Takeaway: Call Community Birth Works asap! They are amazing. Three and a half years ago my partner and I were pregnant with our first child and exploring the idea of a homebirth. My mom and grandmothers all had c-sections, so I held a narrative that my body just wasn't made for a natural birth. I didn't want that to be my narrative, but when I toured the hospital, I wasn't sure I'd be able to fully relax there. We started interviewing midwives. Cynthia and the team (back then it was Hannah) answered all of our questions about emergencies confidently and gave examples of worst case scenarios and how they handled them in the past. My epidemiologist's mind was put to ease. Next they shared about their prenatal, birth, and postpartum care and I could feel my body relax. I was so excited to sign up for a home birth. While pregnant with our first we planned and had a wedding and were doing major home improvement projects all while working full time. Their sage advice and loving care during prenatal visits helped me manage my stress and health. Our first birth was fast and furious and we got to bring our little one into the world with a water birth. Something I had dreamed about since I was 14! I had broken the narrative. A couple years later Cynthia supported us through a miscarriage and then, finally, the pregnancy and birth of our second daughter. As soon as we found out I was pregnant I emailed Cynthia to save us a spot for Summer 2023 :) It was so wonderful to have our prenatal care visits in their nice outdoor yard while lying on a chaise lounge. While I was sad Hannah had taken a leave, we loved working with Cynthia's new partner Sophia just as much. Sophia is fun, knowledgeable, empathetic, and most importantly an extremely skilled midwife. She expertly coached my partner how to catch the baby during my pushes. Their student midwife Sonia was a blessing to work with as well. We liked her so much that we even hired her as our doula and she was my rock during all my challenging back labor contractions. Cynthia, Sophia, and Sonia's amazing combination of coaching, support, friendship, and care got me through morning sickness, naturally managing gestational diabetes, spinning the baby during back labor, navigating planning the birth with a 3 year old in mind, and supporting us during a stressful first few weeks since baby came 3 weeks early. Having prenatal care where the partner is so deeply involved in each visit I believe truly makes for improved co-parenting once the baby arrives! We feel so fortunate to have had the care, expertise, compassion, guidance, and confidence that we found in the Community Birth Works team. We couldn't be happier with our experiences through pregnancy and of course the support and outcome of our two home births. We encourage anyone who's considering home birth or looking for outstanding midwife care to consider CBW. They are the best! :) PS Also want to give a shoutout to Isele - the CBW administrator who supports clients with all the forms, paperwork and billing support in a prompt and professional way - they are always super helpful. And Maggie who supports CBW clients with insurance billing and reimbursement. She's an important part of the operation to make CBW more accessible to folks. read more

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I am so thankful to have found Community Birthworks, Cynthia, Sophia, and their amazing team, who helped me to have a home birth to deliver a beautiful baby girl. Cynthia is very experienced and always gave me sound advice and reassurance. Sophia's friendly and open nature always made me feel at ease, and helped me realize that giving birth is not scary, but actually very beautiful. They were open to our values and ideas and were always flexible. It was my first pregnancy, and their help made me feel very comfortable. The most important thing is that their postpartum care was excellent. I am so grateful that they came to my home and gave me all kinds of help, from breastfeeding advice to how to interact with my baby. Especially since I came to the US as an immigrant, my husband is the only family I have, and without them, I would not have been able to survive my first time giving birth and taking care of my newborn. They are an amazing team that not only focuses on taking care of your body, but also making sure you have as much peace of mind as possible. If I ever have another baby, I would definitely go back to them. read more

