After reading Shannon's beautiful and transformative book Born Far From Home, I felt so drawn to…read morehaving a homebirth. I loved reading about Shannon's journey to Islam and birth work, and how her faith and spirituality intertwined with her midwifery care. I also enjoyed reading the compelling birth stories and the beautiful way in which she writes about birth. I especially felt connected to her book as a Muslim woman who was curious about homebirth, but wasn't sure if it was for me. Once I finished the book and had my first appointment with Shannon I felt confident, reassured, and excited about having a homebirth for my first baby. Since the start of my prenatal care with Shannon, I felt so comforted by the amount of time and personalized care she dedicated to us by listening to our concerns, answering our many questions, and providing the guidance we needed during this special time in our life. Her level of knowledge and expertise combined with her warm and comforting presence brought us ease during such a delicate time. I also have the same great things to say about Tara who was the second midwife to be present at the birth and meet with us for the postpartum appointments. Tara also has such a warm, beautiful, and comforting spirit and has been such a pleasure to meet with. When expressing the troubles I have with breast feeding, she has been so sweet and reassuring and I really appreciate the level of care she not only provides for our baby, but to me. I feel so fortunate and blessed to have had a successful and empowering homebirth with the utmost care and support from Shannon and Tara and I highly recommend them. I am so grateful to have been in their care.

I don't have enough good things to say about Shannon and her business. She was absolutely…read moreincredible from start to finish. From the very first phone call I felt so comfortable and genuinely heard. She took the time to answer every question and listen to my previous birth story and never made me feel rushed. She listened with understanding and compassion and for the first time I truly felt like a care provider was really listening to me. For my first birth, I had a typical hospital birth with a typical OB. Although I did not have a traumatic experience, I wanted something different for my second time around. I found Shannon and it truly was a blessing. The level of care and attention to detail was above and beyond anything I had experienced before. When the day came to give birth, having her there made me feel so safe supported and empowered. If I was ever to do this again, I would not hesitate to use Shannon and her team and have another home birth. It truly was a defining experience and something that I believe that all women should be able to experience. If you're looking for a quality Midwife service that treats you like family and truly listens to you look no further. I cannot recommend Shannon enough!

Had my second baby at Pacifica recently, and want to double down on my review from 2023. It's still…read morean amazing place run by wonderful, caring people. I feel grateful to have had access to it. I wish for this model of perinatal care to become widespread some day. Looking forward to bringing my bebes here when they grow up so they can meet Cindy and see the room (and magical tub!) where they were born.

I loved my experience with Pacifica, and I can't thank the midwives enough for their deep level of…read morecare throughout my pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I felt supported, safe, and connected throughout, and my baby and I had a beautiful birth surrounded and held by their team. When I first got pregnant, I started out seeing an OB. In the medical system, the visits were short and perfunctory. I felt like I was checking off boxes on their end, and not getting any value or support. When we switched to Pacifica care, the difference was immediate and apparent to both myself and my partner. They cared about how my partner and I were doing mentally, emotionally, and physically, and provided holistic advice whenever we had to make decisions for the baby. Having a natural birth was challenging but such an amazing experience, and I can't imagine having done it without the midwives or in an environment that felt super familiar, homey, and safe. Thank you Cindy, Audrey, Tracy, Evaly, Esther for your love and care bringing our baby into this world.

I'm currently 7 weeks postpartum and I miss our visits with Michelle and her team so very much. My…read morepartner and I were undecided about where we'd give birth. We had an uncomplicated home birth with my daughter and another midwife 4 years before. Now, at the age of 43, I felt it might make more sense to have our second child in a hospital. I feared I'd have more complications. After sitting with it for some time, my chiropractor gave me the referral for Michelle Borok's midwifery services. When I met Michelle I went from being unsure about where we'd give birth to an absolute whole body yes to a home birth. My husband felt the same. We're so glad we chose Michelle as our midwife. I've worked in health care throughout the Bay Area for over 15 years, Michelle is a unique blend of warmth and professionalism. She is direct, transparent, honest, clear, wise, and knowledgeable. She's truly a gem! We would work with Michelle again if we were ever to have another child. Michelle was a grounding force that guided me through my fears. Every prenatal appointment we left her home feeling secure, loving, and afloat on that pink pregnancy cloud every person and partnership deserves to tap in to. Thank you from the depths of our hearts, Michelle, for ushering our sweet child Earth side.

