FREESTANDING WATERBIRTH CENTERS
Freestanding birth centers are independent home-like facilities which provide an intimate environment for family-centered childbirth. Many birth centers are offering the water birth option. Birth Centers are not any safer than homebirth, however some people who are not comfortable giving birth in their own home or in a hospital find that a birth center is the best option. Affiliated with a hospital in case of an emergency transport is required , birth centers encourage the presence of the woman’s support network: family, friends, siblings, etc., for a family-centered experience. Care is given by Certified Nurse Midwives, Licensed Midwives and/or Physicians, many times in collaboration. Outcomes of birth centers are excellent with lower rates of cesarean, augmentation of labor, and complications for mothers and infants. Research suggests that waterbirth can reduce the risk of serious tears, need for pain medications, amount of maternal blood loss, and risk of infant complications immediately after birth and is not associated with any increased risk for mothers and babies. (Midwives Information and Resource Service, “The Use of Water in Childbirth”, MIDIRIS, 2007, as quoted in The ICEA Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011). Most birth centers will take PPO insurance. Unfortunately, at this time, there aren’t any birth centers in Southern California which take Medi-Cal. If you have Medi-Cal and prefer a midwife assisted birth, we suggest you choose a hospital which employs Nurse-Midwives. See Our Hospital Nurse-Midwives page.
Orange County | Los Angeles County | Ventura County
Orange County
Lorri Walker, CNM, RNP
Lorri Walker, RNC, NP, CNM
Certified Nurse-Practitioner
Certified Nurse-Midwife
South Coast Midwifery and Women’s Health Care
4650 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92604
Phone: 949-654-2727
Fax: 949-654-2735
E-mail: info@southcoastmidwifery.com
Web: www.southcoastmidwifery.com
South Coast Midwifery & Women’s Health Care (SCM) is Orange County’s premier birth center. They are proud to be the very first and longest standing nationally accredited Birth Center in the area. When accredited through the Commission for Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC), the childbearing family can be confident that the center has demonstrated adherence to standards of quality above that of basic licensure and that the center’s care is consistent with the philosophy of the American Association of Birth Centers. Accreditation is seen as a symbol of excellence by many. SCM have been servicing Orange and surrounding counties for over 16 years. Lorri Walker, the founder and director, is one of Southern California best known midwives. Lorri has created a warm, nurturing place for women and their families to come for personalized health care, support, empowerment, and social interaction with people of like mind. Birthing options include home, birth center and water birth. We accept most insurances, as well as offer a wide variety of payment plans and discount options. Call today for your complimentary consultation! South Coast Midwifery is also home to South Coast Milk Bank, Orange County’s first mother’s milk bank. Donations will be made available to acutely premature newborns in need of healthy human breast milk. Call 949.231.9813 or visit www.southcoastmilkbank.com today for more information on how you can help by becoming a donor.
Chino
Joyce Moxley Thomas
Joyce Moxley Thomas, LM, CPM, MHA
Licensed Midwife
Certified Professional Midwife
Masters in Health Administration
Certified Perinatal Massage Therapist
AquaNatal Birth Center and Amazing Babies Midwifery Services
Grandview Medical Plaza
13768 Roswell Avenue, Suite 209
Chino, CA 91710
909- 591-2924
Email: info@aquanatalbirthcenter.com
Web: www.AquaNatalBirthCenter.com and www.amazing-babies.com
The AquaNatal Birth Center offers several birthing options including birth center, waterbirth and homebirth. Joyce and her daughter Lyn, a student midwife, have created a birth environment for personalized health care, support, and empowerment. You will meet women and men who think the same way you do: that birth is normal; and should be quiet, warm, loving, unobserved – and not interfered with! Insurance accepted. Focusing on holistic care for all women and their newly born children, Joyce’s areas of expertise include nutrition and herbology. Joyce is also a Certified Perinatal Massage Therapist and provides birth control also. Fees include 6-week childbirth education program and prenatal/postpartum massage. Joyce is licensed by the State of California Medical Board and is a Certified Professional Midwife, certified by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). Joyce earned her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of LaVerne.
Free class offered monthly: “Wondering about Waterbirth?” Call for reservations and tour of the birth center and a waterbirth film screening.
Sue Turner & Dawn Dana
Sue Turner, LM
Licensed Midwife
Dawn Dana, LM
Licensed Midwife
The Ventura Birth Center
3458 Loma Vista Rd.
Ventura, CA 93003
(805 ) 667-Baby (2229)
Email: stmidwife@aol.com
Web: www.venturabirthcenter.net
Sue Turner and Dawn Dana, California Medical Board Licensed Midwives, have had the privilege and honor of being with families as they welcome their newborns peacefully and respectfully. They began working together as the Ventura Birth Center in 1998. Since that time, they have attended over 500 births at home, at the birth center, and in water.
SueTurner is a Licensed Midwife and graduate of the National College of Midwifery, and is an instructor for the school. She has attended births in various settings including home, birth center and the hospital. Other certifications and training include Neonatal Resuscitation, CPR, IV Certification and Fetal Monitoring. Sue believes that each and every baby is a blessing and a gift from God. She is also a wife and mother.
Dawn Dana’s interest in midwifery began when she read Midwife Ina May Gaskin’s Spiritual Midwifery in high school. This inspirational book resonated with her implicit faith in the natural and healthy workings of women’s bodies, and her belief in honoring the emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of birthing. She took the prerequisites for nursing, planning to become a Nurse-Midwife. While she earned a Master’s degree from UC Santa Barbara in Counseling Psychology, the beliefs she held so strongly about women, birthing, and families sang quietly in her heart. Her calling to midwifery was reinspired. After looking into all the paths to midwifery, Dawn chose a traditional apprenticeship as the most fitting way for her to acquire the art, knowledge, and technical skills that comprise midwifery. She began a formal apprenticeship with a homebirth practice in 1993. As Dawn’s skills, experience, and confidence grew, she took on increasing responsibilities toward the culmination of her apprenticeship in 1996. In 1997, she became a Licensed Midwife.
This directory includes birth support providers who promote the ideals of natural childbirth. If you are a Birth Center or Waterbirth Center and would like to be listed her, please contact: cordeliahc@socalbirth.com
For answers to your childbirth related questions, email us at:
Or, call 626-388-2191