Community Birth Works - Midwives Near Me - Oakland, California

Working with Community Birth Works was the most healing, transformative, empowering experience of my life. In my own personal reflection on pregnancy and childbirth, I found myself summing of my experience quite simply, "I am more whole now. We intended to catch a baby, but ended up catching a part of my lost soul." I met Cynthia and Sophia carrying both a lot of trauma and lofty dreams of what childbirth could be. I have always wanted to experience a home birth but was talked out of it, primarily because of the financial investment. Not only was the financial investment beyond worth it, I plan to set up a recurring annual donation to Community Birth Works because every person deserves to birth with the confidence, dignity, and abundance of kindness that they offer. Cynthia and Sophia call themselves "Community Birth Works" and they are undoubtedly community health care at its finest. We have 4 other children and it was astounding how gracefully they worked in spite of a room full of children and adults. My 7 year old daughter sat behind me with her hands cupped patiently waiting to catch her baby sister. Understandably, she cried and startled at times when a powerful surge caused fluid to gush out of me. Sophia, like the wise, talented, multitasking midwife she is took care of me, my birthing infant, and my 7 year old daughter all at the same time. We will forever be grateful to Community Birth Works for helping us write our own story where we were always at the center of the narrative, no matter the challenge or circumstance. (Bonus-- they speak Spanish and were flipping between languages in the hight of birth to accommodate my Cuban- American family). Like so many others writing long reviews, it is a supreme challenge to eloquently summarize such amazing health care. Regardless of the unique circumstances of your pregnancy, I am confident Cynthia and Sophia will make you feel seen, listened to, and cared for with the ideal combination of superb clinical skills, in depth knowledge, genuine caring, and a touch of intuition that can only be gained with experience --- I call them my "wise women." Please join their community because it is truly a community. They don't just birth babies -- they birth parents and new families. You will be seen, heard, and cared for with such incredible compassion and skill that the bar for healthcare will rise for the rest of your life. In addition to hour long visits they share an abundance of resources from pre- and post- natal groups, to educational newsletters, to lactation support, nutrition education, and anything else you need. The only hard part about working with them is that you will fall so in love, you will want to keep seeing them forever (*which is even possible bc they have annual get togethers!). My 7 year old daughter turned 8 a month after our daughter was born and she asked to invite two people to her party: a close friend and Sophia. I am the mother of 5 children and a nurse at UCSF --- I've had an abundance of experience with healthcare, pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care. Nothing begins to compare to the care I received with Cynthia and Sophia. I am forever changed... I feel more at peace in my body and more guided by an internal compass of kindness and hope. However you end up referring to Cynthia and Sophia -- wise women, intuitive healers, progressive leaders, liberal badasses, angels on earth --give yourself the gift of working with them and supporting healthcare for the people. It will change your life and become a part of you. We are forever grateful. read more

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After having my first in a hospital and experiencing trauma, I wanted the birth of my second child to be different. I was focused on changing the outcome and little did I know that Cynthia and Sophia would change me forever (in a good way). The attention and care they have for their patients is radical. It is truly an empowering experience. We are lucky we live in the Bay Area with many options for midwives outside of the hospital systems, but Community Birth Works has a team of highly caring and experienced midwives and staff. I have a condition which required parallel care with perinatologist and other specialists. Cynthia and Sophia were upfront and kind with what outcomes were possible and when the time came, they guided me to a successful vbac The most profound difference with the model of care from Community Birth Works is the postpartum care. The only regret I have is not reaching out sooner, and have Cynthia and Sophia as my midwives for both my children's births. I am forever grateful to have found them and changed my outlook on birth. If you are contemplating a home birth please reach out to the team and I am sure you will be quickly convinced that you are in the best hands with this team. read more

Sophia has delivered two of my babies now. I would not go anywhere else. Cynthia was such an amazing help throughout my pregnancy. Sonia during my birth was beyond helpful. This is literally the dream team every birthing person needs. read more

Community Birth Works - Midwives Near Me - Oakland, California

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Just had an ultrasound done here with Cynthia Banks. This place is full of so much LOVE and good energy. Cynthia was pleasant, soft spoken, patient with all our questions and very informative. We were even able to bring our daughter to the appointment. They are also very connected with the home birthing community with new mama retreats flyers, birth classes and so much more. I would highly recommend this office for all midwifery care and new mama support! Thank you again Cynthia! read more

You cannot find a better care team than Community Birthworks. I never knew before working with them that healthcare could be so empowering and life-changing. It is not an exaggeration to say that my experience with them has changed my life - down to my fundamental understanding of and trust in my body and self. This is the experience I wish every birthing person in the world could have. I am a first time mom, and my pregnancy was full of trials. Cynthia and Sophia (and student midwife Sonia!) were there for me every step of the way. In fact, I am completely confident that without their love, kindness, knowledge, intuition, and guidance, I would not have been able to have the incredible birth experience that I did. After so many struggles, I was able to have an uncomplicated, beautiful, empowering, and incredibly profound home birth. They bring so much experience and knowledge to their practice. There is not a lot that they haven't seen and dealt with, so it is easy to feel comfortable and build trust. They are direct, honest, and non-judgmental in every communication. Community Birthworks also provides well-rounded care, with Isele providing great information, communication, and resources. Their referral network for lactation consultants, nutrition specialists, and all things health-and-wellness-related is wonderful. In fact, when my milk didn't fully come in after the birth and our baby lost too much weight due to complications with a tongue tie, they made sure that I immediately saw a lactation consultant, checked in every day, and helped to find us donor breast milk. I am now able to feed my baby with my own milk supply as a result of these early actions and support. Cynthia and Sophia will absolutely be our first call for any future pregnancy! read more