I received prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care from Michelle for my homebirth…read moreexperience in 2014. I continue to see her for annual exams because she'll come to my home and I can wear my own clothes. This provides me a whole other level of comfort that I didn't get during my anxiety-inducing check-ups at traditional medical offices. I had a hospital experience with my first child that was without complications, but wasn't the culture or environment that I truly wanted. My second pregnancy was low-risk and I was much more confident about birth that I sought out a midwife. Michelle taught me so much about pregnancy, my body, nutrition, and beyond. She helped me make better, more authentic decisions for myself and new baby. I still benefit from her lessons to this day. She is warm, takes her time, and considers my whole self (holistically) when giving advice. I cannot recommend her enough. She's someone you'll want on your team for the rest of your life.

Update I thought I would update my review since it's been 3…read moreyears. Since then we have been blessed to have Charlee as our midwife two more times. In total she has been our midwife for three of our births! Which is honestly amazing! As you can imagine I cannot speak more highly of Charlee! She is the best at what she does! Every birth I have had her in she has been so wonderful and so supportive! My pregnancies are always something I look forward to and one of the big reasons is because of her care. I always look forward to my kids being included into our appointments. They get so excited every time she comes over she is practically family at this point! charlee is so patient with my kids and includes them into the experience, allowing them to help with hearing the baby's heart and checking my blood pressure. It truly has made my pregnancies all the more sweet getting to experience it in this intimate way with my kids and having all these memories with them. I have had hospital care before and to me this is totally different! In the best possible way! It's so individual and includes my family into the process. The appointments are longer allowing ample time to ask questions and go over any concerns. She gets to see how the pregnancy is progressing. I love the fact that she lets me make true informed decisions for me and my baby. She always goes over everything and if I understand the risks and benefits of any decision that I make. I always feel heard and seen. During my labors I've always felt so taken care of. I rely so much on her experience and knowledge and trust she is looking out for my best interest as well as the baby. There have been so many times she has seen things that I hadn't really thought of. Whether that be taking things and doing things to ease pregnancy symptoms to things to do during birth. Postpartum care is just top notch! The fact that she comes to check on me and the baby. I don't have to get out of my bed or leave the comfort of my home. I get to just snuggle my baby and be in newborn bliss while she checks us over. I'm just so thankful for her loving care! If I am blessed to get pregnant again no doubt I will again ask her to be my midwife. No one I trust more and couldn't imagine doing it without her!

I chose to hire Charlee as my midwife for my first pregnancy because when I spoke with her she said…read moreshe had over 10 years of experience and has done 200 births. As a first-time mom, those credentials gave me confidence that I was putting myself and my baby in experienced hands. During one of our visits, she was prepping me for delivery day. She not to reach out to her in the middle of the night unless my contractions were at a 3-1-1 pattern because she wanted to be rested for me during the day. The day came for baby to arrive. Around 9pm on a Saturday I started having contractions. At 2am on Sunday, my contractions became very intense contractions. They were coming every 2-3 minutes and lasting 6-8 minutes long, my husband and I were tracking them with a contraction app. The contractions felt pretty intense. We sent Charlee screenshots of the contraction patterns and reached out for guidance, but a she told us I was not ready yet because I was not at a "3-1-1" pattern, but that if I think the baby is coming, to let her know. How do I know if the baby is coming in not? I've never had a baby before. As a first-time mom, I had no way of knowing whether my labor was progressing normally and it was going to get more intense than what it was, or whether my baby was coming. That's exactly why I hired an experienced midwife to help me make those decisions. I was alone in my living room for hours, my water broke and gushing out (it definitely was not a trickle like they say it would be), feeling like I was on a rollercoaster. By around 6:30 that morning, my doula arrived, saw the amount of pain I was in, looked at my contraction pattern, and immediately called Charlee, telling her "you need to get here now". Charlee arrived about an hour later. By then, my contractions had already slowed down considerably. During the day Charlee commented that she wondered why my contractions had slowed down, which surprised me because I expected someone with her level of experience to have insight into what was happening. While I was laboring in the birthing pool, I also overheard Charlee talking with my doula about wanting to pivot careers into being a motivational coach instead of continuing to attend births. Whether or not she ultimately chooses another career is her decision, but hearing that conversation while I was in active labor made me worry because in my field of business, that is what people say when they aren't getting much business. This was not something I expected or wanted to hear during one of the most vulnerable moments of my life. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of an experience that ultimately left me feeling unsupported and questioning the care I received. The baby was stuck in my canal the whole day. We could feel her head. At 6:30pm, I got transfer to the hospital. We ultimately had to do an emergency vacuum delivery. My body was not contracting, and it was not ready for a baby to come out. I ended up with a permanent spine injury, along with other injuries post delivery that were still having trouble diagnosing. I had to go back to the ER by ambulance 2 days after come home from the hospital. I was in a wheelchair for 2-3 weeks, graduated to a walker, then cain, and now I have on going treatment 9 months post delivery. Which all could have been prevented, if my baby came out when I my body was contracting at 2am in the morning. Charlee charges you $9,500 for her services, but split it up in four sections. She said because I delivered at the hospital, she would not submit me for reimbursement for the delivery costs, since I did not deliver at home. If Charlee could not do her job and deliver my baby, then why can't I get refunded for her not doing her job? I don't know how you can take someone's money like that and sleep at night. I do not recommend Charlee as a good choice for a midwife, do not trust this person with your life!

