Midwife for Homebirth
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August 2006
Hello all,
I'm a first time mom and just pregnant, looking for a homebirth
midwife for the east bay. I know they can be a little hard to
track down, so I wondered if anyone had a great experience
lately and what made it so great.
I'm a doula and know the basics about birth and also have
strong opinions about doing it naturally and at home.
I'm looking for someone pretty grounded, not flaky.
Thanks guys
first time mom
We are using Cindy Haag, CPM, LM for our first baby due in
January. She is utterly fantastic--experienced, logical, and
compassionate--basically everything we hoped for. We feel so
lucky to have gotten the chance to work with her. She can be
reached at 510-704-8366. I'm also a doula (and an aspiring
midwife). I've been thinking about forming a pregnant first-time
moms group/circle. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you're
interested!
Best wishes for a happy, healthy pregnancy and birth.
Meg
There are several excellent midwives practicing in the East Bay, and I think many
of
them are listed in the BPN archives. We had our first with Cindy Haag
(510-704-8366)and are going to have our second with her in Dec. Cindy is
extremely professional and knowledgeable as well as wonderfully caring. Our
daughter was a big girl (10 lb 10 oz) and had mild shoulder dystocia (stuck for
about 50 sec), and labor was a little tricky. Cindy handled everything so well and
it
was an exhausting but very good experience for all of us. Feel free to contact me
at
kara at vuicich dot com, or you should feel free to call Cindy. She has regular
gatherings at her home for her clients and others interested in homebirth, and
these
are great opportunities to talk with other families about their experiences.
Kara
I had a fantastic first-birth homebirth experience with Beah
Haber and Michelle Edgar. They were very grounded and I
trusted them completely to support me appropriately and to
transfer if necessary (it was not!), which allowed me to relax
and really trust that I was safe. They were a great
combination of emotionally tuned-in and medically sound. I
can't recommend them highly enough. You can reach them at
(925) 449-7666. Beah is based in Pleasanton and Michelle lives
in Oakland; they see patients in both places and they both made
it in plenty of time to my birth (in Oakland). Feel free to
contact me with any further questions.
Nina
Lis Worcester was my midwife for both of my births- and I
love her- She is so calming, reassuring and supportive, as
well as knowledgable and capable.
She lives in SF, but works in the east bay all the time
415-255-7028
cecilia
I highly recommend Lucero Dorado as a homebirth midwife. Wise,
gentle and experienced. You can reach her at (510) 644-1617
Katia
I had a wonderful homebirth last December with midwife Cindy Haag
of Tres Lunas Midwifery, 510-704-8366. It was my first
pregnancy. Cindy is a wonderful person with excellent skills.
She respects your decisions and needs for birth, providing great
advice based on years of experience and training. My homebirth
experience was exactly what I wanted it to be and Cindy was there
to guide me, my husband, baby and attendants through the process.
I cannot say enough good things about her. Good luck and
congratulations!
Happy Homebirth Mom
I highly recommend Cindy Haag, of Tres Lunas Midwifery. She was
our homebirth midwife and we think she's terrific. Very
down-to-earth, experienced, dedicated, and just an all-around
great person. Her number is 704-8366. Congratulations on your
pregnancy!
Rachel Z
I am a nurse-midwife and Beah Haber attended both of my homebirths. I highly
recommend her (and her amazing colleague Michelle, also a midwife), both
professionally and personally. Beah has been a CNM attending home and birth
center births for years. She is highly experienced. I felt safe with her judgement.
She knows what she's doing. She makes you feel special, and LISTENS to you, which
is a huge part of both prenatal and intrapartum care. She's an earth mama, but also
grounded in reality, not flaky. If you're a local doula, you will have already
heard
about Beah. She books up super fast, so if you're even thinking about interviewing
her, call her immediately (her practice is called Motherwell Midwifery, and she has
offices in both Pleasanton and Oakland), because she is also quite good at keeping
balance in her life and limiting the number of births she takes on per month. I
would go back to her in a second!
happy homebirther
Hi
I work with Rosanna Davis LM, CPM, a homebirth midwife that does
birth is the south of Alameda Co. I am not sure where you are but
you can check out her website http://rosannadavis.com/
I am her assitant and a Doula, Treesa
I am a doula and have been present at two lovely homebirths
with Cindy Haag as the midwife. Cindy is extremely
knowledgeable, and radiates calm, quiet, laid-back support.
She is definitely not someone I would categorize as ''flaky.''
