Stories From Manzanita Midwifery Community
Every Birthing Experience Is Unique
Laura
2022-12-21
You can’t find a better midwife than Jennifer Oquendo! She is the most caring compassionate and wise professional in her field. I feel so fortunate to have had her by my side during a very vulnerable time. Memories that I will cherish for a lifetime!
Molly Lonborg
2022-12-11
Jennifer Oquendo is an amazing midwife! She is deeply caring, intelligent and an amazing support person. She has an incredible depth of knowledge for everything birth and health related. She also has wonderful attention to detail and handles any issue that may arise with a calm confidence that is very admirable. The prenatal and postpartum care, as well as the full birth experience, is head and shoulders beyond what you would receive with any OB. She is always available to answer any concerns, and shares in all the joys and excitement of birth with her patients. If you are looking for a personalized birth experience, where your desires and thoughts are truly respected, then look no further. Jennifer and her team of highly trained assistants/student midwives will take amazing care of you!
Samantha Parker
2022-12-10
Jennifer has been my midwife for 2 pregnancies and births. I can wholeheartedly recommend her and her wonderful assistants. She’s thorough, organized and presents all your options in an unbiased manner. She’s professional yet warm and caring. I felt very well cared for during my pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Her and her assistants made me feel completely comfortable and heard. They were very conscious of taking my lead whenever possible, always keeping safety in mind. I can’t recommend Manzanita Midwifery enough!
Steffi Ketzler
2022-12-10
Jennifer has been providing my annual well-woman exam for about 6 or 7 years now. In recent years she has been coming to my home to do the exams, which is extremely convenient, and provides the comfort of my own home, along with her warm and caring personality and expertise. Jennifer is very thorough, and has a calming presence, which was extremely helpful in 2018, when she discovered some lumps in my breast, and ordered an ultrasound right away (which luckily came back negative for cancer). I am grateful for her services, and am recommending her to my clientele as well.
Jackie Walker
2019-11-15
"Jennifer is the most amazing midwife ever. I chose her for my third birth after considering an unassisted birth. The level of care and attention that I received was so much more than I ever expected, and, in retrospect, I couldn’t imagine having done it all by myself. There is something about having a skilled, knowledgeable, and compassionate guide that puts an expecting mother at ease. No one should have to do this all by themselves—even if they can. At first, I was skeptical of the entire medical establishment and this almost prevented me from receiving the most awesome medical care ever. Her care was completely non-invasive, yet entirely knowledgeable and respectful. Sharing with me the options, pros and cons, every single step of the way, yet not coercing me to decide one way or the other. I truly felt supported and respected from beginning to end. The aftercare was just as compassionate and careful.
Jennifer has a clear mind for details and remembers important information, while at the same time she is like no other traditional health care provider because you can see she genuinely cares about her patients. I felt completely confident in her care and would recommend her to anyone. I only wish she had been there for the first two births as well. This should be the gold standard for how woman are treated during pregnancy and birth. When I called her in labor and told her to come right away, she didn’t doubt me or second guess. She came when I needed her and I will be forever grateful. This was characteristic of how she related to me the whole time. I feel like she trusted me, and built up my confidence as a mother."
Jennifer has a clear mind for details and remembers important information, while at the same time she is like no other traditional health care provider because you can see she genuinely cares about her patients. I felt completely confident in her care and would recommend her to anyone. I only wish she had been there for the first two births as well. This should be the gold standard for how woman are treated during pregnancy and birth. When I called her in labor and told her to come right away, she didn’t doubt me or second guess. She came when I needed her and I will be forever grateful. This was characteristic of how she related to me the whole time. I feel like she trusted me, and built up my confidence as a mother."
- Laura Presley
"Jennifer is a highly skilled midwife. She is gentle and kind, compassionate and incredibly knowledgeable. Her approach was refreshingly wholistic- she treated my husband and I as whole people and took an interest in both our individual health and our emotional health as a family. With Jennifer providing so much balanced and high-quality information we felt empowered to be the primary decision makers in how our care unfolded. That sense of empowerment that has since spilled over into not only our approach to health care but also to parenthood.
I highly recommend Jennifer and Manzanita Midwifery to anyone out there seeking a loving, empowered and supportive prenatal and birth experience."
I highly recommend Jennifer and Manzanita Midwifery to anyone out there seeking a loving, empowered and supportive prenatal and birth experience."
- Laura McCalley
"There are simply no words to express how exceptional Jennifer Oquendo is as a midwife, so I will do my best to put into words our gratitude for her and share our experience. Jennifer far exceeded my hopes and expectations as my care provider during my second pregnancy. With my first child in Arizona I had a very difficult and traumatizing birth experience. Upon finding out we were expecting again, we decided to move back to San Luis Obispo to have a better chance at the natural birth that was so important to us.
Selecting a competent and supportive birth team was essential. From my very first phone conversation with Jennifer and through my entire pregnancy, birth and post-partum, Jennifer was compassionate, competent, patient, available, present, gentle, loving, honest, direct, reassuring, kind, supportive and nurturing. She provided the type of care that I believe every pregnant, laboring and postpartum mother (and family) needs and deserves.
I once again had a challenging birth experience due to prolonged ruptured membranes. In the time that I was at home preparing for my homebirth after my water broke Jennifer stood by me to try everything possible to get labor started and she supported me physically and emotionally as we needed to make some difficult decisions. Unfortunately, my body and my baby weren’t ready for labor to start and nothing we could have done would have changed that. We were required by law to transfer at that point, as midwives are unable to attend under those circumstances. I was devastated, yet felt fully supported by Jennifer and my birth team. Upon a transfer to the hospital she did not waver in her support. Jennifer was able to listen to my needs and help me to advocate for myself. Hospital protocol was to have a cesarean section upon arrival, as my waters had been broken for more than 24 hours.
