The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

In June, 2005, Mountain View Fire Stations were included as "Safe Haven" sites where anyone may leave a new baby in safe hands without fear.  The Safely Surrendered Baby Law gives a parent the legal right to surrender a baby within three days of birth.  Parents who choose this option have 14 days to change their minds and retrieve their baby before the infant is placed in the foster care system or a pre-adoptive home.  All hospital emergency rooms are also "Safe Haven" sites. [Ley Como Entregar a Su Bebe Sin Peligro - Folleto - sin pena, sin culpe, sin nombres]

Other Local or Nearby Resource Lists

Bay Area Birth Information  - BABI has a terrific referral page for the San Jose area.

An extensive Provider List from Blossom Birth Services, including information about Acupuncture, Baby Care Products, Baby Nurse, Baby Sign Language, Bellycasting, Bereavement Services, Birth Announcements, Birth and Pregnancy Supplies, Birth Tub Rentals, Blessingway Ceremonies, Breastfeeding Assistance, Breastfeeding Classes, Cesarean Support, Children's Clothes, Childbirth Prep - Public, Childbirth Prep - Private, Child Care Referral, Child Care Services, Chiropractors, Classes, Coach, Counseling, CPR/Safety Classes, Craniosacral Therapy, Diaper Bags, Diaper Service, Doula Education, Doula/Labor Support, Doula/Postpartum, Emergency Services, Exercise Class, Fertility, Genetic Counseling, Herbalists, Homebirth, Holistic Health Providers, Holistic Pediatrics, Homeopathic Medicine, Hospital Tours, Hypnotherapists, Infant Bedding, Infant Massage, Insurance, Kid's Preowned Clothing and Equipment, Kinesiology, Massage, Meditation, Midwives, Midwives/Postpartum and Well Baby Care, Myofascial Therapy, Mothers Groups and Parent Clubs, Naturopathic Medicine, Night Nurses/Doulas, Nutrition, Ob/Gyn, Occupational Therapy, Osteopath, Pediatrician, Photography, Physical Therapy, Pilates, Portrait Art, Postpatum Depression , Premature Birth Support, Professional Women Support, Psychologists/Counselors, Registered Nurse, Resource Centers, Spa Services, Twins Support, Waterbirth,

Bay Area Naturally - holistic and earth-friendly businesses

Resource information from bayarea.UrbanBaby.com

Natural Resources - a pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting center in San Francisco

The Maternal Wellness Center in San Francisco is located at 606 Carpenter Lane, at the corner of Greene Street near the High Point Cafe.....to schedule a massage (on the belly table!) or for any questions please call 215 713 2666. They also sponsor New Moms Groups.

Day One - the center for new and expectant parents, 3490 California Street, Suite 203, San Francisco, California 94118

BirthWays - a birth resource center in Berkeley/Oakland; also offers a beautifully decorated space available for classes and other events. 510-869-2797, email: contact@birthways.org

UCB Parents Network - Recommendations for Medical and Dental Providers in the Berkeley area

The only thing really happening in the East Bay right now is the The East Bay Doula Circle.

The Birth Network - Birthing information and resources for Santa Cruz County.

Please e-mail me with additional suggestions for this page.  Thanks.
 

Local Birth Resource Centers

Day One - the center for new and expectant parents, new location in Palo Alto at Town and Country Village.

Blossom Birth Services (650-321-2326) also maintains their own extensive resource list.

Inner Reflection and Harmony Birth Resources, a birth resource center for the South Bay!  Directors Jennifer Penick and Kristin Milner Evans,
621 East Campbell Avenue, Suite 14, in Campbell (next to the Campbell Inn, between the Pruneyard and Historic Downtown Campbell).
They offer yoga and movement classes as well as classes relating to conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting.
Sharon Storton, LMFT has an office there as well for her postpartum adjustment group and her perinatal mood disorder support group

Insurance Coverage for In-Home Postpartum Care

Payment for Alternative Birth Services

Birth Centers

Sage Femme Midwifery Service and Education Center, 154 A Capp Street, San Francisco, CA  94110, 415-552-6600, 415-552-6680 director, Judith Loebensteen-Tinkelenberg, RN, CNM, CCE, Email: sagefemmemidwifery@yahoo.com

The Sacred Birth Place is owned and operated by Sacred Birth Angels, Selena Green and Nariman Nasser.
2800 Park Boulveard, Oakland, CA 94610, 510-836-1506, Email: info@sacredbirthplace.com

You could also look at Birth Centers Online: www.BirthCenters.org - a joint project of the NACC Foundation and the National Association of Childbearing.Centers.

Another place to look is the list of licensed facilities, including hospitals and birth centers - Names and Addresses of California Health Facilities

If you're looking for information about the Birth Place in Menlo Park, it opened in 1979 and closed in 1994.

The Marin Birth Center in San Rafael is also closed, but you can contact me if you're trying to get in touch with some of the midwives who practiced there.
 

Birthing Tubs and Waterbirth

Sunshine Tomlin - birth tub rentals - deliveries to South Bay and Santa Cruz area

Bay Area Birth Information Birth / Labor Tubs

WOMAN BORN CHILDBIRTH SERVICES - Labor and Waterbirth Tub Rentals for the Bay Area - 510-532-0728.  Willing to come to the Peninsula.

Natural Resources in San Francisco rents Waterbirth tubs

Birth Tub Rentals - Spa-N-A-Box rented out of El Cerrito for $250.  Contact Mariaelena Robles Quale, 510-760-7549, eastbaydoula@gmail.com

The Nurture Center in Lafayette offers AquaDoula Water Birth Tub Rental - 925-283-1346

Gentle Beginnings - Labor and Waterbirth Tub Rentals for the Bay Area - (707) 745-5943 - mostly the Berkeley area (into San Francisco and as far south as Fremont on the east side of the bay), but she might offer rental if you're willing to pickup and drop off from her office in Santa Rosa, or she might be able to make a connection in Pleasanton.

Gentle Birth Tubs - Spa-N-A-Box tub rentals within a 40 mile drive of Tracy, California.  This typically includes San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, and Stanislaus Counties.  If you are outside of this area, please contact me as I may be able to deliver to you for an additional fee.

Judy Shalev, 510-763-9362, Oakland - "Rent a Portable Birth Tub - Labor in Warm Soothing Water"

150 gallon hard-sided Rubbermaid tub w/lid, hose, faucet attachment, instructions - $50 rental if you pick up the tub from downtown San Jose; the tub fits in a truck, van or SUV, or will deliver for $50 more.  Contact Rick & Angie Schertle, 408-279-0307, 408-314-3588, schertle@juno.com

. . . or you can rent from national organizations.

There's an odd phenomenon happening on the Peninsula.  We're hearing increasing rumors about birthing tubs in hospitals; obviously, the public is requesting them, and we'll see whether the hospitals actually ever install them and allow women to labor and birth in them.

I'm going to record the state of rumors and reality here, as reported to me: [Or you can read fuller reports]

Hot off the Press! as of July, 2005 - Sequoia Hospital (Redwood City) - I heard a first-hand report from a woman who arranged to leave her AquaDoula tub at Sequoia hospital, and they set it up in her room when she was in early labor, and it was waiting for her, ready to use, when se got there.  Wow!  What a wonderful option!  Fingers crossed that this is a sign of progressive times to come.  [Note - the permanently installed beautiful birthing tub there is reported to have been dismantled.]

Community Hospital of Los Gatos - Some of the staff tell women they can bring their own labor/birthing tubs into the hospital, and others say no.  If this is important to you, get it in writing!

El Camino Hospital (Mountain View) - As reported to me - phone conversation with the Director of Maternal/ Child ? (Services?), Barbara Petree (phone 650-940-7161). They have small tubs in 9 out of 10 rooms, but no, they don't allow portable tubs.  (Something that she didn't mention is that like most hospitals, El Camino doesn't really have good hot water coming into most of the labor rooms, so even if you are laboring in a room with a tub and are cleared to use it for a half hour at a time, the water may not be warm enough to allow you to relax in it.  Someday . . .)