There are lots of recommendations for her on the BPN website
under ''Midwife for Homebirth'' in reviews--health & medical--
midwives.
doula
I didn't see the original request, but I wanted to let everyone
know about my great homebirth midwife for my first baby, now 8
weeks old. Judy Luce, Womancare Midwifery, 510-428-1419, is a
recent transplant from Vermont (and Boston before that) with over
30 years of midwifery experience. She has a warm, caring
demeanor, and is incredibly knowledgeable. Our prenatal
appointments (always at least an hour) were thorough,
informative, and FUN! Judy is a great story-teller. I chose
homebirth partially because I feel that the hospitalization of
birth is robbing women of confidence in their abilities to give
birth, and making the whole process of birth an ordeal to be
suffered through, rather than an empowering experience of great
spiritual potential. I felt that Judy shared my confidence that
my body was capable of giving birth naturally, and was a
tremendous ally in preparing me for the physical and emotional
challenges of a long labor. Even when my faith in myself
faltered, Judy was right there to tell me I could do it, and she
often made me laugh in the process. She was a wonderful coach
for the birth itself, too, helping me push the baby out in under
an hour with very little tearing. Judy was also a great help
postpartum, checking up on us frequently, and offering great
advice. With 30+ years of experience, Judy's medical knowledge
is very solid, and I always knew I was in good hands
Delighted with my home birth!
Dec 2005
i've been seeing jeri zukoski, and i feel pretty comfortable
with her, but i'd really like to do a homebirth (which medi-cal
won't cover) and can't afford her rates.
Try calling around. Although they don't advertise it, some
midwives have a sliding scale. When we interviewed midwives in
late 2003, I think they went as low as $2000, but there may be
some that go lower. Don't forget to ask what may be excluded from
that fee (such as birth supplies, lab tests, ultrasounds, etc.).
Perhaps some of these 'extras' are covered by Medi-Cal.
You can read general homebirth midwife recommendations, including
mine, at http://parents.berkeley.edu. Also, see
http://bayareahomebirth.org.
David
May 2005
I just discovered today that my insurance which is Blue Cross will reimburse a
''preferred'' licensed midwife for home birth services and delivery. Can anyone
recommend such a midwife? If not, did you have a home birth and were you
able to get reimbursement of any kind? I would be very greatful for any
information. Thank you.
Liesl
As far as I know, and I would love to find out otherwise, there
are no licensed midwives who would be considered ''preferred
providers''--meaning a network provider--by Blue Cross.
However, my homebirth was about 60% covered by Blue Cross when
my midwife, Cindy Haag, submitted the necessary documentation
for both the prenatal visits and the birth. I got at least an
hour, and sometimes more, of Cindy's time at every appointment
compared to less than 15 minutes with a CNM or OB/GYN. Plus
the convenience of having her come to my house instead of
dealing with driving, parking, and waiting and waiting at a
doctor's, in my opinion, made up for any increased costs.
Homebirth--worth every penny
First, I have to say that I don’t know if my midwife would be a
preferred provider for Blue Cross, but I wanted to recommend her
anyway. It’s definitely worth contacting her to find out. We
didn’t have any insurance, so reimbursement wasn’t an issue for
us. I thought to contact you because if cost is an issue, and
you can’t find someone you like to accept Blue Cross, then Lis
(my midwife) would most definitely work with you on the financial
part. She’s committed to providing care for those who can’t
afford the going rates for homebirth.
Anyway, her name is Lis Worcester and her number is 415/255-7028.
She’s in San Francisco, but has no problem working with folks in
the East Bay (we live in Oakland). We had such wonderful
experience with her! Our first daughter was born at the birth
center in SF and that’s where we met Lis. She was working there
at the time and was our primary prenatal care provider. We
developed a close relationship with her and then when I was
pregnant again 3 years later she was licensed to do homebirths.
We worked out a financial plan so that we could have the
homebirth we wanted. She worked with us from the beginning of
the pregnancy and we had such a great homebirth – exactly how I
wanted it. I had two pretty different births and Lis was exactly
the right match for me both times. The first time around I felt
like I needed a lot of help and reassurance – and I got it. The
second time I felt so much more capable and didn’t need much help
– and Lis really let me do things my way.
I could go on and on. I would be happy to talk with you more, if
you’re interested. I just wanted you to know about the options.
I hope this has been helpful. I realize that I didn’t really
answer your initial question. I hope you have a wonderful
homebirth! I highly recommend it - however it happens.
Brooke
Jan 2005
I'm currently looking for a homebirth midwife in San Francisco and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. The midwives that have been highly recommended on this site are mostly in the east bay and don't service SF. I have heard of Abigail Reagan, Maria Iorillo and Liz Worchester that work in the area and would love to hear some feedback along with any other names and experiences of homebirth midwives who service SF.
Thanks in advance.
