Midwives

Midwife Listings For Mendocino County and Surrounding Areas
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If you live and work in the Mendocino, Sonoma, or Lake County area and would like to be involved in the Northern California Birth Collective or would like to learn more about our free listings for birth professionals, please e-mail Sarah at norcalbc707@gmail.com.

NCBC does not endorse or guarantee anybody listed on this website.  This is a free local service.  Choose your provider with care. Listings are alphabetical.

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Maya Carlos, LM, CPM
Mama Earth Midwifery

I know childbirth to be a natural, physiological process inherent to all women.  From the beginning of time, generation-to-generation, women have been the bearers of life.  I believe that with adequate support, women can be empowered to birth their babies the in their own way.  I know that every baby has a right to a safe and peaceful birth, and that every Mother has the right to be truly honored, and cared for with dignity during the labor and birth process.

I began attending births in 2004.  For several years I supported women as a Doula. I later traveled to Latin America where I had the privilege of studying with Indigenous Granny Midwives and Traditional Birth Attendants. During this time I was able to deepen my understanding of natural childbirth and the inherent wisdom women hold to give birth.  In 2007 I began a MEAC Accredited Midwifery Education Program at Maternidad la Luz in El Paso, Texas. In 2008 I became a Licensed Midwife in the state of Texas, as well as a Certified Professional Midwife.  At that time I began working as a staff Midwife at the Maternidad la Luz Birth Center.  Upon finishing the three-year program in the fall of 2009 I returned to California and began practicing in conjunction with other Midwives.  Over the years I have had the opportunity to attend births in a variety of settings including home, hospital, and birth center.  

Birth is a monumental and powerful event for the whole family.  As a midwife it is my mission to support women and their families to create a birth experience that works for them.  I honor a mother’s intuition and respect it as and integral part of her decision making process.  I am committed to providing the necessary information parents need, to make informed choices about their care, and the care of their newborn.

Contact Information for Maya Carlos, LM, CPM: 

101 W. Church St, Suite 4

Ukiah, CA 95482

USA: (530) 687-2844

mamaearthmidwifery.com

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Kristi Cunningham CPM, LM,
Baby Mama Midwifery Services

I am a Licensed Midwife, and have had my own home birth practice for over 15 years.  I believe that birth works- and when women are left alone, and encouraged to trust in their intuition, they know exactly how birth their babies!

My journey to midwifery began with the home birth of my first daughter in 1996.   At that time I didn’t know what a midwife was, or know anyone who’d had a home birth, but I DID know that I wanted to have my baby in the most natural way possible, and having her at home felt right.  After a difficult yet successful home birth, I felt the calling to be a midwife, and began nagging my midwife to let me apprentice with her.  In 1988, she let me start an apprenticeship with her rural home birth practice on the Oregon Coast.  During that apprenticeship, she taught me the roots of traditional, faith- led, spiritual midwifery, as well as herbs and skills needed to serve women in rural communities.  

In 1999 after becoming a certified Childbirth Educator and a Doula, I worked in Jamaica with a midwifery exchange program and gained experience with high-volume, and high-risk hospital births in the parish of St. Mary.

In 2000, I began an apprenticeship at the high-volume birth center, The Andaluz Water Birth Center, in Portland, Oregon.   This apprenticeship was crucial for my training as I was assisting and being primary midwife on approximately 10 births per month- primarily water births.  Andaluz taught me skills in assessing blood loss in water, how to handle emergency situations from the tubs, and how to work as team.

In 2001 I sat for the NARM exam and became a Certified Professional Midwife. Immediately following I moved to Jamaica and started a small home birth practice. It was on the island that I met my husband, and spent time in the "bush" learning the traditional medicines, which I incorporated into my life and my practice.  

In 2004 we had another child, a son, born at home in the water, and in 2006 I sat on the board and was a Preceptor for the Senegalese based non-profit, African Birth Collective. I took my first group of midwifery students to West Africa that year, and my husband and I helped raise money for the French translation and distribution of “A Book For Midwives” to the African diaspora.

After a trip to Senegal in 2009, we moved our family to Mendocino County, where I had my third child (daughter) at home in 2010.  I am currently enjoying raising our five children, surfing, gardening and nurturing a thriving midwifery practice here in this community!

530 S. Main St., Ukiah, CA 95482

Call or text me at 707-489-1554 

Email kristikaya@gmail.com

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Heidi Marshall, LM, CPM

I started attending births 16 years ago, soon after the homebirth of my first child. I had been preparing for an unassisted birth at home when I found my midwife at about 6 months of pregnancy. The study time invested in preparing for an unassisted birth sparked my interest in midwifery. 