Stanford University Hospital (Palo Alto) - The only rumors I've heard are that Stanford has no interest in having women labor or birth in tubs..  In fact, they don't seem to have any tubs at all in the L&D rooms, not even basic bathtubs.

Mills Peninsula Hospital(Burlingame?) - As reported to me - they have a single portable tub on wheels (AquaDoula? 4' wide, about 3' deep?) that takes a while to fill. Can be used with ROM and pit if continuous telemetry unit available (only EFM that is 'waterproof').  Only water labor is officially allowed, not water birth, although some babies have come more quickly than the mom could get out of the water.  It's possible that these tubs are no longer available, since the midwifery program was dissolved on May 1, 2006, "due to the medical legal climate currently surrounding healthcare."

It used to be that the closest facility that truly offered waterbirth was the The Birth Home in Pleasanton, which closed Aug. 31, 2005.  However, there are rumors that it's possible to have a waterbirth at Sequoia Hospital.  There are also rumors about the Sutter Birth Center in Santa Cruz.  (As an aside, although this is called a Birth Center, it is not a free-standing birth center - it is really attached to a surgical center where cesareans are done.)  The only planned/confirmed waterbirths happening on the Peninsula are happening in private homes. Some local midwives rent out or provide tubs for laboring or waterbirth.
 

TENS Rentals

These places rent standard TENS units - they're not specifically designed for labor but work OK; both say they'll give you the rental rate negotiated with your insurance carrier even though they may not cover the rental for use in labor.

California  Home Medical Equipment, 1166 Triton Drive, Suite 600, Foster City, CA 94404, 1800-906-0626.

Apria, 3905 Bohannon Dr, Menlo Park, CA, 1-650-330-2420
 

VBAC - Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

Read about our local chapter of ICAN - International Cesarean Awareness Network

For the latest information on local practitioners who support VBAC, join the icansanjose Yahoo Group for our local chapter. They have a great resource file of local VBAC practitioners in their "Files" section.  Or send e-mail to icansanjose-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your doctor will likely scare the bejesus out of you and especially out of your husband! regarding uterine rupture.  For a little grounding in reality, read about the relative risks of uterine rupture, especially this stellar statistical analysis.  In particular, it points out that "You're 6 times more likely to have a doctor who is an impostor than you are to suffer a rupture."

Here's the situation - Cesarean surgery leaves a scar in the uterus.  There is a VERY small chance that this scar might re-open under the stress of a subsequent pregnancy or labor.  This chance is so small that doctors don't even think to mention it the first time they suggest a cesarean.  If the uterine scar does start to open during a subsequent pregnancy or labor, and if it takes a long time for the healthcare providers to notice this problem, then it can become life threatening to the mother and baby.  This might necessitate a true emergency cesarean, i.e. one done in about five minutes.  So, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that the laboring woman's obstetrician remain very close by in order to be available for this emergency surgery, should it become necessary.  Well, this situation isn't very appealing to obstetricians, who typically spend less than an hour at a birth and aren't going to be enthusiastic about spending the 12-18 hours it might take for a VBAC.  Plus, there is an increased liability risk to the obstetrician and the hospital.  So . . . their solution is to prohibit VBACs, even though cesarean surgery creates a higher risk for the mother and creates other risks for the baby.

This is a lose-lose situation for mother and baby.

If you're as appalled and outraged as I am, I encourage you to learn more about VBAC, become a member of  ICAN (The International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc), educate yourself about the ways that intelligent management of VBAC labor can prevent and ameliorate rare uterine ruptures, and become activist in supporting birthing women's choices in general before all your choices are taken away from you.

From the web pages of the Consortium for the Evidence-based practice of Obstetrics - ending "Flat Earth Obstetrics":

Defensive medicine rules the day. This creates an asymmetrical burden of risk that falls unfairly on the childbearing woman, in which the mother is exposed to the actual pain and potential harm of medical and surgical interventions in order to reduce the risk of litigation for the obstetrician

Here is the state of local rumors about VBAC policy - please e-mail me more information.

[When you think you've found a midwife or OB and hospital that will "allow" you to give birth by VBAC, be sure to ask them how VBACs are treated differently from low-risk births and what is their VBAC rate among women who want to have a VBAC.]

Best hospital for a VBAC:
Kaiser facilities with midwives on staff are your best bet for a system that supports VBAC.  Kaiser loses money if you have a repeat c-section, whereas other hospitals make more money if you have a repeat c-section.  As they say in the movies . . . follow the money!

Hospitals that do not allow VBACs at all:
El Camino Hospital recently received a letter from their malpractice insurance provider that they cannot do VBACs after July 1, 2004, even if the doctor stays in house.  (01/08 - I've heard mixed versions of this policy, and that Drs.Sahai, Raman and Raj are still attending VBACs?)

Hospitals that require the doctor in attendance the entire time - most doctors don't have the time for labor sitting, so it's going to be hard to have a VBAC at one of these hospitals:
Good Samaritan Hospital

Hospitals that do not have this restrictive policy:
Community Hospital Los Gatos - however, they no longer allow midwives to attend VBAC

Midwives and OBs who are still attending VBAC:

Dr. Kendrick at Good Sam

Dr. Teagle at Community Hospital of Los Gatos has *made* it her practice to remain at the hospital, purely on her own initiative, which shows an extraordinary support of VBAC. (checked 4/06)

Dr. Kimberly Harney at Stanford Hospital  (checked 4/06)

Dr. Mercer  at Stanford Hospital  (03/08?)

Dr. Mercer-Matthews at LPCH (checked 12/07)  I don't know if she routinely does VBAC's, but the mom arrived at the hospital at 9cm, so that does help.

Dr. Deborah Shapiro at Mills Peninsula

The Hoffs at Sequoia Hospital (checked 4/06)

Dr. Debra Matityahu, working with midwife Teri Westerlund at Sequoia Hospital (checked 5/07).

Dr. Shefali Gandhi-List at Sequoia Hospital (checked 5/07), 650-298-0990

VBAC is also still available at the following practices:
Midwife Carrie Holschuh at Mills/Peninsula (practices with the group w/Dr. Barbara Canida and Dr. Dyer)

[As of Feb., 2008, I'm getting reports that Dr. Pollard has stopped doing VBACs.] Dr. Angela Pollard, 408-370-3100 at Community Hospital of Los Gatos does VBACs, and she is open to using hypnobirthing and acupuncture during L&D. She is also totally fine with doulas, and she now has a midwife (Bethany) in her office.
For women further North, UCSF is still doing VBAC's as of May, 2005.

For women in the Berkeley area, the Berkeley Parents Network has a resource list: ObGyn for a VBAC

The BirthLove site maintains a referral list for California and beyond of VBAC Hostile (and friendly) Institutions

As of April, 2006, the only Bay Area hospital that is a designated Baby-Friendly facility is Kaiser Hayward.  Check to see if the hospital you're considering has been added to the list of Baby-Friendly Hospitals and Birth Centers.

To receive The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) designation as "baby-friendly," a hospital, birth center, or home birth service must fulfill UNICEF's Ten Steps of Baby-Friendly Care.  You can also read their The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. You can see how the United States compares worldwide in its compliance with these recommendations.

If you want to get a sense of how committed a hospital is to supporting women's birthing choices, ask about their policy regarding their interfacing with homebirthing families:

• Do they allow families planning homebirth also to receive concurrent obstetric care if they choose?
• Do they allow access to their laboratory facilities and diagnostic procedures?
• Do they support physicians who actively support homebirth midwives and families?
• Do they censure physicians who treat homebirth transports punitively?
• Do they work with their local homebirth community to facilitate the smoothest possible transports during labor?