Tracy
I wanted to give you my reccomendation for a midwife in SF. I
was surprised and excited to see you had already mentioned her
name, but my midwife was Lis Worcester. She was my primary
midwife when my first daughter was born at the birth center in
SF over 3 years ago, and then she was my homebirth midwife for
my second daughther born last July. I love Lis!! She is very
caring and spends so much time with you. She doesn't take on
too many clients at once, so you never feel as though she's not
available. I had a wonderful experience birthing at home with
her and would love to tell you more about it. She is also the
midwife for a friend of mine who is due in a few weeks and I'm
sure she would happily talk to you as well. Just to throw a
couple more names out there - Awakenings Birth Services (Dana
Fox, Deborah Simone and Juli Tilsner) are also really wonderful
women to work with and they work primarily in SF.
Good luck and feel free to call or email me for more details. I
love to talk about my birth! 510/763-2105
Brooke
I took a Bradley childbirth prep class with Juli Tilsner who I believe now
has a home birth practice and is associated with Sage Femme. I really
liked her and would've hired her if I hadn't been too scared to go with a
home birth.
danielle
July 2003
I'm hoping to become pregnant soon (my first time) and
want to get a handle on the birth options way ahead of time.
I'm very interested in homebirth. My questions are about
insurance & who in the East Bay does homebirth. I've been
all through archives and have the names of the Midwives
that could be covered by my insurance (Blue Shield HMO) if I
switched to the Hill Physcians group. Do the CNMs in
Berkeley (often cited on this site, Jeri, Nancy, & Lindy) do
homebirth? Has anybody switched primary physcians to do
this?
Any information/experiences would be helpful. I've searched
the web and tried writing several places for information, but
it's all a little vague, so I thought I'd try posting.
Thanks so much!
wanna be mama
I switched from my primary physician to a midwife during the
middle of my first trimester. Interestingly, it was my primary
physician who recommended midwives (or at least gave me
information for that route). I am seeing Jeri Zukoski. She does
homebirths as well as hospital births at Alta Bates, with Hill
Physicians. Lindy Johnson also works at Alta BAtes (although
I'm not sure if she does homebirths). Insurance will not pay
for a homebirth, or at least PacifiCare won't, so Jeri will be
delivering our baby at Alta Bates. If you need information,
both Lindy and Jeri will respond fairly quickly via phone, even
if you are not yet expecting.
On July 10, 2004, Birthways in Oakland will be holding a free
information night on ''Homebirth Information and Birthing
Options''. It's at 6:30pm. You should call them to see if there
is room for you to attend. Their address is: 466 Santa Clara
Ave., 3rd Flr and their number is: 510.869.2797.
I think it's great that you are preparing so early! I read up
on my options and did interviews with midwives and doulas one
year prior to TTC (AND started taking prenatal vitamins!), and
now I don't feel like it's all a mystery to me (although a good
majority of it still is).
Good luck!
anonymous
I don't know about the CNMs, but I had a great homebirth with Cindy
Haag in Berkeley, and both my insurance companies (my work switched
in the middle) covered the appointments and the birth with Cindy as a
''non-participating provider'' or whatever it's called.
By the way, I found the midwives listings in the archives on this site to be
pretty out of date--I've seen lots of references to midwives in the past
year in the newsletters, none of whom are in the archives.
Happy With My Homebirth
I changed my insurance to Hill Physicians to go with Jeri (but
they only covered hospital birth). I labored at home (for 2
days), then we went through transition in the car on the way to
the hospital, then pushed for two hours at Alta Bates, then left
after 6 hours. We had a fantastic experience, very safe, very
comfortable, (because I felt safe and was surrounded by family),
and paid for by the insurance.
Jeri advocates for moms to be proactive and to be aware of all
their options. We had a natural childbirth with no interventions
and I think a lot of it was because we had prepared as well as we
could (Ellen Klima's Bradley class was terrific).
Jeri also does home births but it would be out of pocket, we
couldn't afford it at the time but we had the best of all worlds.
Contact me for more info if you like, I think that as a
first-time mom, you need to learn as much as you can and I'd love
to discuss options with you. Good luck!
Monica
It's a great idea to check out your options before getting
pregnant. If you want to be cared for by a midwife, you
basically have four options:
1) Nurse-midwife in a hospital setting
2) Nurse midwife in a birth center setting
3) Nurse-midwife at home
4) Direct entry/lay/licensed midwife at home
I had a beautiful homebirth in April with the nurse midwives
from Motherwell Midwifery: Beah Haber and Jennifer Hess. They
were wonderful and I can highly recommend them. They also run
The Birth Home, a free-standing birth center in Pleasanton.
Their main office is in Pleasanton, but they have weekly office
hours in Oakland. Phone: 925-449-7666.
There are only two other nurse midwives or groups of nurse
midwives in the East Bay doing homebirths that I know of: 1)
Jeri Zukowski, and 2) another group whose name I can't remember,
but one of the CNM's is named Erin.
