Pregnancy & Homebirth in SF
Homebirthing in SF
In the US, most women give birth in hospitals, but for low-risk pregnancies, home births have similar or better outcomes. If you want to explore this in SF, here are some resources:
Bay Area Homebirth Collective - http://bayareahomebirth.org organize regular meetups; if you're considering a homebirth, it's useful to meet other folks who have done it
You can also join the mailing list on Google Groups
Kara Engelbrecht - our midwife for 2 births, she's awesome! www.mothercraftmidwifery.com
(Adam's homebirth story is on her website)
Sue Baelen - our backup/assisting midwife, a wonderful person who knows a lot about herbs and natural remedies: www.sacredbodymidwifery.com
Insurance - insurance plans vary widely in how much they'll cover homebirth...it's frustrating because for most births, homebirths have better medical outcomes and cost less, so insurance plans should be all over it! Nevertheless, most of the SF midwives work with Maggie Otero at www.innovativemedicalbillinginc.com who is pretty good at figuring out what your insurance might cover. Note that if you end up transferring to a hospital, it's likely your insurance won't cover the full cost of the midwife (since they didn't "deliver" the baby, even if they handled all of prenatal/labor care), so be prepared for that contingency.
Doulas in SF
A birth coach/counsellor, doulas are increasingly popular for both hospital and home births...they have been shown to lead to better outcomes for both the mother and baby.
Natural Resources also has occasional doula meet-and-greets that we've heard good things about
talk to your midwife or care practitioner to see if there are doulas that they work with and recommend
Fertility/Pregnancy Acupuncture in SF
Acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbs can be helpful for various stages of pregnancy. A few fertility/pregnancy practitioners who operate in SF:
Christine Chung - does a more "gentle" Japanese style of needling, practices in La Lengua (southern Mission)
Jeannie Bianchi - practices downtown in the San Francisco Acupuncture Group
...you can also find other acupuncturists certified with the national ABORM group on their website