We are not "doula" people. But we were first time parents, and although I had to ask a friend what the purpose of a doula was and winced at the price tag - we felt it might be a good safety blanket. We interviewed two excellent doulas and ended up going with Lindsay due to our friend's recommendation and the fact that we felt like we could relate to her better due to her straightforward demeanor and since she's close to us in age. Lindsay provides you with two pre-natal visits and one post-partum visit in addition to the birth visit. She also gives you a hefty packet of info on pregnancy and post partum stuff- some of which is medically accurate, but serves more as a good starting point to talk with your ob or midwife (and she's clear about that). Lindsay has a great demeanor, kind, helpful, smart, and strong. She has this amazing ability of being there for you during labor/delivery without being intrusive and giving you and your partner the space to do your own thing while providing support. And when we needed her to step in, she was there 100%!!! In fact, it was during a difficult labor that Lindsay's experience, skill, and bedside manner really shone - she really wowed us and physically invested herself in making it work. We had a long labor and she was prepared to be there and totally present and actively supporting us for the whole thing!! I can honestly say that the price is worth it, in fact I almost feel we under paid!! Go with Lindsay, you won't be disappointed! read more

Lindsay is a god send. I had a home birth in May (also thanks to her!), and she was my doula. My labor came one fast and hard. My husband was filling the tub while my mother was making the bed, and I was stuck on all fours in the baby room with back labor. I was terrified and didn't think I was going to make it through this; I'd definitely need to go to the hospital. I called Lindsay, and she came over very quickly. As soon as she entered the room, everything got better. Lindsay jumped in without missing a beat, telling me in a calming voice that the things that were happening to me were all okay and coaching me through deep breathing techniques with each surge. She helped put me in the tub even though I was resistant to move, and suddenly my labor was more manageable. She also communicated with my midwife, getting her there on time as things were moving along very quickly. Lindsay made me feel safe throughout the entire process. Her voice was calming and she knew exactly what to say at the exact right time. She made sure I was hydrated and comfortable. She placed her hands just where I needed them right when I needed them there. She knew when to step in and when to step back. Above all else, she emitted a calming vibe that helped everyone stay cool, calm, and collected, even a basket case like me. She empowered me to birth my first born at home, with the labor I wanted (and deserved), and supported me the entire way, through pregnancy and beyond. Before she left after my birth, I asked her if I could keep her forever and ever. I really couldn't have done any of this without her, and will be thankful for her presence in my life for many years to come. Needless to say, if you are looking for the most loving and educated doula on the block, Lindsay is your gal. 5+ stars!! read more

Lindsay is an amazing Doula and we are so glad we found her! I began my search for a Doula because I was extremely fearful of giving birth and I knew that I needed a compassionate, knowledgeable professional to partner with me. Lindsay was the clear choice from our first meeting. She helped us identify realistic goals for our birth experience, helped me identify the roots of my fears around birth, provided education on the birth process and was always available when I had questions. Over the course of our three prenatal visits I was completely transformed. When I first met Lindsay my anxiety about giving birth could easily bring me to tears and by the time I went into labor I can honestly say I was as prepared as I possibly could have been. I felt confident and ready to lovingly accept whatever was to come. As it turned out, I had a somewhat complicated, in-hospital birth. My daughter's heart rate was dipping during contractions from the onset of labor and the stronger my contractions got, the worse she seemed to be doing. After hours of labor and a series of unsuccessful interventions, the doctor recommended a c-section. Lindsay was there for us every step of the way, making sure we understood what was happening and what our options were. It was a scary experience but it was much easier to handle due to Lindsay's presence and support. Because she was there and we had talked through the various scenarios that might arise in our prenatal visits, I was able to stay calm. We went ahead with the c-section and as it turned out, the cord was wrapped around my daughter's neck multiple times and this is what had been causing her distress. On paper, my birth story may sound less than ideal, but truthfully, I got everything I wanted out of my experience. I wanted my daughter to be healthy and safe. I wanted my husband to be actively engaged in the process. I wanted to feel prepared, confident, respected, and empowered. Lindsay helped us achieve all of this. If you are looking for a great Doula, we would highly recommend Lindsay! read more

