Practitioners & Providers

I recently sent out an email to past & present patients asking for their feedback on the practitioners or providers they love... or like a lot!  I specifically asked for those who were open-minded and supportive of a more holistic view.  I hope this list will grow and grow and welcome your feedback!

All quotes are taken directly from feedback I received from patients....

OBGYN/MIDWIVES
Dr. Patricia Chang (allina Parkview clinic) specializes in difficult pregnancies, vulvar disease, bladder incontinence surgeries, laparoscopy and adolescent and pediatric gynecology. "She TOTALLY gets the big picture, more than open minded, actually encouraged holistic methods like acupuncture, also has a lot of heart, recognizes me when she sees me, follows up, shows emotions instead of seeming distant and unfeeling. Can't say enough!"
Dr. Andrea Flom (Haugen Associates in Edina): "very nice, woman.  Good for general OBGYN.  Not aggressive in telling you what to do / not to do."
Dr. Jennifer Ramsey (Fairview-Riverside Women's Clinic) Midwife "Did an awesome intake and is a big fan of holistic/alternative medicine."
HealthEast Midwives - Although the level of holistic varies from woman to woman, this is a fantastic group with some amazing and supportive practitioners.  Kerry Dixon in particular is one of the most compassionate and whole person practitioners I have ever met.  These midwives deliver at St. Joes and Woodwinds, two of the lowest intervention and most supportive of natural birth hospitals in the area.  Water births, doulas, etc. are very welcome and supported here.  The clinic on Grand Avenue in particular has the friendliest support staff I've ever encountered and the whole visit experience is lovely.  Plus it's in a great location with validated parking, good places to have lunch after appointments :)
HCMC Midwives - The WHOLE group :) "An awesome group of women dedicated to great births.  This group also does group prenatal care "centering groups" which is a wonderful way to connect and feel supported throughout a pregnancy."
Dr. Mainguy (Women's Health Specialists in Minneapolis) "I've enjoyed all the practitioners in this group.  They really know their stuff especially when it comes to 'high risk' pregnancies."
Dr. Judith Stark (southdale Obstetrics & Gynecology Consultants) Mpls St. Paul Magazine and MN Monthly top doc.  Very open-minded!

GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
Dr. Mirtha Nesheim (HCMC South) "She has a more global view of Western medicine which translates to being an amazing practitioner.... she listens, explains, never talks down, is thoughtful in her approach, knows her stuff, but isn't quick to push intervention or medication when there are equally effective and less risky alternatives."
Dr. Mary Cady (Allina in W. St. Paul) a GP who specializes in OB & peds She is very open minded about holistic healing, "I believe she goes to an acupuncturist herself and always has holistic/herbal ways to treat things other than antibiotics and other meds."
Dr. Brett Adams (Highland Park Fairview) "Respects my opinion about my own health, always takes more than enough time to answer all of my questions, talk about diagnosis, etc."
Dr. Kevin Kelly (Riverside Family Physicians) "more than your average doctor he prescribed me an autobiographic book - after I came to him with questions about breast cancer."

PEDIATRICIANS
Dr. Jaeger (central Pediatrics) This clinic is great as a whole "we specialize in busy families," it is an entirely pediatric practice and has daily walk in hours for sick kids no appointment needed.  After hours the clinic (same 2 locations) becomes afterhours clinics, so you can often bring your child to the same building and get care (billing is just adjusted accordingly)   Dr. Jaeger is the most supportive pediatrician of attachment parenting I have encountered.  She is warm and compassionate and supportive of natural and/or noninvasive treatments. She is overall very calm and supportive of a holistic approach.
Dr. Susan Goodale (Central Pediatrics) A mother of 4 daughters herself, she is open minded "She will give you both the Mom answer and the doctor answer!"
Dr. Sonja Hinrichs (Southdale Pediatric Associates) "The mother of twins who strives to find the best balance for her own family, life and career, she is definitely passionate about helping other parents (especially of multiples!)"

PERINATOLOGIST
MN Perinatal Specialist:
Should you make the difficult decision to have an amnio:
Dr. Bendel @ MN Perinatal Specialist is very experienced, has done thousands and in his semi-retired state it is almost exclusively what he does!


