ABOUT US
Our Mission
The Natural Birth Place, Inc., is committed to client centered care by upholding evidenced based practices which promote a culture of inclusion within a diverse community, by embracing individual and family values, and culture.
We recognize that midwives are an integral part of the fabric of society, and our clients are at the core of our practice. Our goal is to educate , prepare, inspire and empower women and their support structure, by fostering a partnership of respect, compassion, informed consent and shared decision-making, from puberty, to family planning, pregnancy and birth, through to menopause.
Maria King, CNM, RN, BSc (Hons), IBCLCCertified Nurse Midwife & Lactation Consultant
Maria is the only Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) and Lactation Consultant, offering Full Scope Midwifery, Well Woman, Family Planning, and Lactation Services to women in our Out of Hospital Birth Setting, within San Bernardino, California.
Maria's national and international experience in the field of Midwifery and nursing has fostered her with a breadth of knowledge and expertise, which is unique to her practice.
Her hospital and community based experience enable her to recognize and independently manage emergent situations expediently, safely and with utmost calm.
The Natural Birth Place, Inc., Providers and support staff believe that all women should have the right to choose their birth place, and with whom they wish to birth. Advocacy and upholding of normal birth, are the foundation of our practice.
Community based Nurse Midwives aim to break down barriers within healthcare, by helping to meet the needs of the community; which is why, The Natural Birth Place, Inc., is the only Free Standing Birth Center in San Bernardino that has a written midwifery transfer agreement with Loma Linda University Medical Center.
We are Midwives
We Provide Holistic, Individualized Care
We are With Women, Babies and Families
Strategies & Plans
Advocacy and upholding of normal birth are the foundation of our expertise. We believe that all women should have the right to choose their birth place and with whom they wish to birth. Community based Nurse Midwives aim to breakdown barriers within healthcare, by meeting the needs of the community.
We Are Midwives - We Are With Woman.
Michelle Rey, Licensed Midwife, CPM, MA, BSAM
Michelle Rey holds a Midwifery License with the California Medical Board as well as a Master's degree in Alternative Medicine.
Michelle’s holistic background helps the midwifery team provide a more extensive service to their clients. Michelle envisions Birth, and the growth of a family as one of the most beautiful things about humanity.
Michelle believes that every woman has the right to choose her own birth, and offers extensive education and hospital experience to help support this choice.
Natural Birth Place Providers, Inc.
Together, Maria and Michelle complement each other with their unique backgrounds, and together they are able to offer clients more options, all under one roof. This helps decrease time, added stress and costs.
The Natural Birth Place, Inc., and it's Providers, is truly a "One Stop Shop" for services rendered to women, newborns and their families which includes Lactation services, well woman care, annual exams, PAP’s, pregnancy, natural birth including water birth, postpartum and newborn care, breastfeeding and Lactation support, along with a variety of classes.
“Just as a woman’s heart knows how and when to pump, her lungs to inhale, and her hand to pull back from fire, so she knows when and how to give birth.”
Virginia Di Orio
Why Choose a Midwife?4 Differences Between Midwives and Physicians
Education
The most obvious difference between midwives and physicians is the type of education they receive. An OB/GYN has gone through four years of formal medical school, four years of a medical residency that involves surgical training and an additional three years in a residency specific to obstetrics and gynecology. In most cases, an OB/GYN has never seen a home birth and may have never witnessed a birth in a birthing center. Midwives are also trained but their training is much different. Midwifery training is focused solely on the reproductive care of women, with the specific intent of supporting women through their pregnancy and labor, providing regular prenatal care to the mother and her baby as well as providing post-natal care and breastfeeding support. There are different levels of midwifery training, CNM, CM and LM/CPM.
Different Models of Care
This is where it gets a bit tricky. In the “general world” the midwifery model of care – which is mother-and-child-based – is much different than the medical model, which is about controlled medical management of a safe, healthy pregnancy and birth. This latter view of childbirth has led to medical interventions that are not always necessary, nor are they optimal for positive birth outcomes. However, the pendulum is swinging back into balance. For example, in a practice like ours – where Nurse Midwives are on staff – women can enjoy the best of both models. They can experience a normal healthy pregnancy and birth process (pregnancy is NOT a disease, or a sickness – it is a normal and healthy biological event!) and medical support is close at hand if it is needed.
Healthy vs High-Risk Pregnancy
An educated and trained midwife will never sign on as the sole healthcare provider for a woman who is experiencing a “high-risk pregnancy”. Once a pregnancy is determined to be high-risk, midwives will refer the mother to an OB/GYN if she doesn’t have one of her own so the OB and the midwife can work together as a team for the safest and healthiest outcome for mother and child. This is a wonderful alternative because the mother has all modern medical conventions can offer but still gets the continuous emotional support from her midwife.
The Birthing Experience
An OB/GYN is working in shifts in addition to being on call for her patients. This means that there is often more than one woman at a time in labor, and the
OB is dividing her time between them. In some hospitals, this may mean less one-on-one interaction with the OB. A midwife, or a team of midwives, works with women exclusively and is with the mother from the time true labor begins, all the way through the birth of the baby. Statistically, women who employ the
assistance
of a midwife are less likely to require labor induction, pain medications, epidurals and other medical/surgical interventions, which is why the combination of nurse midwives and OBs can be such a powerful one.
Your Team
Birth Suites
