Certified Doula Support in New York, New Jersey & Connecticut
You deserve someone who has been in that room before.
Birth is not a medical event that happens to you.
It is one of the most powerful experiences of your life — and the people in the room with you will shape how you remember it forever.
YourCherish provides certified doula support for families across New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut. We bring clinical knowledge, genuine presence, and deep experience to every birth we attend. We show up for you. Completely.
What a Doula Actually Does
A doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support before, during, and after birth.
We are not a midwife. We are not a nurse. We do not perform medical procedures or make clinical decisions.
What we do is stay with you — from the first contraction through the last push — and make sure you feel safe, informed, and held throughout the most intense experience of your life.
In the room, your doula:
Guides you through breathing and movement during contractions
Offers hands-on comfort: counter pressure, position changes, cold and warm compresses
Keeps your partner informed, calm, and meaningfully involved
Communicates with your medical team so you don't have to
Reminds you of your birth preferences when the moment gets hard
Holds space when you need silence and speaks up when you need an advocate
Stays with you through every shift change, every waiting period, every hard hour
The research is unambiguous. Families with continuous doula support have:
26% shorter labors on average
28% lower rate of C-section
31% lower rate of synthetic oxytocin use
Significantly higher rates of birth satisfaction — regardless of how the birth unfolds
Birth Doula Support
Our birth doula support begins long before labor starts.
Prenatal (Before Birth)
Two or more prenatal consultations in person or via video
Review of your birth preferences, fears, hopes, and medical history
Hospital-specific preparation — we know the policies, the culture, and the staff dynamics at every major hospital in the tristate area
Birth plan drafting in language your care team will respect and respond to
On-call communication from 37 weeks so you always know how to reach us
During Labor and Birth
We join you when active labor begins — at home, at a birth center, or at the hospital
Continuous presence through transition, pushing, and delivery
Physical comfort support: positioning, massage, breathing, movement
Emotional presence: anchoring you in your own strength when it gets hard
Partner support: guiding your partner into genuine usefulness so they are with you, not beside you
Advocacy: clearly communicating your wishes to your medical team, asking questions, ensuring you have the information you need to make decisions
After Birth
Immediate postpartum support in the delivery room
First feeding support and skin-to-skin facilitation
Debriefing your birth story while it's fresh — what happened, what it meant, what comes next
Referrals to postpartum resources, lactation consultants, and mental health support as needed
Postpartum Doula Support
The weeks after birth are some of the most underserved in American maternity care.
You are recovering from a physical event that rivals surgery. You are learning to feed a human being. You are running on no sleep. And everyone around you is focused entirely on the baby.
Your postpartum doula is focused on you.
Our postpartum support includes:
Newborn care: soothing, feeding support, sleep education
Infant feeding support: breastfeeding, pumping, bottle introduction
Recovery support for the birthing parent: nutrition, rest, physical recovery guidance
Overnight support: we stay through the night so you can sleep
Sibling support and family adjustment
Household support: meal prep, light tidying, logistics
Emotional support: honest conversation about what you're experiencing, without judgment
Postpartum mood screening and referral if needed
Postpartum doula support is available in half-day, full-day, or overnight blocks. We serve families in NYC, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut.
Where We Work
New York City
We serve families across all five boroughs, at every major hospital and birth center:
Manhattan: NYU Langone / Tisch Hospital, Mount Sinai, Lenox Hill, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell, Columbia University Irving Medical Center / NY-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, NYC Health + Hospitals / Bellevue
Brooklyn: NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist, NYU Langone Brooklyn, Maimonides Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals / Kings County
Queens: Long Island Jewish Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals / Elmhurst, Northwell Health / Forest Hills
The Bronx: Montefiore Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals / Lincoln
Staten Island: Staten Island University Hospital
New Jersey
We serve families in Bergen County, Essex County, Hudson County, Morris County, and Union County — including families delivering at:
Hackensack University Medical Center
Morristown Medical Center
Saint Barnabas Medical Center
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Valley Hospital
Connecticut
We serve families in Fairfield County and New Haven County — including families delivering at:
Yale New Haven Hospital
Greenwich Hospital
Stamford Hospital
Bridgeport Hospital
Delivering somewhere not listed? Reach out. If we can be there, we will be.
Why YourCherish
Olga Zinner is the founder of YourCherish — a DONA-certified birth doula, certified postpartum doula, and documentary photographer based in New York City.
She has attended 86+ births across every borough and beyond, served 48+ postpartum families, and holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology. She is multilingual in English, Russian, and Spanish.
