My daughter recently had her first child and, like all new moms, felt pretty clueless when issues arose around breastfeeding and postpartum healing. So she was very grateful to hear about the new Midwives and Wellness Collective, and began dropping in for its weekly lactation classes. Physicians don’t have the time to really attend to the many issues and needs of new mothers, so having a place like the Collective can make a world of difference for those experiencing the bewildering and stressful life of a young family.
I’ve written about Dani LaVoire before in connection to her work with home death care, and found it so fitting that she is also a midwife, and so sees her work as a guide in those two major transitions we all encounter; birth and death. Dani trained as a midwife 27 years ago and has always harbored a dream “to have a little Victorian house downtown where moms can be running errands with kids and can drop in, nurse their babies, get a snack and some tea, and then go on with their days.” She envisioned a hub centered around family and women’s wellness.
Dani worked in a midwifery practice until recently, but left to devote her time more to one-on-one care, to have the time to make a beef stew and take it on a postpartum visit, and be available to care for the client through the whole process. Shortly after leaving the other practice, friend and fellow midwife Carrie Kinsey contacted her, saying she had heard of a little Victorian house on Gurley Street that was available for a business to move in. Dani was resistant at first, but Carrie continued to nudge her, and so in February of this year the Midwives and Wellness Collective opened its doors.
Formerly a single-family home, the space now has a living-room area, a classroom and two treatment rooms. It offers many classes, including childbirth, lactation, prenatal and postpartum yoga, meditation and herbal medicine. The collective includes certified midwives Dani and Carrie, Stephanie Sandleben (a pelvic-floor health and yoga expert), naturopathic doctor Emily Wilson (author of a book on postpartum mental health), naturopathic doctor Rebecca Chatfield (offering full-spectrum family care with emphasis on pediatrics), an ultrasound technician, two assistants and many experts who come in to advise and teach.
The value of having a pelvic-floor therapist available on staff cannot be overstated, because many women suffer issues after giving birth that can be greatly improved with exercises and therapy. Stephanie offers one-on-one sessions plus prenatal and postpartum classes at what the Collective terms “community-care pricing,” just $10 per class. “I love Stephanie’s language around it,” shared Dani, “If you’ve just dropped your kids at school and you’re ten minutes late, just come. There’s no reason not to. No need for fancy yoga clothes. Just show up.”
The midwifery packages include all prenatal and postnatal care. The Collective’s intention is to offer all these resources under one roof. Dani and the other providers see themselves as collaborative rather than competitive. “The more hands we have to support families, the better. That’s why we’re here.”
The Midwives and Wellness Collective also hosts classes from the nonprofit Step Up for Kids, which Salli Maxwell started to provide community resources for young families. Every Monday morning at the Collective there is some sort of free educational activity, such as making a sensory toy, during which the teacher (usually a parenting educator) will share useful information about parenting and access to resources. Through these classes parents can learn about important parenting tips, sleep support and development milestones. On the first Monday of every month there’s a free baby-massage class.
The Collective is off to a great start and already has goals for expanding. Dani used to want to know and do everything around birthing, healthy family-rearing and wellness, but time and experience have made her wise to the benefit of being part of a group of experts who can collaborate, bring their respective strengths to the table and provide comprehensive care plans. Lucky are the moms who connect with this healthy, growing community at the Midwives and Wellness Collective!
To learn more, visit midwivesandwellnesscollective.com.