If you want a licensed (non-nurse) midwife for a homebirth,
Amrit Khalsa would be a great choice.
For hospital midwifery, Lindy Johnson or Hsiu-Li (pronounced
Show-Lee) Cheng are wonderful.
Insurance coverage for homebirth is a whole other issue. Some
midwives take insurance, but usually you have to pay up front
and get reimbursed yourself from the insurance comapny. Most
midwives have either a sliding scale and/or payment plans to
make it possible for those who choose to go outside their
insurance to pay.
Good luck!
Emily
I am having a homebirth with a midwife as well (in just a few
weeks!) but I can't be of much help with insurance. I'm using a
direct-entry midwife (as opposed to a CNM) so it's been a
ridiculous struggle to try to get my insurance to cover it.
However, I did want to recommend to you the Bay Area Homebirth
Collective - they have lots of referral services, including a
childbirth preparation class that is specific to homebirths. I
took it and loved it! Here is contact info for them: (415) 273
5185 or (510) 540 6223. Good luck.
Amy
I've had a number of homebirths, and hate to be discouraging
about insurance issues, but homebirth is a reproductive choice
that most insurers don't support, and the law does not protect.
The only contribution I've ever gotten from my insurers was an
unexpected $500 check from Blue Cross, which was given as
coverage for using an ''out-of-network'' provider. MediCal does
pay for homebirths, but the sum they pay is well below the going
rate. It doesn't sound as if you're MediCal-eligible anyway, but
if you are, you could consider offering to top up MediCal's
payment with cash. This is illegal, so you or your midwife may balk.
In parallel with being under the care of a midwife, my approach
has been to get traditional prenatal care through an
obstetrician, and have my insurance pay for the latter (after
all, you will not know until your baby is born whether the
emergence of
some problem or other will result in your needing to be
hospitalized, receive expensive diagnostic tests, or treatments,
or even give birth in the hospital). I believe that around 30%
of first-time mothers who attempt homebirth end up being
transferred to a medical facility. You will have to lie to
almost any East Bay obstetrician about your intention to deliver
at home, or he or she will refuse to take you as a patient. It
can get pretty unpleasant if your pregnancy goes past your
delivery date when the induction harassment can get intense.
UCSF is more tolerant of this approach, and I recommend them.
The lack of insurance coverage for homebirth meant that I paid
most or all of the midwifery bill out of my own pocket.
Sometimes, it was our entire savings. We are a family that has
experienced periods of real financial exigency. Nonetheless,
these payments, which seemed huge at the time, were the best
money we ever spent. I am always astonished by the difference
between my/our feelings about the births of our children, and
those of my friends about those of their children who were
hospital born. The births were some of the high points of my
life, and gave me a new strength and belief in myself. They were
a wonderful foundation for my relationship with my babies, and my
husband. So many of my friends felt abused and violated (at
worst) and disappointed or full of wishes that things had gone
differently (at best) with their hospital births. In my view, a
homebirth is a ''luxury'' worth paying for out of your own pocket.
To my knowledge, Lindy hasn't done homebirths in many years.
It's a pity: she did one of mine, and I can't speak highly enough
about her. The reason she gave me for ceasing to attend
homebirths was that insurance companies forced her to choose
between home and hospital deliveries - they would not allow her
to do both.
One of my midwives was Amrit Khalsa. I highly recommend her.
She does have patients whose home births are covered by
insurance. Perhaps it would be worth consulting with her,
especially if you are not yet pregnant and can still change
insurers, to find out how to get a homebirth covered. If you do
plan to do this, call soon. She's in high demand.
Homebirth zealot
January 2007
Re: Midwife Recommendations for Blue Shield HMO
We absolutely adored our midwives who assisted us with a
homebirth in May. The birth and the post-natal care were
exceptional. The practice is called Awakenings Birth Services:
http://www.awakeningsbirthservices.com/
Susie
March 2005
I'm looking for a Homebirth midwife recommendations. I saw great
recommendations for Cindy Haag and Beah Haber on the website and am
looking for info. on Sarah Pontell and Abigael Reagan. Others, too!
Thanks.
Looking early
i just gave birth in december. my midwives were great.
awakenings birth services. a team of midwives - dana fox,
deborah simone & juli tilsner. 415.835.0663. they live in the
east bay, but work in both s.f. & east bay.
i've also heard good things about sarah.
happy birthing!
happy mom
Just a short note to say that you saw so many great
recommendations for Cindy Haag because she is a fabulous midwife.
She provides both empathy and medical knowledge--an amazing
combination.