I began attending births with Luna Armstrong in that same year and had the privilege of her mentoring for several years before we became midwifery partners in 2004. I have attended births in Jamaica and Senegal and have been practicing as a Licensed Midwife with the California Medical Board since 2009. 

Currently I live in Point Arena and have a homebirth practice serving the Mendocino County Coast from Gualala to Fort Bragg and inland to Comptche, Philo and Bonneville.  Like most midwives I have traveled far on this birth journey due to my deep love and trust of a women's entire prenatal and birth process. I have a strong background in herbal medicine, nutritional healing and waterbirth. I give thanks to my own mother and my four older sisters for instilling in me a deeply rooted appreciation of women and all of our unique paths.

Contact info: 

E-mail - hm.crowningglory@gmail.com
Or phone- 707 884- 3831

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Colette Mercier, CPM, LM-

I am a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), and a Licensed Midwife (LM). I attended my best friends birth in 2003 and was so moved that I enrolled in a doula training that weekend. That training led me to apprentice at the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center and study midwifery. I currently reside in Sebastopol, Ca where I have a home birth practice serving Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin and other Bay area counties. I also work at the Women's Health and Birth Canter in Santa Rosa.

I have attended births with a diverse population of women, including volunteering as a midwife in the Philippines. I am committed to empowering parents with prenatal education, working with them to explore their desires for their birth, and aiding them in discovering what is best for their baby and their family. I am a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and use perspectives of Ayurveda in my nutritional counseling for pregnancy and postpartum.

Prior to becoming a midwife, I worked as a Rape Crisis Counselor at Bay Area Women Against Rape and a Program Associate for The Rukus Society both in Oakland, Ca. 

For more information you can visit-
www.colettemercier.net 
Or phone - 510-390-4405

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Susanna Napierala, LM

Susanna Napierala, Licensed Midwife, has been practicing traditional midwifery for over 34 years. She became a midwife to help stop the violence of the medicalized birthing process; to help mothers empower themselves to give birth the way they instinctually know and for newborns to be gently and lovingly eased into their new world.

Susanna was trained for two years in Sonoma County during the 1970s with a country medical doctor and a registered nurse/midwife. Part of her training was at Shari Daniels’ Maternity Center in El Paso, Texas. There she obtained her Texas midwifery license. She also worked in Guatemala with a traditional native midwife. She is licensed in the state of California. Recently she has attended nursing school to become an RN.

Susanna pioneered waterbirths in the USA. As part of her research, she went to the former Soviet Union to work with the world pioneer of waterbirths, Igor Charkowsky. She worked in Moscow and helped birth babies in the Black Sea. Her ground breaking book WATERBIRTH: A MIDWIFE’S PERSPECTIVE was published in 1994 and continues to be the definitive book on water births. She has lectured and taught throughout Europe and the U.S., teaching at the Berlin, Germany Midwifery School and Sonoma State University. Susanna teaches parents to teach their babies to swim.

To quote Susanna, “ Giving birth to my son is by far the most beautiful experience I have ever had. During my prenatal care, my goal is to help mother and baby to be healthy through good nutrition and exercise. It is also to help women to trust the birthing process, releasing their minds to let go of their fears and let their bodies do what they need to do to give birth. The ultimate outcome is a healthy mother and a healthy baby.”

Susanna gives all her prenatal and post-partum care in the comfort of the pregnant mama’s home or a place of her choice.

Please contact me for more information either by phone or through my website.

Home Phone (707) 833-5086
Cell Phone (707) 321-2078 
www.northbaymidwifery.com

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Laura Nichols, CPM, LM Lady of the Lake Midwifery Services

I am a CA Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife providing holistic midwifery care to the families I serve. Drawing on over 18 years of attending homebirths, I offer tender, respectful care during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.

I became interested in midwifery during my final semester of college at Sonoma State University where I obtained a degree in biology. My decision to enroll in a class entitled "Childbirth and Midwifery" must have been a kind of Divine Inspiration and, after a very short time in the course, it became clear to me that I was being called to become a midwife. This was quite a change from the life I had been planning, but I could not ignore the passion I felt. I began to see midwifery as one of the highest callings to making a deep and meaningful change upon our planet and I felt certain that this was a path I was meant to follow.

