Carolynn

    • 8-10hr overnight postpartum visits at $60/hr ($80/hr for twins)

    • Min booking 20 hrs

    • Generous phone, text, email support throughout

    • Certified Full Spectrum Doula

    • Trained in Lactation Support

    • Single parents

    • High risk families

Request to Meet Carolynn

Christina is a DONA-trained doula, and has been attending births since 2011. Christina is the mother of two vibrant children and lives in New Rochelle. She is passionate about being a doula and believes women have the innate ability to give birth and to care for their babies. Her goal as a doula is to help parents discover their own voices, their own strength, and their own unique capacity to give birth and be amazing parents.

Christina is certified in many comfort measures including Rebozo, Spinning Babies, Hypnobirthing, Certified Lactation Counselor, and Red Cross CPR. Her experience includes: VBAC clients, mothers over the age of 40, twin vaginal birth, high risk, inductions, home birth, unmedicated births, and LGBTQ families. She initiates skin-to-skin and breastfeeding after C-section births. Her prenatal sessions are evidence-based, information-packed, and include exercises to prepare your body for labor and delivery. She offers birth photography, acupressure in labor, hands on support, coaching, and essential oils during labor.

  • "I have now had the great fortune of working with Christina for two VBAC births, and I can say with utmost confidence that there is no way I would have been able to have a VBAC if it weren't for her. I hired Christina for my second birth, and it was a completely different experience. I finally had an advocate at the hospital and someone who was truly an expert on birthing babies coaching me, putting me into different positions to help the baby descend, and assisting me every step of the way. After just 40 minutes of pushing I was able to get the baby out vaginally. I remember thinking "ohhh so THIS is what it's supposed to feel like!" It was a perfect birth experience. Hiring Christina has honestly been the most important thing I have done for the birth of my kids. She is so knowledgeable, smart, helpful, and kind. She even notices things like the fact that my epidural was unplugged! All the nurses and doctors checked it and thought everything looked fine. Then right when Christina arrived, she noticed that the machine wasn't beeping when I pressed the button for more medicine and realized it had been unplugged! This is just one example of many where Christina really saved the day."

    Gracie

  • "I feel so lucky to have found Christina and I would recommend her in a heartbeat. She was indispensable to have by me and my partner’s side during the birth of our son. She spent ample time in the prenatal period educating us, formulating the birth plan, and teaching us a labor prep exercise plan. She taught me about colostrum collection before labor, which was vital because our son was briefly in the NICU. Christina was extremely supportive both physically and mentally during my multi-day induction. She didn’t leave my side during the all pushing and labor. In addition to being emotionally supportive, she coached me through various positions and physically assisted me when I couldn’t feel my legs from the epidural. She made suggestions and position changes during labor when the ones recommended by hospital staff were not working. In the end, her support helped save me from an emergency c-section."

    Rachel

  • "Christina was an absolutely fantastic Doula that I highly recommend to anyone. You don't want just anyone staying overnight in your home and taking care of your baby but with Chris you can sleep soundly knowing your baby is getting the absolute best care possible. She is extremely professional as well as adaptable to your wants and needs. Chris is a loving, warm presence, and also not overwhelming, which is always appreciated during the sensitive postpartum time. I have nothing but great things to say about my experience with Chris, I wouldn't change a thing. She really is that good!"

    Farah

  • "Chris was such a wealth of knowledge and an incredible comfort to my family during this new transition of becoming new parents. Chris took the time to meet with us in advance of the arrival of our baby to gauge our needs and ensure we were a good match. She provided useful tips and advice on arranging our home to prepare for our first baby and our daily routine. During the early postpartum weeks, she helped take care of our baby to allow us to rest as we adjusted to this new role of being parents. She helped me figure out how to juggle the needs of my husband and the baby all while also focusing on self-care. She paid close attention and respected my wishes and goals and helped me to achieve them. She’s a natural with babies and was so sweet, completely trustworthy, responsible, and empathetic. We were so fortunate to have her help us and would recommend her. We will be calling her back for our second child."

    Daniela

  • "Christina is a gift, she expertly navigates being a cheerleader, a coach and a mother. She led me through the highs and lows of my birth and knew when I needed to be pushed and knew when I needed to be comforted. Before the birth, she taught me exercises to prep for birth and get the baby in the best position. My first birth was 16 hours and my second was 4. Im confident that these tools prepared my body and mind. Christina is someone who quickly feels like family. She knows about the whole spectrum of care: birth prep to breastfeeding, she even offered helpful sleep tips at the postnatal visit. I felt at home in her care and still feel like I could call her for support and she would immediately answer. She has a warm nurturing spirit and is generous with her time and talents. She is incredibly adept at reading cues and supporting the whole family. I feel blessed to have found her and now have her in my community. She was born to do this work, I couldn’t imagine my birth without her."

