Portland Resource List – Prenatal, Birth, Postpartum, OHP and Insurance Resources

doula, OHP

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Natalie Broders

April 10, 2023

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lifestyle newborn photography by natalie broders

Holistic Health 

Naturopathic and Natural Health Providers

  • Baby Blues Connection maintains a list of natural health providers who specialize in supporting people with PMADS
  • HeyDoc – A BIPOC, Queer and woman owned clinic centering the health of queer, trans and BIPOC folx.

Out Of Hospital Midwives who take OHP

Placenta Services & Resources

Bodywork for Pregnancy and Postpartum

  • Mama Needs Massage – Marissa Emery offers pregnancy and postpartum massage in her office space and can do home visits.  Unsure if she takes insurance.
  • Working Class Acupuncture – WCA is affordable community acupuncture on a sliding scale of $20-$40 per treatment. They do not take insurance or OHP. They have three locations around Portland – in Cully, Hillsdale, and Rockwood.  I recommend them for moms with pregnancy complaints and especially starting at 37 weeks to reduce need for long induction (see induction protocol here)
  • ICPA4kids has a directory of chiropractors who have advanced training in pregnancy adjustments, including Webster technique

Bodywork for Infants, Infant Chiropractors and Craniosacral Therapists

Pediatric Occupational Therapists

Ear Nose Throat (ENT)

Bodywork for Doula Self-Care!

Working Class Acupuncture – WCA is affordable community acupuncture on a sliding scale of $20-$40 per treatment. 

Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding, Lactation and Bottle Feeding

Legacy Lactation Resources

Legacy Lactation and Breastfeeding Support
Portland Metro area: 503-413-4840
Mid-Willamette Valley: 503-873-1680
Vancouver: 360-487-5840

In-Person or Phone/Virtual Lactation Resources

Online Lactation Resources

Lactation Videos

Milkbank & Milk Sharing

Bottle Feeding Resources

Childbirth Education Classes

Legacy Pregnancy & Parenting Classes

Childbirth Preparation, Comfort and Coping for Labor, Newborn Essentials and Breastfeeding Basics, Grandparents Today, Baby and Me groups, Returning to Work.

Information and Legacy registration links.  Free to people on OHP – email Stacey at havingababy@lhs.org if you need help registering.

Other Childbirth Education Classes

Diapers and Baby Clothing

  • PDX Diaper Bank – List of partner organization where families can receive diapers.
  • Mother and Child – Resource center providing breastfeeding supplies, formula, baby clothes, diapers and other baby resources on an as-available basis

Health, Safety and Social Services

Resource Hubs

  • 211 Info – a private, community-based nonprofit organization funded by state and municipal contracts, foundations, donations, and community partners in Oregon and Southwest Washington. 211info serves Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania, and Wahkiakum counties in Washington and the entire State of Oregon.
  • Rose City Resources – Broad resource list curated by Street Roots

DV/IPV Resources

  • Call To Safety – 24/7 crisis line 503.235.5333 – Provides information and referral, advocacy and safety planning, and transportation from danger to safety. Programs that provide transportation for people who are endangered and who need a safe ride to a shelter or other program location where their well-being can be ensured. People who may be served include women experiencing domestic violence, runaways, sexual assault survivors and prostitutes who are being threatened by a customer or a pimp Transportation is limited and dependent on funding. Pre-screens and provides referrals for a Safety and Stabilization Assessment (SSA), which is required before accessing most direct domestic violence services.  Note: Also serves as an entry point into the Multnomah County Domestic Violence System Coordinated Access Program.

Food Resources

  • Food Stamps/SNAP – A federally-funded program administered locally by the county or the state that enables low-income and indigent households to obtain an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card similar to a bank debit card which can be used in most grocery stores to purchase food. Approved households are entitled to purchase a designated amount of food utilizing their cards based on net income and household size. Benefits are generally available in an EBT account within 30 days from the date an application was filed. Expedited food stamps are available within seven days for people who are in an emergency situation and whose income and spendable resources for that month are within specified limits.
  • WIC – A public health nutrition program administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service that provides nutrition education, nutritious foods, breastfeeding support and health care referrals for income-eligible pregnant or postpartum women, infants and children up to age five. Foster parents, grandparents, guardians and single fathers who have custody of their children may also be eligible to receive food assistance for children up to age five if they meet income guidelines. WIC provides specific foods to supplement the dietary needs of participants to ensure good health and development. Food packages typically include iron-fortified infant cereal, milk, cheese, eggs, whole grains, peanut butter, beans, fruits, vegetables and juice. Families can shop for WIC foods at most grocery stores using a WIC electronic transfer benefit (EBT) card or vouchers.
  • Food Pantries – Programs that acquire food products through donations, canned food drives, food bank programs or direct purchase and distribute the food to people who are in emergency situations.

Housing Resources

  • List

Ride & Transit Resources

  • 211 Info Transportation Resources – Also check with clinic social workers (if available) or FBC social workers to help clients get set up with transportation passes and other resources
  • Ride Connection 503-226-0700 – Nonprofit that works with community partners to provide free transportation options primarily for older adults and people with disabilities in Mult., Clack, and Wash Co. Due to COVID-19, ride availability may be limited. Please call to ask about service availability

Immigrant and Refugee Resources and Community Groups

LGBTQIA+ Resources

Providers

  • Unfurling Birth – Home Birth Midwifery (accepts OHP)

Parenting Groups

  • Rainbow Babies – A free group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents that meets with their 0-3 year old children Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:00 am at the Qcenter.  In the Spring and Summer when the weather is good they meet in local parks.  It is for parents and kids to come together to play and socialize.  They also have a facebook page here.
  • Portland Gay Dads – A meetup group on meetup.com for dads who want to get together with or without kids.  

