household tasks like baby laundry, sterilizing bottles, straightening the living room, emptying the dishwasher, and other such things.  Chris listened to my joys and woes, and she was a wealth of information when I had a million questions as a first time mom.  as much as I appreciated Chris's professional expertise, I was grateful to encounter a very kind-hearted, gentle, and joyfilled woman who loves what she does.  I would highly recommend Chris as a doula. You will not be disappointed!