I felt certain that I wanted to learn midwifery through an apprenticeship because I loved the idea of one woman passing on her wisdom and experience to another, and that was the door that opened before me. Being trained through the apprenticeship model was a beautiful, challenging and deeply fulfilling experience. My training not only included an apprenticeship with two different midwives and a rigorous self-study program, but I also completed a month long internship at Mercy Maternity Clinic in Davao City, Philippines.

I am the mother of three boys whom I birthed in the comfort of my own home. My pregnancies and birth experiences taught me a great deal about myself, midwifery and life itself. Raising my boys continues to be life's greatest teacher. We lived off-grid for five years and I homeschooled two of my children for several years. In addition to being a wife, mother and a midwife, I am a writer, a sailor, a beekeeper and a motorcycle enthusiast.

Over the years I have gained valuable experience in herbs, homeopathics, nutrition, massage, facilitating spiritual and emotional healing, yoga, waterbirth, and photography. I contribute my expertise and experience to complement the knowledge every woman has, deep inside herself, of what she needs to bring about an optimal pregnancy and birth experience.

At the heart of midwifery is the deep, personal relationship that forms between the midwife and the pregnant family. I am honored to participate in the ushering of new life and witnessing the beautiful transformation that occurs within a family during this rite of passage. My clients and I enjoy a meaningful relationship that develops over time in a warm and relaxing atmosphere.

It is with gratitude and joy that I welcome you to contact me for more information. 

Phone- 707-350-0236 

E-mail- laura@lakemidwife.org 

Website- www.lakemidwife.org

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Lisa Rawson, LM, CPM

I am a Licensed Midwife of California and Certified Professional Midwife specializing in home birth. I attend home births in Mendocino and surrounding counties. A cornerstone of my care is to personalize the experience for you. I listen to your needs and desires and together we work to create a truly unique experience during this transformative process. I am dedicated to ensuring informed consent through education. I enjoy helping women and families become empowered and I love the babies! I assist you as much or little as you need and hold the line of safety so you can enjoy your experience. Throughout prenatal care, birth and post partum, I advocate for you and your family.

Additional services I offer are: well-woman care, breastfeeding support, water birth, fertility awareness, infertility assistance and pre-conception consultation, placenta medicine and parenting education. I accept insurance and have many private payment options. I provide in home or office visits and I am comfortable with very rural areas of service. I welcome clients of all ages, orientations, beliefs and family dynamics.

My first child was born in 1993. As a young single mother working hard to get an education, I met a midwife who inspired me in many ways. I began to volunteer at The Seattle Midwifery School in 1995 where I quickly fell in love with the work of a midwife, the families, the politics, and the rewards. I started as a volunteer doula in a large downtown Seattle hospital. I soon moved towards out of hospital birth and ‘caught’ my first baby in 1998. I built my skills through many certifications, apprenticeships and years of being involved with birth. 

I met my husband in 1995 and we have had four more kids, born at home, and help raise my nephew and two nieces. Raising eight amazing and unique children teaches me so much about the needs, desires, fears, challenges and joys of parenting. I am blessed to receive support, patience and encouragement from my family.

In 2008, I moved to Mendocino County from a small island in the Puget Sound where I lived and trained as a rural midwife. Since then I have continued my academic studies and worked with several local midwives here in Mendocino County. In 2012, I enrolled in the National College of Midwifery and focused full time on midwifery studies, clinical work in birth centers and apprenticeships with local senior midwives. In 2014, I passed the national and state exams and have since been practicing as a primary midwife. To date, I have attended over 400 births. I found my calling and it found me!

Call me when you’re ready for a free, in-person consultation. I look forward to meeting you and helping you welcome this wonderful new baby into your life!

Call Lisa at: (707) 671-6281
Or e-mail her at- lisa@mountainvalleymidwifery.com
Find her website at www.mountainvalleymidwifery.com

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Constance Rock, LM, CPM
Mendocino Midwives

Constance Rock, LM, CPM

What I believe is unique about the care I provide is my profound trust in the instinctive nature of birth, my ability to be completely present with the families I care for, my gentle style and my stand that women are powerful, and the absolute authority on their own bodies.

Since becoming a midwife, I’ve had the honor of attending over 1200 births, as well as the privilege of having over 25 apprentices, many who are now licensed midwives. In addition to being a licensed midwife and the mother of four grown children, I am also an author, a public speaker, a birth center consultant, and a political activist. I was originally introduced to midwifery and home birth after my first child was born in the hospital in 1985. That’s when I began attending other women’s births to provide the comfort and support I felt was missing in my hospital experience. Three years later, after the beautiful empowering home birth of my second child, I started my midwifery apprenticeship and began catching babies by 1993.