I just had my first child and used Lindsay's services to encapsulate my placenta. It was probably the best thing I could have done for a speedy and happy recovery from my birth! I had a lot of blood loss and some pretty interesting stuff to recover from. I feel like the placenta was the real key to my recovery. Lindsay was very quick to return my placenta and even gave me the cord from my birth preserved in an adorable heart shape. The placenta helped me recover remarkably quickly. My midwife told me it was actually much faster than most. The pills also really helped my attitude and kept my spirits high. I would highly recommend Lindsay's services to all expecting mothers. She is a wonderful woman who provided an amazing service. Best wishes to you and your birthing process! read more

The short of it: you should hire Lindsay. The longer of it: I could not be happier that I went with Lindsay as my doula. She was exactly who my husband and I needed. She provided us in two hours with as much information about the labor process as we received in a 6-week birth course. During the labor, she was calm and reassuring. She provided the space for my husband to be my main support while still being involved in key ways. I am convinced that my labor would have been longer had Lindsay not coached me on breathing into my contractions and on pushing as hard as I could at the end. I had a very successful natural birth, and Lindsay helped me get there. I am recommending her to all my pregnant friends, and I recommend her to you! read more

Hiring Lindsay to support us during the birth of our son was the best decision we could have made. She was an essential part of our experience and I knew I wanted her in the delivery room the moment I met her. Throughout the entire process (all 41 hours of labor), Lindsay was a grounding, knowledgeable, and calm resource to us. My labor and delivery did not go as I had planned but with Lindsay's support, I felt incredibly empowered, strong, and proud of everything I experienced and accomplished. I am so grateful to her. As others have mentioned, she gives you and your partner space to become parents and/or welcome your new child together but she is also ready to provide critical support, guidance, and feedback. She was a great advocate for us as well -- helping us interpret what our medical care team was up to and determine our course of action ourselves. I can imagine our labor and delivery experience going in all sorts of different directions, and I credit Lindsay's guidance and support for helping me ultimately have the experience I wanted. I wholeheartedly recommend Lindsay and would hire her again in a heartbeat. read more

Lindsay was a tremendous help during my natural in-hospital labor experience. I do not know what I would have done without her. I have always wanted to have natural unmedicated birth. After talking to several doulas in the area, I decided to go with Lindsay for her approach to labor and birth. We had two very helpful and informative prenatal meetings with Lindsay; she covered lots of facts on labor and postpartum recovery, assisted me in creation of birth plan, gave lots of tips and most importantly reassured that everything would be fine. Of course, the time when Lindsay shone the most was the labor itself. Her presence was very calming and reassuring. Lindsay helped me through contractions, suggested breathing techniques and comfort measures to ease the pain. She gave space for my husband to participate and help me as well, which was very nice. Lindsay also made sure both me and my husband were hydrated, fed and to certain degree relaxed. When we went to the Washington hospital, I was already in active labor and contractions were coming very close together. Lindsay created comfortable and welcoming atmosphere by playing ocean sounds and by dimming lights in the hospital room. Very soon my water broke and I moved to transition - the most intense part of my labor. My husband was doing hip squeezes, while Lindsay was holding my hands, looking in my eyes, breathing and moaning with me. I would not be able to go through transition without her support. Through the pushing stage Lindsay suggested positions, she also was encouraging me while pushing. Even though I had a whole hospital L&D team in the room, I was listening only to Lindsay. She explained what I needed to do, how to push and breathe correctly. After several contractions and intense pushes my baby boy was born and I could not be happier. Almost everything went according to my birth plan. We met once postpartum to discuss my labor experience and all funny moments we had (yes, there were quite a few!). I would highly recommend Lindsay to everybody who is determined to give birth naturally. Lindsay is the person you want to have on your birth team: she is a very confident, calm, knowledgeable and caring person. I will definitely hire her again, once we are ready for the second baby! read more