HOLISTIC HEALERS
acupuncture
Lindsay Long (maple grove)  Has a passion for musculoskeletal concerns... aches, pains, injuries and the like!  "If you're in pain, Lindsey can work wonders!"
Sarah Larson (Langford Chiropractic St. Paul) for personal injury, auto accident, workers compensation injuries, Sarah can be seen alone or as part of a team (acupuncture, chiro, massage and more) she is "a caring and compassionate practitioner who always makes my day a little brighter, Sarah is just one of those people who is a joy to be around."
Amy Theis (Heal OM Minneapolis, MN) Amy has worked closely with me (Nicole) and cared for my patients while I was on my own maternity leave.  She is an amazing person, skilled practitioner and is the very best resource in the twin cities when it comes to her two areas of extra interest: GLBT reproductive and fertility concerns and choice moms
Senia Tuominen (Healing Insight St. Paul) If you like the education, patient focussed care of Life Healing Life but are not trying to conceive or pregnant Senia is a wonderful resource.  With a special interest in digestive concerns and food therapy. "Senia has so much knowledge, drive and passion for the work she does."

bodywork
Liv Sulerud (Bodywork by Liv in S. Mpls) A great general massage therapist with a lovely space and training and experience in pregnancy massage
Autumn Compton (Riverpath Clinic in Longfellow neighborhood of Mpls) Tui Na (chinese massage) Shiatsu (Japanese massage) therapist, with training and experience in pre and perinatal massage, also an artist, dancer and qigong enthusiast.
Spark Clinic A HOLISTIC walk-in clinic!!!  What a concept!  For all your acute needs... think colds, earaches, bumps bruises, and much much more.  You can get homeopathic remedies, acupuncture, bodywork and much more.  Now offering tai chi classes too!
Adagio Massage & Mayan Abdominal Massage An amazing resource for body work that can scope from completely blissful pregnancy massage to specific work to realign the reproductive organs for improved fertility, better periods and more.  A very talented group of practitioners that each brings something unique and wonderful to each experience.

chiropractors
Stacy Meschbesher (Meshbesher Chiropractic Center, Minneapolis) Located in the same building as Life Healing Life, "Stacy is all of the best things a chiropractor could be, helpful, effective, knowledgible, skilled and none of the things that give chiropractic care a bad name, sales-y, pushy, aggressive. After having some pretty rotten chiropractic run ins she made me see it isn't always that way!"
Virginia Kampmeier (Langford Chiropractic St. Paul) "works with each patient individually and definitely doesn't just do a one size fits all approach."

YOGA
Jennifer Colletti With a passion for supporting and improving fertility through holism and yoga, Jen has a passion and drive to make the world a better place! "Her enthusiasm is contagious and her energy amazing."
Blooma Now with TWO amazing locations, Blooma is the twin cities most thriving pre and perinatal yoga studio.  With classes, massage, merchandise, and more... not to mention a mission to bring safer births to other parts of the world.

BIRTH/BREASTFEEDING
Sara Pierce pregnancy/birthing classes (Amma Maternity) "Teaches three classes, one for each trimester... she's a former labor/delivery nurse, a certified lactation consultant and has had 3 vastly different birth exeriences herself ranging from completely blissful... to bedrest/emergency surgery/12 week NICU stay."

WESTERN SPECIALISTS
breast health:
Dr. Madeline Gartner (Breast HealthCare in Plymouth & Edina) Breast Health expert and surgeon
endocrinologist:
Dr. Rebecca Mattison "A total big picture gal and one of only four female endos in the midwest!!?"

PSYCH PRACTITIONERS
Ivonne Nelson PsyD (Enliiven in Hopkins) "She's incredibly intuitive and uses holistic Ayurvedic medicine to provide lifestyle support for her patients... more than just a talk therapist."
Kristin Schreier (A Better You Hypnotherapy) "Great for deep-seeded issues, weight loss, and smoking cessation."
Jeanette Truchsess  Jeanette is a woman with a passion for assisting people in building families. She teaches Alice Domar’s Mind//Body Program for Fertility and helps the classes build community. She loves teaching clients meditation and supporting people to cope with the grief and roller coaster of emotions along the journey to parenthood. She is the consultant for CRM’s donor program and is starting a Resolve Donor Family Support Group soon..
Krista Post (St. Louis Park) "primarily sees women perinatally... and mostly postpartum as changes (or conflicts) in identity, work-family, marriage/relationship occur. She uses a collaborative approach, engages each woman's own intuition and body experience to help name what is true or right for her, and build toward that." Krista also plays an active role in the third party fertility community around the Twin Cities, and is a great resource for those thinking about third party fertility options.
The Staff at the Center for Grief Loss and Transition (St. Paul) Sometimes grief, loss and transition is obvious, sometimes it is the subtle kind such as with fertility struggles the practitioners at this center are wonderful wonderful resources for dealing with both (and anything in between), compassionate, understanding, and not focused on medications.  "They understand that many of the intense emotions are situational and valid, not something to be medicated away, but to be unfolded and worked through."

A Note:  "But Why NO reproductive endocrinologists?" Fertility work being my area of expertise, I feel that I have a lot of much more in depth knowledge as to the styles, personalities, preferences, etc. of the reproductive endocrinologists in the twin cities (and some elsewhere too).  Where I do not have a handy knowledge base of many of the above categories (with the exception of the more "alternative" folks).  If you are interested in learning more about REs, I welcome direct communications as I feel like I can give more nuanced and custom suggestions once I know what each woman is looking for. I get feedback from my patients all the time and am happy to share their feedback!