Because I intended to open a freestanding birth center in Los Angeles, I did a six-month internship at a high volume birth center in El Paso, Texas. After returning, I completed the California challenge process and became a Licensed Midwife in February of 2000. In December of that same year I opened my first birth center in Hollywood. During the five years I was clinical director of this thriving practice I started specializing in water birth, I began producing educational videos, and speaking to international audiences about my vision for worldwide gentle birth.

In 2006 I opened my second birth center, located in West Los Angeles. In fall 2009, I sold my center and relocated to the Wine Country area of California. In 2010 I began training large groups of midwives in China and in 2011 I was elected president of the California Association of Midwives. In my position as president I was instrumental in legislation that removed physician supervision for California’s licensed midwives, making us autonomous primary care providers and opening the door to bring us fully into the Medi-Cal system so that we may serve families of all income levels in California. In June 2014 I opened a third birth center in Santa Rosa. Currently I am living in Mendocino County and enjoying having a small practice while providing care for families in their homes.

Constance Rock, LM, Serving her clients

Since 1986 when I fist began caring for women and their families, I’ve had the opportunity to experience every type of family from high profile to low income, from teenage to middle aged. I’ve seen first time moms give birth in 45 minutes and I’ve sat with laboring women for 5 days before their babies were born. The only constant has been my love for families and my passion for providing women with quality maternity care while empowering them to give birth in a way that honors the profound life altering experience it is. To me, practicing midwifery isn’t just about catching babies, it about nurturing the growth of families and empowering them to truly thrive.  
Ukiah, CA 95482

707-836-6386 or 707-341-6030
constance@mendocinomidwives.com
www.mendocinomidwives.com

Also serving Sonoma and Lake Counties including: Leggett, Laytonville, Willits, Covolo, and Ukiah

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Monika Rosicka, LM, CPM 

Tree Of Life Midwifery Services

I am so grateful to be of service to mother-baby and the whole family as a CA Licensed Midwife. 

My interest to work with women and children began early in life. I was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1978 and learned about community health from the get-go as we had doctors and nurses do house calls and work in the community. I went to college at UC Santa Cruz and double majored in Psychology and Women's Studies in the mid 1990's. My first professional job out of college was working with teen mothers in the SF Bay Area as a Case Manager in a home visiting program. It's through this work with adolescent mothers that I was invited to my first birth back in 2002 and fell in love with midwifery.  Soon after, I joined a bustling student midwifery community, began immersing myself in study group, courses, attended many more births, and trained with renowned experts in the field of maternal and child health. 

I worked as a doula and Case Manager with diverse families in the Bay before heading off to midwifery school in 2005. I trained on the Texas-Mexico border in a high volume birth center accredited for CA named Maternidad La Luz, providing primary care in Spanish, a language near and dear my heart. After completing my clinical and academic portions, all with flying colors, I was invited to help train the next generation of student midwives, write and teach childbirth classes, and record birth videos in Spanish the school still shows today. I also began teaching prenatal yoga at this time; I took my first yoga class in 1995 and incorporate yoga and breath work into my work with families if they want.

Returning to my home state in 2006, I took a year to collect my resources, get my national certification (CPM) in 2007, work with a homebirth midwife, and became a CA Licensed Midwife in 2008. Soon after, I moved to Humboldt County for a man I thought I'd have children with. Instead, I started my practice Tree Of Life Midwifery Services that spring and began serving families in rural N CA.

I always knew I wanted to be a mom and put my education and career first because I really wanted to make sure I was of service in the world and would be able to support my family. In 2011, I became pregnant with my first and only child at age 33. I also became a single mom soon after and moved to Mendocino County from Humboldt to be closer to my mom and to serve this beautiful area. Due to a twist of fate, my own birth taught me grace, humility, surrender, and ultimately deep life-long healing. I ended up with a homebirth cesarean, something I thought was a deal breaker at the time, but turned out to be such a gift. My own birth taught me to be of greater service and to help women who had prior complications or traumatic births, something I felt missing from the holistic birth community. I've always been a big VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) advocate, and my birth really ignited that passion even more. I planned my VBAC the day I left the hospital:) I have yet to have more children, we'll see what happens.

To date, I've served hundreds of families in many capacities and have attended over 220 births as a midwife. I've been blessed to form strong bonds with many of the families we serve and have a reliable network of other birth keepers, including ones in our community, who are like sisters to me. Likewise, we have close and respectful relationships with hospital-based providers and work as colleagues in the event of a transfer, something not common in other areas of our state and country.

