with woman
Astoria’s First Freestanding Birth & Primary Care Center
Welcome to Astoria Birth Center & Family Medicine. Our vision is simple:
When we fully support women and families, we all win.
Our nation is facing a difficult time with birth and healthcare in general. It is time to do better.
But how?
Birth:
As it turns out, the most effective solutions in prenatal, birth, and postpartum care are also often the simplest and most cost-effective, and they center around you. We believe everyone deserves a midwife. Evidence shows that when families start their care with a midwife, they are starting off on the right foot. Even if they end up needing a more acute level of care, and that does happen sometimes, families that start their care with midwives have better outcomes. Midwives keep the costs of healthcare down while improving outcomes across the board.
All of the nations in the world with the best birth outcomes have the same thing in common - care always starts with a midwife.
Primary Care:
Whether you are well and looking to stay that way, or sick and looking to get better, it is everything to know that your provider knows you and is taking a holistic approach to your care. No unnecessary prescriptions, no telling you what to do, no leaving the office wondering what just happened. Our primary providers want to get to know you, listen to you, learn what your goals are, and use their expertise in helping you achieve optimal health and wellness.
Founded by a family who is passionate about birth and health, supported by our community, and staffed by highly qualified holistic practitioners, we deliver a better option.
lead staff
Everyone, meet the dream team:
Dr. Gabriella Bruce
ND
Gabby is the director of our Direct Primary Care Program. She cares for families and individuals of all ages. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Santa Clara University and completed her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine.
Gabby loves spending time with family and friends, snuggling with her cat (Buggy), baking, knitting, and running or walking on the beach.
Dr. Mariah Wharton
CNM, DNP
Mariah graduated with a doctor of nursing practice from OHSU, one of the top nurse-midwifery programs in the United States. She also spent eight years as a labor and delivery nurse. Mariah loves to be outdoors and is getting used to cold PNW winters as she grew up in Hawaii.
Mariah will be opening her own independent home birth practice as of April 1st.
Julianne Lukassen
CNM, SANE
Julianne is a Certified Nurse Midwife and also a trained SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner). She has years of labor and delivery experience and has recently moved here with her family from Nebraska.
Julianne spends her free time taking deep dives reading research on evidence-based care.
Tiffany Negley
CNM
Tiffany is a Certified Nurse Midwife who comes with many years of experience in both large hospital and freestanding birth center practices. She also practiced as a NICU nurse for several years.
Tiffany is moving to Astoria from Minnesota with her family and looks forward to caring for our community.
Rebeckah Orton
RN, BS, SANE
Rebeckah is the Executive Director and the owner/founder of Astoria Birth Center. Her background is in research, which grew into a passion for maternal health. She has worked, in turn, as a doula, birth assistant, registered nurse, and a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. She loves traveling with her family and singing loudly while cooking.
Associate Providers
Meet the Lactation Team:
Whitney Tiller
IBCLC, LC, BSM, RM
Beth Waters
IBCLC, RLC, CPpD, CSC
What You Need to Know About Nurse-Midwives
All Nurse-Midwives are Nurse Practitioners (kind of like how all OB/GYNs are all doctors) and practice independently in the state of Oregon
They are able to provide for all the basic needs of women’s healthcare
They can write prescriptions
They can perform procedures
CNMs can care for women throughout their lifespan (from the first period all the way through menopause)
This includes annual exams, cancer and STI screenings and PAP smears
They can provide fertility/infertility care and treatments (hormone therapy, IUI, conception counseling, contraception)
What You Need to Know About Birth Centers
Average 1-hour visits with patients
Complete client autonomy
Evidence-based, shared decision making
6% national cesarean rate (the national average is 33%)
A recommended option for healthy candidates
The Affordable Care Act mandates all insurances cover freestanding birth centers
Waterbirth available
Doulas offered as standard of care
Know your provider: same midwives for prenatal, labor, birth, and postpartum
Some care provided in the comfort of your home
Numerous comfort measures available for a natural birth