Grateful
There is an amazing, experienced, homebirth midwife who has
recently moved to the East Bay named Leopi Sanderson-Edmunds
that I would like to recommend. Leopi is both knowledgeble and
intuitive. She provides midwifery care that creates a sense that
you are being cared for on every level. She only takes 1-2
clients per month so she can provide her clients with all of the
attention they want or need. Leopi's telephone number is 510 717-
5060 or feel free to contact me if you would like to hear more
about my experience with Leopi. Good Luck!
sonja
i wanted to recommend Kristen Graser. here is a link to her web
site: http://www.fruitsoflabormidwifery.com
her care was wonderful. if you want any details feel free to e-
mail me.
Tami
Nancy Myrick, of Rites of Passage in San Francisco, was our
midwife for the home birth of our daughter last March. Nancy
(and Deena Malareddy, who was working with her at the time, not
sure if she still is) was wonderful during the pre-natal
appointments, the birth and post-natal visits. I think this link
will get you to the Rites of Passage website:
http://www.ihomebirth.com/services.html. If you have questions
or need more contact information, please let me know.
robin
I highly recommend Amrit Khalsa ((510) 235-4878), who attended
the homebirth of our second child. Our prenatal sessions were,
at the shortest, 1 hour each and lasted as long as they needed to
in order to answer all my questions. I had experienced pre-term
labor with my first child, and Amrit was knowledgable and
practical about developing a plan to minimize the chance of it
happening again (it didn't),and was endlessly patient with my
fears and worries about pre-term labor.
I found Amrit to be extremely competent (she's a direct entry
midwife, but used to be an RN in a neo-natal intensive care
unit), fully supportive of our desire for a homebirth, and
balanced in her attitude towards conventional
obstetrics. (She isn't an alarmist in the least, but if a
situation arises that would be best handled by a doctor in a
hospital, she's going to get you to the hospital.)
About homebirth in general -- I loved the peaceful, transcendent
quality of laboring and giving birth at home (peaceful, somehow,
despite all the HARD WORK of labor), and the gentle arrival of
the baby into our regular old bed,our older child coming in and
out as she pleased. But there was definitely a moment (an hour
or so into the pushing of what turned out to be a very large
baby) when it became very clear that there was no easy escape.
If pushing seemed impossible, my back-up fantasy of a quick
c-section at the hospital seemed even more impossible -- it would
be no trivial matter to have to get to the hospital in advanced
labor.
Best of wishes for a happy and healthy birth for you and your baby.
Alysson
I had my beautiful baby boy at home in December with a wonderful,
very nurturing, sensitive, and experienced midwife. Since my
baby was due in December and not many midwives were working, I
spoke with A LOT of midwives, and she was definitely my
favorite! Her name is Valeri Webber and she lives in Benicia,
but she will travel to most East Bay and North Bay locations. I
love this woman! She helped create s sacred, peaceful, and
special environment for our birth. Her number is 707-745
Cecily
July 2004
I am currently interviewing midwives for an upcoming home birth
and am wondering if anyone has experience (good or bad) with
Awakenings Birth Services (Dana Fox, Deborah Simone and Juli
Tilsner) or Nova Midwifery (Mason Cornelius and Beth Graham). I
haven't found anything about either practice on the website.
Many thanks
anon
Hi, I am due early January '05 and am looking for a homebirth
midwife. I looked at what's already been posted on the network
and didn't find what I was looking for. It's been a challenge
finding an available caregiver since most take time off for the
hoidays. Would appreciate any recommendations or shared
experiences that other couples have had with a dec./jan. baby.
And any recommendations of particular midwives used.
I am also looking for feedback from clients who have used these
following midwives.
Julie Hunn, Beah Haber, Cindy Haag, Sarah Pontell, Roxanne, and
Danu.
Thanks,
in search of an available midwife
I had Jennifer Hess and Beah Haber for my homebirth of my
2nd son 2 years ago. They were great. I had another
midwife when my first son was born 4 years ago whom I
would not recommend (she was not one of the ones on your
list.) Please feel free to contact me if you would like any
further information.
pc
Julie Tilsner was my Bradley class teacher in San francisco and I
absolutely adore her. I just can't say enough... Good luck
Katja
Beah Haber is truly an outstanding midwife. She is incredibly warm and sensitive,
and has a great sense of humour. She and her partner, Jennifer Hess (who I also
love, but you didn't ask about her!) attended at the
birth of my daughter at home in October and I would definitely recommend them.
My prenatal visits were so relaxed and I always looked forward to going to see them.
There were some complications at the birth which they handled with the utmost skill
and complete calm. The care I received post-partum was also excellent.
