For military mamas-to-be new to Monterey, finding out about your birth and postpartum options can be daunting. On top of the stress of moving and getting acclimated to your new home, you’re also dealing with researching your options to create a birth plan.
The best resource overview is the Birth Network of Monterey County’s online directory. There is no military hospital or clinic that delivers babies in the Monterey area, so even TRICARE Prime patients get referred to the network. Here are some key details about local birth options ranked from most to least commonly used by military spouses (but all have been recommended by new parents!).
COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA (CHOMP)
- BIRTH CLASSES: yes
- LACTATION CONSULTANTS: yes Note: there is no availability on weekends
- POPULAR PROVIDERS: Dr. John Fejes, Dr. Elizabeth Clark, Dr. Bradley Keith, Dr. Jennifer Zeidberg
- DISTANCE: Drive from La Mesa Community Center: 4 miles, 6 minutes without traffic; drive from Fort Ord commissary: 8 miles, 10 minutes without traffic
- ADDITIONAL INFO: 22.1%; early elective deliveries: 5.1%; made the 2023 Maternity Honor Roll, a level II NICU
- WHAT TO KNOW: This is the most frequently chosen local birth option by far. Many local OBs deliver here. They do not allow VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean).
NOTES FROM PARENTS:
“I originally chose CHOMP for the convenience of the location. A key tip is to be honest with your doctors and nurses—they are there to support you every step of the way. Honestly, the nursing staff was probably the best part, so kind and attentive! They also left you alone when you needed it.”
– February 2024 mother
“The OB accepted me about a month before my due date, which was key for a military family on the move. And when my baby needed to go back to the NICU a few days after birth (called the nursery at CHOMP), they gave us a room next to the nursery so I could stay close to my baby.”
– October 2023 mother
NATIVIDAD MEDICAL CENTER
- BIRTH CLASSES: no
- LACTATION CONSULTANTS:: yes, a team
- POPULAR PROVIDERS: Dr. Peter Chandler, Dr. Brian Aguilera, Dr. Soraya Esteva, but note that the deliveries are done by the doctor team
- DISTANCE: drive from La Mesa Community Center: 21 miles, 29 minutes without traffic; drive from Fort Ord commissary: 15 miles, 23 minutes without traffic
- ADDITIONAL INFO: 23.0%; early elective deliveries: 0.0%; made the 2023 Maternity Honor Roll, a level III NICU
- WHAT TO KNOW: This is the main area hospital that allows VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean) and has a very high VBAC success rate. The OBs rotate so you wouldn’t necessarily have a certain one there for your entire birth. They are a resident-teaching hospital so you have the option to have a resident at your appointments. Natividad offers the most advanced NICU in Monterey County, including two UCSF neonatologists/pediatricians. If you do not have a C-section, note that you may be sharing a recovery room with another mother and baby.
NOTES FROM PARENTS:
“I wanted a VBAC and had been referred to Natividad as the most supportive—we felt this. They require you to have a birth plan but have worksheets to help you through it. It’s good to know that you meet the whole doctor team so you have a chance of knowing who will be on-call when you deliver; however, if you are a new mother, it may get confusing because not all of the OBs agree on borderline levels from tests. We never experienced any judgment for care we accepted or denied. It was also helpful to have the best county NICU right there.”
– July 2023 mother
“We chose there because several local doulas I consulted as I moved across the country in early pregnancy highly recommended it. The head of the OB-GYN department told me that if their doctors recommended a C-section, it was because it was crucial. During a preeclampsia induction that didn’t look at all like what I pictured, the whole care team was amazing, and during recovery, even the MDs kept offering to change the baby’s diaper.”
– June 2023 mother
SALINAS VALLEY HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER
- BIRTH CLASSES: yes
- LACTATION CONSULTANTS: yes
- POPULAR PROVIDERS: Dr. Judy Honegger and Dr. Blair Tull, but note that deliveries are done by the doctor team
- DISTANCE: drive from La Mesa Community Center: 18 miles, 29 minutes without traffic; drive from Fort Ord commissary: 13 miles, 23 minutes without traffic
- ADDITIONAL INFO: 23.6%; early elective deliveries: 1.0%; made the 2023 Maternity Honor Roll, a level III NICU
- WHAT TO KNOW: They allow you to labor in a tub before your water breaks. They allow VBACs for good candidates.
