• Breastfeeding support group and individual appointments through Northampton Area Pediatrics. Support group is open to all.
• Drop-in breastfeeding clinic and new mothers group at Mercy Medical Center
• Prenatal breastfeeding classes and breastfeeding and working classes through Cooley Dickinson Hospital and Mercy Medical Center
• Online breastfeeding support and community through the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog
• Breastfeeding support work through the Pioneer Valley Breastfeeding Task Force

When I was pregnant with my son I heard many stories about breastfeeding difficulty from other mothers, and I worried that I'd have trouble breastfeeding. To my surprise, I had a very smooth and rewarding experience nursing my son, due in part to having good support and resources for help. When my maternity leave was over I returned to work and pumped to continue to provide breastmilk for my son.

When my son was an infant I began learning more about breastfeeding, and was awed by the power of breastfeeding to protect the health of mothers and babies. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became. I soon decided to switch careers and become a lactation consultant.

It's a privilege to work with mothers and babies at such an important time in their lives, and I do my best to honor each family I meet by recognizing their unique needs and desires.

• Birth and Postpartum Doula Services, including day, weekend, and nighttime postpartum service
• Doula Training Workshops and Mentoring Program
• Creative Movement for Birth
• Blessingway Ceremonies
• Pre-conception Counseling

Women approach their pregnancies, birthing-times, and early months of parenting with such a wide range of beliefs, hopes, and personal history.

For some women, birth is an exciting physical/athletic challenge; akin to a high mountain ascent. While it may be daunting, there is also the potential for a meaningful inner experience, and ultimately an exhilarating victory.

For some, it is a spiritual or religious rite of passage; an invitation to deepen in faith and trust, and to welcome a new soul into their family and the world.

For some, it is a frightening unknown; a time to revisit and hopefully revise self-perceptions around issues of strength, power, knowledge, safety, and trust. Sometimes past negative experiences resurface during the pregnancy, prompting women to reach a new level of healing and resolution.

For some parents, birth is the passage into a much longed-for life as a family; the joyful welcoming of a child after uncertainties of infertility or assisted conception.

For some women, it is a solitary passage into motherhood. By choice or circumstance, single mothers are called upon to dig deep for courage and strength.

For most of us, birth is a marvelous homegrown hybrid of several of these meanings. As your birth doula, I'm interested in hearing what this pregnancy and baby are to you; and developing a deep understanding of how I can be of service to your growing family.

Families of all configurations, beliefs, and birth plans are welcome. I support women in home or hospital; natural, epidural, c-section, VBAC, birth after loss, birth for adoption, and multiples.

I've been honored to walk this path with women and families for over eleven years. While each birth is unique, there are also common themes in the passage. My role is to serve as an experienced companion and guide, supporting your highest hopes and shining a light on your own wisdom, courage, and strength.

(413) 586-0151 or
(413) 238-5595

• Home Birth
• Comprehensive prenatal / postpartum care
• Birth Doula Services (Kirsten only)
• Well woman care
• Pregnancy nutrition counseling
• Newborn screening exams for homebirth clients
• VBAC and Water Birth
• Breech and twin births
• Prenatal testing, lab work, & diagnostic referrals
• Contraceptive Fittings/Counseling

Midwifery is an art form – combining the arts of nurturing and guidance with current knowledge, science and evidence-based care. Our practice is based on the belief that the woman is the central decision maker in matters regarding her birth and her baby. Because of this, we respond to a mother as her caring and collaborative partner. We provide comprehensive prenatal visits – each appointment is one hour long – skilled guidance during labor and birth, and complete postpartum care for mother and baby. But what makes homebirth midwifery truly special is the value we place on connecting with a woman and her family to offer a deeper level of care. We recognize that each birth is a unique opportunity for a family to gently bring another person into the world.