Good luck in your search!
ed
i am a birth doula/massage therapist/ yoga teacher and photographer in
SF and had the pleasure of working with Awakenings (Deborah Simone,
Dana Fox, and Juli Tilsner) at an amazing homebirth in March (i was the
doula, etc). They are very caring, committed, knowledgable, grounded,
and spiritual women who provide excellent, holistic care for the women
they work with. Many of my massage clients or prenatal yoga students
have worked with them, and all of the feedback i have received is
positive. I have also attended Juli's childbirth classes and attended
births with her when she was working as a doula and deeply respect her
knowledge and passion about supporting women in natural childbirth. I
would be happy to act as a reference for them if anyone wants a doula's
perspective on the midwifery care they provide. the number for
Awakenings is: 415-835-0663 or 415-871-8190 (juli tilsner)
blessings, Britt 415-821-2699
britt
I highly recommend Cindy Haag as a homebirth midwife. My first
child was born in December 2001 and I am now pregnant with my
second and am working with Cindy again. She is compassionate,
present, intelligent and extremely skilled and experienced. I
can't imagine being pregnant or birthing without her support and
involvement.
I also recommend interviewing several midwives to see how you
feel with each of them. There are many excellent homebirth
midwives in this area, but ultimately it's about finding a match
for what you are looking for and finding someone you trust and
feel comfortable with. I did some initial phone interviews and
then a few in-person interviews. After meeting some midwives it
was clear that Cindy was the ideal midwife for me and my partner.
Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any additional
questions about working with Cindy Haag. Congratulations on
your pregnancy and good luck in your homebirth midwife search!
Catherine
I had a wonderful homebirth with Cindy Haag. She has a
reputation as one of the best homebirth midwives in the Bay
Area. She is highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable,
and also caring, empathic and responsive. I don't think she
takes too many clients a month, though, so you will be lucky if
you get to be her client. I highly reccommend her.
Would Do It Again
Our baby was born at 34 weeks so we did not have a homebirth,
but Cindy Haag was with us for the intense part of labor and
went with us to the hospital (Alta Bates) and did after checks
on me and the baby and she was wonderful. I had only met her
the day I went into labor (long story) and I immediately felt
comfortable with her. She was terrific to have around during
labor, helpful, gentle, good about making sure my husband and I
had time alone when we might want it and there when we needed
her. I'm a doctor and I thought her medical knowledge and
expertise were impressive (and better than the ob-gyns in some
situations!). Can't answer as to her availability.
lucky to have had Cindy at the birth
Cindy Haag 510-704-8366 delivered our baby girl five weeks ago
and I cannot recommend her highly enough. We interviewed two
other midwife teams, and while they all probably would have done
an excellent job, I have absolutely no regrets or complaints
about choosing Cindy. And I'm a pretty tough customer.
As an added bonus, right now Cindy is working with an equally
fabulous apprentice, Robin Doolittle, who accompanies her to
every apointment. If you want more detail, you can ask Cindy for
my phone number (although you already know I'll be an
enthusiastic reference).
David
We had a home birth with Jennifer Hess and Beah Haber for our
first baby, due December 2003 (born in November...). They were
great all through the prenatal visits, birth and postnatal
checkups. Most visits, and the birth, were attended by both of
them. I'm planning to use them again if we have another baby. If
you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me.
Heather
I had my son with Dana and Deborah from Awakenings and the whole
experience was wonderful!
The prenatals (all done at my home) were relaxed (and long). I
had plenty of time to sort out many fears and concerns. Plus,
they did a wonderful job of educating me about birth. By the
time I was in labor it seemed like they really knew and
understood me and what I would need to labor successfully.
D & D's styles are very different which I also found a helpful
balance. Dana is more action oriented. When I called to
complain about a cold that was lingering, she offered heaps of
symapthy and at least a 1/2 dozen ways to take care of myself.
Deborah is more quiet and reflective. She was so good at
listening and seemed comfortable just sitting with me as I
worked my way through a particular question or concern.
The place they really shine is in labor and post partum. They
were just so calm and gentle and fiercely confident in my
abilities as a mom. And they did my dishes right after the
birth! Who could ask for more?
Finally, I don't know if this is an issue for either poster, but
another reason we chose Awakenings was because D & D are really
welcoming of whatever religious/spiritual practices and beliefs
their clients have. My partner and I are an interfaith couple
and we felt so supported in our attempts to honor the sacred
dimension of birth and partenting.
Either poster is welcome to email me directly with specific
questions.
sabine
October 2003
Well, I've just spoken to someone at Hill's Physicians Medical
Group and she told that they do indeed cover homebirth (all of
it!). I can hardly believe it. Anyway, I've got a list of 6
names of midwives in the Hill's Group and I'd like to get some
recommendations. I've seen the archives and see that Hsiu Li,
Lindy Johnson and Nancy Barnett Moore all come highly
recommended. I'd like a little more input on Deborah Coleman and
Laura Hooper (and it would be even better if you used them for
homebirth!). Also, if anyone has any experience with Hill's
Physicians/Blue Shield coverage of homebirth, I'd love to hear
about it (I keep thinking I have been misinformed).