Sequoia Hospital has a long-standing record of supporting women's choices and progressive birth practices:

• Supporting continuous mother-baby contact through the assumption that baby should stay in the room with mom; this supports breastfeeding and bonding and reduces infection and trauma for the baby.
• Nursing staff that provides care for families both before and after the birth, so the nurses who help you in labor may also be the ones to help you with breastfeeding and recovery in the following days.
• Supporting bonding and breastfeeding through LDRM rooms (Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Maternity) so that the whole family doesn't have to be transported and haul all their stuff from the birth room to the maternity room and so that every new family has a private room and the partner can stay with the new mom and baby!
• Last, but certainly not least, they are known for providing respectful reception and highest-quality care to women who choose hospital birth after receiving prenatal care from an out-of-hospital provider.  No care provider likes to take responsibility for a laboring woman who received prenatal care from another practice with their own, different set of protocols, but Sequoia Hospital providers seem able to rise above this to provide the best possible care to every laboring woman.  We are lucky to have them in our community!

Community Hospital of Los Gatos used to be very supportive of women's choices and progressive birth practices, but they have fewer midwives than they used to, and they have become unfriendly towards homebirth.
 
 

Every hospital has a unique environment in Labor & Delivery. Some focus on providing the most aggressive treatment possible, others focus on providing an environment where the family can enjoy their baby's once-in-a-lifetime birth bonding hormones and get to know each other as a family before routine procedures are performed on the baby.  Here are some of the features of our local hospitals.

Maternal Child Health Center at El Camino Hospital - The Hospital of Silicon Valley - FINALLY! As of Mar. 2008, El Camino Hospital appears to be changing their outdated practices of routinely separating mothers and babies several times a time.  I am told by a reliable source that they are now only separating mothers and babies TWICE a day!  This is a big improvement over 3 times daily!  There are some fabulous OB's here, and the nurses are truly Angels of Mercy and top notch, and I've been privileged to attend some magical births here, but the nursery policy is destructive to the developing breastfeeding relationship. (As an example of how terrific the nurses here are, I heard that some of them are leaving the baby on the mom's belly even when giving some supplemental oxygen; this allows the cord to be left intact, which, of course, is the best resuscitation of all!)

There is an official paper now that the parents sign that offer them 3 choices for the night: - rooming in, baby in the nursery, bring in for breastfeeding on demand or baby in the nursery bottle-fed. Parents can change their mind at any time, but there is a document that explains them their choices. It is not true that the light needs to be on that one person needs to be up or any of that. But it's still a good idea for families to bring their own night light just in case. The morning exam is still mostly done in the nursery as most pediatricians want it that way, but a wonderful family physician Dr. Midori Nishimura, who is also a lactation consultat, comes to the rooms to check on the babies since she knows that's best for breastfeeding babies.

There are rumors that the nursery nurses are very free with the bottles of glucose water, even with babies who are breastfeeding.  And, perhaps worst of all, I've heard that parents are being threatened with being reported to Child Protective Services if they don't comply with the hospital policy to inject all newborns with vitamin K and the Hepatitis B vaccine.  I find this hard to believe, so be sure to ask about this explicitly.  [NOTE - I've been getting feedback from moms who've birthed at El Camino who generally agreed that the Labor & Delivery nurses are great, but they were *VERY* unhappy with the default separation of mother and baby three.  I have heard that changes are happening so that if parents REALLY insist on staying with the baby, the mom can even go to the nursery in a wheelchair right after the birth with the baby.  Let's hope that El Camino Hospital continues to upgrade their policies to be completely supportive of breastfeeding by keeping moms and babies together!

FLASH!  As of 2003, El Camino Hospital has 2 midwives with hospital privileges - Lin Lee, CNM, and Olga Libova, CNM.  HURRAY!!!

Sequoia Hospital - Sequoia's probably THE BEST place to have a baby on the Peninsula.  Sequoia Hospital is one of our local midwifery leaders, boasting TWO midwives in private practice.  (NOTE - As of January, 2003, I heard that the midwife situation is changing - one midwife left and another can't attend births because of an injury sustained (in the line of duty?)  Call to ask them.)  The nurses there are wonderful; they clearly strive to support alternative choices, and they provide excellent care with a level of respect and compassion that borders on the saintly.  They have Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Maternity rooms, meaning that once you check in for labor, you usually stay in the same room for your entire stay there; it's a relief not to have to haul your luggage from one room to the next, and I think there's something psychologically very satisfying for the new mothers about not being moved around during this vulnerable time.  They have default rooming-in, meaning that healthy mothers and babies are kept together in the mother's room; all routine newborn care is provided right there in the mother's room, which is a superior environment for bonding and breastfeeding.  (There used to be something funny about the anesthesia situation at Sequoia - the nurses seemed very reluctant to call in the anesthesiologist to administer an epidural, so they really pushed narcotics instead; this was a lose/lose situation for first-time mothers in need of pharmaceutical pain relief; they usually ended up with an epidural anyway, and then their baby had needlessly been exposed to the considerable immediate and life-long risks of the higher doses used in IV narcotics compared to an epidural; this seems to have improved.  Some years ago,  I personally witnessed an incident where the nursery nurse shook a baby abusively after the parents declined a diagnostic procedure, but they seem to have become more respectful of parents' choices since then.)

Kaiser - Kaiser's a bit of a puzzle.  In general, HMOs get a bad name because they try to limit the procedures performed on their subscribers.  It happens that this improves outcomes in maternity care.  AND . . . their approach is very consistent with midwifery care, so various Kaiser hospitals have midwives on staff.  You'll need to check about the Kaiser nearest you, but there have been midwives at the Kaiser in Redwood City and Santa Teresa.  The best hospital birth I ever witnessed was at Kaiser/Redwood City with a midwife who truly attended the birth, instead of managing the birth.  The lights were dim, the midwife and nurse were respectfully quiet, and they had all the time in the world for this first-time mom to birth her baby gently over an intact perineum.  Regardless of where you live, if you're a Kaiser subscriber planning a normal birth, you may want to arrange to use one of the Kaiser hospitals that provides midwifery care, although I also had a very positive experience with the resident program at Kaiser/Santa Clara.  I have also heard stories about Kaiser "med-wives" who manage a birth beyond all recognition, so there are no guarantees of a gentle birth according to your wishes.  Kaiser in Oakland did some of the earliest studies about the benefits of doula care for laboring women, but then they dropped the ball and didn't follow through by providing universal doula care.  One of the most wonderful things about the Kaiser system is that they seem to be happy for women to plan to labor at home for a long time or plan homebirths, because it saves them money.  I have had terrific transports into Kaiser/Redwood City, Kaiser/Santa Teresa and Kaiser/Santa Clara.  The reason that there are no specific midwives' or doctors' names associated with Kaiser is that Kaiser subscribers do not get a choice as to who their birth attendant will be; Kaiser staff work shifts, so you'll get whoever is on duty when you need care.  I have heard that some people have been able to choose their prenatal provider, but it's very unlikely that they'll be at your birth; my limited understanding of how Kaiser works is that some providers work only in the offices, and some providers work only in the hospital actually attending births; it's much more efficient that way, and Kaiser is all about efficiency.
 
 

VAGINAL BREECH BIRTHS are still happening in the Bay Area.

San Francisco General Hospital - 415-202-2000, L&D?415-206-8000

Dr Stephen Wells at John Muir in Walnut Creek and a hospital in San Ramon?

Judy Bliss at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, near Concord???

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, as of Sept., 2000?

Dr. Davis Baldwin at Stanford Hospital?  Apparently he used to, but retired Jan., 2006?

See also: Twins Support on the Blossom Provider list

You  might try Jan Rydfors, MD, the Hoffs and Lori Bluvas at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City.

Dr. Shefali Gandhi-List at Sequoia Hospital (checked 5/07), 650-298-0990 is supportive of vaginal twin births, even with a breech delivery of the second twin.

I know Dr Duncan in Los Gatos will always allow the twins if baby #1 is vertex to do vaginal, csect is done if baby#1 is breech-

Ken Weber and Anjali Sahai at Altos Oaks Medical Group are great and will attempt a vaginal birth as long as the first twin as vertex.

Laurie Green, MD and other OBs at California Pacific Medial Center (CPMC) in San Francisco.

