Our Team
Beth Cannon, LM, CPM
My first inspiration on the path of normal birth occurred in 1983, when I was 12
years old. My oldest sister Mary decided to have a home birth. Her choice to do so
gave me the advantage of trusting birth from an early age. She exposed me to Ina
May Gaskin and Spiritual Midwifery. What an incredible gift this was…
Little did I know at that point of my life that I would be called to become a midwife!
In 1990, I was primary labor support to one of my other sisters, Jackie. Attending
the hospital birth of her son opened my eyes to the reality of the medical model of
birth. I was shocked at the routine and impersonal care that she and her son
received. That made an imprint in my mind with images that will never be
forgotten.
When I became pregnant in 2000, I knew that I wanted to be present in my body for the birth of my child. I knew that I would seek out midwifery care, and that I wanted to actively participate in my radical rite of passage into motherhood. My first daughter was born gently into water on Winter solstice and we had a beautiful birth center birth!
I am an advocate for birth options and informed choices. I was called to midwifery after the home water birth of my son in 2004. As luck would have it, doors opened for me naturally and I was asked to apprentice with the midwives who were present during my son’s birth. I accepted their offer, and jumped in! I enrolled in school atThe National Midwifery Institute and juggled the demands of apprenticing with a busy midwifery practice in Los Angeles, being a wife, raising my children as well as giving birth to another daughter (this time, on land!), finishing school, passing theNorth American Registry of Midwives (NARM) Exam in 2009 to become a CertifiedProfessional Midwife (CPM), and becoming a Licensed Midwife (LM) by theCalifornia Medical Board in 2011.
It has been quite the journey, and I feel fortunate and blessed to be at every birth that I am called to be at. I currently attend births with many midwives in LosAngeles, both Licensed Midwives, and Certified Nurse Midwives, as well as assisting Dr. Stuart Fischbein, an OB/GYN who attends breech and twin home births in greater Los Angeles and Southern California vicinity.
Teaching student midwives is another passion of mine. As well as having student midwives on my team, I host monthly student skills labs and have a wonderful cohort of students! I am a NARM approved preceptor and precept students fromNational Midwifery Institute, Midwives College of Utah, Nizhoni Institute andNational College of Midwifery.
Birthing Rhythm Founder
Beth Cannon, LM, CPM
The beginning of my path and interest in birth occurred in 1982 when I was 11 years old. My oldest sister Mary decided to have a home birth. Her choice to do so gave me the advantage of trusting birth from an early age. She shared Ina May Gaskin’s book Spiritual Midwifery. What an incredible gift this was…
Little did I know at that point in my life that I would be called to become a midwife!
In 1990, I was primary labor support, or doula, to one of my other sisters, Jackie. Attending the hospital birth of her son opened my eyes to the reality of the medical model of birth. I was shocked at the routine and impersonal care that she and her son received. That made an imprint in my mind with images that will never be forgotten.
When I became pregnant in 2000, I knew that I wanted to be present in my body for the birth of my child. I knew that I would seek out midwifery care and wanted to actively participate in my radical rite of passage into motherhood. My first daughter was born gently into the water on Winter Solstice, and we had a beautiful birth center birth!
I was called to midwifery after the home water birth of my son in 2004. As luck would have it, doors opened for me naturally and I was asked to apprentice with the midwives who were present during my son’s birth. I accepted their offer and jumped in! I enrolled in school at The National Midwifery Institute and juggled the demands of apprenticing with a busy midwifery practice in Los Angeles, being a wife, raising my children, as well as giving birth to another daughter (this time, on land!). I finished school, passing the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) Exam in 2009 to become a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), and in 2011 became a Licensed Midwife (LM) by the California Medical Board.
I am an advocate for birth options and informed choices. It has been quite the journey, and I feel fortunate and blessed to be at every birth where I am called to be. Throughout my career as a community midwife, I have attended births with several midwives in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, both Licensed Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives, as well as over a dozen years assisting Dr. Stuart Fischbein, an OB/GYN who attended breech and twin community births in Los Angeles and Southern California vicinity.
Teaching student midwives is a passion of mine. We need more midwives in our country and around the world. As well as being committed to having student midwives on my team, I have hosted student skills labs and have had the honor of working with wonderful cohorts of students! I am a NARM-approved preceptor and have precepted students from the National Midwifery Institute, Midwives College of Utah, Nizhoni Institute, and National College of Midwifery.
I have a private practice with my primary office located in Sherman Oaks, providing care to folks from fertility through postpartum, well-person visits, and educational sessions for pre-teens and teens.
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Lindsey Rei
Hi! I’m Lindsey!
I am a Los Angeles native who is passionate about advocating for and empowering pregnant people and parents.
As an educator, Mommy and Me teacher, and coach, I have been supporting families in various forms since 2001.
After the birth of my own daughter, I discovered how truly important it is to have a support system and village in place during these life changing moments. This experience ignited my passion for birthwork and initiated my journey as a birth worker.
Being an advocate and educator means that my goal is to make sure pregnant people feel supported in their pregnancy and birth experience. I want parents-to-be to feel heard and supported with this portion of their journey to parenthood.
Throughout my time as a doula, it became very clear that I wanted to be able to offer birthing people more options. When the need for more midwives became abundantly clear, I heard that calling loud and clear and immediately enrolled myself into midwifery school. I am currently in my first year at the National Midwifery Institute. I am humbled and honored to be learning from Beth and to be a part of the Birthing Rhythm Team.