Thank you so much.
I think it mainly depends on whether you have an HMO or PPO, and
not really the medical group you are with. We are also with
Hill Physicians, but had an HMO that covered only hospital
births with midwives. Lindy Johnson is a highly recommended
CNM, but she only does hospital births. The best thing for you
to do is call each midwife that Hill Physicians recommended to
you, and interview them over the phone. Their experience is
important, but getting along with them is even more so, esp.
because you will have very close interaction with your midwife
(or midwives). If you like what you hear on the phone, then
most of them will visit you at home for free, for a more
personal meeting. Bear in mind that there are many different
kinds of midwives, too. So, you should do as much research as
possible to know the differences (Licensed Midwife, Certified
Professional Midwife, Certified Nurse Midwife, Lay Midwife, and
so on....).
We are going through our other insurance coverage, which is a
PPO, so that we can have a homebirth that insurance will pay
for. Our most EXCELLENT midwife is Cindy Haag, of the Bay Area
Homebirth Collective and Tres Lunas Midwifery. She is very
knowledgeable, is a L.M. and a C.P.M., and is very personable.
The BAHC also offers childbirth classes geared for homebirths,
among other services. Every midwife of the BAHC (a few other
names: Jen Bauman, Kristin Graser) is really great - you should
call them, as they do homebirths in the East Bay and in SF:
(415) 273 5185 OR http://www.wisewomanchildbirth.com/bahc.html
Good luck!!
anon
I used Lindy Johnson recently (at Alta Bates) and was happy with
her, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't do homebirths anymore.
Jennifer
After having a nightmare of an experience with my first attempt
at a home delivery in 1992, I sought the services of Lindy
Johnson, CNM in 1995 to assist in the delivery of my son.She
informed me that at that time, they no longer could legally
assist w/ home births but she could work w/ us through Alta
Bates.
I found her to be ''ok''. Not as nurturing and up on holistic tx.
as i would have preferred..but she was great in the delivery
room. I delivered a healthy beautiful boy..so i'm not
complaining.
~Omolade
Your posting comes just at a time when I'm considering
trying a home birth--Debbie Coleman has been my midwife
and I was thrilled to see that she does home births--thanks
for this information! I am almost 8 months pregnant and
have been seeing Debbie throughout my pregnancy.
Overall, it's been a really positive experience. I also
interviewed Sho-Li but wasn't as comfortable with her.
Debbie is often overwhelmed and busy but as soon as she
sits down with me she's totally focused and present. She
never seems rushed once she gets into the examining
room. What I've liked about her most is that I can all her at
any time with any question about my pregnancy (something
I've done numerous times). Whenever I've called her--on
her pager--she calls back in less than 5 minutes. This has
been really reassuring. So far, all my interactions with
Debbie have been great--she also has a very kind and
informed support staff--her nurse is great, the women in the
office are wonderful...Now I want to see if I can have her
assist in my birth at home!
elena
We are considering homebirth options for our first child, due in
early March. I have read the archives, but would appreciate any
updated recommendations as to trusted midwives who do
homebirths. Also, if anyone is willing to share their
experiences about their homebirths (whether you had to transport
or not), we would greatly appreciate your insights.
Julie
i would HIGHLY recomend Dana Fox & Deborah Simone of Awakenings
Midwifrey. 415-835-0663 (they serve the east bay even though
their # is 415 area code) their prenatal visits lasted for
about two hours (rather than 10 minute doctor visits) they
address not only the phisical aspect of my maternity, but
really got into the spiritual and emotional needs I was
interested in. they Gave us great written material addressing
relationship of me and my husband parenting together,
vacinations (so I could make informed decisions), Infromation
about circumcision (my husband is jewish, I am not.) They are
fantastic lactation specialists as well, and can address any
problems you might have in this area. I also found them to be
the most affordable, though I chose them because I really
connected with them. New statistics show that planned hombirth
involving healthy full-term pregnancy is as safe if not safer
than hospital birth. however I was one of those 1 in a million
cases where after a perfectly smooth labour and delivery, we
had to transport my son. He developed a breathing problem
shortly after birth (would have developed it wether in the
hospital or home) when we got to the hospital the doctors were
very respectful and non-judgmental of us. They told us that our
midwives saved our sons life, because of the measures they took.
I would also recomend buying MOTHERING magazine (buy it at
Picadilly Circus on University ave.) mothering has some great
articles on homebirth, Vacines, breastfeeding...
Jessica
I had a great homebirth with Cindy Haag, who provides an amazing
combination of knowlege and empathy. She isn't listed in the archives,
although I have seen her mentioned here several times. You can find
her at 704-8366.