- NOTES FROM PARENTS::
“I chose Salinas Valley because after looking at C-section statistics of local hospitals, they seemed to align the best with what I wanted out of a birth experience and facility. We had something pop up that needed closer monitoring and they referred us to Stanford’s satellite office on the same block in Salinas for extra ultrasounds. Highlights of my experience are absolutely the nurses. They were absolute rockstars and so supportive during labor and recovery after. The doctors were very supportive and balanced my wishes with what needed to be done for my and my baby’s well-being. Key tip: Try to be seen by multiple providers in the practice because who delivers your baby depends on who is on call that day.” – May 2024 mother
“When moving, I was 20 weeks pregnant and the majority of local OBs were booked. I lucked out by finally being seen at 30 weeks at SVMC Health Care for Women. My baby was born with a rare disease, and their NICU team came down and not only helped me navigate the shock of this diagnosis (that cannot be detected via ultrasound), but also advocated on our behalf to get him seen at Stanford Children’s Hospital.”
– September 2022 mother
SUTTER MATERNITY AND SURGERY CENTER OF SANTA CRUZ/ DIGNITY HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP
- BIRTH CLASSES: yes
- LACTATION CONSULTANTS: yes, a team
- POPULAR PROVIDERS: Tamara Belkin, CNM and Kathryn Millar, CNM, a midwife team and an OB team, with OBs on call as needed
- DISTANCE: drive from La Mesa Community Center: 40 miles, 41 minutes without traffic; drive from Fort Ord commissary: 34 miles, 35 minutes without traffic
- ADDITIONAL INFO: 26.4%; early elective deliveries: 5.4%; a level III NICU
- WHAT TO KNOW: They offer TRICARE-covered certified nurse–midwife support. They do not allow VBACs. Many can see the midwives (CNMs) but they also have OBs. If you are high-risk or go into labor early then you would give birth at Dominican Hospital, where they also offer a level III NICU with Stanford Neonatologists.
NOTES FROM PARENTS:
“We moved here when I was 33 weeks pregnant with my first child, and I chose Sutter because a friend of my sister’s (a coast guard spouse) had highly recommended it. The group of CNMs (midwives), as well as all the nurses and office/birth center staff at Sutter are amazing, patient, friendly, accommodating, and helpful. Despite a very long and painful labor, I had a wonderful birth experience overall and felt my preferences and birth plan were honored. It was the perfect mix of holistic and medical approaches for me. When I found out I was pregnant with my second child and we’d still be in the area for the due date, I was so happy and relieved to be able to stay with the midwives at Sutter! Although it’s a bit of a drive, it is totally worth it if you’re looking for midwifery care and/or more of a holistic birth experience while still in a medical setting. The office and birth center are on the closer side of Santa Cruz, and there is a lab and office in Watsonville, which is a bit closer for some of your prenatal appointments.”
– June 2023 and fall 2024 mother
MONTEREY BIRTH & WELLNESS CENTER
(Note: This center is closing on September 1, 2024. Some of their practitioners plan to continue serving the area serving home births after the center closes, including Kelly Hawes, midwife and birth doula and Heather Schwartz, licensed midwife, certified professional midwife, and birth and postpartum doula trainer.)
NOTES FROM PARENTS:
“The midwifery model takes informed consent very seriously (emphasis on informed) and gives more space for a mother to say what is best for her and her baby outside of anything genuinely medically necessary. If I still had questions at the end of the hour-long appointments, they just let them run long so I always left completely satisfied. These women are magic. My husband and I both felt extremely comfortable with Kelly Hawes and trusted her advice. She is so in tune with her patients that she actually called my labor! Heather Schwartz was always a source of joy and peace. She hugged me and let me cry out my anxiety when we had a health scare, celebrated my wins, and helped guide me through challenges. She always gave thorough information, was patient with our questions and concerns, and adapted her care to our needs/wants. For my birth, she provided excellent guidance regarding when to push, positions to ease pain or assist with pushing, and spaces in the room to use (I used a birthing tub, a birthing stool, AND a bed at various times at her lead).”
– February 2024 mother
HOME BIRTH
- BIRTH CLASSES: yes
- LACTATION CONSULTANTS: possibly
- POPULAR PROVIDERS: Jamie Meyerhoff (Tigerlily Midwifery, very familiar with TRICARE), Michele Nizza, licensed midwife and certified professional midwife, certified lactation educator and counselor, Lamaze-certified childbirth educator (currently non-network with TRICARE), Nantzin Maldonado (Nantzinmidwife.com, a Spanish-speaking option newer to the area), Kelly Hawes and Heather Schwartz (birth center alums), or find a practitioner through the Birth Network of Monterey County listings
- WHAT TO KNOW: You will have to pay out-of-pocket for home birth but some of the providers are experienced with TRICARE and are able to bill various costs that way. For example, Jamie Meyerhoff bills TRICARE, but everyone else you pay upfront—monthly payments are a helpful option—and then you submit a superbill to TRICARE afterward. The delivery fee is the most expensive, but TRICARE really only covers home delivery from a certified nurse midwife, so they won’t pay for everything. Many midwives use sliding scales to determine cost.
