About Nurture Birth Cooperative

Nurture Birth Cooperative is a 501 (C )(3) non-profit organization on a mission to support families through their birth journeys and beyond. We provide funding and fee assistance for families who want more control over their birth stories and who need assistance from doulas, midwives, birth centers, bereavement specialists, and more.
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“We strive to change the world by being a beacon of compassion for every family we are blessed to serve. ”

Nurture Birth Cooperative

About Our Nonprofit

Nurture Birth Cooperative was established in 2021 with the purpose of providing more choice and support to birthing families. We recognize the need for funding and fee assistance for families who want to experience an out-of-hospital birth, individualized postpartum support, or bereavement assistance. The conventional birth model (in-hospital birth, limited postpartum support) doesn’t work for every family. For the families who need more control, choice, or support during their birth journeys, Nurture Birth Cooperative is here to offer you the support you need.

Our Promise To You

Accessible

Nurture Birth Cooperative strives to make a natural, holistic birth experience accessible for all and overcome the financial barriers that can stand in a family’s way of having the birth and postpartum experience they desire.

Respectful

Nurture Birth Cooperative is respectful of each family’s unique individual story and we strive to be a beacon of compassion for every family we have the privilege of being able to serve.

Dependable

Nurture Birth Cooperative believes in nurturing families through the birth experience and beyond, whether that’s support during birth of compassionate care after birth or loss.

Staff

Wendy Bruns - Manager

Wendy is thrilled to support Nurture Birth Cooperative as their staff lead, and pave the way for the birth community. She holds a BA in Anthropology from University of California, Santa Cruz. Wendy is a birthworker with a passion for empowering women during their birth journey, and making sure bodily autonomy and informed consent is always at the forefront of every decision. In the future, Wendy hopes to become a CPM and continue encouraging women to have births they feel empowered by. In her personal life, Wendy loves learning about holistic and non-toxic living, especially incorporating it in everyday life. She lives in Sacramento, California with her partner and their dog, Stella.

Meet Our Board

Meet the amazing people behind Nurture Birth Cooperative, a nonprofit organization supporting families through their birth journeys and beyond.

Marlene Smith

My love for midwifery is deeply rooted in my own experiences as a mother and now as a grandmother. I have personally delivered 9 children, 5 boys and 4 girls. Their births taught me that when given the right education and support, giving birth becomes an experience like no other. My births improved one at a time, because I learned what to ask for and what to decline. One fateful day, I was asked to be a helper at a midwife attended birth and my life changed that night. I was captivated. Although my births were ‘natural’ hospital births, this new way of birth felt sacred, simple, and right. I went on to have 3 more babies, with a midwife attending. I knew that someday, I wanted to become skilled enough to offer midwifery care to women who were seeking truth in birth. While working towards licensing, I was attending births as an assistant. I was raising my children and homeschooling and life was busy, and chaotic and purposeful. I was granted a midwifery license in December 2001. I was humbled and excited about how my life was evolving. In the last 20 years, I have been privileged to attend over 1000 deliveries, including 25 of my 27 grandchildren. If I get a moment with a newly born babe, I whisper in their ear, “when you are a teenager, and you don’t think your parents love you, come and find me and I will tell you about the day you were born, when they fell in love with you, and how amazed they were by you!

Christa Manfredi Kroskey

Christa’s journey to natural health began as a result of finding out the thyroid medication she had been on for years, was completely unnecessary. Learning more about her thyroid condition, drove her to dig deeper into more natural ways to support her and her family’s health.

After having doulas at both of their daughters’ births, Christa and her husband Brian, strongly advocated to their friends and family members about the importance and benefits of having doula support present.

Christa grew up in Ohio and Florida. She currently lives in Roseville, with her husband and their two little girls. She has a degree in Organizational Communication from CSU, Sacramento. She worked in the mortgage industry for years, and currently assists with property management for her family. She enjoys time with family, both immediate and extended, a good game night with friends, all things Disney, and random dance parties with her daughters. Christa loves to lift up the people around her, support them, and let them know they matter. She is honored to be a part of this organization.

Shanee Euren

Shanee worked in a high acuity Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as a registered nurse from 2008-2018. She obtained her International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) certification in 2017. Shanee’s desire to help families in the outpatient setting led her to leave the NICU and start her own practice, Faithful Lactation Support. She is also a member of the Placer Birth Connection and is the current President of the Placer County Breastfeeding Coalition.

Caitlin Gillings

Caitlin is a mom of three kids, one of whom she delivered at the California Birth Center in March of 2021. After two hospital births she began looking for other options that better fit her birth plan and found exactly what she was looking for after touring the center. She is passionate about helping other moms know their options and achieve the birth they want to have. Although she has a BA in photography, she plans to pursue nutrition and fitness certifications in the future with specialties in prenatal and postpartum care.

Pam Rapp

Pam is a mom of 2 with one on the way, as well as a Registered Dietitian holding both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Human Nutrition. She has lived in Placer County for 13 years and loves to spend time outdoors camping, skiing and hiking in the area with her family. She has worked in both the public and private sector with women; troubleshooting health issues related to nutritional status in order to support women during and after their childbearing years. She had her first two children without intervention at a hospital and can’t wait to give birth to her 3rd at the California Birth Center.