Recommendations & Referrals
Doulas (birth, postpartum and breastfeeding support):
Solo practitioners / partnerships
Cori Pleune Many (20+) years of experience, DONA certified, certified lactation consultant and childbirth educator, trained postpartum doula ($$$$, sliding scale available)
Terry Richmond ($$$$)
Mary Esther Malloy ($$$$) Mindfulness focus
Megan Davidson Labor and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and author of Your Birth Plan:a guide to navigating all of your choices in childbirth. She has supported over 650 families at their births and over 1500 families prenatally and postpartum. ($$$$)
RK Doulas Kori Krysh and Raychel Franzen. Many years of experience with both hospital and home birth ($$$).
Brittany Revo Birth and postpartum doula and certified lactation counselor. She brings physical, informational, emotional, and sometimes spiritual support to the birth process. ($$ with sliding scale available)
Alaska McFadden is a Birthing Advocacy certified childbirth educator, certified lactation counselor, hypnobirthing and carriage house certified birth doula and homebirth midwife assistant. She also offers postpartum support and cooking. Alaska is a Queer cis woman. She believes in bringing ritual and humor to the birth space for a joyful and empowered birth. ($$, sliding scale available)
Jeanette Samyn + Mary Pless Brooklyn Birth Collective. Offer labor doula support, postpartum doula services, childbirth ed, newborn care classes, and lactation support. ($$, sliding scale available for BIPOC families, single parents, those who are unemployed or underemployed, and other marginalized communities)
Honeysuckle Doula Full Spectrum Doula (prenatal, birth, postpartum, abortion). ($ Sliding Scale available.)
Birdsong Specialize in Postpartum doula services. Offer postpartum prep classes and virtual postpartum planning sessions.
Collectives: Generally have doulas at a range of price points based on experience. Most services will speak with you about your needs and then match you with several doulas to interview and choose from.
Ancient Song Doula Services (sliding scale including possibility of free doula services for those who qualify)
Doula Project (sliding scale + full spectrum doula-ing including abortions)
Astoria Doula Collective (Queens based Fertility, Birth and Postpartum doulas)
Childbirth Education classes:
Birth Smarter: Group classes as well as on-demand self paced classes. Postpartum support groups, newborn care class, postpartum planning classes, “push prep” class, lactation/newborn classes. (Starting to return to in-person classes in Brooklyn!)
Leigh Kader Childbirth Education: Childbirth ed, virtual doula support
Mindful Birth (Mary Esther Malloy): Mindfulness based childbirth ed, parenting groups, prenatal/postpartum nutrition
Birth Day Presence: Classes and webinars on MANY different birth/baby/lactation related topics
Manhattan Birth (Tanya Wills, CNM): Childbirth ed, lactation/newborn care, infant CPR
Morgane Richardson: Feminist and Queer- centered childbirth ed
Birth Matters NYC – Group and private childbirth classes, birth refresher, lactation & newborn care classes and an on-demand, self-paced online course.
Acupuncture:
Dr. Julie Von Fertility and pregnancy specialist. Has been referred to as a “baby whisperer”
Stephanie Propper Perinatal Specialist (House Calls)
Jill Cherland (Soho)
Qi Li Acupuncture (UWS)
Dr. William Ng (UWS)
City Acupuncture, Community acupuncture (locations throughout MNH and BK)
Sarah Rivkin (Park Slope)
Rachel Esquilin Takes some insurance (Park Slope)
Brooklyn Open Acupuncture, sliding scale (Fort Greene)
Brooklyn Acupuncture Project Community acupuncture, sliding scale (Park Slope)
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy:
Sonia Reiter (Shares office space with me in Park Slope)
Sarah Ruvinsky (Home visits in Brooklyn)
The Lifted Lotus (Williamsburg)
Elizabeth Shaw at Thrive PT (Soho)
Renew PT (Union Square + W. Village)
SPEAR PT (multiple locations)
Body Work:
Massage:
Red Moon Wellness: Park Slope
MaMassage : Prospect Heights
Park Place Massage: Boerum Hill and West Village
Melt: Fort Greene
Chiropractors:
Dr. Beth Forgosh: Soho
Dr. Randi Jaffe: Gramercy
Dr. Suzanne McBride: Midtown East
William Walsh: Park Slope
Lactation consultants:
Grace Macnair (in-network with United Healthcare and Aetna)
Boober: offers same day lactation support house calls, inquire about insurance coverage
Pediatricians:
Slope Pediatrics (Rachel Frank and Amy Glaser)
Tribeca Pediatrics: Locations throughout Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Jersey City
Pediatric Associates of NYC: (Prospect Heights + Murray Hill)
South Slope Pediatrics: (Park Slope)
Dr. Stephen Adjl (Brooklyn)
New parent resources:
Birth Smarter 4th Trimester Survival group
Birth Smarter Comforting Touch for Babies (baby massage!)
Birth Smarter Online group for non-birthing partners
Kelly Mom: Great resource for breastfeeding questions/issues
Mental health:
Women’s Therapy Centre Institute
Cornell Women’s Reproductive Psychiatry
Lauren Ezell Minear MSW (body/food issues specialty)
Cobble Hill Counseling (at-home counseling available)
Books/Articles
Conception/fertility:
Making Babies: A Proven 3 -Month Program for Maximum Fertility by Sami S. David, MD and Jill Blakeway, LAc
The New Essential Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy and Birth by Stephanie Brill
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
Pregnancy guides (never read What to Expect!!):
The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama by Diana Spalding
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide by Penny Simkin
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth by Boston Women’s Health Collective and Judy Norsigian
Expecting Better by Emily Oster
A Child is Born, 4th Ed by Lennart Nilsson
Dos and Don’ts in Pregnancy: Truths and Myths by Nathan Fox: A great evidence based article in the Green Journal
Childbirth
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin: Great information about labor and labor support for both pregnant people and their partners
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick Read & Ina May Gaskin
The Doula’s Guide to Empowering Your Birth by Lindsey Bliss
Babies
The New Basics A-Z: Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent by Michel Cohen: Very common sense based book re the care and feeding of your newborn by a French trained pediatrician
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth: Sub optimally edited but still an excellent guide re what to expect week by week in terms of your baby’s development as it relates to sleep
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp
Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby’s First Year
Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
Other Web Resources
Birth Hour Podcast: Podcast with varied birth stories
It’s Conceivable: The path to parenting isn’t always straight, Blog dedicated to gay fertility, pregnancy and parenting.
Fertility Awareness Center: Informational site on natural methods of fertility awareness
Check It Out Guys, The ins and outs of Pap Smears for trans men
Beautiful Cervix Project teaches cervical self-exam and fertility awareness as a revolutionary path of promoting respect, confidence, and health. Amazing pictures of cervices through the menstrual cycle