Stephanie Heintzeler is a German educated midwife and acupuncturist as well as US-educated doula and Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She was born in New York City but raised in Germany, where she found her enthusiasm for midwifery already when she was 12 years old- thanks to her “not-so-little-anymore” brother who was born then. She became a midwife at the midwifery school Black Forest in 2000 and worked in Frankfurt for several years after as well as in Munich from 2008-2012.

Stephanie cares for women with all kinds of births- whether her clients choose a hospital birth, birthing center or home birth; she wants them to follow their own intuition about which birth place feels best. Stephanie has seen it all- breech births, many successful VBACs (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean), planned and unplanned c-sections, vaginal twin births and LGBTQ-families.

With her “former midwife-approach” her clients feel taken care of from a holistic-medical perspective. She uses breathing techniques, TENS and positions to open the pelvis as well as her acupuncture background and massage techniques to make birthing as comfortable as possible- whether it is a natural or medicated birth. Using evidence-birth-techniques she and her doula-partner Alice (who is a midwife from the UK) make sure their clients have continuous support during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum weeks.

As of 2021 Stephanie has delivered over 2,500 babies and attended over 3,100 births. She is the founder of the New York Baby where she puts expecting parents/mothers in touch with doulas and baby nurses.

Testimonials

Our most current testimonials can be found on Google.

Anja, mom of Rosa, July 2020:

I had a difficult pregnancy in the midst of the pandemic – fleeing NYC to another state, experiencing a painful pregnancy-related hernia in the lead up to giving birth and then a severe hemorrhage a few hours after delivery. Thank goodness we had Stephanie along on this difficult journey with us! Her advice and experience was invaluable and she was able to do all of it remotely. The virtual part was really no problem at all (as we first feared). She was readily available at every turn.

Most expecting parents across the US are limited to one support person during COVID-19 pandemic (best case!) and while everyone is focused on the baby and or Stephie was focused on me. Aside from my husband, Stephanie became the first key member of our birth team, even before the OBGYN, and she helped us put together a comprehensive, bespoke birth plan, educating us along the way as to how to manage late pregnancy, delivery and caring for a newborn. We are first-time parents and we learned more from Stephanie than anyone else in our lives during this time.

We decided to shift some of our hours to post-partum since Stephanie wouldn’t be able to be there in the delivery room with us. She was really flexible and fair in accommodating this. And we’re SO thankful that it worked out the way it did.. we had no idea how much support we would need post partum. Stephanie’s years and years of experience extend to post-partum issues of lactation, maternal recovery, scheduling, nutrition, natural and medicinal remedies, family management and so much more – she’s there for us, for everything. We’ve been blown away by her ability to guide two nervous first-time parents smoothly through the bumpiest experience of our lifetime. We cannot recommend her highly enough.

Note from the Dad – when my wife was rushed to emergency post-partum surgery, it was the scariest moment of my life. The first thing I needed to do was inform grandma, but she only speaks German. It was 6:30AM and sure enough Stephanie picked up the phone after 1 ring. She spoke directly to the nurse to understand the medical issue, and then we got on the phone with grandma in Germany and Stephanie was able to communicate everything that was going on, put us both at ease, and helped us ask all the right questions and ensure we got through it together. I felt crushingly alone for a moment there, and Stephanie brought me back from the ledge right away.

THANKS STEPHANIE!

Tara & Doug, November 2018

“I cannot speak highly enough about our experiences with both Stephanie and Alice. Stephanie was my back up Doula for my first daughter’s birth in 2015. We had only met once, but I knew I was in the best of hands the second she showed up to calmly bring me back into my body so I could labor efficiently, all done with such warmth. She anticipated every need that I had while in labor so I could have the drug free birth I had wanted.