Our experience with Cynthia began in May 2016, when I was seven weeks pregnant with our first child. She provided strong, non judgmental, empowering care throughout my pregnancy (see details below). We gave birth in our home, at 41 weeks, to a beautiful baby girl--in exactly the way we had imagined. As a testament to her practice, we have decided to a) turn to her as my PCP moving forward (who wouldn't want high quality care year round?) and b) return to her with our anticipated second child. Experienced: Cynthia has been caring for women and catching babies for so long that there is little she hasn't seen. It felt so comforting to be able to turn to her with our questions... and in instances where she didn't have answers, to have her email us back the next day with the outputs of her research. In addition, during the pregnancy and labor itself we were confident that she would be able to diagnose problems early (if they arose) and get us to the hospital on time... which was a critical factor in our decision to have a home birth. Non judgmental: We felt like we could ask Cynthia anything--quite literally anything--and she would council us with love and thoughtfulness. I'll stop there. Empowering: The most memorable moment of my life was when, during transition (and 24 hours into my labor), I turned to Cynthia and told her I don't think I could do it. She responded with what seemed like all the women matriarchs I'd ever known: "yes you can." I don't have a better way to describe the trust she commanded that helped me bring baby Z into this world. read more

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Cynthia was our midwife for both of our children's births. There are not enough words to express how exceptional our experiences have been. 1st Birth 2015 - As nervous first time parents we interviewed numerous midwifes before we sat down with Cynthia. Right away we knew she was the one for our family. Her credentials were very impressive but it was how she interacted with us that made us want to work with her. She never made us feel that our questions were silly or spoke 'down' to us. Our big concern was safety and not once did we feel that those boundaries were pushed or that our care was lacking. Both my husband and I felt empowered, safe and confident in our options/choices throughout the whole process. 2nd Birth 2018 - We knew right away that we would hire Cynthia again for our second birth. While we had a better understanding of the processes and procedures this time around we still encountered new things that needed to be addressed, discussed or reviewed. She helped us navigate all this with the highest confidence and ease. Both our wonderful births far exceeded our expectations and I give a lot of that credit to Cynthia. If you are looking for a midwife contact Loving Way Midwifery. You won't be disappointed. If anyone wants to discuss my experiences, leave me a comment to my review and I'll happily get back to you! read more

I'm writing this review as a reflection of our experience with Cynthia during the recent birth of our son. As other reviewers have said, the very first thought my partner and I had when we started meeting with Cynthia and her team was "why didn't we have this type of assistance from day one", but as the saying goes - you live and you learn. If you're in the process of determining whether seeking the services of a professional and seasoned midwife is for you, I hope this review will help you. Whether you're planning a hospital, birthing center, or home birth - you simply need a midwife. I realize that health care coverage and monetary factors unfortunately come into play for many couples, but if you're able to, just start working with a midwife team as soon as possible, you will not regret it, I can guarantee it. Especially if you're expecting for the first time, more powerful than googling yourself into a mental state that's not healthy or productive, a midwife is your source of medical and empirical knowledge that will assist you on your path to parenthood. We had gone to see a regular Doctor for the first few months, but then decided to go with a midwife, and to this day I keep telling my partner that it was the smartest decision we made throughout the entire pregnancy. Our birth experience was the exact opposite of what we had planned for, but as most new parents will soon find out, there is no plan - there's only a baby being born, and that will happen at the pace, under the circumstances and environmental factors it chooses to. That being said, we had many curve balls during our progression, and if it hadn't been for Cynthia and her team, I'm sure both my partner and I would have 20% grey hair now. Instead, we can gratefully report that Loving Way Midwifery assisted us in literally every single moment and decision when it mattered. They enabled us to feel supported, educated us on critical points that we needed to understand as we were forced to make additional treatment choices. In the end everything worked out as great as we could have wished for: both my partner and now new mother and our baby boy are healthy and doing great!! We will be forever grateful for the support we were given, and are inspired by the logic, wiseness, and positive aura Cynthia helped facilitate. read more

I can't imagine that this review could possibly do justice to the magic that is Community Birth Works. Cynthia and Sophia, and their brilliant team, assisted me in having the most powerful home water birth of my dreams! The midwives at CBW most importantly posses the breadth of education and experience that made me and my baby feel very safe and cared for. Our family's pronouns and queerness was 100% honored and respected. Our four year old was lovingly and thoughtfully included in every step of the process. All of our questions were answered, consent was used, and our appointments felt leisurely instead of rushed. The support we received from the midwives during what turned out to be a difficult postpartum was invaluble. Communication was always smooth and prompt. Deciding to hire the team at Community Birth Works was easily one of the best decisions of my life. Cynthia and Sophia have gone the extra mile for us and we will always consider them part of our family. read more