Nutrition 

For local food resources see Food Resources under Health, Safety and Social Services

Pregnancy Nutrition Information 

  • Old Ways
    Cultural food traditions. Traditional heritage diets for good health.

Postpartum Nutrition Information

Postpartum Meal Organizing

Therapists

  • PSI Directory – PSIdirectory.com

Partner Resources

  • Sam Stevens, MS, LMFT – Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist serving the greater Portland area.  Focus on working with fathers of young children and their partners.  Therapist fees and insurance coverage.  He also facilitates a dads meet up group and his website has a bunch of great links and resources for dads.
  • New Fathers’ Meetup – This is Sam Stevens group, started in 2010.  It is a free group for fathers of children under 3 years old to connect with one another and talk about their experiences being new dads. 
  • Impact Northwest Dads’ Group –  An informal group for dads and their kids. Hang out, swap stories, eat pizza and play. FREE. Every Tuesday, 6-7:30 pm.  They also go on monthly group outings.  Brentwood-Darlington Community Center, 7211 SE 62nd Ave.; 503-988-6127 x243; impactnw.org. This is a male led play group of dads getting together to hang out, swap stories, eat pizza and play with their kids.   They have a Facebook page called the Portland Dads’ Play Group.
  • HBI Dads – Healthy Birth Initiative addresses the needs of Black and African American families. Parent education classes and father friendly activities. No meetings on holidays. ‬Call 503-988-3387 for more information.
  • Portland Dads at Home – Connecting at-home dads and kids with other families.  They also have a Facebook group here.
  • Rainbow Babies – A free group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents that meets with their 0-3 year old children Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:00 am at the Qcenter.  In the Spring and Summer when the weather is good they meet in local parks.  It is for parents and kids to come together to play and socialize.  They also have a facebook page here.
  • Portland Gay Dads -A meetup group on meetup.com for dads who want to get together with or without kids.  
  • Single parent meetup – A good way connect with other single parents.
  • Portland Dads Group -Another dads group on Meetup.com.  They have meetings both during weekdays and weekends, both during the day and night.  One of the most active dads groups in town,with outings to kids story time, indoor parks, Hopworks, etc.

Postpartum Mental Health

Warmlines and Hotlines

  • Baby Blues Connection Warmline- Leave a message or text any time, a volunteer will return your call or text within 24 hours.
    • 1-800-557-8375 
  • Postpartum Support International Warmline – Leave a message any time, a volunteer will return your call or text during business hours.
    • Call 1-800-944-4773
    • Text “Help” to 800-944-4773 (EN)
    • Text en Español: 971-203-7773
  • National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
    • 1-833-943-5746 – A 24/7, Free, Confidential Hotline for Pregnant and New Moms in English and Spanish
  • National Crisis Text Line
    • Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any type of crisis.
  • National Suicide Prevention Hotline
    • Call 988 – Available 24/7
  • Maternal mental health hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA

Online Resources

Support Groups

Mental Health Providers Specializing in PMADS

Baby Blues Connection keeps a regularly updated resource list of professionals here

Pregnancy Loss Resources

Resources for friends and extended family

Doulas can be the liaison between the parents and their circles of friends, family and community.  Earth Mama Organics (formerly Earth Mama, Angel Baby) has a section of their website devoted to supporting perinatal loss and they have a really helpful brief page for family and friends with some “what to say/what not to say” examples.  In the past, I have offered to set up a meal train for the family – when I email everybody the meal information, I will also include a link to the friends and family page and give them a few tips on how best to relate to the grieving family.  Stillbirthday also has a fairly exhaustive family and friends page – it could be a bit overwhelming and not super helpful to a family member who only recently heard the sad news but some people use information gathering as a part of their grieving process so it could be really helpful to them.

Resources for bereaved parents

There are a lot of resources that you could recommend to a family.  Remember, grief is overwhelming and grievers don’t generally want to sift through tons of resources so I would recommend investigating and informing yourself about them first so that you can give a few really helpful resources that are tailored to that family.  Brief Encounters is an area support group for various types of perinatal or child loss.  They are a part of GriefWatch, which has a local bookstore with lots and lots of grief resources including most of these – my favorite is Tear Soup.   BabyLoss Comfort has a great resource page with books, links, groups and other helpful resources.  Pregnancyloss.info has some great resources, blogs and articles but do review the website yourself first and make sure it would be an appropriate resource for an individual family. Stillbirthday has a pretty broad list of all kinds of long term resources.   This is a good resource from a maternal wellness center.  I really like just about any book connected with Alan Wolfelt on grief and loss.  One of his main books is Understanding Your Grief and its companion Understanding Your Grief Journal could be a really supportive long term tool to gift a family.  Wolfelt also wrote a book called Healing Your Grieving Heart After Stillbirth: 100 Practical Ideas for Parents and Families.  You can see the 100 ideas here but refer to the book to flesh them out.  

Portland Birth Photographer

Birth Doula & Videographer

Natalie Broders is a birth photographer, birth videographer and birth doula located in Portland, Oregon. She lives on a farm with her husband and 2 kids. They raise chickens and love to garden. Natalie loves babywearing, cloth diapering and is passionate about her work as an advocate for birthing people as a labor and birth doula. She had one of her babies at a birth center and her second baby was born at home, in water.

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