Laura Norrell, MC at St. Luke's in San Francisco.

There is much evidence that clamping or cutting the umbilical cord too soon is harmful; it may even cause brain damage.
The following care providers have educated themselves on this issue and are practicing evidence-based midwifery or medicine.

• Homebirth midwives typically delay clamping/cutting the cord until the baby is obviously breathing well and has established the blood volume intended by nature.  Many prefer to wait until after the placenta is delivered, as this shortens the waiting time and reduces blood loss. [Maisels, 1992.]
• Many hospital midwives are also well educated about the benefits of avoiding premature clamping/cutting of the umbilical cord.  In particular, the midwives at El Camino Hospital are likely to be practicing evidence/based medicine/midwifery in this respect.
• Mary Totman, MD, FACOG, (Community Hospital of Los Gatos) 455 O'Connor Drive, Suite 200, San Jose, CA  95128, 408-885-9444.  Dr. Totman has a level of compassion for her clients that is truly extraordinary in the healthcare field.  She also has nice small hands and a gentle touch.

It's always bothered me that the typical umbilical cord clamps are rigid and relatively large and firmly attached to the baby for at least the first day of life.  What fun is it for a baby to be belly-to-belly with mom when there's this nasty clamp sticking into the tummy?  I've seen babies who weren't latching on well because the clamp was pinching, twisting, pulling or poking some part of their body.  That's not the easiest way to get breastfeeding off to a good start!

Fortunately, there's an easy solution to this problem . . . the Averbach Cord Bander, invented by Dr. Louis Averbach; it leaves only a tiny rubber band securely "clamping" baby's umbilical cord.  It's a bonus that they're environmentally more responsible as the disposable rubber band is very tiny compared to the bulky plastic disposable clamps.  (Those reusable, metal clamps were most reusable of all, but they are no longer available, and they were still very poky to new babies!  A newer type of cord band, the Sterifeed Cord Ring, costs only $1.50 and doesn't require a special instrument.  Cord tie is also soft and flexible, but may come off as the cord dries and shrinks; this isn't really a problem but can be troubling to new parents.)

• Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, 650-961-9728, e-mail, offers the Averbach Cord Bander or cord tie
• Renee Anker, LM  offers the Averbach Cord Bander
• Rosanna Davis, LM CPM offers the Averbach Cord Bander
• Yelena Kolodji, CNM uses cord tie, also called cord tape

Alternatively, you can purchase and provide your own single-use packets of cord tape from Cascade, 800-443-9942, item #0362 for $5.00.

Please e-mail me with names and contact information for more birth attendants for this section.  Thank you.
 
 

Planned Parenthood has a number of local clinics that offer affordable prenatal care.  "Medi-Cal eligible women are welcome to participate in our prenatal program.  As part of the Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program (CPSP), we provide high quality prenatal medical care as well as nutrition, health education, and psychosocial services to improve your pregnancy and birth outcome.  We address the full needs of our clients in a culturally competent manner, respecting our clients’ values, beliefs, and traditions. Delivery options vary by site but typically we partner with local physicians who deliver our clients’ babies in state of the art hospitals in the region.  In some cases, our clients transfer to the doctor’s office for their last few prenatal visits."

Community Pregnancy Centers of Santa Clara County - Christian-based crisis pregnancy services are free and confidential.
Mountain View: 2425 California St., 650-964-8093
South San Jose: 408-978-9310
East San Jose: 408-272-5577

Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) - 800-433-2611 - low cost health insurance to pregnant women and their infants who are not eligible for no-cost Medi-Cal or health insurance.

Coalition for Alcohol & Drug-Free Pregnancies (CADFP), Patti-Ann Bossert, LCSW, coordinator, 3190 S. Bascom Ave., Ste. 180, San Jose, CA  95124, 408-380-1215, pbossert-lcsw@comcast.net

County Hospitals sometimes have an "Ability to Pay" program, where you can get low-cost bloodwork (or ultrasounds if necessary?) done.  Start with Valley Med first.

The Phoenix Data Center is a not-for-profit organization that maintains an index of all free and low income services offered throughout Santa Clara County and neighboring communities."

In June, 2005, Mountain View Fire Stations were included as "Safe Haven" sites where anyone may leave a new baby in safe hands without fear.  The Safely Surrendered Baby Law gives a parent the legal right to surrender a baby within three days of birth.  Parents who choose this option have 14 days to change their minds and retrieve their baby before the infant is placed in the foster care system or a pre-adoptive home.  All hospital emergency rooms are also "Safe Haven" sites. [Ley Como Entregar a Su Bebe Sin Peligro - Folleto - sin pena, sin culpe, sin nombres]
 
 

There are some good basic questions to ask any birth attendant that you're interviewing:  What is the likelihood that they will be present at your birth if it's in the middle of the night on the weekend?  How many people do they share call with?  What are their protocols regarding prenatal testing - do they require testing for Gestational Diabetes and Group B Strep?  What is their induction policy for postdates - induce at the due date? one week later? two weeks later?  What are their attitudes towards working with doulas - will they write a recommendation for a doula that you can use to get insurance reimbursement?  Do they do episiotomies?  What is their tear/suture rate?  Do they wait a minute or two before cutting the cord?  These are just some of the things that seem to be most important to the women who find this web page.

There are lots of other questions and lists of questions at "For Parents - How to Get the Best Care"

One key question to ask any physician who works as a birth attendant is whether they have ever worked with midwives.  These physicians are likely to have picked up some midwifery culture so that they have more options for a non-progressive labor than suggesting either a cesarean or vacuum.  Hospitals with midwives on staff will likely have a culture that is more geared towards normal birth.  The nurses and pediatricians will have attended births with midwives as birth attendants, and they're more likely to be accustomed to the practices of leaving the baby on the mother's belly and delaying non-emergency procedures for an hour or so after the birth.  For some odd reason, many physicians seem to think that women don't care whether or not their perineum tears and they end up with sutures that make breastfeeding uncomfortable.  But midwifery culture includes sharing information about preventing or minimizing tearing.  Doctors who hang out with midwives often learn these valuable skills from them.  According to the World Health Organization, midwives should be the preferred medical caregiver for low-risk pregnant women, reserving OB-GYN's for high-risk pregnancies or emergency birth complications only.  If a hospital has no midwives with hospital privileges, it's worth asking why; many hospitals will simply say that no midwives have applied for privileges there. What they're not telling you is that midwives can't apply unless they have a "supervising physician".  So the real question is, "Why haven't any physicians at this hospital recruited midwife partners?"  If there are no midwives around, it's also possible that there's a level of misogyny at the hospital that makes it a hostile environment for midwives.  Well, an environment that's hostile to midwives is likely to be hostile to birthing women, too. Does the hospital you're planning to use have any midwives?  [Read more about the Technocratic Model of Birth vs. Holistic Model of Birth.]

If you want to get a sense of how committed a care provider is to supporting women's birthing choices, find out what they know about homebirth and about their experiences interacting with homebirthing families:

• What do they know about homebirth safety?  If they still believe the obstetric dogma that hospital birth is always safer than homebirth, help them educate themselves.
• Do they offer concurrent obstetric care to families planning homebirth?
• Do they offer consulting appointments to homebirth families who need access to their laboratory facilities and diagnostic procedures?
• Have they been available to provide their highest standard of care to women transporting to the hospital from a homebirth labor?
• Are they open to meeting with their local homebirth community to facilitate the smoothest possible transports during labor?

In order to find out whether this care provider actively persecutes homebirth families and their midwives, ask them:

• Have they ever filed a complaint against a homebirth provider?
• Did they file a complaint against a homebirth midwife for not having physician supervision while at the same time refusing to serve as a physician supervisor?
• Do they have any shame about this hypocrisy?

Physicians who go out of their way to obstruct women's pursuing their choice as to where and with whom to give birth are acting out of either ignorance or arrogance.  Neither of these is a particularly desirable trait in a birth attendant.  What about yours?
 