Fast forward to three years later…I reached out to Stephanie once again, who was now partnering with Alice Mackenzie. Alice came to our apartment so I could interview her and she was lovely. I know Stephanie would only partner with someone of the highest caliber. As it turned out, it was Alice who was my doula the second time around  and her calm demeanor and guidance were exactly what I needed. Alice praised me while in labor which gave me confidence and allowed me to have another drug free birth. We unexpectedly had our baby at home and Alice was phenomenal when we had to switch gears from getting ready to head to the hospital to we’re having our baby right, then and there. Once again, I felt so cared for.

During both births, they stayed at the hospital to make sure I was comfortable, help with nursing and answer any questions we might have.

Days later they came to our apartment to check in on our family and to help us with any needs we had. Since then, they have continued to be a supportive resource with any issues that have come up.

You cannot go wrong with either Stephanie or Alice. They are a dream team and we feel so fortunate to have had them coach us through two of the most important days of our lives.”

Jessica and Craig Baldenhofer, parents of baby Kai, born in August 2014

“Thank you again for everything. You were so great and Craig and I both benefited so much from having you with us. And after you left, the nurse said “I’ve never said this to any patient before, but you had an amazing doula”. 🙂

“If you are looking for the most knowledgable, caring, reliable doula/lactation consultant in New York, contact Stephanie Heintzeler (www.thenewyorkdoula.com). Stephanie delivered over 1200 babies and has seen everything. She answers medical questions, gives you psychological support, helps to organize or reorganize your family life, supports you to have the birth you want and advises with every single question you have about your baby.

I had a very difficult pregnancy, birth and postpartum time. With no family in town, I felt lost and alone. A physician covers medical support until you deliver, but you might not see him/her during delivery. The pediatrician does the regular screening after the child was born and that’s it. But who answers all the other questions you have and supports when you are struggling? Lucky to be part of HRP group, sometimes it feels good to have a professional around who can advise and help to find the answer you are comfortable with. Stephanie made it so much easier to get through difficult times. She was always available when we needed her and connected us to her wonderful team she works with (e.g. nutrition specialist, acupuncturist or personal trainer). Even my old school doctor who refused to work with doulas (and only did it because of my difficult pregnancy), took her card after my delivery and said that Stephanie changed his way he thinks about doulas. I admire Stephanie for the work she is doing, the passion she has for her profession and the love and empathy for every single client.”    

Katja, February 2020

Our baby girl was born at the end of 2019. Being first-time parents, we were so happy to be supported by Stephanie during the first couple of weeks of being home with the new addition to our family. So many questions, so many new feelings, and of course so many first experiences …. quite overwhelming sometimes. Yet every time Stephanie came to our place for home visits, her calm demeanor, vast experience, and many answers reassured us that we were doing the right things in taking good care of our little one. She was also very quick in replying to any texts when questions arose in-between visits. We can highly recommend Stephanie – she is an awesome person, has a deep knowledge about taking care of babies and mommies, and you can really sense that she loves her job

Katharina, June 2019

Having given birth away from home, it was essential to me to have someone in the room while giving birth that could speak to me in my mother tongue. It was extremely soothing for me. Same applied for our consultations before and afterward. Being aware of the cultural differences, Stefanie could both address me and my husband (who is American) concerns and thoughts. Stefanie was instilling a lot of trust in me as a young mother and balanced the more technical approach of the doctors by the natural wisdom of an experienced midwife/doula.

Laura, mother of Henry, born in 2015

“Thank you for making it such a wonderful experience! I am immensely proud of how Natacha handled it and impressed with how you helped bring out the best in her.

Thanks for these pictures which we will treasure always.

Mother and son continue to do well and seem very fond of each other already.

It was definitely the birth we wanted.”

Joep Wexels, father of Adian, born summer 2015

“You were one of the biggest supports during the pregnancy and the birth of our first child. We always felt that we are in good hands, we trusted you in every minute! I still don’t know what I would have done without you the first weeks after Theresa was born! Painful and funny situations as well … you know, what I mean! Your postnatal care was amazing. Thank you very much for your help and support.”