Families come to choose homebirth for a variety of reasons. For some it is a deeply held belief in the naturalness of birth – a choice made long before the pregnancy even occurred. For others it is a desire for a change – a chance to heal from a previous birth experience or have the birth they have been told they cannot achieve in the hospital. Others still discover somewhere during their pregnancy a desire for a different kind of care – one that honors their unique wishes and needs as a birthing family. However you have come to consider a homebirth, we look forward to meeting you and discussing all the options available to you.

Tanya Rapinchuk, Midwife, CPM, Vermont LM: Tanya has been practicing midwifery for nearly fifteen years. She began her journey as an apprentice in British Columbia. After the homebirth of her first child, she returned to the Pioneer Valley to raise her son closer to family. She continued working with other midwives in the area and at the same time completed and later, student taught, the Massachusetts Midwives Alliance Midwifery Program. Shortly thereafter she completed a four-month clinical intensive at Casa de Nacimiento, a busy maternity center in El Paso, Texas. When she returned from El Paso she gave birth to her second child at home and later that year opened Sacred Birth Midwifery Care. Tanya is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and a Vermont Licensed Midwife, has been in continuous practice as a primary midwife for nine years, and has attended more than five hundred births during her career.

Kirsten Lane, Midwife: Kirsten has been providing birth services for the last five years. After completing her master's in public administration at the University of Massachusetts, she gave birth to her first child with nurse midwives at CDH. She went on to have a homebirth with her second child. She has completed the Stepping Stones to Midwifery program as well as Barefoot Midwifery/Hands of Light Traditional Midwifery Program. She is an ALACE trained doula and La Leche League leader. From 2002-2006 she maintained a busy doula practice and has attended more than 100 births in local hospitals. She still attends births as a doula, though less frequently. She apprenticed with Sacred Birth from the fall of 2004 - October 2006 and became a primary midwife/partner in the practice after completing a clinical intensive at a rural birth center in San Ignacio, Belize through the Arizona Midwifery Institute. She has completed all the requirements for the CPM and plans to achieve this designation in 2008.

• Relaxation: Massage during pregnancy, labor and postpartum.
• Comfort Tips: Ideas for a better night\'s sleep and more....
• Partners: Teaching techniques to help ease discomforts during pregnancy and labor.
• Gift Certificates: Make great gifts for baby showers!

It has been my pleasure to have worked with with pregnant families for over 8 years!

• Family Centered Home Birth
• Comprehensive, one-hour-long prenatal visits
• Attentive postpartum care after birth, at day 1, 3, 7 and 14 at your home
• Pregnancy nutrition counseling
• Cranio-Sacral Therapy at 39 weeks
• Newborn screening exams at home
• VBAC and water birth
• A wonderful experience and awesome care!

As midwives, we are the gatekeepers of the woman and family's experience.
We know the power of women and their ability to give birth.
We humble ourselves to the service of attending your birth in your home. There are no territorial issues, thus empowering a woman and her family to set the tone for their experience.
We strive to hold no preconceptions of how birth "should" take place.
We collaborate with other trusted practitioners, physicians and hospital based midwives to ensure comprehensive and safe prenatal, birth and postpartum care.
We also work with acupuncturists, psychotherapists, chiropractors, homeopathic and naturopathic practitioners, massage therapists, herbalists and doulas to create a holistic experience for your birth.
We understand that giving birth is the beginning of an even longer journey of parenthood. We support you through the transition from pregnant woman to nursing mother.

We at River Valley Midwives know that it is our chosen path to serve women, children and families.
We are aligned in our destined work, and honor the whole process of each individual's journey.
We have been attending women at birth for over 15 years.
We have never had a timed emergency, where mother or baby were in immediate danger.
We have never had a fatality of mother or baby.
We attend approximately 25-30 births annually.
Combined we have attended over 1000 births as midwives.

Jharna Harvey-Ahmai, RN

Jharna's first experience of homebirth was while attending a woman in Calcutta, India in the early 1980's. She was struck by the inability to tell who the midwife was, and who were the family members and supportive women of the neighborhood. At that time, Copenhagen Denmark was her home base and while there, Jharna experienced a culture where over 60% of the births were attended by midwives at home. Her interest and belief strengthened.

