Prenatal & Postpartum Massage Therapy
Anastasia Lattanand, CMT
Bay Area Birth Community
Try hard as I may, I could not do justice to the abundance of birth resources in the Bay Area. I include here the practitioners who have long been wonderful forces in the birth world, and whom I personally know and continually refer to.
Acupuncture
Traditional Chinese Medicine applies a different map to the concept of health and healing than the Western model: it works with your body at the root of the imbalance in a safe, non-invasive, harmonious way. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas are very effective at treating fertility issues, and can make an enormous difference during pregnancy and the postpartum months.
Craig Marble, L.Ac.
cmarble [at] speakeasy.org Ι 415-595-1073 Ι Presidio, San Francisco
Craig specializes in fertility and supporting women pregnancy through postpartum. His treatments are deeply rooted in his life-long practice of qi gong: he is able to connect with the energy of the points and see the person and her patterns clearly. Equally as healing is his joyful and compassionate nature!
Craig and his wife Kari regularly teach childbirth preparation classes together. They are parents to two beautiful kids.
Tamara Brown, L.Ac.
tamaranadine [at] sbcglobal.net Ι 415-821-3634 Ι Mission, San Francisco
Tamara is deeply knowledgeable and caring. Being a mom, a wonderful nurturing always trickles through in her treatments, and the world's weight can come off one's shoulders, which is no small thing! Tamara has spent part of her TCM training in China.
Midwifery
Michelle Welborn
welbornbaby.com Ι 415-902-6987 Ι San Francisco, Bay Area
A beloved doula by many Bay Area families, Michele is now a midwife attending home births and a childbirth educator. She is exceptionally well informed, and as grounded, clear-sighted, and witty as she is warm and intuitive. Michelle teaches childbirth education classes at Natural Resources.
Doula Services
Kara Jo Engelbrecht
kara [at] serpentine.com Ι 415-793-6728 Ι San Francisco, Bay Area
When I think Kara, I think humor, warmth, intuitive body wisdom, intense dedication to her work and mothers. She is an apprentice midwife at Rites of Passage Midwifery and has recently returned from Senegal where she worked at a birth center as part of African Birth Collective.
Kathy Woo
kathywoo.com Ι 510-665-5694 Ι East Bay, Bay Area
Kathy is an amazing woman and healer. Her offerings to women and families are many. She is a HypnoBirthing childbirth educator and a practitioner of Depth Hypnosis, a form of hypnotherapy that incorporates principles from Buddhism, Shamanism, Transpersonal Psychology and Hypnotherapy. Kathy is an excellent companion to have on the birthing journey, where deep encounters with the self likely await. And she is just a delightful human!
Naturopathic Primary Care
San Francisco Natural Medicine
sfnatmed.com Ι 415-643-6600 Ι Potrero Hill, San Francisco
San Francisco Natural Medicine, a naturopathic clinic founded by Dr. Carl Hangee-Bauer, makes me feel inspired about the future of medicine. The philosophies at the root of their approach combine the best of all worlds—East and West, modern and ancient. Among their offerings are naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, natural approaches to health issues such as infertility and menstrual disorders, clinical nutrition, herbal medicine. The doctors—Carl, Amy, Erika and Andrea—are an amazing primary care support team for health issues around conception, pregnancy and beyond (not OB care).
Yoga & Pilates
Kari Marble Ι Yoga
welcomeom.com Ι 415-845-1073 Ι Pacific Heights, SF
I consider Kari a Bay Area institution. She is profoundly and joyfully devoted to teaching yoga and helping mothers and families though the birthing journey. Her yoga classes support women through the entire chirldbearing year: prenatal, postnatal, baby and toddler yoga. Kari and her husband Craig (see Acupuncture above) teach a number of classes together: Calm Birth, Yoga and Massage for Labor, and Infant Massage.
Britt Fohrman Ι Yoga
brittfohrman.com Ι 415-821-2699 Ι San Francisco
Britt is passionate about life in general, and particularly about birth. The various facets of her practice converge to help women and families have a gentle, conscious and transformative birthing experience. She is highly skilled in somatic therapies—this adds greatly to her work as a doula. Britt teaches weekly prenatal, hatha and restorative yoga classes, and is working on publishing a birth photography book.
Cynthia Bahmani Ι Pilates
cynthia.bahmani [at] gmail.com Ι 415-519-5926 Ι Pacific Heights, SF
Cynthia was a professional dancer for many years before becoming a pilates instructor. Having birthed two babes, she is a great ally to women on the journey. Her joy and freedom in movement are inspiring and infectious!
Childbirth Preparation Classes
Kristin Nemzer Ι Hypnobirthing
kristinnemzer.com Ι 831-345-1500 Ι San Francisco & Santa Cruz
I got to sit in on Kristin's hypnobirthing class along with six expecting couples. What stood out for me was that even before we got to breath and visualization exercises at the end of the day, I noticed myself in a state of calm, soft openness. The most beautiful part of the class, however, was the message that ran through and beneath all information and every exercise presented: every woman possesses the knowledge and wisdom to birth her baby. Kristin was amazing at reminding and reinstilling that faith in everyone there. Kristin now teaches her HypnoBirthing class online and privately to couples.
Birthing from Within
birthingfromwithin.com Ι CA ⇒ International
Birthing from Within childbirth preparation classes engage art, storytelling, visualizations and hypnosis as allies to guide expecting parents through the transformations of pregnancy and birth. If you are unable to take one of their classes, the book of the same title is a gem and an incredible read. Loving intention, creative vision and humanity fill every page.
The Pelvic Floor
Leslie Howard
lesliehowardyoga.com Ι 415-823-1699 Ι East Bay, SF, Modesto
An important extension of Leslie's regular yoga class schedule is her in-depth workshop addressing the pelvic floor. A source of indispensable information for women of any age, it may be particularly helpful in preparation for labor and restoring integrity and tone in the pelvis after birth.
Support Groups
Mamas Wisdom Circle guided by Yeshi Neumann
mamaswisdomcircle.com Ι 415-380-9270 Ι Bay Area
Mamas Wisdom Circle is a collection of resources and services dedicated to the support, celebration, honoring and nourishing of mothers, babies, grandmothers, and their families and friends. Yeshi Neumann is a midwife for almost 40 years, mother, grandmother, teacher, counselor, speaker and community leader.
Other Resources & Organizations
Natural Resources
naturalresources-sf.com Ι 415-550-2611 Ι San Francisco
A comprehensive resource center for pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood. They offer great classes and groups, and have a store at their location and online.
Blossom Birth
blossombirth.org Ι 650-321-2326 Ι South Bay
Another large pregnancy, birth and baby education and resource center for parents and birth professionals.