Today we’d like to introduce you to Josie Patricio Petrich. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Tourmaline Birth and Wellness Collective opened in the Spring of 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. It was started by three Licensed Midwives Allison Tartari, Josie Patricio Petrich and Maral Shabak. Allison had the original vision of creating a beautiful birthing center that also offered holistic wellness services to better help support birthing families. As midwives, we have seen how difficult it can be to refer to other practitioners and so we wanted to make it easy for growing families to get the care they need. Our collective includes a Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, massage therapists, lactation consultants, lactation counselors, reiki practitioners, a Naturopathic doctor, IV infusion clinic Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, Neurotouch therapist, Cranial Sacral Therapist, Integrative Nutritionist, Holistic Aesthetician and a Holistic mental health therapist. We offer ultrasounds, infant/child CPR classes, birth education classes, hypno-birthing classes, postpartum planning class, breastfeeding class, first foods class, bimonthly postpartum support groups and weekly prenatal yoga classes. The whole collective is passionate about the families we serve and specialize in families, pediatrics, pregnancy and postpartum. Tourmalines care is rooted in community for our clients but also ourselves as providers. Every family that passes through our doors is part of our Tourmaline Family. We offer individualized care and focus on connecting with each family we serve. We are also a birthing center, since we had our first birth in June of 2020, we have had almost 100 Tourmaline Babies born at our center. The midwives also provide well-person care, labs, pap smears and pre-conception counseling. We also have a mini apothecary and create in house tinctures and herbal remedies for our clients. Our center is one of a kind, we are dedicated to wellness overall and reducing toxins we use all organic linens in the rooms, eco-friendly paint, our water system is for the whole center so the babies are born into the cleanest water possible. At Tourmaline, we focus on using clean products and supplements and also educating families about the products we use. Our center is also focused on neutrality, we keep politics, religion, and controversy out of our center, we are a group of diverse providers with varying beliefs, we love our work and we are dedicated to people and health. We respect our client’s individual views and beliefs and know that supporting healthy growing families is the way to a healthier world. We also have a 501c3 Thrive Wellness Collective that is working toward providing these services to more families.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a wild ride! When we signed the lease to our building we really had no idea how we were going to do it, but just knew that we would! We found financing for our business, totally gutted our building and redesigned it. Our families put in a lot of sweat! We all demo’d together, our partners and children painted, tiled and worked long hours to help create our vision. Construction was rough and we had many lessons as business owners along the way. As midwives, we are constant witnesses of transformation so thankfully we know that the hard places are just lessons and opportunities for growth. As three strong, opinionated women that span three decades, we had countless discussions about everything! We share an overall goal, but working together to create Tourmaline took many long hours and collaboration. Dr. Steph at Cafe of Life (our neighbor) was such a big support for us and would let us use her space as we were working out the kinks, and was a positive light for us as a fellow providers and successful business owners.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are Licensed Midwives, we offer full midwifery care, most people aren’t even aware what midwives do! We offer well-person, which is non-pregnant paps and lab work. We offer preconception care, getting families ready to conceive a child, this can include nutritional counseling, lab work, lifestyle and supplement recommendations. We have full prenatal, birth, postpartum and newborn care. We are primary care providers for pregnant people and offer all testing, lab work and ultrasounds that an ob does. A visit with a licensed midwife is anywhere from 1-2 hours, vs your traditional OB visit is around 15. We are experts in healthy pregnancy and keep our clients healthy with nutrition, lifestyle changes and supplements. Midwifery looks at the whole process from a natural physiological place, birth is normal and natural, we take time to know the families we serve. Midwifery care looks at clinical information but also dives into the emotional, physical and even spiritual elements that arise when giving birth. Our care is rooted in informed consent, we always discuss procedures and sequencing for our clients, and we respect our clients when they choose to decline something. By the time our clients come to the center in labor, our relationship is established and we know what they want for the birth, everything from the music they want to play, the language we use, the lighting, who is catching the baby. We are also trained in obstetrical emergencies, and we discuss plans prenatally with our clients in case of emergency.
After the birth, we are primary care providers for both newborn baby and mom. We see our clients twice in the first week after birth at their homes. These visits are so special because we review the birth, any questions families have and also normalize the wild beautiful transition that is becoming a parent. We also do a full visit on mom and baby and assess breastfeeding and weight gain. We are on call to our clients the moment they enter care through the first six weeks of life. If a question or concern arises, they can reach one of their well-rested midwives within minutes. When are known for giving great, individualized midwifery care that is rooted in physiology, health and community. I am so proud of our commitment to continue to give individualized care and provide resources for the families we serve. Whenever we see a need or room for improvement, we prioritize a plan. What sets us apart? There is no other center doing what we do in the United States. We are hoping that one day this will be the normal care model for growing families.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Seeing the families, we serve thrive and grow. My top three, 1. when I see the families that birth with us connect and support one another in community 2. When one of our birthing families just stops by to say hi with their baby because they love us! 3. When we get a new client that was referred from one of our previous families. And of course seeing bellies, babies and families grow!
Contact Info:
- Email: midwives@tourmalinecollective.com
- Website: www.birthcentersandiego.com
- Instagram: @tourmaline_collective
- Facebook: http://m.facebook.com/tourmalinecollective/
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/channel/UCv4tVl7xcFxddktwbxubjq
- Other: www.tourmalinecollective.com
Image Credits
LUCIANNA MCINTOSH, AUBREE FULHAM