    Grace

  • "Cristina helped me a lot on my breastfeeding journey of my first baby, Charlie. Charlie was in the NICU for a week and was given formula despite the fact that I gave nurses at the hospital my colostrum. They told me it wasn't enough and they had to give him formula. When we were able to go home, he wouldn't latch on and was used to the bottle. With only two visits Cristina was able to help him latch on and gave me many tips on how to increase my milk supply. Im so thankfull for her help and I would recommend her to anyone that is struggling with breastfeeding."

    Dania

  • "Christina is my birth angel! I am convinced she was born to be a doula because she is so incredibly intuitive. She knew exactly what positions I should be in at each stage of my labor and she provided the perfect counter pressure on my hips to ease the pain of each contraction. Christina is also a multitasking expert because she was able to hold my hand, keep an eye on what the medical team was doing, and even take photos as my baby girl was coming out. She totally rocked it at my birth! I could not have done it without her and I thank God for sending her to me. Christina not only taught me a bunch of helpful labor-prep exercises, but she also showed up in a strong, effective way at my birth. She was so proactive in providing me with natural methods of pain relief. Not only did she support me emotionally, but she had tons of tricks up her sleeve. I am convinced she has a solution for everything and anything that can come up during childbirth! So if you’re looking for a doula, look no further! You found her here. I am confident that Christina is the ABSOLUTE BEST you could ever find. She is a true blessing."

    Cristiana

  • "Let me start by saying: SHE GOT ME MY VBAC!! This testimonial is way overdue. As I am about to celebrate the first birthday of my baby, I cannot be more grateful to Christina. From the beginning, she was warm, open, knowledgeable, available, and a friend. She offered practical and emotional support and not a day goes by that I don’t think about my amazing experience with her. I was so damaged by the terrible experience with my first child that I swore I’d have a doula for my second. I did an exhaustive search and spoke with many people but Christina stood out right from the start. My husband and I connected with her immediately and knew she was the one for us. We weren’t wrong! She knew how badly I wanted that VBAC and even when I was ready to give up, she encouraged me and here we are! I truly couldn’t have done it without her. I almost want a third so I can use her again :) She is THE BEST and owe my emotional healing to her. Thank you, Christina! "

    S Matani

  • "Christina is just wonderful. She's very knowledgeable, kind, sweet, understanding and supportive. She assisted my family with over night support for our second child. we all felt very comfortable around her and my baby boy just adored her presence and always seemed to calm down around her. Her knowledge is priceless. Our first doula just came for the night and left in the am. Christina was different, she took the time to check in, was available at all times to discuss any concerns. She also guided us step by step through certain situation. It was such a pleasure to have her. I highly recommend her."

    Annamarie

  • "The communication with Christina was seamless, she was instantly available to answer any questions and made her way to our house. It gave me great confidence and moral support to know that she is engaged and on her way. Even I had my husband and mother at home with me, they were also under stress which was translating to me. However, I knew that Christina is on her way and will take things under control. When she arrived it was time to go to the hospital. During the ride, she was in the back seat massaging my back to sooth contractions. At the hospital, Christina was my advocate, she knew what birth I wanted and helped me communicate with my midwife (who was also amazing) and nurses. She supported me every step of the way through the end of my labor (which went fast from the moment we got to the hospital). It was an incredible support for me morally and physically to have Christina by my side. If you are looking to have a healthy pregnancy and natural birth as well as need guidance in preparation, Christina is your person. I highly recommend her for any first-time mom ( as I was) as well as any mom who is looking to have calm delivery."

    Olga

  • "Despite being experienced parents, trying to juggle the constant needs of a newborn, a todler and two teenagers with all of our daily household responsibilities was extremely challenging. Having Chris as our postpartum doula providing support during the nights helped tremendously. Chris is such a sweet soul with a big caring heart and great energy. I can't stress enough how the overnight shifts were a tremendous lifesaver, giving everyone much needed continuous rest and energy. Chris also helped sleep train our newborn so the transition of all nightly duties to Mom was easier. Maria's breadth of knowledge and experience were helpful refreshers and great advice for us to ensure quality care for our children. Our family is so grateful for everything Chris has done for us. I would definitely recommend Maria for first-time parents and growing families."