I sought out Lindy for my second pregnancy because of a less-than-ideal birth experience with our…read morefirst baby (at a different hospital in the Bay Area, not at Alta Bates). With our first, I had a long labor and the OB, midwife, and L&D nurse were not in agreement about how to manage it. The OB was pushing for a C-section, which I ended up not needing. The experience of being caught between providers was stressful and made me wonder if I might have ended up with an unnecessary surgery had I not happened to have that midwife and nurse advocating for me. With baby #2 I felt so much better being in Lindy's care. She is passionate about the mother's wellbeing alongside the health of the baby, so I felt genuinely cared for in every prenatal visit, during labor & delivery, and throughout my hospital stay. She provided holistic care at every check-up, focused not just on physical health but also on mental and emotional wellbeing. In between our visits, if issues came up I could (and did) call or email her with a whole range of questions -- from how to handle shortness of breath to medication safety during pregnancy, to how to think about postpartum support systems. As I approached my due date she also gave me a bunch of practical tips on how to get better sleep with a newborn and insisted that my partner join some of our visits so that we would all be on the same page. The labor and delivery experience with Lindy was in stark contrast to my first one. When I went into labor Lindy met us at the hospital and already had a room ready for us so we didn't have to wait around in triage. There was no back and forth between providers because it was clear that Lindy was in charge, which gave us a lot of comfort. The process was also a lot less restrictive and invasive -- no continuous monitoring, no dilation checks (which of course may vary depending on your situation). Lindy is a legend in the East Bay midwife world. She pioneered the model of private practice midwifery with hospital-based delivery in the East Bay, and she personally trained many of the private midwives in the area. I loved my experience as a patient in her care and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity.

Lindy delivered our baby this past August and we are extremely happy to have had her throughout the…read morewhole process. Being our first child we were very nervous about the whole process, but Lindy made us feel reassured with her knowledge and experience. She took the time to explain everything we needed/wanted to know and gave us tools we needed to be confident in delivery and postpartum. Our baby is happy and healthy and we are extremely grateful for Lindy's guidance through it all. Thanks Lindy!! - Mitchell and Kim

Amanda was our midwife for our second child and we had a better experience than we could have…read moreimagined. We used east bay midwives for prenatal care, home birth and post natal care. Amanda brought both experienced midwifery care (our son was her 314th birth!) and a strong level of personal care. She is a birth worker that truly loves what she does, is incredibly skilled in her work, and has a deep sense of care for the mothers, families, and babies she works with. We were so impressed by how supported we felt during the entire pregnancy, birth, and post partum period. I truly wish every mother could receive midwifery care as exceptional as east bay midwives. We also had excellent experience with Grace and Sophia- the team that Amanda works with are also amazing birth workers. I highly recommend east bay midwives to someone that wants a safe, supported home birth with experienced and loving help!

