I'm Brittany Berger, Nest Midwife

I believe that pregnant people deserve individualized care throughout the childbearing cycle. I believe that every pregnant person has the innate knowledge to take charge of their own experience and with the support and encouragement of a midwife they can have peace of mind that when they need more hands-on support, someone is there. Midwives are trained in the broad scope of normal and how to recognize when something goes outside of those bounds, while also recognizing that “normal” can be different in all people as unique individuals. 

I believe in minimizing technological interventions by protecting the normal physiological process of pregnancy and childbirth. Midwifery is a science and an intuition that together tell the midwife when and how to intervene to prevent problems and promote safety. I believe that the birthing experience belongs to the family I am serving, it is a time of bonding, and it should be protected, along with the pregnant person’s autonomy, as much as possible with the least amount of interference.I have been serving people during their childbearing year for over 15 years, including many years as a breastfeeding peer counselor and lactation educator before starting my midwifery education. I have been attending births since 2018 and have a bachelor’s of science in midwifery from Midwives College of Utah. I am certified by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Licensed in the state of Oregon as a Licensed Direct-Entry Midwife (LDM or L-DEM) and in the state of Washington as a Licensed Midwife (LM). I have a passion for providing the highest quality of care to my clients through building a relationship and trust throughout their pregnancy. I discovered that I wanted to be a midwife after choosing midwifery care for my pregnancy with my fourth baby and previous hospital births. The education provided to me was life changing, and my personal experience with community birth was empowering. 

I spend my time outside of midwifery with my four kiddos, my husband, and our fur-babies. We moved to Portland from Alaska a few years ago and we are enjoying all that the Portland metro and SW Washington area has to offer. I have a love for wildcrafting, foraging, cooking, fishing, hiking, and gardening. 

Meet the Midwife!

After earning my B.A. from the University of Vermont, I discovered a dusty copy of Spiritual Midwifery (by Ina May Gaskin) on the shelves of the bookstore where I was working, and decided that midwifery was my career path. In 1996 I became a certified doula, and have attended hundreds of births since then. A few years later I became an Internationally Certified Childbirth Educator (ICCE) through ICEA. I attended Birthingway College of Midwifery and graduated with a Certificate of Midwifery, and in 2008 I became certified by NARM (the North American Registry of Midwives) as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). 

I currently teach childbirth education, breastfeeding and infant care classes through Legacy Medical Center, where I have taught since 2003. In 2015 I co-authored and published Homebirth Cesarean: Stories and Support for Families and Healthcare Providers.
I am the mother of 3 inspiring sons who were born at home with CPMs. In my spare time I enjoy tending the plants and animals on my small farm in Ridgefield, Washington.

I'm Laurie Perron Mednick, Founder and Clinical Consultant of Nest Midwifery

I believe that women hold deep within themselves a wealth of instinctive knowledge about their own bodies and the babies that they grow and birth. As a passionate advocate for women’s ability to birth without intervention and fear, I believe in fostering an environment which allows women to have safe, spontaneous, and transformative birth experiences.I believe that midwives are truly the guardians of birth, and strive to honor the natural unfolding of the birthing process while also using time-honored hands-on skills and technology judiciously, with respect to the safety and well-being of both mother and baby.

"Brittany is such a thoughtful person who does an exceptional job holding space for others."

"I always felt safe expressing myself to her and she did a wonderful job helping me navigate those feelings if something stressful and anxiety-inducing came up throughout my pregnancy. Brittany was also a ROCKSTAR during my labor and was alongside me the entire time and delivered our baby! I don't think I would have had such a seamless experience if it wasn't for her encouragement and counter-pressure relief she provided the entire time."  -Paige

"The support that I received was everything I could have hoped for."

"Brittany has been a dream to work with! She has a very kind, caring, and compassionate soul. During my pregnancy, Brittany was always quick to answer any questions and assure me along the way. The support that I received was everything I could have hoped for. Highly recommend!" -Alla

"It was such a powerful experience and we are forever grateful she [Brittany] was there!"

Brittany was lovely from the moment I met her. She is warm, fun, empathetic, highly knowledgeable and such a good teacher! She always had a helpful recommendation for my pregnancy ailments, especially natural/herbal remedies. I had 3 prior hospital births with epidurals and was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to birth at home, especially at the age of 40. But she encouraged and empowered me, and the time came, Brittany knew exactly what to do. Her calm, confident demeanor brought my husband and I so much peace as she helped deliver our wonky-positioned baby with gentle guidance and great skill. -Amy

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