We are incredibly grateful to Cynthia and Sophia for their skill, devotion, and generosity. Their support during my pregnancy and postpartum, as well as at the births of our children was profound. We will always be grateful for the enormous gift they have given our family. The quality of care they provide is remarkable, and all the more so in pandemic times. Our children had beautiful, peaceful births in their care, and their kindness and attentiveness helped me tremendously in the postpartum period. We can't recommend them enough! read more

Cynthia was my midwife during my second pregnancy and now again with my third. I absolutely love working with her. She provides such outstanding care and is a genuine, warm and caring person. I truly look forward to our home visits and still can't believe how lovely it is to be able to receive such a high level of care in the comfort of my own home. Due to the nature of home visits, I've really enjoyed being able to involve my children in this process and relationship with Cynthia as well. Cynthia is very professional and knowledgeable. She has always been able to answer our questions and put our minds at ease with research and fact based answers. My husband and I have a lot of trust in her and believe we previously received, and are currently receiving, the best care for myself and our baby. read more

Thank you to Cynthia and Sophia for giving me the exact birth experience that I had imagined. I gave birth to my sweet baby boy in April 2022 at home. From the beginning of the pregnancy through dealing with gestational diabetes, and ending in a beautiful home birth, Cynthia and Sophia were there every step of the way. I could not have wished for a better team to guide me on this amazing journey. I truly felt that their goal was to provide compassionate, patient centric, and evidence-based care. I also really appreciated the steps they took to protect themselves and their patients in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic. I highly recommend this midwifery team to anyone considering a home birth. Their thorough approach to prenatal care, the birth, and postpartum care is exceptional. Thank you Cynthia and Sophia for everything you did for me and my family! I would not have changed a single thing about this amazing birth experience. read more

It seems silly now, in retrospect, to think that my husband and I were listing the pros and cons of working with a midwife vs. an obstetrician for the birth of our first child. Working with Cynthia and her team was unquestionably the best decision we've made so far as parents. She helped to bring our son into the world with wisdom that comes from her tremendous experience, combined with a loving attention to each moment as it transpires. We felt personalized care in a way that neither my husband nor I had experienced with a healthcare provider before. For Cynthia this was not about protocols or routine...this was about guiding us through a process that was entirely unique to us, special and new, in a way that supported our values while ensuring our safety at every step of the journey. We chose an "on land" birth here at home, and requested watchful support during the third stage of labor with an IV line placed beforehand for easy drug delivery just in case. My labor was long and there were several complications... none required hospital transfer and each were handled gracefully with such calm wisdom. I felt such an unwavering trust in these women during the whole process. Cynthia serves as a mentor and teacher for apprentice midwives - Jeannie is her current apprentice, and is an exceptionally talented and thoughtful person who often did a significant amount of the hands-on care under Cynthia's close watch and guidance. We felt this was a great example of how Cynthia, at this point in her decades-long career, is helping perpetuate a future generation of exceptional midwifery care. I also know from my own medical training (and it's been shown via studies) that people who are cared for by a student-teacher team statistically have better outcomes. For this reason, I saw this as a plus. As a healthcare provider myself, it tends to be hard for me to "let go" under someone else's care...maybe because I understand the risks of childbirth first-hand. Cynthia and her team completely earned my trust and provided us with unparalleled care. We are so thankful to have found them and will most certainly seek Cynthia's services again for future baby #2! read more