However, the cesarean was not medically indicated as both baby and I were doing fine. We agreed that expectant management was the best course of action for baby and me. Jennifer’s unwavering commitment and support was essential in helping me stay focused, grounded and confident in the decisions I needed to make. As I faced these difficult decisions in the hospital over the days that followed Jennifer visited, stayed in contact, helped with research to better understand what was happening and what questions and conversations to have with the doctor and nurses. She made me laugh in the darkest moments, helped me to feel confident in my decisions, reminded me to stay connected to my beautiful baby, brought me food and even toys for my toddler to stay busy and entertained while he visited me in the hospital. Her support and compassion went beyond what I could have ever hoped for in a midwife. And it was everything I needed, especially in such a vulnerable time.
With this second birth being a challenging experience I could have very easily fallen into a traumatized state. However, because I had such solid support from Jennifer and my birth team I felt empowered in the decisions I made throughout the pregnancy and birth. It was still difficult, but that was my body and how the birth unfolded.
Postpartum, Jennifer’s support was essential to my wellbeing. I began to question the decisions I made and how the events of my birth experience unfolded. And she lovingly and patiently, so patiently, processed with me reminding me of moments that were foggy to me, reminding me of my strength in the decisions I made, and validating that it was a difficult circumstance I had to face, and reassuring me that that I did it and I did it with strength and grace. She listened to my story, my hurts, my fears, my joy, time and time again. And she never dismissed me and shared with me that she felt honored to serve and support. She listened with the most compassionate heart I have ever been blessed to know.
Having had such difficult birth experiences due to complications outside of her control or mine, I have had a difficult transition to motherhood. Birth matters. Jennifer reminded me in the most loving way of what it means to be a mother, both in conversation and by example. Having Jennifer as my midwife for my second pregnancy and birth has helped me to start truly healing from my experiences and to feel supported as a mother.
Jennifer Oquendo embodies the heart and spirit of a midwife. I wish every pregnant woman were blessed with her care and support. My heart is overflowing with love and deep gratitude as I write this. She touched my life in ways that go beyond what words can express. Jennifer has helped me to find my way as a mother. And I am forever grateful."
Selecting a competent and supportive birth team was essential. From my very first phone conversation with Jennifer and through my entire pregnancy, birth and post-partum, Jennifer was compassionate, competent, patient, available, present, gentle, loving, honest, direct, reassuring, kind, supportive and nurturing. She provided the type of care that I believe every pregnant, laboring and postpartum mother (and family) needs and deserves.
I once again had a challenging birth experience due to prolonged ruptured membranes. In the time that I was at home preparing for my homebirth after my water broke Jennifer stood by me to try everything possible to get labor started and she supported me physically and emotionally as we needed to make some difficult decisions. Unfortunately, my body and my baby weren’t ready for labor to start and nothing we could have done would have changed that. We were required by law to transfer at that point, as midwives are unable to attend under those circumstances. I was devastated, yet felt fully supported by Jennifer and my birth team. Upon a transfer to the hospital she did not waver in her support. Jennifer was able to listen to my needs and help me to advocate for myself. Hospital protocol was to have a cesarean section upon arrival, as my waters had been broken for more than 24 hours.
However, the cesarean was not medically indicated as both baby and I were doing fine. We agreed that expectant management was the best course of action for baby and me. Jennifer’s unwavering commitment and support was essential in helping me stay focused, grounded and confident in the decisions I needed to make. As I faced these difficult decisions in the hospital over the days that followed Jennifer visited, stayed in contact, helped with research to better understand what was happening and what questions and conversations to have with the doctor and nurses. She made me laugh in the darkest moments, helped me to feel confident in my decisions, reminded me to stay connected to my beautiful baby, brought me food and even toys for my toddler to stay busy and entertained while he visited me in the hospital. Her support and compassion went beyond what I could have ever hoped for in a midwife. And it was everything I needed, especially in such a vulnerable time.
With this second birth being a challenging experience I could have very easily fallen into a traumatized state. However, because I had such solid support from Jennifer and my birth team I felt empowered in the decisions I made throughout the pregnancy and birth. It was still difficult, but that was my body and how the birth unfolded.
Postpartum, Jennifer’s support was essential to my wellbeing. I began to question the decisions I made and how the events of my birth experience unfolded. And she lovingly and patiently, so patiently, processed with me reminding me of moments that were foggy to me, reminding me of my strength in the decisions I made, and validating that it was a difficult circumstance I had to face, and reassuring me that that I did it and I did it with strength and grace. She listened to my story, my hurts, my fears, my joy, time and time again. And she never dismissed me and shared with me that she felt honored to serve and support. She listened with the most compassionate heart I have ever been blessed to know.
Having had such difficult birth experiences due to complications outside of her control or mine, I have had a difficult transition to motherhood. Birth matters. Jennifer reminded me in the most loving way of what it means to be a mother, both in conversation and by example. Having Jennifer as my midwife for my second pregnancy and birth has helped me to start truly healing from my experiences and to feel supported as a mother.
Jennifer Oquendo embodies the heart and spirit of a midwife. I wish every pregnant woman were blessed with her care and support. My heart is overflowing with love and deep gratitude as I write this. She touched my life in ways that go beyond what words can express. Jennifer has helped me to find my way as a mother. And I am forever grateful."
- Susan Kefer
