Sarah Tunney - Midwife - Costa Mesa, CA

About Sarah

My name is Sarah Tunney, and I am a home birth midwife with 11+ years of professional birth experience, have attended 600+ births, and am now serving LA and OC along the coast. I have a background as an herbalist; most of my midwifery training was done with the Amish in Pennsylvania and in low-resource settings outside of the US (you can find my full bio on my website). I provide midwifery care now matter where you plan to birth — prenatal care, postpartum care, newborn care, lab work, family planning counseling, breastfeeding & lactation support. And I mostly attend home births/water births for my clients including VBACs, I offer support in your home, or you can come to one of my offices (Solana Beach or Costa Mesa). I offer natural induction support and help get babies into an optimal position for birth, and lactation/ breastfeeding support. I offer all of the newborn screenings offered at the hospital (newborn hearing screening, CCHD, newborn screening "heel poke") and all other newborn assessments; I am not able to offer circumcision or vaccinations. i accept Medi-Cal, Health Share Co-ops and most PPO insurance. I offer military/veteran discounts and cash pay prices for those without insurance, with TriCare/CHAMP and HMOs. I offer packages for postpartum care only, comprehensive pregnancy care and home births, and offer individual visits. Reach out if you want to discuss options, pricing, insurance, etc. -Sarah Tunney, LM, CPM, PhD (ABD)

Midwife packages and pricing

Midwifery Pregnancy Care - Planned Hospital Birth

**See FAQ about insurance coverage** This package is for those who are planning to birth in a hospital but still want midwifery care for their pregnancy. I provide all routine prenatal care (you do NOT need to also go to an OB), including labs, ultrasounds as you choose, etc. We aim to keep you low risk and prepare you for birth and the postpartum by focusing on nutrition, lifestyle, adding herbs as needed. Package includes my 1-day intensive childbirth preparation class for those planning to birth unmedicated. Also included in this package is midwifery postpartum support (lactation, maternal health, newborn care and assessments, etc). I come to see you at the hospital in the first 24 hours after your birth, then at home on day 3, 5-7, at weeks 2, 4, 6 12, and I offer virtual support in between. I provide support with latch, breastfeeding/chest feeding, mental health, newborn concerns. **If you have private insurance I can provide you with a super bill to submit for reimbursement

$4,500 USD · Flat rate

Midwifery Postpartum Care Package

This package is for those who desire at-home midwifery care for the first FULL YEAR postpartum. It doesn't matter how your pregnancy, labor and birth unfold, or whether you have a c-section or a vaginal birth. This care is for everyone. This package includes 6 in-person home visits in the fourth trimester (first 12 weeks), plus virtual support for the first full year postpartum. If something is up with your latch, you r supply, no sleep, having big feelings, you have someone to reach out to for support. If arranged prenatally (that is ideal!), this package includes an additional 90-minute in-person consult to discuss how to prepare for the postpartum and what extra support you might desire from your midwifery care. Midwifery postpartum care includes all routine maternal follow-up and normal newborn care for the first six weeks. I also provide support with breastfeeding/chest feeding, maternal mental health, newborn concerns (e.g. latch and tongue tie assessment, jaundice, growth and development, etc). I am not able to offer vaccinations or circumcisions, but all else for baby. Placental encapsulation and belly binding are also available (add-ons). **If you have private insurance I can provide you with a super bill to submit for reimbursement **See FAQ about insurance coverage**

$3,200 USD · Flat rate

Individual - Lactation/Breastfeeding Chest feeding Consultation - At Home

This 90-minute consultation includes a full assessment including evaluation for restrictions and your baby's latch, lactation and breastfeeding/chest feeding, and hands-on help to support you with your breastfeeding goals. The midwifery approach considers you and your baby as a dyad, and this is a relational experience, so we will also look at affecting each other, which means assessing how mom is doing, too! I offer 2 follow-up phone calls or text exchanges after the visit to make sure things are going better or tweak things as they develop! *If you have private insurance I can give you a super bill to submit for reimbursement.

$350 USD · Per hour

Accepted insurance

Medi-Cal Message Sarah to confirm coverage for your plan.

What to expect

Midwifery care is about individualized holistic care. I offer you options and information and you choose what is right for you and for your family. I think of myself as the bumper rails to keep my clients and their babies healthy and low risk. And as a guide so you are in great shape once your birthing years have ended -- that means when you're my age no peeing your pants when you sneeze or laugh, sex still feels good, you have strong teeth, bones, skin, hair, etc, and you have vibrancy. I take a proactive and sensible approach to wellness and health, so if things start to go "off the rails" we return first to nutrition, movement, lifestyle, sleep, and if that isn't enough then we lean into herbs before doing anything else. Most bodies will right themselves with some support. Same with babies. I offer individual visits for midwifery care and packages. Most of my clients who do all of their pregnancy care, including postpartum care and preconception care, end up having me attend their birth at home, as well. But I do have others, who either come into care late to the game, so to speak, or who choose to or for safety must birth in the hospital, and I offer the same midwifery care to them, too. Reach out with questions or to discuss pricing or coming into care. Blessings, Sarah

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Certifications, training, and specialties

Certification and training

Licensed Midwife (2023)
Certified Professional Midwife (2023)
Birth Doula (2014)

Education

Yale University, BA, NELC Arabic Language & Literature (1997)
NYU, MA/PhD (ABD), Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies (2010)

Memberships and affiliations

Member, Quality Maternal & Newborn Collaborative Research Alliance
Board of Directors, California Association of Licensed Midwives
Member, Orange County Family Support Task Force
Provider, Thrive Wellness Collective

Languages

English

Credentials

BA CPM LM MA

Specialties

Breech Birth Home Birth Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Multiples Newborn Exam Newborn Screening Pelvic Pain Postpartum Life Pregnancy Loss Recurrent Miscarriages Sexual Health Advanced Maternal Age Birth and Lactation Birth Support Breastfeeding Assistance and Support Breastfeeding Consultation Breastfeeding Support Childbirth Education Contraception and Family Planning Family Planning Freebirth Herbal Postpartum Care Infant Care Lactation Consultation Lactation Home Visits Latch Issues Low Milk Supply/Over Supply Maternal Fetal Positioning Midwife Support Natural Birth Natural Childbirth Newborn Prep Nutritional Counseling Perinatal and Infant Loss Placenta Encapsulation Postpartum Care Preconception Prenatal Care Prenatal Lactation Education Reproductive and Parenting Reproductive Mental Health Screening for Cervical and Breast Cancer Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Testing and Treatment Support during Labor, Birth, and Postpartum Support in Pregnancy Loss Teen Counseling Water birth Well-Woman Care

Frequently asked questions

Will my insurance cover your services?

I accept Medi-Cal and health share co-ops like Samaritan. Most PPOs will reimburse for my care the same as they do for an OB or lactation consultant. I am considered an out-of-network provider, so you pay for your care and then request reimbursement from your insurance. I offer cash discounts to those who have HMOs, TriCare/CHAMP (military), or if you have no insurance.