Jharna began her midwifery training in 1989 with direct-entry midwife Elizabeth Mazanec at her school in New Hampshire. Realizing that she wanted to go further in her training, she traveled to El Paso, Texas, where she trained at Maternidad La Luz. This clinic was located a mile from the Mexican border and served that community of women. After returning back to Massachusetts a year later, Jharna practiced independently until joining River Valley Midwives in 1993.

In 1999, Jharna became a registered nurse. She specializes in psychiatric nursing and works as an RN at Brattleboro Retreat, a private non-profit psychiatric hospital. She has a background in massage, herbalism and homeopathy. Jharna is married and together she and her husband Bush have two children who were born at home, several step-children and 2 grandchildren.

Kristen Bernard, RN

At the age of 18, Kristen set off to do New Mexico to begin her midwifery training, but was turned away by the school because she was too young!

Kristen began her midwifery training in 1987 with direct entry midwife Elizabeth Mazenec at her school in New Hampshire. Realizing that wasn't enough training to feel competent in birth, she traveled to England, where she attended a 3-year direct entry midwifery training through the University of Bournemouth. While living at the hospital, she attended over 250 births there and at home, and worked as a NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) nurse.

After returning to the United States, she worked as a baby nurse, and then completed the necessary training in the US to become a registered nurse (RN). In that capacity, she worked in Labor and Delivery at Baystate Medical, before joining River Valley Midwives in 1997. Kristen has an extensive background in massage therapy and specializes in newborn cranio-sacral therapy.

Kristen is married and together with her husband Dean, has two children - one she gave birth to at home, and the other baby she adopted from Nepal.

Chana Luba Ertel, Midwife Apprentice

Chana Luba Ertel’s journey to midwifery began through reading the classic book, Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin, many moons ago. She was amazed and intrigued by the miracle of birth and the beauty that women possess when surrendering to the power of birth.

Chana Luba studied herbalism at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine in Ithaca, NY in the mid 90’s. Her life path brought her to Israel to study Jewish Mysticism. While there, she entered the Birth Assistant Education Program at the Misgav Ladach Birthing Hospital in Jerusalem.

Chana Luba has been a labor assistant (doula) since 1998. She has been teaching Childbirth Education since 2000 and has trained over 100 women to be doulas through her Maternal Wisdom CAPPA Certified doula training program.

She is a CAPPA Certified Childbirth Educator, a certified DONA and CAPPA labor doula, a trained Hypnobirthing instructor, a Safe Passage Facilitator (trained in supporting survivors of sexual abuse through labor), and a CAPPA certified labor doula trainer. She has been an active member in the Green River Doula Network. She has recently completed the Farm Midwifery Assistant Program taught by Pamela Hunt and Ina May Gaskin. Her published writings can be found on birthing and Jewish web sites as well as printed publications.

Chana Luba shares her life with her supportive and dear husband Rafael. Her three children are her most prized accomplishments. They were born with empowerment, love and with the help of her wonderful midwives, Fran Ventre, Kristen Bernard, Audra Karp and Jharna Harvey-Ahmai.

• In-home consultations
• Workshops (call or email for current schedule)
• Demos for your group, organization, or conference
• Gift certificates available

I learned to love babywearing within hours of my daughter’s birth, and I love to share the joy and practicality of this ancient art with others. Babies need to be held and carried, and parents and caregivers need the freedom to go places and get things done. The solution? Babywearing!

A comfortable carrier allows you to work, play, look after older children, shop, cook, garden, walk the dog, and almost anything else you can think of… all while carrying your baby hands-free, and without the hassle of a stroller. Being carried stimulates baby’s vestibular system, eases the newborn’s night-day confusion, reduces crying, promotes healthy bonding and attachment, and provides the closeness and motion that babies crave. Babywearing is a wonderful way for partners, grandparents, and other caregivers to bond with and comfort your baby, too.

I work with families and caregivers to find the right carriers and to learn to use them comfortably and safely. It is my goal to help you to enjoy carrying your baby as much as you like for as long as she needs.