Our goal is to accompany you in partnership, providing personalized care, loving support and information.  We encourage your active participation in your and your baby’s care, empowering you to make informed choices and to experience birth in the way that is right for you.  We trust in the birth process, recognizing that birth is both a normal, natural part of life and a powerful rite of passage for mother, baby and family.  At the same time, we are trained and experienced in identifying and handling situations which fall outside normal ranges and may necessitate transfer into medical care.  We have collegial relationships with the staff at Alta Bates and Kaiser Hospitals. 

We offer home birth, water birth, comprehensive prenatal care, home and office visits, nutritional counseling, community gatherings with other home birth families, breastfeeding assistance, extensive postpartum care, new moms' support groups, well woman care, laboratory tests, and insurance billing.  Throughout our entire client relationship we are available to you in person, via email and by phone 24 hours a day.

Prenatal care is provided in our offices in Berkeley and Danville and in your home.  Prenatal visits are usually 30-60 minutes long and occur every four weeks
until 28 weeks of pregnancy, every two weeks until 36 weeks of pregnancy, and then weekly until the baby arrives.  During prenatal visits, in addition to
monitoring the health and well being of mom and baby, we spend a great deal of time getting to know each other, developing a trusting relationship, talking about the transitions you are experiencing, answering questions and assisting you in making informed choices and identifying community resources.

During your third trimester, we encourage you to participate in our Prenatal Groups, comprised of two, two-hour meetings with the midwives and
other families in the practice who are due around the same time as you.  These group meetings include a meditation, focused discussion about topics pertinent to your stage of pregnancy and sharing food.  Families make connections with each other and we get to spend more time together before the birth.

Every birth is different and so we do not have a routine way of working.  Our care is personalized to you and your situation.  Two midwives will attend your birth, often with one midwife coming earlier on in labor and the other arriving a little closer to the time of birth.  Once your baby is born, we will stay with you until you are both stable and ready for quiet time, usually two or three hours after the birth, or longer if indicated.   Our practice maintains three portable warm-water tubs for labor and/or water birth if you desire – these are reserved on a first-come,  first-serve basis for a nominal cleaning and set-up fee.

We will visit you at home twice during the first week after the birth, and then see you and baby again either at home or in our office at two weeks, then
once again for a final postpartum visit six weeks after the birth.  Postpartum visits are extensive and include breastfeeding support and newborn care.  Additional visits can be scheduled at no extra charge.  We also offer a free, drop-in, weekly postpartum moms' support group in our Berkeley office.

Our Berkeley office is home to several like-minded practitioners offering complementary services benefiting families during the perinatal period.  Part of your midwifery fee is credited back to you in the form of vouchers for reduced-fee treatment or consultation sessions with four practitioners of your choice.  You can use these vouchers prenatally or postpartum.  Check out the Wellness Center page for a list of current providers.

Our practice arranges monthly gatherings for all families in our care.  These events, usually centered around a creative theme and involving food, are a wonderful opportunity to make connections with other like-minded parents and for us to spend time together in a non-clinical setting.  In addition, every other
month, families who have recently given birth with us come to share their stories at a weekend or evening gathering in our Berkeley office – it’s always inspiring!

We can order any testing you may want, including routine laboratory tests, prenatal genetic screening and diagnosis, ultrasounds, fetal non-stress tests 
and routine tests for the newborn.

Come see us for your well-woman exams!  We can provide a complete physical exam, breast health education, Pap smear, STD testing, family planning advice and fertility counseling.

Our fee is paid directly to us in advance of your baby's birth.  If you have PPO insurance, you can opt to use our professional billing service or to submit a claim for reimbursement on your own after your baby is born.  If you have Kaiser or another HMO insurance, unfortunately they will not cover any part of our fee.  We do not contract with any insurance companies.  We do not currently accept MediCal.