NOTES FROM PARENTS:
“Nantzin offers so much more than any other midwife I’ve come across! My final 6-week appointment came with a full body massage, cupping, a birth story circle, a closing ceremony, an herbal bath, a personalized birth certificate for our daughter, an origin soil ceremony with her placenta, and a placenta print. She really just went above and beyond.” – February 2024 mother
“Jamie Meyerhoff (Tigerlily Midwifery) was less than half the price of the other home birth midwives because she is familiar with TRICARE and is able to bill TRICARE for most of the prenatal stuff. She comes to your house for all prenatal appointments. She sends in TRICARE authorizations for blood tests, ultrasounds, etc. and then you do those at local places that accept TRICARE, so for bloodwork, I’ve gone to both LabCorp and Quest for free, and for ultrasounds I’ve gone to both Simon Med and UCSF, both covered by TRICARE.”
– June 2024 mother
OTHER BIRTH/NEWBORN SUPPORT
LACTATION CONSULTANTS:
- Miss Merilee (Merilee Breastfeeding)
- Krista Tarantino, RN, IBCLC (Earth Milk Moon, Inc.)
- Shawna Helmuth, RN, BS, IBCLC (Coastal Lactation Services)
- The lactation consultant team at Monterey Peninsula Pediatric Medical Group
A FEW LOCAL DOULAS:
- Michele Nizza (Mum’s the Word—the only local non-network doula with TRICARE as of June 2024)
- Jaimee dePompeo (Primavera Birth Services)
- Maryssa Hernandez
INSURANCE NOTES
Most choose TRICARE Prime for more cost coverage and then simply request the pregnancy referral from their primary care provider, but many also use TRICARE Select in this area to avoid some of the hassle of referrals. You can request to change the provider on the referral if you wish, but calling to ask about availability beforehand is highly recommended.
The Birth Center and home births are not fully covered by TRICARE, but partial coverage may be available for some home birth care, like blood tests and ultrasounds at facilities in town, depending on the practitioner. All of the hospital and OB options included are covered, with a pregnancy referral, if you have TRICARE Prime.
With referrals, TRICARE also covers prenatal vitamins and pelvic floor physical therapy before and after birth, as well as a variety of other supportive services like lactation consulting and mental health counseling without any referrals needed for in-network providers. United Concordia covers an additional dental cleaning during pregnancy, but be sure not to wait until your third trimester or it may be more challenging to find dentists open to caring for you. If you have to PCS while your baby is 12 months or under, a brand-new policy allowing for up to $1,000 toward expenses for transporting breast milk (such as commercial shipping, excess baggage fees, and dry or regular ice) was added to the Joint Travel Regulations on June 1. Review the policy for more details.
After 27 weeks of pregnancy, TRICARE covers certified lactation consultants, certified lactation counselors, and group breastfeeding counseling (including prenatal breastfeeding education) up to six separate outpatient sessions through the Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support Demonstration (CBSD). You don’t need any referrals for the CBSD unless you are seeing a non-network provider through TRICARE Prime. Lactation support is covered at no cost as part of an inpatient maternity stay, a follow-up outpatient visit, a well-child care visit, or when billed as a preventative service provided by a TRICARE-authorized provider, outpatient hospital, or clinic. TRICARE covers doulas in theory, but at the time of publication, there was only one local non-network option that was partially covered (approximately one-fourth of the cost), Michele Nizza, so it’s worth checking back with TRICARE and local doulas from time to time about this or asking doulas if they offer a military discount. Everyone that I spoke with who used a doula said it was definitely worth the out-of-pocket cost.
Best wishes to you and your Monterey military baby on the way! Welcome to the club.
(C-section and early elective delivery rates are from the Leapfrog Group’s 2023 survey data)
RESOURCES:
Consider reviewing the Birth Network of Monterey County’s listings (birthnetworkofmonterey.com) or watching for “Meet the Doula” events to speed date several doulas in person. Please note that doula support is an out-of-pocket cost, but continue to ask local doulas if they will accept TRICARE in the hopes that some may be able to join the system.
Separate from insurance, the Presidio New Parent Support Program offers free home visits for nursing support and lactation education counseling for military families with a young child at home. The lactation education counseling is available during pregnancy or once the baby has arrived. The Fleet and Family Support Center New Parent Support Program also offers free home visits for parents of young children.
The TRICARE Nurse Advice Line also offers free advice that just might save you a trip to urgent care or rushing to the pediatrician.
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