Gerri Ryan, C.P.M., L.M., FACCE, CLE - Gerri Ryan began her process of midwifery in the late nineties. She successfully completed the Seattle Midwifery School Challenge Process and is licensed as a midwife by the Medical Board of California. 
She is a Certified Professional Midwife with the North American Registry of Midwives. She began practicing midwifery in 2003 independently.
Gerri started attending births with family and friends in 1976 and in 1995 took on the role of professional doula. She is a lactation educator and Lamaze certified childbirth educator. She is the founder of San Diego Birth Network as well as a nationally recognized DONA approved doula trainer. She is presently the Chief Operating Officer and a lead instructor for the Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery. Gerri believes that the ability to birth is deep in every woman. When women have confidence in their own abilities, the encouragement and freedom to tap into their innate wisdom, and have the loving support of family, friends and professionals who believe this too, they will truly have a satisfying birth. Please contact Gerri for your free consult at (619) 957-0910.
Marla Hicks, RN-BC, C.P.M., L.M. - Marla Hicks began practicing midwifery in 1979 after working extensively with midwives and physicians
attending homebirths. She successfully completed the Seattle Midwifery School Challenge Process and is licensed as a Midwife by the Medical Board of California. She is a Certified Professional Midwife with the North American Registry of Midwives and is one of only a few registered nurses in the United States holding ANCC-board certification in Perinatal Nursing, the high-risk obstetric nursing specialty. Marla has attended over a thousand homebirths as a senior midwife and has also worked in hospital labor and delivery units, ambulatory care settings and a free-standing birth center. She is passionate about preserving homebirth as a safe choice for pregnant women and their families and is firmly committed to educating future midwives through direct-entry and nurse-midwifery educational programs. She is presently the Program Manager and a lead instructor for the Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery. If you're interested in a free consult, please contact Marla at (619) 316-1318.
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Heather LeMaster, L.M., C.P.M., Monitrice - She truly believes that birth is natural and one of the most special times in a woman's life. It was her own positive and empowering birth experience that motivated her to be a Midwife. Heather has been a doula since 2003. She began her Midwifery education in a hands on apprenticship in 2006 and joined Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery in San Diego in 2007 and graduated in 2010. She is licensed as a Midwife by the Medical Board of California. She is also a Certified Professional Midwife with the North American Registry of Midwives. Please contact Heather for your free consult at (619) 565-8831.
Airalia Keime LVN, CYT is an Intern Midwife with the Center for Natural Birth where she works with her own homebirth clients under the supervision of a licensed midwife. She is a California Licensed Vocational Nurse with a strong background in hands-on patient care. Airalia is an accomplished herbalist who uses this knowledge to provide treatment to her clients and to support their well-being throughout the pregnancy and into the postnatal period. As a Certified Yoga Teacher, she specializes in prenatal yoga and uses this to help her pregnant clients stay centered and relaxed in their ever changing bodies. Airalia is a placenta encapsulation specialist and offers this service to all clients at the Center for Natural Birth in order to speed postpartum recovery and healthy lactation. Airalia is passionate about homebirth as a safe and supportive choice for pregnant women and their families. It was her own beautiful experiences with natural birth and homebirth during her three pregnancies that gave her a deep respect and reverence for the birthing process. She sees birth as a deeply empowering rite of passage available to all women, and she carries this passion into the caring and supportive environment that she provides to all her clients. For a free consult with Airalia, please contact her at (619)977-8831.
Sherry Evans is the newest member of our team. Her journey to midwifery began after attending the midwife assisted births of both her niece and granddaughter. Sherry’s long-held belief in the body’s wisdom and ability to do what it was designed to do was affirmed by those amazing births, and it became clear that helping women and babies to have the most natural, empowering, birth experience possible was her calling. She is a DONA trained Doula, a Certified Massage Technician, a Student Midwife at Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery, and a midwifery apprentice. Please contact Sherry at 760-943-1875.