Hospital Midwives

If you're hoping to have a hospital birth that is as close to a homebirth as possible, then you'll want to have a midwife as your birth attendant.  Our local hospital-based midwives are doing their best to provide care that allows a birth experience that has some of the most important aspects of homebirth: reverence, respect, dignity, caring.  You'll still probably benefit from having a doula, and you'll still need to take precautions about hospital germs.

These midwives practice as part of an obstetric group.  It is important to understand that all midwives working under the supervision of an obstetrician are constrained to work under the same protocols as the supervising obstetrician.  There are serious problems inherent in a system where one class of birth attendants is given power over a competing group of birth attendants; unfortunately, efforts to change "Supervision" to "Collaboration" through legislation in 1996 (SB255) were defeated by opposition from the California Medical Association.

I have heard rave reviews about all of the following midwives!

Lin Lee, CNM, and Olga Libova, CNM  (El Camino Hospital) 650-988-7470 - working with the Altos Oaks Medical Group, 2485 Hospital Dr., #330, Mountain View, CA 94040

Kavita Noble, CNM, Amy Meier, CNM, and Maureen Wolfe, CNM (O'Connor Hospital and Good Sam) 408-287-4441 (NOTE - I've been told that Melanie Jordan, CNM, has moved to Kaiser - Santa Teresa.)

Maria Greulich, CNM (Community Hospital of Los Gatos) working with an OB, Linda Teagle, MD.  408-370-1311 (Community Hospital of Los Gatos is outside my usual range, but I did once have the pleasure of working with Dr. Teagle, and she was wonderful, indeed.)

Looking for the Stanford Midwives or the Stanford Midwifery Services?  It was closed as of 1/1/04 - Midwifery Service at Stanford (Stanford Hospital) (650) 723-7451, 725 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA  94304. What to do?  Well, you wouldn't be the first woman to choose homebirth after discovering that the Stanford Midwifery Services is no longer an option.  :-)

Looking for the midwives who used to work with Peninsula Women's Health at Mills Peninsula Hospital?- Jan Blanchard, WHNP, C.N.M., Carrie Holschuh, C.N.M., M.S.N., and Mary Newberry, C.N.M., M.S.N.are no longer attending births there since the midwifery program was dissolved on May 1, 2006, "due to the medical legal climate currently surrounding healthcare."

More info on midwives from bayarea.UrbanBaby.com

Midwives Providing Prenatal Care in Obstetric Practices

These midwives work with obstetric practices and may be the best midwifery option open to women with serious pregnancy complications requiring hospitalization for the birth.

Michele A. D. Gonzales, CNM (Obstetrix Medical Group, providing prenatal care in conjunction with high-risk OBs) Los Gatos, 408-356-1883

Family Practice Doctors

DrScore is a web site that collects and displays ratings of doctors.  You can contribute your ratings or read others' ratings.

As of January 1, 2004, the only midwives who attend hospital births in the South Peninsula are Lin Lee and Olga Libova at El Camino Hospital.  Family Practice Doctors are a wonderful alternative where midwives aren't available.  Typically, family practice docs don't perform obstetric surgery, so they are very motivated to help you avoid a cesarean.  In addition, they generally make a commitment to be the physician attending your birth, instead of turning your care over to an on-call doctor.

Becky L. Wallin, M.D., (Good Sam and Community Hospital of Los Gatos) 2242 Camden Avenue,  #200, San Jose, California 95124, 408-626-7110 - family practice doc providing OB and family care.

As of Feb., 2008, I have heard that doctors from the Stanford Family Practice Group are no longer providing OB care.  This is such a loss: their scope of practice was basically the midwifery scope of practice, and they were exceptional among MDs for avoiding unnecessary interventions.  Alas.  Thank you to all of the docs who provided OB care for so many years!

Exceptional Obstetricians who support Natural Childbirth, i.e. Drug-Free Childbirth

These doctors have demonstrated their support of women's birthing education and support by participating in panels sponsored by BABI.
Dr. Ruth Ann Crystal
Dr. Jan Rydfors
Dr. Ken Weber

DrScore is a web site that collects and displays ratings of doctors.  You can contribute your ratings or read others' ratings.

I have attended births with all of these obstetricians and can personally vouch that they temper the pressures of modern obstetric practice with a deep respect for birthing women and their babies.  All of them have extended themselves personally, sometimes putting themselves at risk of peer censure, in order to provide a better experience for a birthing family. Their names belong on the Midwifery Path of the Righteous.

Stephen R. Belton, MD, 2504 Samaritan Drive, Ste. 10, San Jose, CA  95124  [7/02 - I received a report that Dr. Belton doesn't support VBACs.]  (Good Sam and Community Hospital of Los Gatos) 408-356-9171

Carol Merryfield, MD  2900 Whipple Ave., Redwood City, 650-298-0990 - Dr. Merryfield is truly dedicated to supporting women's birthing choices and is a strong supporter of gentle birth and breastfeeding.  [She works with a midwife, Nancy Smee, CNM.  This information may be obsolete.]

Kimberly Harney, MD, 300 Pasteur Dr, Palo Alto, CA 94304, 650-498-4069 (Stanford Hospital)   (Dr. Harney is a real gem - very few women make it through a male-dominated medical training program without having to be more macho than the men.  Dr. Harney is truly dedicated to supporting women's birthing choices and is a strong supporter of gentle birth and breastfeeding.  If you're considering birthing at Sequoia Hospital, I strongly encourage you to interview Dr. Harney.)

Gery Hoff, MD, and J.D. Hoff, MD with the Redwood City Women’s Health branch of Palo Alto Medical Foundation.  (Sequoia Hospital) 650-366-4633. This practice has previously had a very long history of supporting women's choices. It's not yet known how their new affiliation with PAMF affects their flexibility in supporting women's choices.  The Hoffs now share their branch of the practice with Julianne O'Callahan and Marian Kim

Jan T. Rydfors, M.D is a wonderful advocate of women's choices and evidence-based obstetrics.  He also knows how to catch a baby when the woman is squatting!  He's recently joined a new practice with Dr. Ruth Ann Crystal and is said to attend almost all the births for his clients: 801 Brewster Ave, Redwood City, CA 94063, 650-365-9997

Ken Weber, MD, Altos Oaks Medical Group, 2485 Hospital Dr., #330, Mountain View, CA  94040  (El Camino Hospital) 650-988-7470.  Dr. Weber is relatively young and gives me hope for a new generation of obstetricians who respect women's choices and the importance of an intimate family birth experience.  It appears that he also has excellent OB skills but doesn't let that interfere with an outstanding "bedside manner".
 

Other Obstetricians who support Natural Childbirth - Group Practice

The sad reality of obstetric practice in the early 2000's is that the workload is so high and the work so demanding that doctors typically band together in group practices and share call.  This means that even if you find a doctor who is ideal for you, there's only a small chance that they will be the doctor at your birth, unless you are induced or scheduled for a cesarean.  So it's important to find a group practice where all the doctors support natural childbirth.  There used to be such a group with privileges at Stanford, but feedback about recent staffing changes has been less than positive.

There are still some outstanding OBs in group practice, and you may be able to negotiate for them to be on call for your birth:

James W. McCarrick III, M.D., Ph.D, Women's Health Medical Group in Portola Valley:  3250 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, CA  94028  (Stanford) 650-851-6550

I'm hearing a lot of really good things about a new doctor, Dr. Martin Silverman at Los Olivos.  He's reported to be very considerate of his patients.

Other Obstetricians who support Natural Childbirth - Solo Practice

Dr. Narisse Kendrick, Women's Care for Life, 14651 South Bascom Ave., Suite 110, Los Gatos, CA  95032, 408-356-8681 - Dr. Kendrick passes the "Don Creevy" test, i.e. she's in solo practice so is almost certain to be the one attending your birth instead of a random on-call doctor, she truly supports evidence-based practice, and she is actually fine with the physiological progress of labor.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I was a doula for a woman who had hired Dr. Kendrick.  There was no IV, the woman pushed in a variety of standing and squatting positions, including the use of the birth stool!, and the doctor did not clamp the cord until it stopped pulsing.  Ahhhhhhhhh!  Oh! did I mention that she was actually sitting on the floor while the woman was pushing on the birth stool?  That's when I first realized that she was a candidate for passing the "Don Creevy" test, and she did not disappoint me!  Thank you, Dr. Kendrick!  You give me hope for the possibility of drug-free birth in the hospital, and you give women hope of birthing in dignity!

