Holistic and expert midwifery care for every body.

Birth Center Care

DTLA BIRTH CENTER

Located in the heart of Los Angeles, our beautiful, comfortable and serene space is the perfect place to welcome your baby under the gentle and skilled care of your Licensed Midwife Team.

Homebirth Care

  • Hour-long prenatal visits including opportunities for client questions, counseling and education by midwife and clinical assessment
  • 24-Hour On-Call access to midwife (Text/Call, After-Hr appointments)
  • Detailed client handbook
  • Diet and supplement counseling
  • Exercise program
  • Lab work done in office
  • Monitoring of your vitals
  • Monitoring of baby’s heart rate, growth pattern and position
  • Emotional support
  • Options, advise and resources
  • Childbirth classes included
  • Home visit at about 35 weeks for planned homebirthing clients
  • Perineal preparation guidance
  • Gentle, understanding, confidential care at all times

Prenatal

  • Gentle presence, care and support
  • Supporting partner as coach
  • Massage
  • Position suggestions
  • Water birth pool
  • Birth stool
  • Emotional and physical support
  • Monitoring contraction pattern
  • Monitoring baby’s heart rate and position
  • Skilled handling of the birth to prevent tears and unnecessary trauma or pain
  • Either parent helping to catch baby
  • Newborn exam, weight and measure
  • Breast/Bodyfeeding assistance
  • Quiet and unobtrusive monitoring in the hours immediately following birth
  • Promoting family bonding
  • Emergency medical equipment and care present and available if needed including newborn suction, resuscitation equipment for you and baby, medications for hemorrhage, and IV fluids

Labour & Birth

  • Home visit at 2 days postpartum
  • Office postpartum visits up to 6 wks postpartum
  • Paperwork for filing birth certificate
  • Physical and emotional support
  • Breast feeding support and counseling
  • Return to fertility awareness
  • Exercise counseling
  • PAP and Well-Person care options

Postpartum

Your midwife and assistants are trained in CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation and are prepared for emergency situations.

At any point during care – whether prenatally, during labor and birth, or postpartum, if circumstances arise requiring medical attention, you will be given options and support to facilitate medical consultation or transfer of care, depending on which is needed.
In the event that care must be transferred, your midwife will facilitate transfer of care, and be available for counsel, support and a comforting presence. Full postpartum follow up care is still completed with midwife.

Emergency Care

Homebirth Care

BORN TO BE LOVED

An Empowering Experience with an involved, skilled Provider who tailors care to your needs, your body and your preferences, monitoring the health and well-being of you and your baby physically, mentally and emotionally.

Find the service that is best for you

Waterbirth

If you are birthing at the Birth Center, our large bath is perfect for water labor and water birth.

If you choose homebirth, our portable waterbirth pool will be brought to your birth when the midwife arrives for your labor.

Our birth tubs and pools are deep, allowing clients to assume many positions for labor or birth, including hands and knees, semi-reclining, forward leaning, and more. They are also spacious enough to allow partners to join if so desired.

Waterbirth

Called by many, “The Natural Epidural,” water is an excellent option for labor, especially for first time or VBAC labors since they are often longer on average. But even for fast births, having the pool option available is wonderful, as quick labors can prove to be incredibly intense.

VBAC

Did you know?
Studies show that over 95% of those who TOLAC will labor without scar problems, and will VBAC safely and successfully despite having factors that diminish their odds, including those with:

  • more than one prior cesarean
  • prior cesarean for labor dystocia
  •  macrosomic baby (weighing 4000g or more)
  • advance maternal age
  • high body mass index (BMI)
  • longer pregnancy duration
  • single-layer uterine closure at the prior cesarean
  • thin scar
  • prior preterm cesarean
  • short interpregnancy/interdelivery interval

Rates of scar rupture depend heavily on labor management. Studies point towards scar ruptures often being caused by:

  • induction with an unripe cervix
  • induction using prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)
  • induction with misoprostol (now contraindicated)
  • high oxytocin dose
  • duration at high oxytocin dose
  • any other artificial augmentation of labor
  • Studies show that in the absence of labor-altering drugs, a uterine scar that has remained intact during pregnancy is very likely to remain intact through the birth

Did you know?

