Looking for a midwife in Silicon Valley?

The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS CPM, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

Articles Written by Ronnie Falcao, LM MS CPM

British Medical Journal study shows that homebirth is as safe
as hospital birth for healthy women with a normal pregnancy:

Summary of the study

The study itself - abstract - full text

Additional homebirth safety references
 

gentlebirth.org is dedicated to providing information that will help families have the best birth possible - a safe, gentle, positive birth experience that supports happy, healthy families.
This site was created and is maintained by Ronnie Falcao, LM MS CPM, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, California.

This site hosts a number of midwifery-related Web pages:

The Midwife Archives - As a way of organizing my notes about information and wisdom shared on the various birth-related distribution lists, I created the Midwife Archives. Lately, I've been focusing more on including links to relevant sites.  Please visit the Midwife Archives for answers to many practical questions and for an interesting perspective on the mystical side of birth. [I also maintain an archive of the public-service announcements that have been featured in The Midwife Archives.]

Ronnie Falcao's Homepage - I'm a Licensed Midwife in Mountain View, CA, attending homebirth and providing doula/labor support in the hospital. Here's information about how to contact me.
 

Local Birthing Resources - primarily Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties in northern California.

Local Resources for a Healthy Pregnancy - various birth-related resources.

Notes for California Midwives - collection of information relevant to practicing midwifery in California, especially as a Licensed Midwife.
 

Some pages I've written:

Homebirth Benefits - Why Homebirth Is Most Appropriate for Normal Birth

Dangers of Hospital Birth - Why Birthing in a Hospital Causes More Problems Than It Solves for Normal Birth

Perspectives on Normal Childbirth - An article I wrote for the ICAN journal about my internship in an El Paso, Texas, birth center. I was astounded that they had a cesarean rate of less than 1% without compromising the well-being of the mother or baby.

Homebirth Safety and Benefits - Homebirth is as safe or safer than hospital birth in most cases; homebirth also offers intangible benefits beyond superior safety.

Information about VRE - Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus - It was recently reported that the antibiotic-resistant bacteria, enterococcus, has infected 100% of the surveyed hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Some pages I've formatted in co-operation with the authors:

Benefits and risks of episiotomy: A review of the English-language literature since 1980
A journal article by Robert J. Woolley, MD.

Is Homebirth for You?  6 Myths About Childbirth Exposed
An online version of the booklet originally published by Friends of Homebirth (Editor: Janet Tipton, 1990)

Writings by Jock Doubleday (president of Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.) have been moved to Jock's own site at spontaneouscreation.org--A series of thought-provoking articles about childbirth and alternative healthcare.
Jock also has a fabulous new book out - Spontaneous Creation: 101 Reasons Not to Have Your Baby in a Hospital, Vol. 1

Peter’s Theory of the Life There-after - Peter Paulay was/is my healthcare provider and spiritual teacher from 1991 to 2003, when he needed to focus on his own upcoming shift away from this physical existence on Planet Earth.  Using his language, he made the shift on June 5, 2004.