with woman
Astoria’s First Freestanding Birth & Primary Care Center
Welcome to Astoria Birth Center & Family Medicine. Our vision is simple:
When we fully support women and families, we all win.
Our nation is facing a difficult time with birth and healthcare in general. It is time to do better.
But how?
Birth:
As it turns out, the most effective solutions in prenatal, birth, and postpartum care are also often the simplest and most cost-effective, and they center around you. We believe everyone deserves a midwife. Evidence shows that when families start their care with a midwife, they are starting off on the right foot. Even if they end up needing a more acute level of care, and that does happen sometimes, families that start their care with midwives have better outcomes. Midwives keep the costs of healthcare down while improving outcomes across the board.
All of the nations in the world with the best birth outcomes have the same thing in common - care always starts with a midwife.
Primary Care:
Whether you are well and looking to stay that way, or sick and looking to get better, it is everything to know that your provider knows you and is taking a holistic approach to your care. No unnecessary prescriptions, no telling you what to do, no leaving the office wondering what just happened. Our primary providers want to get to know you, listen to you, learn what your goals are, and use their expertise in helping you achieve optimal health and wellness.
Founded by a family who is passionate about birth and health, supported by our community, and staffed by highly qualified holistic practitioners, we deliver a better option.
lead staff
Everyone, meet the dream team:
Dr. Carolyn Nygaard
ND, NM
Carolyn is our Medical Director. She is a Board-Certified Naturopathic Physician and Midwife. She has been providing primary care and midwifery services for 13 years and loves providing high-quality healthcare with a focus on optimizing wellness and preventing disease. She uses an evidence-based approach by treating the whole person through individualized treatment plans.
Corinne Reeves
CNM, WHNP
Corinne is our Clinical Director. She has been a nurse midwife since graduating from Yale in 2016. She has an additional certification as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. This means she has extra knowledge and training in pelvic and breast health. She has worked in both hospital and community-based settings. You are likely to find her hiking, camping, rafting, or doing anything outdoors when she is not at work.
Dr. Mariah Wharton
CNM, DNP
Mariah comes to us as a recent graduate of OHSU, one of the top midwifery programs in the United States. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in addition to her CNM, which means she has spent additional years in study and generating data and conducting research. Mariah also loves to be outdoors and is getting used to cold PNW winters as she grew up in Hawaii.
Kathy Tone
RN, BSN Retired, NRP Certified
Birth Assistant
Kathy has been an RN for 54 years. She has worked at Good Samaritan, St Vincents Hospitals, and labor and delivery at Providence Seaside. She is so grateful to be with families and help welcome their new babes in a safe happy place.
What You Need to Know About Nurse-Midwives
All Nurse-Midwives are Nurse Practitioners (kind of like how all OB/GYNs are all doctors) and practice independently in the state of Oregon
They are able to provide for all the basic needs of women’s healthcare
They can write prescriptions
They can perform procedures
CNMs can care for women throughout their lifespan (from the first period all the way through menopause)
This includes annual exams, cancer and STI screenings and PAP smears
They can provide fertility/infertility care and treatments (hormone therapy, IUI, conception counseling, contraception)
What You Need to Know About Birth Centers
Average 1-hour visits with patients
Complete client autonomy
Evidence-based, shared decision making
6% national cesarean rate (the national average is 33%)
A recommended option for healthy candidates
The Affordable Care Act mandates all insurances cover freestanding birth centers
Waterbirth available
Doulas offered as standard of care
Know your provider: same midwives for prenatal, labor, birth, and postpartum
Some care provided in the comfort of your home
Numerous comfort measures available for a natural birth