Happy With My Homebirth
I highly recommend the Bay Area Homebirth Collective, 415-285-
9233.
Jennifer N.
April 2003
I recently found out I am pregnant and I really want to do a
home birth this time. I've consulted the website and the info
is mostly out of date and not exactly what i'm looking for. Can
anyone recommend any midwives or referral websites to find one.
Also, does anyone know how I can find a midwife in training
that might do this for a lower fee so they can get more
experience? Any recommendations about how to have a successful
home birth would be greatly appreciated.
I recommend Maria Iorillo, 415-285-9233, mydwife at aol.com, for a
homebirth. She's part of a collective of midwives, and they
run a homebirth prep class.
Jennifer N.
I highly recommend Amrett Kalsa, 510-235-4878 to do your
home birth. She extremely experienced, very smart, easy
and fun to work with, and all around wonderful. She
delivered my second very large child (10 lbs, 3 oz) in my
home. It worked out wonderfully. I'd use her again in a
heartbeat. She lives in El Cerrito.
JoAnne
I would love to recommend my midwives, Beah Haber and Jennifer
Hess, who practice throughout the east bay. 925/449-7666.
They have 20+ years of experience between them and also work
with a wonderful nurse assistant. I had my third baby with
them last fall and cannot say enough about the home birth
experience itself and my midwives in particular. They charged
$4000 for the entire pre- and postnatal care, as well as the
delivery. I hear your concerns about price, but I'm not sure
you really want to compromise safety and quality by getting a
midwife in training to do your delivery on the cheap. I have
also had babies in a hospital and in a free-standing birth
center, so I'd be happy to talk more and share my experiences
with each setting. Congratulations and good luck!
swidule
I don't think you can do any better than Beah Haber. She and
her midwife partner do homebirths and are a great team. Give
them a call and interview them yourself- they are warm and
professional and love helping in the birth process. If you
decide that home birth doesn't really work for you you can
always go to the Birthhome (www.birthhome.com). Beah works
there as well and they provide birth services in a home
environmnet but only minutes away from a hospital- just in
case. In terms of looking for an apprentice midwife you can
check out the midwife association. They may have information on
folks that fit this description.try www.midwife.org. Happy
birth!
Juliette
I highly recommend our homebirth midwife, Cindy Haag (510-704-
8366). She is wonderful, very experienced, humble, skilled,
reassuring, and has excellent judgement. I'm an ob/gyn nurse
practitioner, and my husband is a family doc, and we both felt
completely comfortable in Cindy's hands. Please feel free to
email me for more info.
Debbie
I would refer you to Birthways, a great local resource for the
pregnant family. They put out a great newsletter as well as
offer lots of birth-related classes and services for both home-
and hospital-birthing types. (Doulas, midwives, massage, etc) I
think they've recently moved to the GrandLake area? The number
is 869 - 2797. There's also Birth and Bonding, a storefront on
Solano near San Pablo in Albany, with similar services. Good
luck.
Bonnie
Nov 1998
I can't give you any recommendations for home-birth friendly
OBs, but I can describe something about my own experience with
a similar situation. I saw an NP at my former OB/Gyn office to
get confirmation of pregnancy and for 2 (very early) prenatal visits
before I had settled on a midwife. I was committed to a home birth
and didn't see any use for a doctor at all. The NP, Carolyn Hand had
delivered her daughters at home and was really supportive, and even
gave me recommendations of midwives to consider. But absolutely
NO ONE ELSE in that office was supportive, and actually a few folks
(like the woman in the accounting dept, strangely enough) were downright
antagonistic or hostile. After those 2 prenatals, I just let the midwives
handle all the prenatal care, which was excellent, and I opted out of
all the routine testing. With several friends having delivered with mid-
wives at home since then, I am yet to hear of a totally supportive MD
backup for home birth.
Unfortunately, I did end up transporting to a hospital because my labor
wouldn't "kick into gear." I went to SF General (my midwife called in advance
to say we were coming) and the midwifes (Jen Bauman's mentors, I believe)
accompanied us into L & D. The nurses were mostly fantastic, and the
delivering doctor just came in for the last nitty-gritty hour. I didn't get
any vibe or commentary about home birth (or failed home birth in this case),
from the MD or anyone else. SFGH has the lowest rate of C-section in the SF
Bay Area according to my research, and I figured that was the most important
issue of transporting from home (the perceived need for extreme intervention).
The only problem with this arrangement was getting the billing sorted out
which took a lot of phone calls because SFGH doesn't bill Health Net through
Alta Bates.... The pediatricians on duty gave Simon his newborn exam,
and a month later, we went to out first pediatric appointment with Lester Luz,
who actually congratulated me on trying to deliver at home.
Claire
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