Kathryn Matthews, MD (Stanford Medical Center, possibly Sequoia Hospital), 1101 Welch Rd., Suite A7, Palo Alto, 650-328-5141.  Dr. Matthews is very respectful in her interactions with doulas, and I've seen her work wonders in avoiding a cesarean.
 

Exceptional Obstetricians who support Women's Rights to Decent Medical Care

These obstetricians have stepped into the role of Good Samaritan for homebirth transports and performed an outstanding job of putting aside their own prejudices about homebirth in the interest of providing the best possible care to the family.  This is a very different role from providing standard OB care, so this information may not be a good indication of what a standard patient/OB relationship with them would be like.

Julianna O'Callahan, MD, (Sequoia Hospital) , 2900 Whipple Avenue, Redwood City, CA  94062  650-366-5594.  Dr. O'Callahan was very respectful of the birthing family and was helpful in providing the interventions they wanted.  She was also helpful in keeping baby with mom as much as possible.

Jan Segnitz, MD (Good Sam and Community Hospital of Los Gatos),  2504 Samaritan Dr, San Jose, CA 95124 (408) 356-5252.  Dr. Segnitz has a very good sense of appropriate technology, and he also displays a profound respect for the newborn as an individual.

Richard H. Sieve, MD (Good Sam and Community Hospital of Los Gatos), Obstetrics & Gynecology, 5150 Graves Ave Suite 11B San Jose, CA 95129, (408) 255-7077.  Dr. Sieve has an impressive array of obstetric skills, which I've seen put to good use at the service of birthing women.
 

Obstetricians who Ban Doulas

I cannot believe I have to add this section.  I have heard rumors from multiple reliable sources that the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's "main campus" OB group does not allow their patients to bring doulas with them into the birth room : Christie Coleman, Nicole Hong, Dennis Siegler,
Elizabeth Swenson, Bryan Thom, and Cynthia Woo. This is a violation of The Rights of Childbearing Women, which states, "Every woman has the right to have family members and friends of her choice present during all aspects of her maternity care."  There is an addendum that "The legal system would probably uphold those rights".  Anybody looking for a good legal battle?

Here's some feedback from a local doula who has worked with clients who continued care at the PAMF main campus, and others who switched:

"The concern about staying with her group of doctors is not about this one policy, whether it can be "gotten around" or not.  This policy is a clear way your client can know that the group of doctors does not support her choices and rights.  It is the most visible indicator before the labor that she has to go on regarding how she will be treated in this process, and what the doctors believe her role is versus their role.

"Some of the PAMF Main Campus docs don't mind doulas, but it is the group policy, so aside from the over-all respect issue of how the doctors view their role in the decision process, if your client were to get one of the staunchest opponents of doulas as the one on-call, it could seriously negatively impact her experience, just on the doula issue alone, and CERTAINLY her degree of support in labor, which is why she sought you out.

"It can be VERY easy for her to switch to PAMF Portola Valley campus, or Los Altos, if that is closer to her, and every student or client I know who has done this (even up until 36 weeks) has been thrilled and relieved instantly, with their first visit with the Portola Valley docs, and wondered why it ever seemed like more trouble to switch than to stay with unsupportive caregivers."

Gynecologists

Don Creevy, MD (Stanford Medical Center) 650-851-3146 - I am leaving in this old text from days of yore because as far as I know there is no other obstetrician about whom I can say these things, and it would just be too painful to delete these words forever.  I'm saving them here until another doctor appears to be available to women who won't settle for anything less than the best.  "Dr. Creevy is in solo practice, so it's almost certain that he'll be the one actually attending your birth, instead of a random on-call doctor.  He was one of the physicians affiliated with the Birth Place in Menlo Park, before it closed in 1994, and is still a strong supporter of natural childbirth.  Yes!  He knows  how to catch a baby with a woman in a standing or squatting position!  [Unfortunately, Dr. Creevy may be restricting his practice to office practice as of summer, 2001.  This means he won't be attending any more births after that.  Big Sigh.]" - FLASH!!! There is a local obstetrician who finally passes the "Don Creevy" test - Dr. Narisse Kendrick, Women's Care for Life

Diagnostic Ultrasound

Lance Robert Dursi RDMS AART CRT - http://lrdscan.com/index.html
Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
15899 Los Gatos Almaden Road, Suite 6, Los Gatos, CA  95032  (408)356-0004 or (800)LRD-SCAN
"Quality, Affordable Obstetric Ultrasound"
Now offering 3-D Ultrasound!
 

Holistic Pediatricians

Elisa H. Song, MD has moved her offices to Belmont and is joined by Ann Wolf, MD, and nutritionist Kandice Stellman.
1601 El Camino Real, Suite 101, Belmont, CA  94002, 650-595-5437
Her practice integrates conventional pediatrics with holistic nutrition, herbs, homeopathy, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.  She offers well-child visits as well as urgent care and consultations. Whole Child Wellness - holistic pediatrics for your child's body, mind, & spirit -  info@wholechildwellness.com  I've heard rumors that Dr. Song makes oral vitamin K available to her clients.

IN-NETWORK PROVIDERS: Looking for an ideal healthcare provider for your child who is "in network" with your insurance company?  Sadly, it's unlikely that you're going to find someone who is in network and will also take the time to provide the best possible healthcare for your child, including answering your many questions about vaccinations. The problem is basically this:  Doctors are only accepted into insurance networks if they effectively agree to limit the amount of time they spend with patients to below the industry average.  In-network care is essentially assembly-line care, and many of the best doctors simply won't agree to practice in this way. Thinking this through, the "quick and easy" remedy for a lot of simple childhood problems is to throw pharmaceuticals at the problem, rather than to investigate the cause or try less drastic measures first.  And their limited amount of time also doesn't allow them to talk with you about your immunization options; the quick thing is for the nurse simply to give your child the injection.  It's easy to get stuck in a way of thinking that your health insurance SHOULD cover ideal care in network, so you're going to accept the care that is covered in network and hope that it's ideal.

Pediatricians and other Doctors who truly support a parent's right to decline vaccination for their children

NOTE - Even if you're told that a practice is "closed" (i.e. not accepting new patients), most pediatricians and family practice doctors accept newborns and siblings of existing patients.

Whether or not you're planning to be selective about vaccination, it is worth asking about a doctor's attitude towards selective vaccination. Some doctors refuse to provide care for children who won't be fully vaccinated, which may be a sign that they do not generally enjoy working with parents who ask a lot of questions about their child's care.  (In a truly mind-boggling example of self-contradiction, you sometimes hear these doctors say that they won't provide care for non-vaccinated children because they're concerned that they will be a risk to their vaccinated patients.  Hmmmm, do they really think the vaccinations work to protect those vaccinated patients, or don't they?)

Lisa Walsh, DC in San Mateo offers a monthly educational program about childhood vaccinations.

Slow & No Vax Moms - a Yahoo group for Mom's in Palo Alto (and the surrounding areas) that are considering delayed/selective, or not vaccinating their kids due to health, philosophical, or ethical reasons.  They have files of no-vax friendly physicians and alternative practitioners. Also there is a list of hard-core pro-vax physicians who don't honor parental wishes (or that are anti-breastfeeding and other things like that).

Sabina Sonneman, MD

Elisa H. Song, MD

The doctors in the Stanford Family Practice Group are generally very supportive of well-educated family choices, which often include selective or no vaccination.  Check with them for details.  650-723-6963

Dr. Richard Lee is in private practice (09/05) - 605 Cowper, Palo Alto, 650-289-0110 - Family Medicine - (formerly part of the Stanford Family Practice Group).  He is willing to make house calls under certain circumstances. [Apr., 2008 - rumor has it that Dr. Lee's practice is now structured as "boutique medicine" where you have to pay an $1,800 annual fee to be his patient, and then he takes insurance for the additional fees for appointments.]