    Michele

  • "Going into my first pregnancy I knew I needed extra help. I needed an experienced doula who can support me through the fear I hold about child labor. From our first conversation, I knew Christina was right person for me. She conveys great wisdom and confidence which provided assurance of the entire child birth process. She was a very strong and encouraging coach throughout my pregnancy. She taught us therapeutic massage and stretches before and during labor and it helped me tremendously to move my baby to ideal position to avoid back labor. During the labor, the pressure points she applied at every contraction help me enormously with coping with the pain. I was induced from 1 cm and I didn’t get epidural until 7 cm! Every contraction coming at 2 min apart for 12 hours, I was asked to get the epidural at 7 cm. She was amazing at determining the position of my baby. I was able to avoid further intervention such as C section. I achieve the vaginal birth I wanted and I give all the thanks to Christina. I highly recommend any woman who needs great doula like Christina!"

    Moe

  • "She is a physically and mentally strong, solid, steadying force. She was right there with me unwavering for 14 hours, along with my husband. The counter pressure she used on my hips and my back really helped me to make it through the intensifying contractions without drugs - she is such a powerhouse! She also allowed me to just mentally go to the place I needed to be without worrying about anything because i knew I had an advocate who knew what she was doing and who i fully trusted. Christina was an absolute rock and I definitely plan to work with her again for #2 :)"

    Kat

  • "Christina is super dedicated and helped me in every way possible throughout labor. She helped with positioning so that my labor would progress properly, she helped me with nausea, pain...She was there for me for whatever I needed. 15 hours into labor, they realized that the baby was posterior and lodged under my bone and so we started attempting to push so that she would progress downwards. Christina suggested positions that would help the baby dislodge, the doctors knew nothing of how to dislodge the baby and were threatening ceseraen. Christina coached and encouraged me throughout the 3 hours of pushing, and she suggested the position that eventually turned the baby and allowed her to be delivered vaginally. I have no words to thank her for saving me from a c section. I would never go through a birth without her. Whoever hires her, is lucky to have her as their doula. I also forgot to mention that she came twice to our house, teaching us positions for getting through the beginning stages of labor as well as helping me write a birth plan. During labor and delivery, she made sure the doctors and nurses were following my birth plan. Thank you, thank you!!"

    Riki

  • "Given that my birth story was three days long it's hard to know where to start but I can say that Christina was a fantastic guide beginning at our first meeting a few weeks before the real adventure began. She had such a wealth of knowledge that I found comfort in. I could tell that I had made the right choice of a doula pretty quickly. I knew that no matter how my baby was born she would be right there by my side supporting me the whole way. From the moment I called Christina to tell her my labor was beginning to 36 hours later when my daughter was actually born she was an integral part of my journey. She worked tirelessly with me and my fiancé for hours trying to get my baby out naturally. My daughter would not budge and ultimately after a day and half we ended with a csection. Christina was aware of how disappointed I was and continued to be supportive and said all the right things. I am extremely grateful to her for my experience despite the fact it was not how I originally intended it to be. I fully intend to ask her to be my doula again when the time is right."

    Alexis

  • "The best decision my husband and I made to prepare as first time parents is to hire a postpartum doula. We were very fortunate to find Christina who is knowledgeable, friendly, kind and caring. She was always prompt to responding to all our communication. She took care of our son Luciano through the night for three months so that we were well rested. Christina was truly our baby whisperer and was always there to offer support and advice when I needed it and was also my source of comfort and inspiration when I felt like I couldn’t keep going. I feel so fortunate to have had such a caring person to support us and help us adjust to life with our new baby. We unequivocally recommend Christina."

    M Dinovo

  • We have benefited in so many ways from Christina's services. Apart from the obvious benefits of overnight care so that we can get more sleep as parents, Christina has helped us establish a sleeping, feeding, and pumping program; our daughter now often sleeps 6-7 hours at night by Week 10. Additionally, Christina’s expertise with lactation and bottle feeding helped us choose a better bottle type and a nipple with flow strength appropriate for our daughter’s feeding level, so as to reduce the extra air consumed during feeding which may have been contributing to her gas issues.

    Lina Velme

  • Christina has been invaluable in helping us as first-time parents. We sought help during the sixth week after our daughter was born, when we were struggling to adapt to the demands of new parent life, and she responded immediately and began working with us within two days. Chris is a warm, caring woman who love babies and has tons of experience with them, and we feel comfortable entrusting our daughter to her care.

    Michael Vespe