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We used Lindsay for placenta encapsulation, receiving processed pills within two days. What helped us the most was that Lindsay was over-the-top accommodating. With everything going on, I missed getting back to her on her quote... until the day we needed her services. I called her from the post-partum recovery room, and she met me at the hospital the next morning for an easy hand-off. When the pills we ready, she dropped them off at our house (with a little cord keepsake). As new parents, we appreciated how easy and low-stress Lindsay made the process! read more

Wow, this review is long overdue. Lindsay was my doula back in summer a few years ago. First time mom, and I was nervous. She was kind, informative, and a calming presence during a rough looooong labor. I highly recommend her. read more

Lindsay is an amazing doula, she is warm and caring when working with families. She has a calm presence and is always reassuring the mother to use her inner wisdom to find her answer to their questions. She is empowers women to use their instincts and research their options for care. She provides women researched materials based on topic and provide a judgment free atmosphere. Her reward is to see you feel empowered, healthy, and moved by the experience of childbirth. She also is a placenta encapsulator and provides placenta medicine for postpartum healing and recovery. read more

I had a baby on June 30 and found Lindsay on Yelp. After contacting her at about 8 p.m., she drove about 30 minutes each way to pick up my placenta that same evening. It was encapsulated and delivered to my hospital room the next day. Amazing. She is so sweet and gentle. I would highly recommend her services. The price seemed reasonable. I took her up on the offer to have a placenta infused tincture (I had to look that word up, y'all) made for me as well. I am soooooo interested to see if this will work down the line for menopause or hormonal imbalance. I'll try to remember and update this post in 20 some odd years to let you know. ;-) For now, it's a good carrot to keep my hubby in line. I threaten to make him drink it if he buys a sports car or takes a 20 year old lover. Works like a charm, worth every penny. As for consuming my own placenta... The pills were amazeballs. My milk came in with a vengeance...no seriously! I am chronically anemic--no problems with my iron levels. My skin got a little rough as a result, but that was no problem after I reduced my usage and eventually stopped taking the pills. Took about 2 days for small rough patches with tiny bumps to clear. I would recommend this to any mama, as the benes far outweighed the issues. read more

Second Child delivery: So some of you will understand what Im about to describe and others it may go over your heads completly, but that's ok. Last night (1-28) was an incredible birth experience for me. I was able to have Lindsay attend my second birth. UC Davis Sutter is incredibly supportive of natural births and minimal monitoring. With that combination, giving birth was like a deep intense meditation of being in tune to the frequency of life. As the contractions come in waves and peaks then subside it is like experiencing the breath cycle. Lindsay levesque is an incredibly grounding presence. She would encourage me to breath deeply through each contraction and keep my body relaxed. The sounds you make during to open your body are in line with OM. You breath deeply into the OM frequency and ride the wave of intensity and become one with it. When she would rub my back it was like I could feel each Chakra point light up and stay connected to the root chakra which is very much tied to birth. I listened to the BlackMill -Miracle album. But towards the end as she made her entrance, all I could hear was the lyrics of Tool" Spiral out, keep going!" I wish every woman could experience birth this way. It was a gift my daughter gave me. Yes its hurts during the crowning, but it's so brief and forgettable. I am so grateful I was able to have another wonderful birth experience with Lindsay! read more

Lindsay Levesque - Baby #2 :D - Doulas Near Me

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Lindsay was an integral part of my birth story. I truly don't know what I would have done without her. She was amazingly giving through the entire process from the moment I told her of my pregnancy through the delivery and postpartum. She is supportive, calm and thorough. She made sure to take the time so that me and my partner truly understood each process and concept of pregnancy and labor. She was non judgmental and accepting of the way I wanted my labor to go. As soon as my labor began to really progress and we called upon her, she was at my doorstep and giving me words of wisdom and evoking a sense of calm and peace in me at a time I felt I could not go on. She accompanied us to the hospital and worked as a liaison between myself and the hospital staff. She remained professional at all times and I knew I could depend on her to get my needs met. My labor was incredibly long and hard and I was not progressing. I wanted to do this as naturally as I could. I felt like giving up and was hitting a wall and Lindsay was there reassuring me each step of the way. As each contraction hit, I knew as soon as I put my hand out, she would be there. And 30 hours later she still was. It was amazing to look over and see her face as I pushed my lil one out into the world. Thanks to Lindsay, the event was beautiful and peaceful. I am not sure it would have been that way without her presence. She is a blessing to any mother to be! read more