Dr. Allan S. Marks, Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 801 Brewster Ave., Suite 250, Redwood City, CA  94063, 650-368-8583

Raquel E. Burgos, MD, MPH, from The Village Doctor group.

Genevieve S. Ashcom, MD has moved to Kaiser.

Dr. Molly Rad (El Camino Hospital), 2660 Solace Place, Suite B, Mountain View, (650) 864-0000, allpediatrics@yahoo.com

Deborah Olenev, CCH RSHOM, Homeopathy for Health, 59 Paul Avenue, Mountain View, CA  94041, 650-569-6219  Olenev@att.net

Frederick Lloyd, MD, at Palo Alto Medical Foundation 650-853-2992 - one of the most beloved of pediatricians - truly supportive of informed parents who are selective about their child's medical care.  His practice is technically closed, but they may still be accepting newborns.

We thought Dr. Linda Strain would work out for us, but we actually question her support of breastfeeding; you should, too!

Dr. Lloyd Brown in Los Altos.  He will state his case about vax issues, will gently bring it up again, then he totally dropped it.  We never
felt pushed, just that he was trying to make sure we were making informed decisions with his medical experience factored in.

Dr. DeVillers at Care First pediatrics in Los Gatos.

Midori Nishimura, MD - After 8 years at Stanford Family Medicine, Dr. Midori Nishimura has decided to open her own clinic in Mountain View on July 16th, 2007.  She is looking forward to serving the community.  1704 Miramonte Avenue, Suite 3, Mountain View, CA 94040, 650-988-1800

I've heard very good reports about Jay Jernick, M.D. and Evaleen Jones, M.D..  I'm not sure about their policies about selective vaccination, but it's worth your while to make inquiries of all the Stanford Family Practice Doctors.  650-723-6963

I also hear good things about Dr. Irene Lin, 650-254-5200, a family practice doc at Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Los Altos site on Distel Circle

I also hear good things about  Dr. Peter C. Contini, who respects a parent's informed choices about their child's healthcare.  Pediatric Associates, 6475 Camden Avenue, San Jose, CA  (408) 268-4900

James Cisco, MD - Menlo Medical Clinic (Stanford Hospital) 650-498-6620

Michael Taymor, MD (California Avenue, Palo Alto) - 650-321-7722. I've heard lots of good things about Dr. Taymor from a number of different people. It seems that he practices evidence-based medicine, which is much more likely to eliminate having unnecessary procedures performed on your baby.

Dr. Stuart Pearlman is open to selective or delayed vaccination, and possibly non-vaccination. (408) 866-7830 320 Dardinelli Ln., # 16, Los Gatos

Paul Protter, M.D., 301 Old San Francisco Road, Sunnyvale, California 94086, 408-730-4251

Veronica Heredia, MD, 251 O'Connor Drive, Suite 2, San Jose, 95128, 408-289-8410.  She is also fluent in Spanish.

Patricia Samson, MD (El Camino Hospital), Camino Medical Group, 877 West Fremont Ave, Bldg N, Sunnyvale, CA, 94087, 650-934-7956 - very supportive of exclusive breastfeeding, but I hear good things about her, and some parents prefer to take their baby to a non-teaching hospital to minimize procedures.

[Jamie Wallach, M.D. is no longer providing routine pediatric care; she's specializing in pediatric obesity now. 2577 Samaritan Dr.  #830, San Jose, CA   94125, 408-356-1319]

Meenakshi Bhargava, Classical Homeopath, Ph.D.  Dip-NIH  BHMS CCH, HealthQuest, 15750 Winchester Blvd, Suite 206, Los Gatos, CA 95030, 408-884 1992 e-mail: meena@homeopathicdoctor.net

Bill Gray, M.D., Classical Homeopathy, 14567 Big Basin Way Suite #B6, Saratoga, CA 95070, (408) 868-0330

Dr. Margaret DeVilliers (Good Sam) accepts non-vaxed or selective vaxed children..

Dr. Michael Triantos is on Los Gatos Blvd, in Los Gatos, close to Good Sam. He has a partner, Dr.  Belinda Milford, who is o.k too. 408-358-2624

John D. Melnychuk, RSHom (NA), CCH, Palo Alto Center for Homeopathy

Randall Neustaedter OMD, LAc, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Board Certified Acupuncturist, functions as a primary care provider for infants and children of all ages. His practice focuses on natural health care, including homeopathy and Chinese medicine, and well-baby visits beginning after birth. 18 years on the Peninsula.  Contact Dr. Neustaedter about availability for giving talks about natural health care for children for mothers groups or other parenting groups.  See his web site - Cure-guide.com  for articles about kids' health.
Classical Medicine Center, 1779 Woodside Rd #201C, Redwood City, CA 94061, 650 299-9170  e-mail: randalln@concentric.net
(Dr. Neustaedter is the author of The Vaccine Guide : Making an Informed Choice, "which helps parents to feel confident about their vaccination decisions".  This book is available online through Laurie's Bookstore, which has a very nice list of conscious parenting books. He is also currently working on Child Health Guide, a book that provides parents with instructions and all the advice they need to raise children with natural forms of medical treatment and lifestyle choices. )

Adrienne Souders, MD, 1515 Trousdale Drive, Burlingame, CA  94010, 650-259-1680.  I hear mixed reports about Dr. Souders' attitude.

Marvin Masada, MD, 3151 South White Rd, Suite 104, San Jose, 95148, 408-274-1654 - Family practice.

Dr. Erica Weirich in Los Altos.  She is part of Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Becky L. Wallin, M.D., 2242 Camden Avenue,  #200, San Jose, California  95124 - family practice doc providing OB and family care.

Pediatric Alternatives - An Integrative Medical Practice and Education Center, 10 Thomas Drive, Mill Valley, CA  94941, 415-380-8448.  Lindy Woodard, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician and Homeopath and Stacia Lansman, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician and Herbalist.  These two are quite far from Silicon Valley, but alternative pediatricians are so few and far between that we need to spread the word as much as possible.

Dr. Jeff Gill has closed his private practice.

Attachment Parenting International (API) is starting a Listing of Medical Associates

Holistic Pediatric Association - The HPA is committed to supporting parents who seek a healing model of health care, helping parents reduce the use of ineffective and harmful drug treatments, and empowering parents to build healthy bodies and spirits in their children.  Find a practitioner in your area by searching our Health Professional Directory.

[I would like to add more names to this list.  Please e-mail me the names of practitioners who have truly provided informed consent about vaccines, who truly support a parent's right to decline vaccination or to choose some vaccines while declining others.  Thank you.]

Dr. Dave Trager, 2420 Samaritan Drive, San Jose, CA, 408-371-7777  - he is very supportive of alternative and holistic health care, and I've heard mixed reviews of his support for slow or no vax.  The most recent one was that he is supportive.
 

Not So Sure About These - These care providers were once listed as being supportive of no or slow vaccination, but I've gotten feedback that their office staff, at least, says they're not.

Midwives, Pediatricians and Doctors Who Make Home Visits for Newborns [some duplicate names from above]

Midwives are trained and licensed to provide care for newborns, and some homebirth midwives will also offer in-home followup care for babies born in the hospital.

Elisa H. Song, MD

Sabina Sonneman, MD

Frederick Lloyd, MD

Midori Nishimura, MD - After 8 years at Stanford Family Medicine, Dr. Midori Nishimura has decided to open her own clinic in Mountain View on July 16th, 2007.  She is looking forward to serving the community.  1704 Miramonte Avenue, Suite 3, Mountain View, CA 94040, 650-988-1800

Waldemar (Wally) Wenner, MD, Pediatrics - Development Disabilities - 2039 Forest Ave., Suite 204 B, San Jose, CA 95128, 408-297-9949. The only new patients accepted into Dr. Wenner's practice are newborns. Sign up early!  These days Dr. Wenner seems more enthusiastic about vaccinations than previously.

