Testimonial for Lynn Christensen, CD(DONA), CLC, LCCE
I was fortunate to have Lynn as my doula when I gave birth in 2014. In the hope of having an unmedicated birth at the birthing center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, I first contacted Lynn when I was about five months pregnant. After meeting Lynn in Tenafly, New Jersey (a short trip from the UWS) we were sold, not least of all because of her approachability and good humor (attributes that proved essential when I was in labor).
In the months between our first meeting and my daughter's birth, Lynn was a wealth of information, providing suggestions on a variety of resources as well as two prenatal sessions, one on labor and one on breastfeeding. (To this day, my husband and I still joke about the crocheted body parts she brings to these sessions.) In the weeks leading up to giving birth, I found her calm and steady presence via phone and e-mail to be extremely reassuring.
Although I was not able to deliver in the birth center and I ultimately had an epidural, words cannot capture how grateful I was (and am) to have had Lynn present during labor and delivery. She empowered my husband and I to ask intelligent questions about what was happening, guided us through not only hospital practices but also through the physical stages of labor, and was my emotional rock throughout. (She also fed me ice chips in the final stages of labor, for which I would have paid her fee 100 times over.)
My husband was especially grateful for Lynn's presence, because she could provide insights on what was happening (like telling him that it was a good time to rest up and then handing him a pillow and turning down the lights) as well as ways to assist me.
After I delivered at night, Lynn was with us for about an hour (no easy feat since she had been at another birth less than 24 hours earlier), then returned the following morning for a post-partum/breastfeeding visit, and made a home visit the following week.
-Laura Rowntree
November 02, 2015
Lynn Christensen, CD(DONA), CLC, LCCE
Labour Day Doula Support
Birth Fee: $2200 to $4000
