Dawn M Dana, LM

Having Dawn, Mary, and Ronda as our midwives for the birth of our first child was a truly great experience that I would recommend to anyone hoping to have their baby at home. They are such a professional team and they are so passionate about the work that they do and it showed with every interaction that we had with them along our journey. You can feel the love they have for all the families they work with and all the little babies that they help bring into the world.
If you’re a candidate for a home birth in the Ventura/​Santa Barbara/​Ojai area, this is the team for you! We will definitely see them again once the time comes for our second child!

We are so grateful for the loving, exceptional care and support we received by our midwives Mary, Dawn and Ronda! They truly made our pregnancy and birth such a beautiful journey.

With Dawn, Ronda, and Mary as my midwives, I felt supported and prepared for the arrival of our son Ronin. They are amazing women!

My experience with Dawn was positive from the first time I met with her! She has a cheerful, caring and very professional attitude. You can sense how much she is invested in each person she works with and how much she cares for the relationship. I always felt very comfortable and at ease with Dawn.
Prenatal visits were fantastic and I received good advice from her regarding nutrition, exercise, and general well-​being for the birth. Dawn was one of two midwives present at my birth (she works with Mary Jackson, LM & Ronda Perea, LM) and while he role during the actual birth was less active, she was completely present for me and incredible in the hours following birth in dealing with some bleeding complications I experienced.
Dawn coached me through the first few days of being a new parent; I think I texted her non-​stop during those early days and I was always amazed how quickly she’d respond and it always put my fears to rest or gave me concrete advice. I cannot emphasis enough how committed she is to being available for her mommies and babies. It was a FABULOUS experience!
We’re working with Dawn again for our second pregnancy and so far everything is just as wonderful as before. If you want a caring, personal relationship with a licensed and highly professional midwife, I cannot recommend Dawn enough! You’ll love her!
Just a note: Like I mentioned earlier in my review, Dawn is partnered with two other midwives (Mary Jackson and Ronda Perea) so if you work with her, you will also be seeing them as well. They have my full and complete endorsement as well; they are the most caring women I’ve ever had the privilege to have care for me.

I had Dawn as my midwife for both of my children’s home births. Dawn and her partners are amazing! She is highly knowledgeable, which satisfied my husband’s needs to know that I am medically cared for. She patiently walked us through every concern and questions we had about doing a home birth and maintaining a healthy pregnancy.
She is also kind, warm, easy-​going, and intuitive. For me, the bond that I got to experience with a couple of caring and nurturing midwifes was priceless. I can’t imagine going through pregnancy and birth as if it were just a clinical experience. And I never had to sit uncomfortably in a crowded waiting room for any of my check-​up visits! When I was having my second child, I was able to bring my older child along for him to participate in the experience — he got to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and help measure my belly. Those are sweet memories that I will cherish.
Both births were amazing experiences in different ways. The first was lengthy and difficult, and Dawn stayed extra long hours when I expressed that I really needed her to. She knew how to support me without me having to ask for anything — including massaging areas where I was feeling the pain. The second was much faster and easier. As a matter of fact, a quite euphoric birthing experience. I felt so comfortable knowing Dawn was right there to guide me through anything and everything.
If anyone is contemplating home birth, I would strongly recommend her and her partners.

Dawn Dana was our midwife for our two daughters and will always be considered part of our extended family. She made us feel comfortable from the first meeting, and gave us the opportunity to have two amazing waterbirths. She is caring, loving, intuitive, a wonderful listener and a great friend.

When my husband and I were ‘shopping’ around for a midwife, we weren’t sure it was the right path for us. We wanted to bring our baby into the world in the safest way possible– and while we knew that a home birth is statistically safer, we still had concerns. We met with dozens of midwifes in the Ventura/​LA area and hadn’t found the right fit for us. When we met Dawn, all of our concerns fell away. She has a rich spiritual connection coupled with an incredible grounded-​ness and practicality– exactly what we wanted. Throughout our pregnancy and into our birthing experience, my husband and I felt like we won the lottery having Dawn as our midwife. She is compassionate and loving as well as deeply educated and wise when it comes to all things baby :) I refer my friends and family to her regularly– knowing that I did the research and Dawn is the best of the best :) I love her and will always be grateful for her support during that special time in our lives.

Dawn, Mary, and Ronda were an integral part of ensuring I had the beautiful, strong, healthy childbirth experience that I did. From beginning to end, they were always supportive of my journey, and didn’t treat it like a sterilized medical experience. My appointments were as long as they needed to be — no hour long wait for a 15 minute appointment where I was treated impersonally. Each woman in this practice is a beautiful compassionate soul, and each has a different personality that allows them to work together and with your family in a very cooperative, holistic fashion. We interviewed four other midwife groups (all of whom would have been more than competent) but we really clicked with Dawn. Most of our pre and post natal appointments were with her, although Mary and Ronda were the midwives available during my actual delivery. I never felt like anything less than a queen with them, honestly. Yes, they’ll get on your case about your diet and weight gain — they’re still medical practitioners! But they will also be ready to help with other aspects of the birthing process that other medical professionals are not equipped to help with (or worse, interested in helping with). Concerns are never dismissed; inquiries are always met with factual, researched information; and they make it clear that this is your child, your birth, and that your opinions and feelings about the process matter.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would (will!) expel child from my vagina with them again.