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I am a Heart Led Spiritual Mentor Facilitator and Master Doula. My training began with ACHI and completed with ALACE. I focus on birth as spiritual, as a way to connect with all that is. Spiritual birthing and all that it entails is a way to release fear and emotional blocks in a way that allows for the most supportive, conscious, and aware birth. Spiritual birth is connecting with yourself and Source. I also bring, if desired, an emphasis on nutrition, aromatherapy, and lifestyle during pregnancy, birth, and delivery. I am a hands-on coach for birth parents and an extra set of eyes.
I feel that pregnancy is a spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical journey. A Birth Family’s thoughts and emotions, the emotional changes witnessed by the Partner and the physical/emotional changes the Birth Mother feels within her body, all impact how she chooses to birth her baby, which will set the tone for their future lives. These sessions help to provide the mother with a safe place, a haven where she can ask questions, speak freely, and gain advice and support. I hold the counsel of women in their journey at this most sacred time of life, giving guidance through the emotional aspect of pregnancy and labor.
In private sessions, I offer birth counseling for birth related issues, including preconception and planning your pregnancy, fear in labor, fear of death in labor, birth trauma (yours or your mother's) and postpartum concerns. I also work with couples fortifying their relationships. Phone and Skype sessions are available for those not able to meet in person for a fee.
I am here to serve, I am here to be a blessing to everyone with whom I come into contact by sharing my gifts. That might happen through music, teaching, arts, healing, dancing, writing, speaking, cooking, and even a gentle smile. I will be everything I have come to the planet to be, always striving to show the magnificence of the Divine. Truly everyone I meet is the Divine and together we can change the world.
I offer to you the sum total of everything I’ve learned as a world traveler, educator, circle facilitator, and leader of Sister Circles and Coming of Age Sister Circles and Rites of Passage, and mother - as it pertains to raising and mentoring girls and women to be profoundly activated, in tuned, strong, loving, grounded, luminescent in their lives.
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Tasha Boyd
LM, CPM
she/her
Jacqueline Natasha Boyd (aka “Tasha”) is a wife and mother, midwife, wellness enthusiast, musician, vegetarian, and founder of the birthing center South Bay Birth. Tasha has worked in the holistic health field for 18 years, after she left the music world to begin a journey of healing. She worked at a wellness center in Santa Monica where she began working with people from all walks of life who were seeking better health. During this time, Tasha became immersed in herbal traditions, natural health, massage, cleansing, and holistic treatment of diseases. While at the wellness center, Tasha worked with people who experienced infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, hormone imbalance, and reproductive health concerns. This experience, along with birthing two children at home with a midwife, were the catalysts for Tasha becoming a midwife herself.
Tasha is a Licensed Midwife (LM) by the Medical Board of California and a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). She holds an Associate of Science in Midwifery degree from the Midwives College of Utah, a MEAC accredited school, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Woodwind Performance from Florida State University. She maintains current certifications in Neonatal Resuscitation and Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers. Additionally, Tasha is a DONA Trained Doula, ICEA Trained Childbirth Educator and Placenta Encapsulator. Tasha has attended hundreds of births, and has been assisting babies into this world for 10+ years.
When not at a birth or with clients, you will probably find Tasha spending time with her family, reading a book or enjoying time at the beach.
Jennifer Buonamassa
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and am the eldest of 4 siblings and 16 grandchildren. My mother was a Lamaze instructor and taught childbirth classes in our home, so I grew up surrounded by expectant couples, becoming well-educated on the journey of natural childbirth. As a child I was so intrigued by birth, I would study my mother's birthing books and memorize her lectures. The seeds of becoming a birth worker were planted early in my life.
My husband and I were married in 2002, and we couldn't wait to become parents. We read everything we could get our hands on regarding pregnancy and enthusiastically took Bradley Method childbirth classes. Our experience during those classes brought us closer together, and really opened my eyes to the challenges of having an unmedicated birth in a hospital setting. With the support and guidance of a wonderful doula, I had the unmedicated births I wanted in 2004 and 2006, when we welcomed our boys into the world.
After working in various creative and administrative positions throughout my career, I decided that I needed a change. I wanted to forge a new path that provided me with the opportunity to make a positive impact in the world and empower women in the process. It was through my own birthing experiences that I decided to become a birth and postpartum doula, and furthered my education by becoming a childbirth, lactation, and newborn care educator. I'm passionate about educating and empowering families to have the birthing experience they want. I have experience with a variety of birthing methods including the Bradley Method, Spinning Babies, and Hypnobirthing. My call to midwifery began first as a whisper and then gradually grew, as I continued to witness the challenges that families face when birthing in a clinical setting. I enrolled in the National Midwifery Institute and am loving the journey of becoming a midwife. It is the most rewarding work I have ever known. I have a servant's heart and nothing fills me with more joy than supporting the families that we care for. I am so honored to be a member of the Birthing Rhythm Team.
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Jamie L Hatcher, CNM
Jamie is a Certified Nurse Midwife with a broad range of experience in hospital, birth center and home birth settings.
My journey to midwifery was a bit of a winding path. Growing up in Montana in the 90’s, I had limited exposure to the field of midwifery and wasn’t sure I wanted to pursue a medical degree. So I meandered through college learning bits and pieces about birth, but never quite connecting the dots. I then joined the Peace Corps where I served in Madagascar for 2 years teaching women in a rural village about health & family planning. Seeing how even simple knowledge empowered the women of my village had a powerful impact on me, and I knew I wanted to continue to serve women directly. This desire eventually led me to nursing school where I also joined a volunteer doula program. During the doula training we watched The Business of Being Born which led to my “aha!” moment & decision to become a midwife.
I completed my nurse midwifery training in 2014, and have since been catching babies and empowering women in birth centers, hospitals, and home! I feel honored to be a part of anyone’s birth journey, and strongly believe in providing respectful evidence-based care and informed decision-making.