Natural Family Planning – Take Charge Of Your Fertility

I had an unexpected change in my birth plan late in my third trimester with UCSD’s birth center and I was so stressed out about who would deliver my baby because none of their OB/GYNs were available. Thankfully, the universe conspired to bring me into Brooke’s midwifery practice. Everyone from my doula to my chiropractor recommended her, so I was ecstatic that she could take me on as a client! It turned out that Brooke was one of the most experienced and beloved midwives in San Diego. She actually helped to get the UCSD birth center started, was one half of the extremely well reviewed Mother to Mother midwifery, and now runs her own private practice where she supports mothers across their entire journey (including postpartum for regular OB/GYN needs) and trains new midwives (such as Brigid, who was also amazing). All that experience translated to an incredible intuition on what to do during pregnancy and labor, with the confidence to support you through any issues that might come up. I experienced an early rupture of membranes and Brooke guided me through it with natural remedies and without any pressure to speed things up, while checking on our vitals to make sure we were both healthy. As we entered the second day, she recommended a chiropractor who could help to naturally induce labor, and that worked like a charm! I had a speedy labor with no complications and no tearing, and welcomed my new baby safe and sound in my own home. It was a beautiful experience and I’m so thankful to Brooke and her team for making it happen! If you are considering a natural home birth and are low risk, I highly recommend Brooke and her team. When I first got pregnant, I knew I wanted a more natural birth (I had my first child in a freestanding birth center), so I thought UCSD was the best of both worlds: a birth center with the backing of a hospital in case anything went wrong. In practice, I felt like my pregnancy was treated and managed more like a disease; it seemed like decisions were made to avoid legal risks rather than based on the actual risk level of my pregnancy. Of course, complications can emerge anywhere, whether you decide to go with a hospital or home birth, but personally I wish I could go back in time and choose Brooke from the start! Oh and Brooke also has an amazing person on her team (Maureen) who helped us submit paperwork for state disability and insurance, and luckily we were able to recoup a significant portion of the fee from our insurance. That was the cherry on top!

I moved to San Diego when I was around 23 weeks pregnant and found Brooke to be our new provider for our third pregnancy. I had 2 previous unmedicated hospital births, and I was looking for a more holistic experience with a home birth. Brooke (and her assisting midwife, Brigid) could not have been more perfect for what I was looking for. She was happy to discuss any of my fears regarding home birth and put my husband and me at ease with the first facetime call we had since we were initially long distance. My birth was a wonderful experience, and I felt very held and cared for before, during, and after for those first postpartum weeks. They gave me all the tools to prepare for a home birth.These women are passionate about supporting a mother through pregnancy and birth and beyond, and I am so happy I found them!

Brooke Ray was my midwife for my two children and I highly recommend her. Professional, warm, great communication and fantastic professionally. She is knowledgeable and experienced and I refer everyone to her. The best!