Lindsay is an amazing doula. She exudes a calm confidence that is very reassuring and helped me feel supported during my long, tough labor. She was present and engaged without being intrusive. She was calm when that is what I needed and a more aggressive coach when I needed that. She helped me dig deeper than I thought possible and bring our daughter into the world without the c-section that was looming. It was also really helpful for me to talk with her about my birth several weeks later as it helped me process my experience. My husband and I both love her. I can't recommend her highly enough. read more

I don't remember much about labor except that it hurt like hell and Lindsay was the only person who could assure me that I wasn't in fact dying. She's gentle without being drippy, knowledgeable without being didactic. She's like your cool friend who knows the right thing to say and somehow doesn't mind the sight of blood (and all other manner of horrifying bodily fluids). I trusted her immediately and fully. Right after my daughter was born, I fixated on whether I was nursing her correctly, asking whoever was within earshot, "Am I doing it right?" Lindsay very gently told me not to worry, just to enjoy the time with her. After nine hours of labor, in which doctors and nurses choreographed every last minute, it was exactly what I needed to hear. read more

I strongly recommend Lindsay Levesque as a doula. We had a wonderful experience with her, she was an amazing support through pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. Her presence was calming and strong during delivery and she helped me and my husband have the type of birth that we wanted. She worked seamlessly with the Kaiser Oakland team. We feel so fortunate to have worked with her, she made what could have been a scary experience feel very in control and empowering. I am so grateful. And she even took photos right when the baby was coming out, so we have some wonderful memories. Both of us cannot recommend her enough! read more

Lindsay was great at walking through all parts of the process with us and wading through options as things changed. Her pre-labor questions and visits were thorough and gave us a good refresher (2nd child) on what to expect and ensure we had our wishes/needs clear.Throughout our CVS (Version due to a stubborn breach baby), induction and labor she was a solid support and helped with tools to manage through as well as a great ear when needed and helped support me in resetting my expectations (my "dream" labor was to labor at home naturally, then head to the hospital when ready, not an induction which ended up being what was needed). While we would have managed without her, I know it would not have been as smooth a process and I wouldn't have wanted to go through without her by my side. She added so much to our labor, delivery and team. Additionally-we used her for placenta encapsulation and prints. The prints came out lovely and will be a great keepsake for our daughter. read more

This review is loooooong overdue. Lindsay helped me give birth to our first child on 11/18/2015. My husband and I liked her right when we met her. She's very kind and informative. She walked us through everything we needed to know for before, during and after labor. Her pointers on breastfeeding was just as detailed, if not more, than the class we took at Kaiser. Our baby was stubborn and didn't want to come out on his own so we had to induce 2 weeks, 1 day after due date. We texted her when they were about to give me the pitocin and she met us at the hospital right away. She made sure I was hydrated and my husband was thankful for that because I didn't feel like listening to him. Who could say no to Lindsay? =) She was very helpful in helping me breathe through all of my contractions because you honestly forget how to do it correctly when you're in pain. I had back labor and she saved me when she helped push on my back during contractions. She was there every step of the way. She was even the one that had to tell the nurse that my water has broken. Soon after that, everyone was in the room and ready to help me push our baby out. Lindsay stayed by to encourage me, but gave the staff plenty of space to do their own thing. She even helped us capture the moment so my husband could stay focused on me. After our baby was born, she was right there to make sure he could latch onto me. She stayed with us until we got situated in our room and followed up with us at our home a week later. She was super sweet and helpful throughout the entire process. I found her through my cousin and she is actually helping my other cousin give birth this month. She's definitely my family's choice when trying to have a natural birth. read more