What makes YourCherish different:
We are the only tristate team that combines certified doula support with documentary birth photography. One person. Full presence. No coordination required between a photographer and a doula who don't know each other.
We know your hospital. We have been in the rooms. We know the nurses. We know the policies. We know what to expect at 3am on a weekend.
We are not a volume agency. Olga attends a small number of births per month — so that when your baby arrives, she is there. Not a backup, not an on-call stranger. Her.
We speak your language. Literally. English, Russian, and Spanish. Many NYC families feel most themselves in a language other than English. Your birth should be no different.
We hold the whole picture. From your 20-week consultation through your 6-week postpartum visit, YourCherish is your continuous support system — not a transaction, not a service provider. A partner.
What Families Say
"Olga was the first person I called after my husband when I found out I was pregnant. We had worked with her as a doula before and I knew I didn't want to do it again without her. She is the reason my second birth was completely different from my first — calmer, more powerful, and documented in images I will keep forever." — Marina K., delivered at Mount Sinai Hospital, Manhattan
"We found YourCherish searching for a doula in NJ who could also do Fresh48. We didn't know that combination existed. Olga came to Hackensack and was the most grounding presence in that room. My husband still talks about how different the whole experience felt with her there." — Jessica & Rob, delivered at Hackensack University Medical Center, NJ
"As a Russian-speaking family, having Olga there meant my mother could actually communicate during labor. That alone was worth everything. The photos were extraordinary. The support was extraordinary. I recommend her to every pregnant person I know." — Natasha V., delivered at NYU Langone Brooklyn
"I had a very long and difficult labor. There were moments when I was not sure I could keep going. Olga never left. She never checked her phone. She never looked tired. She was just there, completely, for every hour of it. I don't know how to explain what that meant." — Alicia M., delivered at Lenox Hill Hospital, Manhattan
Frequently Asked Questions
How early should I hire a doula? We recommend reaching out between 16 and 24 weeks. This gives us time to build a real relationship before labor begins — to understand your history, your fears, your intentions. That said, we accept clients up to 36 weeks when availability allows. If you're further along, reach out immediately.
Do I still need a doula if I'm planning an epidural? Yes. An epidural handles pain. A doula handles everything else — the hours before the epidural, the pushing phase, the moments of doubt, your partner's anxiety, the decisions that arise, the postpartum hours after birth. Many of our most meaningful sessions are with families who had fully medicated births.
Will a doula conflict with my OB or midwife? Never. A doula's role is to support you, not to direct your medical care. We work alongside your medical team and communicate with them in a way that supports your birth plan without creating friction. Many OBs and midwives actively recommend doulas for their patients.
What if my labor is very fast? We discuss this in prenatal consultations and plan for it. We are on-call from 37 weeks and can often be at your location within 30 to 60 minutes of your call. For clients with histories of fast labor, we adjust our on-call approach accordingly.
Do you work with single parents and LGBTQ+ families? Always and completely. YourCherish serves all families. Every birth deserves full presence and genuine support, regardless of structure.
What is the difference between a birth doula and a postpartum doula? A birth doula is with you during labor and delivery. A postpartum doula supports you in the days and weeks after — with newborn care, feeding, recovery, and emotional support. Many families hire one person for both. YourCherish offers both as separate or combined services.
Do you offer virtual doula support? Yes, for families outside our in-person service area. Virtual support includes prenatal consultations, birth planning, on-call phone and video support during labor, and postpartum check-ins. Contact us to discuss.
How much does doula support cost? Pricing varies based on the scope of support — birth only, postpartum only, or combined packages. We offer transparent pricing and payment plans. Contact us for a full pricing guide.
Ready to Talk?
Doula availability is limited — we work with a small number of families each month to ensure every client receives our full presence and commitment.
We recommend reaching out before 24 weeks.
Tell us your due date, your hospital or birth center, and what kind of support you're looking for. We'll respond within 24 hours.
Or email: love@yourcherish.com
YourCherish also offers Fresh48 hospital photography, birth photography, newborn photography, and maternity photography across NYC, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
About YourCherish
YourCherish was founded by Olga Zinner, a DONA-certified birth doula, certified postpartum doula, and documentary photographer with 86+ births attended across the tristate area. She holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and is multilingual in English, Russian, and Spanish. YourCherish is the only tristate team combining luxury birth photography with certified doula support — serving families from Manhattan to Greenwich to Hackensack.
Page reviewed: March 2026