Studies and statistics show that scar rupture and VBAC success rates depend far more on the care provider than on the person or the scar

Uterine rupture rate is shown to be between 0.0%-3.8%, depending on the study cited, with the majority of studies showing rupture rates of 0.06%-0.7%, even with:

  • multiple cesareans
  • all forms of previous incisions
  • artificial induction
  • artificial augmentation of labor

VBAC decreases maternal mortality by 9 per 100,000 births over ERCD

With full informed consent, a healthy, responsible person can be given the choice to VBAC at home after multiple cesareans.

Reference:

**Mind Body Birth has a $300 TOLAC/VBAC fee
      10% Discount for BIPOC and Queer Clients

What is VBAC?

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

Home Birth After Cesarean

VBAC

HBAC

Trial Of Labor After Cesarean

TOLAC

Faith Freeman has a heart for providing VBAC births to those who have delivered by cesarean.

She delivers multiple VBACs yearly, and is willing to discuss options with people that have complicated cesarean histories to see if they qualify for VBAC.

Collaborative Care

Prenatal care

Labor + Delivery Support

postpartum care


Regular hour-long prenatal sessions:
   ~ client questions
   ~ birth options + counseling
   ~ birth preparation education
   ~ nutrition and supplement support
   ~ options, advice, resources
   ~ lab + ultrasound testing and review
   ~ ideal baby positioning
   ~ body health + movement
Detailed client handbook​
24-Hour On-Call access (Text/Call)
Emotional support
Childbirth classes included
Gentle, understanding, confidential care at all times



Virtual support and input as desired and needed throughout birthing experience with your hospital provider.




3-4 visits over 6 weeks postpartum, including:
   ~ breastfeeding support
   ~ emotional processing + mental health support
   ~ healing your body + regaining mobility
   ~ herbal support
   ~ family planning options + education
   ~ parenting support + community

Pre-Conception Preparation

Our initial visit is a detailed medical and personal history and check, lab work and initial guidance and recommendations, including below:

Menstrual history review
Supplement and Nutrition initial review and recommendations
Lab tests drawn
Full/partial physical as desired/recommended




Approximately 2-4 weeks after our initial visit, you come for your follow up visit to review your lab work and cover our individualized care plan that we have prepared for you, including below:

Detailed supplement and nutrition recommendations
Possible additional holistic support services recommendations
Education, support and informed choice

01. Initial Visit

02. Care Plan Review Visit

03. Follow Up Visit

04. Contact as Needed

05. Additional Visits

Our follow up visit is approximately 2-3 months later and includes a follow up physical and symptom evaluation, follow up lab work and review. This informs how the initial care plan is working for you and if any updates or additions should be made.

Clients receive a portal login and are able to reach out to midwife as needed with updates and questions in the times between visits.

To be scheduled as recommended by midwife or desired by client.

IUI & Fertility

Planning session(s) to discuss:

     ~ options
     ~ preparation
     ~ timing
     ~ preferences

Supplement support
Lab tests
Emotional support
Gentle, understanding, confidential care at all times

Before the Procedure

Procedure Care

After Procedure

Available for follow-up questions as needed

Lab testing for possible needed blood work

Supplement and nutrition suggestions

On call for client for whenever LH surge is detected

In-home placement options

Gentle presence, care and support

Supporting partner involvement/placement as desired

Involving you in procedure (placing your own speculum if desired)

Respecting body autonomy and preferences at all times

IUI & Fertility Services

IntraUterine Insemination ~ caring, informative and in-home care for families pursuing pregnancy.

Well Person Care

options for care

  • Physical Exam
  • Specific exams for concerns or questions
  • Lab work including:
  • Hormone, STI, Self-Guided PAP testing + More
  • Fertility and birth control education
  • Involving you in any procedures (placing your own speculum if desired)
  • Respecting body autonomy and preferences at all times

Well Person

Helping you learn how to keep yourself healthy and balanced.

We believe that compassionate, respectful birthing care is for every body. 

Have more questions?