Had the home birth of my dreams; Amanda was with me starting 10 weeks gestation. She helped me…read moreovercome my worries, carried my troubles and showed up for me even during her own maternity leave. She was committed, confident and graceful. Amanda was excited for my birth and respected what I needed. From pregnancy, labor and delivery to postpartum; she showed me how the right care can make the world of a difference in one of the most powerful, challenging and vulnerable times. What an amazing way to bring life into the world.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Morgan and Evaly. They supported me through my…read morehomebirth, and even four years later I still look back on that experience with deep gratitude and respect for their care. My baby boy is now 4 years old and absolutely thriving--and a huge part of that is because of the knowledge, skill, and calm presence they brought to one of the most important days of my life. From the beginning, Morgan and Evaly were patient, attentive, and incredibly supportive. They took the time to truly listen to me, explain everything clearly, and make sure I felt informed and empowered throughout my pregnancy and birth. Their confidence never felt rushed or arrogant--it was grounded, reassuring, and deeply professional. After I pushed my son out, I experienced a situation that could have quickly turned into a serious medical emergency. Morgan and Evaly handled it with remarkable skill and composure. They recognized what was happening immediately, acted decisively, and supported me through it with such calm and competence that I felt safe the entire time. Their ability to manage that moment made all the difference, and I truly believe their expertise prevented a much worse outcome. They are extraordinary midwives and incredible humans.

Morgan is an insanely talented and skilled midwife whom I would put my life into. She navigated my…read moredeepest fears in prenantal care as I have a long history with loss. She also navigated both of my difficult births with such strength, confidence and precision. There's no one on this planet I would walk into birth with other than Morgan. I will forever call her the Vanessa whisperer. I stand with her in all her future endeavors. She is a mother to us all.

Being under the care of Collective Birth was one of the highlights of my pregnancy and birth. Aimée…read moreand Jas walked beside us with so much care, humor, and respect through every physical and emotional shift. They listened deeply, answered every question, made space for all feelings--from "I hate being pregnant" to "I feel like a goddess"! Appointments were unhurried, thoughtful, and deeply personal. They were always available by text, email, or phone, and quickly understood how best to support me. They cared not only about my physical well-being, but also about the emotional journey my partner and I were on. No matter what your intentions or hopes are for your birth, they will meet you there and support you fully, without judgment. On the day of our daughter Aurora's birth, Aimée and Jas brought an incredible combination of patience, expertise, and calm. They turned every possible stone to support a vaginal birth and saved me and my baby from a C-section. My partner was able to receive our baby himself, an experience we will cherish forever. I will never forget their genuine joy when Aurora finally arrived after a long and challenging labor. In one of the most vulnerable moments of our lives, they made us feel safe, supported, and deeply cared for. By the end of our journey, they felt like family. We left every appointment grateful we had chosen them, and we miss our visits dearly. I cannot imagine having gone through pregnancy and birth with anyone else, and I would choose them again without hesitation. I would wholeheartedly recommend Collective Birth to first-time parents, seasoned parents, and anyone looking for deeply personalized, compassionate, and empowering care. --Cami, Zach, and Aurora

We welcomed our third child 6 weeks ago and could not have asked for a better prenatal and birthing…read moreexperience than we had. We credit so much of that to the care we received from Flo, Jasmine, and Aimée. I can not recommend them highly enough. For context, I delivered at 44 years old with an IVF pregnancy. From the get go we felt in such good hands. In approaching the care of mom, they make space for the whole person (and the the partner/family experience). At each appointment my husband and I felt heard and seen as we moved through the process. They ask questions and listen deeply. They tend to not just your physical state but your emotions - your head, heart, and soul. This was critical in healing from the trauma of our second birthing experience and making space for a different kind of experience. Their care is based in expertise, research, data, and professional experience and they also leave room for our primal knowledge and intuition. This allowed us to trust my body while also having medical experts alongside us. A month before our child was due, my father died. This was an unexpected emotional wave at an already emotional time, and they held space for me to process and integrate this grief into the final weeks of pregnancy and labor. Our delivery experience was exactly what we hoped for - and I know how rare that is having had two previous experiences that did no go as we had hoped. Flo, Jasmine, and Aimée are an incredible team who helped us manifest a safe and healing delivery. (Some background: Our second child was born during the depths of the pandemic. We had a stressful pregnancy and a traumatic birthing and immediate postnatal experience, during which we received subpar care from a team of doctors. Coming into this third pregnancy we were intent on having a different experience, hence choosing midwifery care. After interviewing two different teams of midwifes we chose Collective Birth.)