Rekha Manghnani, MD, Pediatrics - 2039 Forest Ave., Suite 204 B, San Jose, CA 95128, 408-297-9949

Evaleen Jones, M.D., Midori Nishimura, M.D,. and Erika Schillinger, M.D.
 
 

Homeopathy

Chiropractics - the Webster technique is the specific chiropractic technique for turning breech babies

Acupuncture
 
 

Alexa Sockol provides night time sibling care based on availability. 650-678-3424

Tobi Stevens, "Tante Tobi", 408-247-1201, Postpartum Doula and Child Doula, Family-Centered Birth and Parenting Support Services

Sandy Caldwell, CD(DONA), 650-261-9008, Redwood City, sandy@doula-la.com, http://www.doula-la.com
 
 

MDs with an Expanded Practice

Some MDs enhance their practices by borrowing from the best of other modalities.  If you need an MD, consider seeing one of the doctors in this group - Tim Guilford, MD. Los Altos, CA. Raj Patel, MD and Graeme Shaw, MD. Los Altos,CA. (650) 964-6700.

Patricia Muller, MD (sometimes called Niki), Los Altos, California 650-941-4450, Dr Muller is a gynecologist, but she also does general practice.  She is thorough and takes the time to address your personal issues.

Homeopaths

Learn  more about homeopathy in pregnancy.

Sabina Sonneman, MD

Randall Neustaedter OMD, LAc

Deborah Hayes CCHH, MBRCP(H), B.Sc (Hons), Raquel Blech, and Bryony Autumn, Realhomeopathy, 2672 Bayshore Parkway, Suite 810, Mountain View, CA 94043

Mary Jo Aloi, Classical Homeopathy, Artemis Healing Center, 246 Los Gatos-Saratoga Rd., Los Gatos, CA 95030, 408-823-0560

Deborah Olenev, CCH RSHOM, Homeopathy for Health, 59 Paul Avenue, Mountain View, CA  94041, 650-569-6219  Olenev@att.net

Bill Gray, M.D., Classical Homeopathy, 14567 Big Basin Way Suite #B6, Saratoga, CA 95070, (408) 868-0330

John D. Melnychuk, RSHom (NA), CCH, Palo Alto Center for Homeopathy

Nutritionists

Good nutrition is a cornerstone of a healthy pregnancy. Many common complaints can be mitigated by proper nutrition, including: Heartburn and acid reflux, Itchy skin, Constipation / Hemorrhoids, Mild swelling to pre-eclampsia, Gestational-onset diabetes, Nausea and morning sickness, vegetarian/vegan pregnancy, Healthy weight gain and management, Depression and post-partum depression

Karla Maree, Certified Nutrition Consultant, 650-430-5250 specializes in pregnancy nutrition.
 

Body Balancing

Jocelyn Saiki at Center of Balance is a certified Pilates, Elvis "the Pelvis" and MasterStretch instructor who can help with pelvic misalignments. 1220 Pear Avenue, Suite i, Mountain View, CA 94043, (650) 967-6414

Carrie Burr offers Personal Training, Nutrition Counseling, and Health & Wellness Coaching specifically for prenatal and postpartum moms, 413 Monterey Ave., Suite B, Los Gatos, CA  95030, 408-375-8850

Chiropractics

Chiropractic care has tremendous benefits for pregnant women.

Chiropractic Care for Babies and Children - We're fortunate to have a local chiropractor who is also nationally renowned for his work on Kids Need Chiropractic Too! - Peter N. Fysh, D.C., F.I.C.C.P., 990 West Fremont Avenue, Suite M , Sunnyvale, CA  94087, 408-773-9165

Dr. Tiffany Butters, Homestead Chiropractic Group, 21020 Homestead Rd., Suite 1, Cupertino, CA  95014, butters_tiffany@hotmail.com, 408-733-3760.  Dr. Butters is Webster Technique Certified; she is available to make home visits to adjust newborns if the family has been in her practice for at least two months.

Dr. Kate Fox, Chiropractic Physician, Fox & Young Chiropractic and Naturopathic Health Center, 751 Blossom Hill Rd., Los Gatos, CA  95032, 408-761-6781 - Dr. Fox performs the Webster technique for turning breech babies.  Dr. Fox can act as a primary care provider for all concerns other than OB/GYN, which can be provided by her partner, Dr. Renee Young.

Dr. Melanie S. Coronel, D.C., Family Chiropractic Center, 949 Sherwood Avenue, Los Altos, CA  94022, 650-949-3636.  Dr. Coronel will make a home visit in the immediate postpartum period if needed by her established clients.

Dr. Tina Roach-Gagnon, BS, DC, QME, Santa Rita Chiropractic, Inc., 173 N. Morrison Ave., Suite F, San Jose, CA  95126, 408-280-7766 - Dr. Tina performs the Webster technique for turning breech babies.  Dr. Tina is sometimes available to come to your home to perform craniosacral adjustments.

Dr. Paula Strauss, The Chiropractic Center of Campbell, 280 W. Hamilton Ave., Campbell, CA  95008, 408-866-8820.

Lisa Walsh, DC, 407 N. San Mateo Drive, San Mateo 94401, 650-342-4623 - Dr. Walsh specializes in treating infants and children, as well as women throughout their pregnancies; she offers a customized pregnancy program.  She uses low-force techniques and has had a lot of success in helping children of all ages with digestive issues.  She also offers advanced techniques such as TBM (Total Body Modification, which directs the body's natural healing energy to restore function to specific areas under stress) and NET (Neuro Emotional Technique, a way of releasing emotional issues which may also be related to physical problems, ie, digestion). [Dr. Walsh was trained by Dr. Zaida Rivene, who has moved to South Africa.]  The Dawn of Eternity Wellness Center offers a monthly educational program about childhood vaccinations.

Dr. Alice Smith, DC, Santa Clara, 408.247.3060.  She uses applied kinesiology to determine the source of the symptoms... She's also nutritionally focused.

Marilyn Moss, D.C., The Core Clinic, 996 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129, 408-244-2282, Dr.Moss@thecoreclinic.com - Specializing in prenatal and post partum care, cranial work for infants, certified in Webster technique. Her hormone balancing work includes an inital assessment and symptom evaluation, lab work (serum and/or saliva), and putting together diet, lifestyle, nutritional supplementation programs for patients.  I work with both men and women.  Lots of perimenopausal/ menopausal work, and adrenal, thyroid, andropause, GI, etc.

Rozenhart Family Chiropractic (sisters Jennifer and Stephanie), 4620-B Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA 95124, 408-979-9999, info@rozenhartchiro.com
Our office specializes in maternity and family care.  We have an extremely inviting environment to families and kids.

Dr. Robert Mascarotti, DC, Esprit Healing Center, offers a holistic healing approach, including homeopathics. 1058 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125, (408) 275-6622

Curtis Turchin, DC,  950 Woodside Road, Suite 6, Redwood City, CA  94061, 650-361-8781

Dr. Marina Rose, DC, 949 Sherwood Avenue, Los Altos, CA  94022 650-949-3636.  Dr. Rose has a particular interest in prenatal chiropractic and nutritional support.  She has had particularly good results in treating pregnancy nausea or "morning sickness", and she's helped my clients with heartburn, itchy skin and a variety of other discomforts!  She is trained in performing the Webster Technique to assist in the turning of breech babies.  She has limited openings in her practice, but you can also see her protege, Dr. Anjali Agrawal, who has similar training.

Denise Magee, DC,    (650) 365-1772, Redwood City.  Denise is also a Bradley teacher!!!  E-mail: dcmagee@pacbell.net

Dr. Nancy J. Newbold, 455 Avenida Alhambra, P.O. Box 327, El Granada, CA  94018, 415-726-3300.  Dr. Newbold has a special interest in adjusting newborns and new moms.

Richard Roth, DC, Essential Chiropractic Center - 14103-A Winchester Blvd., Los G