I have been married to my husband, Bob, for thirty years and am the mother of six children, three biological and three through adoption. Shortly after bringing home our three youngest children from Russia, I heard about DONA and doulas and I was very intrigued. I love everything birth related, and I especially love helping new moms have confidence in their natural parenting abilities. Right away I began reading and preparing to become a doula, but soon realized that the timing wasn’t right. Being a wife and homeschooling mom and parenting children from a hard place required everything I had. So I put being a doula on the back burner and forgot about it.
Over the past few years, as my children have been leaving the nest, I’ve been contemplating what’s next. One day my oldest daughter said to me, “Mom, I thought you wanted to be a doula.” It was like a latent desire inside of me woke up! So I began looking into doula training again, and as everything started falling into place, it became apparent that this time the timing was right. This was exactly what I wanted to do!
Since then, I have been professionally trained and certified as a doula with DONA International. I assist mothers during pregnancy, throughout labor, and after birth to provide emotional, physical and informational support. After attending a Spinning Babies® workshop, I pursued continuing education with Dr. Carol Phillips in Dynamic Body Balancing, a rigorous 100-hour program. My goal is to help you have a comfortable and easier birth experience so that you can bond with your new baby and enjoy a mutually secure and rewarding attachment.
After years of parenting children who experienced early childhood trauma, I also understand the effects of trauma on attachment, whether it’s trauma from birth or early childhood incidents. My personal experience in this area gives me a desire to help new mothers and fathers with this very important foundation of parenting.
It would be a joy to serve you!
Linda Sarna, CD(DONA), CLC, CST, HCHD
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Certified Lactation Counselor – Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice (ALPP) – April 2021
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Infant and Prenatal CST Workshop – April 2021
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Dynamic Body Balancing with Techniques in CST and Myofascial Unwinding Training with Dr. Carol Phillips – 2021
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Infant and Prenatal CST Workshop – November 2020
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Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss – The Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath, and Death – September 2020
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Evidence Based Birth Comfort Measures Workshop – February 2020
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CST for Birth Workshop – January 2020
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Hypnobirthing Doula Training – 2020
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DONA Certification – November 2019
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Spinning Babies Workshop – August 2019
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Lactation 101 – January 2019
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DONA Birth Doula Training – November 2018
Our experience having Linda as our doula was absolutely phenomenal; 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 my husband and I. She gently pushed me to do more than I knew I could, constantly reminding us what the outcome would be and why we were doing this. She is caring, thoughtful, and excited to help. We 100% recommend Linda to be your doula.
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.
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 the 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 to 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 the 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 took 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.