Cynthia is truly a gifted, brilliant, wonderful midwife, and I am eternally grateful to her and her team for supporting me and guiding me through an incredible birth of my second child. I met Cynthia upon recommendation by a birthing class teacher during the final weeks of my pregnancy with my first child, when I was beginning to have doubts about my hospital-midwife and birthing at a hospital. Cynthia answered all of our questions with care, respect, and compassion. She demonstrated a level of understanding and confidence in me and my baby that I hadn't encountered with other caregivers. Though I was unable to take the final leap to a home birth for my first birth, one of my first reflections upon birthing my son was that I wanted to have a home birth with Cynthia for my second birth. So when I became pregnant with my daughter, Cynthia was the first person I called. The level of pre-natal care I received with Cynthia was exceptional and, largely due my trust in Cynthia and the confidence she fostered in myself, I was EXCITED to give birth (almost everyone found my excitement terribly odd, but not Cynthia!). Every question or concern was met with love and a thoughtful, heartfelt response. Her care transcended that for my physical body to include my heart and spirit. She ensured I was nurturing not just my unborn child, but myself, my husband, and my toddler. I always felt empowered by our sessions, and felt a sense of gratitude, confidence and ease. She kindly yet directly advised me in how to holistically address concerns of pre-gestational diabetes results and low-iron levels, and held tender space for concerns I had with introducing a new sibling to my son and well-intentioned family who had misstepped with respect to my birthing choices. She entertained my embarrassment with reporting several bouts of false labor with joy and encouragement rather than dismissiveness or fear. This level and type of care far surpassed any care I received during my pregnancy with my son. Once I went into labor, it was almost as if Cynthia went into labor with me. She knew EXACTLY where I was at in the laboring process on the physical level, and was present for me spiritually in way that words cannot describe. A moment that stands out during labor was when I was going through transition in the birthing tub, and Cynthia was sitting on the birthing ball several feet from me. I looked at her, and her piercing blue eyes and physical presence held me in a way that is difficult to describe. She was with me, I was safe, she saw me and knew exactly what was going on, I was doing beautifully. She then told my husband I would be having the baby in 30-45 mins. Right on queue, I birthed my daughter not 45 minutes later. Shortly after her birth, my daughter's breathing was fairly rapid. Cynthia handled this medical concern with ease and clarity. She encouraged me and my husband to talk to our baby and facilitated a wonderful time for us to bond with her and be present despite this medical concern, as she worked to ensure my daughter's breathing normalized with her loving touch and medical equipment. This was yet another time where I was blown away with the care given by Cynthia and her ability to guide me through the birth and first moments with my daughter that I wanted. I often wonder about how this medical concern would have been handled in the hospital and cringe to think that my daughter likely would have been taken from me when only consistent monitoring of the issue was needed at that time. Once my daughter's breathing normalized, Cynthia stayed with us longer than usual and gave us space to bond while checking in regularly to ensure my daughter was still recovering well from the birth and thriving. This week, I will have my last postpartum visit with Cynthia, and I will be very sad to not see her for regular checkups and checkins. I will continue to be moved to tears when I think of my daughter's birth and Cynthia's incredible, critical role in it. Should I become pregnant again, she will surely be the first person I call. read more

Cynthia and her colleagues provided all of my care starting at 24 weeks of pregnancy. I will always be grateful for the experience she provided me and my family. It's an experience that I wish upon any expecting mother. Cynthia is calm, insightful, and meticulous. She knows that bringing life into this world is more than the physical experience, and her care reflects her deep regard for the whole person. While pregnant, I especially appreciated our unhurried prenatal visits that went above and beyond the usual blood pressure checks and belly measurements. Our conversations ranged from my emotional adjustment to motherhood to the practicalities of setting up a baby friendly home environment. By the time it came to deliver Emily, I felt ready and confident in my ability to successfully labor, deliver, and care for our little one. I believe that Cynthia's home-based postpartum care was key to our positive early postpartum experience. Being known by my provider and the frequent reassurance that our new family was doing well, provided me the necessary confidence to not just slog through those early weeks-- but truly enjoy my transition to motherhood. Thank you so much!!! read more

I began working with Cynthia when I was fairly far along in my pregnancy, and I wish I had been able to work with her throughout! She was warm, knowledgable and inspired confidence. She addressed my concerns straight on and always respected my decisions. She provided information on all kinds of topics and worked with me to arrive at my own choices. I really appreciated that she was a certified nurse midwife, something I really wanted. She has worked in hospital settings as well as at home births, which was something I really wanted. I did end up having to transfer to hospital after I delivered because of a complication with my daughter and myself (unforeseen), and I was beyond grateful for her guidance while I made the transfer. She drove with my daughter's father to the hospital and made sure everything went smoothly. It didn't all go as planned, but I always felt safe and supported. Oh, and the support afterwards was invaluable. I cannot stress enough how important care if for the mother afterwards and what a bad job we do of that in our culture. Without Cynthia, I probably would have crumbled under my own post-partum depression and terror of raising a new baby. Bonus, she was able to work well with my mother who is a nurse practitioner (and was at the birth) but who was very skeptical of my decision to have a home birth. Cynthia was very respectful to my mother but made clear that she was in charge and would be making the medical decisions when my mom got antsy after the delivery. I really can't recommend Cynthia enough. read more