Tree of Life Midwifery

I've helped several midwives become LMs, train future midwives, continue to teach classes, and have a thriving midwifery practice serving Mendocino, Lake, and Southern Humboldt Counties. In 2015, I purchased my first home in the town of Willits and feel really blessed to plant roots here and be available in our very rural area.

My mission is to provide quality midwifery care that uplifts women, specializing in rural home births, water births, well woman care, and placenta encapsulation. I'm also available for consultation and can do so in person, over the phone or Skype for those out of the area to answer any questions you might have about home and out-of-hospital births.

My goal is to be of highest service to mother-baby, be honest and transparent in my work, and grow community while providing excellent care. In addition to midwifery, yoga, and mothering, I enjoy herbal wisdom, dancing, watching the moon wax and wane, and writing from my heart.

Thanks for taking the time to learn about me. Now I'd love to hear from you and see if you'd like us to work together.

Please contact me at: (707) 502-7440 or email me at: TreeOfLifeMidwifery@yahoo.com

and check out my website: Mendocino Midwife | Midwife in Medocino County, CA to set up your free initial consultation.

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Shiela VanDerveer, LM, CPM

Founder & Primary Midwife of Comadres Midwifery; a homebirth, women's health & healing Midwifery Practice in Sonoma County

http://www.comadresmidwifery.com/

(510) 374-9193

https://www.facebook.com/ComadresMidwifery

Shiela VanDerveer is the Founder & Primary Midwife of Comadres Midwifery; a homebirth, women's health & healing Practice in Sonoma County.

One of my favorite questions that I receive from clients is about what brought me to midwifery and why do I care so deeply about this work…The story I generally tell them is about how I was called to midwifery through a fifteen year long journey of being deeply passionate and active in advocating for women & girls health on various political, social, environmental & clinical levels including my women's studies education from the University of New Hampshire.

The part I don’t mention as frequently but is even more significant is that I was called to midwifery at the moment I was born into this world.  My birth mother was a teenager and I was given up for adoption at my birth.  While I do not consciously know any other details of this story, what I do know is the visceral wisdom about the mother/child bond, the value of its sanctity and how to care for this bond which is a lifelong commitment of mine and is at the core of my work as a Midwife. 

I studied herbalism and naturally healing with many skilled herbalists including Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals & Susan Weed of The Wise Woman Way and received my first herbal certification in 1991.  I continued on to run several non-profits in various capacities for the better part of the next decade.  I particularly thrived as a counselor and advocate for women & girls from diverse backgrounds at Reproductive Health Clinics throughout New England.  

My activist career continued on and led me to Rural India & Nepal with an NGO called Crabgrass and helping to coordinate an international conference called Women & Water whose mission was to identify the rights and responsibilities of water quality for women & children throughout SE Asia.  It was the women I met with on this journey, their testimonials, their courage & strength that moved me to listen more deeply to how I could help, how I could teach & heal with my hands as well as my heart. 

And then — the Call.  Ah.  Of course.  I was destined to serve women as a co-creator of safe, authentic births.  As a muse + educator for mind-body wellness.  As an intuitive self-care and childcare adviser.  As a Midwife.

After I returned to the states in 1999, I expanded my skillset by becoming a licensed childbirth educator and doula and have been attending births ever since.

I was fortunate to do my midwifery training through the National College of Midwifery and at the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center in Taos, New Mexico. I chose this program because of New Mexico's rich history of midwifery care and out of hospital birth practices in addition to the fact that the program had established OB backup and I wanted to learn the art & science of midwifery in a collaborative manner.  I became licensed in 2006 and have been in primary practice for the past decade.   

During my time as an apprentice midwife, I began The Gatekeepers Fund, a small nonprofit whose mission is to ‘give childbirth back to women’ by providing midwifery care in areas of need and advancing the midwifery model of care through community outreach and education.

Through the Gatekeepers Fund, I provided midwifery care in areas of need such as post-Katrina New Orleans and in Anapra; a barrio of Jaurez, Mexico.  I am currently working on a program to further support the Birth Village in Kerala, India in their capacity of providing natural birth education & evidence based midwifery care to Indian women as well as providing housing, midwifery care and education to pregnant teen girls at Tejus’ Home also in Kerala.   

I believe in midwifery care as an essential part of creating a more peaceful world.  I am dedicated to the art & science of ‘undisturbed’ birth, skillful midwifery care and client centered healthcare as a conscious practice.  I bring all of this with a good dose of humor, an open heart & a mighty laugh to each and every one of my clients.

I look forward to hearing from you and thanks for visiting!