meet our Team

 

Nina Basker, LM, CPM

Philosophy

I come to this work because I believe in the power of healing through community care. Community midwives have always been at the heart of community care. Underpinning the Midwifery Model of Care is the belief that all people deserve affirming, culturally-competent, evidence-based care and that all people have the right to birth where they feel most comfortable. Collaborative decision-making, trust, and autonomy are the foundations of this model.

Inequitable health systems put our communities at risk for unnecessary interventions, poor outcomes, and lasting trauma. Alternatively, when we are nurtured by our communities, our caregivers, and health providers - the positive impacts reverberate for generations. Strong families grow from this support which in turn nourishes strong communities and generational healing. This is community care.

Families and individuals in my practice make truly informed decisions for their own health from a place of knowledge rather than fear or coercion, using clear, respectful, evidence-based resources I make available in my role as a midwife. The care model from which I orient, centers the physical and emotional needs of the client and allows for the normal physiological process of birth to unfold.

“I'm driven by a radical belief in the transformative power of these significant milestones. It's an honor to safeguard such thresholds, and a privilege to witness the profound healing and revolutionary joy ignited by these empowered and deeply embodied human experiences.”

Backgroud

My journey as a midwife began after the birth of my first baby, a roller-coaster experience which propelled me to explore ways in which I could shape my life to support people in my community through their perinatal journey and beyond. In 2015, encouraged by longtime friend and LA-based midwife Christian Toscano, I began my formal midwifery education at MEAC-accredited National Midwifery Institute. Commencing clinical training with a respected senior midwife, I later transitioned to training under Lea Ritter, and few years later, when Lea co-created a group practice in Sonoma county, I transitioned alongside her to work in the group practice until becoming a Licensed Midwife (LM) under the Medical Board of California and a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) under the North America Registry of Midwives. I currently reside in the sweet North Bay town of Fairfax with my family.


“I strive to always practice from the heart. Serving as a midwife is the greatest privilege of my life.”

Lea Ritter, LM, CPM

I am honored to call myself a Mother and Authentic Midwife. My home is in the quiet, bohemian town of Fairfax with my daughters, June and Sienna.

My passion for birth work began at a young age, I was born at home and was taught to view birth as a joyous family event.  I have always been drawn to spaces where women are in their full power.  I feel at home in the radical and profound world of untamed pregnancy, birth, and mothering.

I birthed June at the hospital and Sienna in a birth tub at home.  These two different births enable me to have a personal understanding of both choices.

My formal training includes 4 years of homebirth apprenticeship as well as international work in both Germany and Haiti. I was a staff midwife and clinical instructor in Salt Lake City Utah before moving back to the Bay Area in 2014.

I serve families throughout the Bay Area including Marin, Sonoma, Contra Costa counties, and San Francisco. As well as a Midwife I am a certified yoga instructor specializing in pregnancy and body image.