Gingi supported my prenatal and postpartum healing journey -- helping both myself and my 8 week old…read morebaby. I attended her womb movement class while pregnant and absolutely love it! She was also incredibly knowledgeable about breastfeeding and newborn care to reduce gassiness and offered the most amazing body massage afterwards! She validated my experiences as a new mother and created a very comfortable and safe space for me. I look forward to working with her again and highly recommend her services!

VBAC/HBAC success story!…read more As a second-time mom, I knew I wanted my birth experience to be drastically different than my first. I lived in New Jersey when we found out we were pregnant, so I started looking for midwives and OBs out there. I could not find someone who felt right for me. Some wouldn't listen/validate my concerns, others were asking over $10K out-of-pocket up front. As a result, I didn't feel comfortable having any prenatal care at all for the first 30 weeks. Fast forward, my husband got a job in the Bay Area. We were eager to find prenatal care that I felt right about upon moving here. I researched midwives and found Gingi's website. I reached out. We chatted on the phone so she could get an idea of my previous birth and I could ask her some initial questions, and we agreed to meet. I kept researching other midwives, but as soon as I met Gingi, I knew she was the one. The search was over and I had finally found a care provider that I felt confident with. This is so key for an expecting mother. Confidence and trust in your care provider is crucial to obtaining the birth you desire. I could not have had the natural home birth I desired if Gingi Allen wasn't my midwife. God led me to her. She was attentive, caring, and so wise. When my labs showed low iron, she recommended natural ways of increasing my levels. It worked. When we found out my son was breech at 36 weeks, she recommended ways we could flip him. He flipped naturally. My husband was working nights 80 hours a week, I was chasing my 18-month old toddler around, working from home full-time, and unpacking from the move. She reminded me to slow down, reflect, meditate, pause. She really looked at my health from a holistic perspective. Because of her recommendations, I have a fantastic acupuncturist, osteopath and massage therapist. The team she assembled for me was amazing. She was approaching maternity leave herself, and made sure that Grace Bender, her fellow CNM, was there to attend to me postpartum. She was amazing and also at my birth. Kai, her apprentice, was fantastic, and conducted my bone closing ceremony postpartum. During my birth, Gingi really encouraged me to listen to my body. I asked her questions, like "should I push now?" LOL and she would say, "What is your body telling you to do?" She was so patient with me. Listen, my birth, from prodromal labor in the beginning to pushing at the end, was literally a total of 48 hours. She never wavered. She never said, "Well, if x, y or z doesn't happen in this timeframe, then we'll have to.....blah blah blah" That's usually what a woman hears before their care provider deviates from the birth plan. That never happened with Gingi. I loved that she didn't tell me how dilated I was. That was something triggering for me, since I stalled at 9 cm with my first son before I had the C-section. That's not even something I asked Gingi to refrain from doing. She just KNEW that dilating to 10cm was something I was concerned wouldn't happen, so she didn't allow me to worry about it during birth. I'm telling you, this woman's instincts are SUPERB. Trust me when I say, Gingi is the midwife YOU WANT AND NEED. I could not have birthed my beautiful 9lb, 11 oz son at home , after a previous C-section, if I didn't have Gingi. A comment my last midwife made (with my first son), was that my son was "big" which is why I stalled. He was 8 lbs, 12 oz. So literally my second son was almost a FULL POUND LARGER, and I had him at home, COMPLETELY NATURAL. I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT WITHOUT GINGI! She is amazing. Just hire her already. You'll be thrilled you did. I was only under her care from weeks 30-40 and still had the most amazing prenatal care experience. My postpartum care, first with her and then, Grace, was crucial to my recovery. I had PPD the first time, but not this time! Gingi Allen will do everything she can to ensure all women in her care have an amazing prenatal care and birth experience. As you can tell, I highly recommend.