The community you’ve been waiting for.

For queer people & our allies.

Three ovals with white lettering: trying to conceive, pregnant, postpartum

What the Community Offers You

The PregnantTogether community offers:

  • Access to your own personal midwife who can help you navigate through the challenges and joys of trying to conceive (TTC) and pregnancy

  • A community space for you to connect with other like-minded people going through TTC and pregnancy

  • Weekly live Q&A's with an experienced midwife

  • Monthly webinars with experts

  • Recorded video content and self-paced courses about every stage of preconception, pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum

  • And so much more!

View FAQ

Black and white image of Marea Goodman, licensed midwife with a large pregnant belly, shirtless with a shawl wrapped around her
Audio Version of Intro Video
Marea Goodman

  • Hi, everybody. My name is Marea Goodman, and I'm a licensed midwife with over a decade of experience caring for people who are trying to conceive, pregnant, birthing , we well as postpartum. I’m also a mama to three awesome kids. I’m also the co-author of the book Baby Making for Everybody- Fertility and Family Building for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents.

    As a midwife who's cared for hundreds and hundreds of people who are TTC or pregnant, as well as a queer parent who’s experienced queer conception and pregnancy myself, I really understand how intense this time of life can be.

    There are so many things to think about! So many decisions that most of us have probably never considered before. It's a lot. And people deserve so much more support, education and community throughout this whole baby making process.

    That's where this group comes in. It is not enough to see your midwife or doctor for 5 to 10 minutes once a month for an insemination or a prenatal visit. I really don't want you to be up in the middle of the night alone, going down some random Google rabbit hole after Googling a fertility questions or a pregnancy symptom.

    I really want you to feel like you have a home during this process. A home that can support you with information on how to thrive mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, as well as connect you with other people going through similar experiences.

    I created PregnantTogether to provide people who are TTC as well as pregnant and postpartum with information and community with the goal of supporting and empowering people during this transformational time of life.

    This group won’t replace your primary care provider. It's still really important to receive in-person care from a midwife or a doctor, but it will, I hope, help you feel supported, nourished, empowered and connected throughout your pregnancy and beyond.

    This group is for everybody who's trying to conceive or pregnant as well as their families. There are live and recorded classes about topics that support people through so many different experiences related to TTC and pregnancy, as well as videos specifically for partners of pregnant people. Because even if you aren't the one carrying the pregnancy, you're still in the process of becoming a parent or growing your family and your experience matters.

    There's also going to be a live weekly Q&A with me where you can bring up any questions or concerns that are coming up, as well as monthly webinars with different experts who specialize in supporting people through lots of different experiences related to preconception and pregnancy. And there's going to be a lot more.

    So whether you're still in your pre-preconception phase or you’re newly pregnant or even in your third trimester, I'm so glad to welcome you into our growing community and I really hope that this is something that supports you while you're doing this profound and important work of growing the next generation.

Teal speech bubble: Community members are saying "having questions answered by a supportive, inclusive midwife is amazing!"
Yellow speech bubble: Community members are saying, "I feel less isolated in my experience. I love what I'm learning, too!"

A Message from Marea

As a midwife who's cared for hundreds and hundreds of people trying to conceive, pregnant, birthing and postpartum, as well as a mom who's gone through these experiences myself, I really understand how intense this time of life can be.

Trying to conceive, especially as a queer person, can be full of ups and down—and people need more support during this time. And during pregnancy, we experience so many profound changes: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and relational. We're also faced with a TON of medical decisions that most of us have probably never considered before. It's a lot. And people deserve so much more support, education and community throughout this whole process.

It is NOT enough to see your doctor or midwife for a 5-minute insemination or prenatal appointment once a month. You deserve more. Someone to offer you easy-to-digest information about what is and is not normal so that you do not need to be up in the middle of the night fending off a google-induced panic attack. And a community to be with you during this time.

I believe so strongly in the transformational power of this time of life, from preconception to the postpartum. I mean, we are literally conceiving and growing the next generation—that is f*cking powerful! I think that the more people who are TTC and pregnant (and our families) feel supported, empowered, and nourished throughout our family building experiences, the better able we'll be as a species to heal ourselves and our world. I hope you’ll join us in the PregnantTogether community!

Read more about Marea

  • Yes! PregnantTogether centers the queer experience of trying to conceive (TTC), pregnancy, and the postpartum, because almost no other family-building spaces center the needs and experiences of the LGBTQ+ population, and it doesn’t exclude anybody. The community is a safe place for everybody who is TTC, pregnant, or postpartum. My vision is to have this be a truly safe space for all people growing their families.

  • The midwifery model of care is based on a NONHIERARCHICAL relationship between the midwife and the pregnancy person. The midwifery model of care is one based on empowering the pregnant person and providing them with the information that they need so that they can make the best decisions they can for themselves, their baby, and their families as a whole.

    Midwifery is one of the world’s oldest professions. There are two types of licensed midwives in the US—community based midwives (LMs or CPMs) who provide out-of-hospital birth and are licensed and regulated depending on the state in which they they live, and certified nurse midwives (CNMs) who are trained to work in hospitals and are licensed by the Board of Registered Nurses. Marea is a licensed midwife whose license is regulated by the California Medical Board.

    The US midwifery movement owes much of its knowledge to the wisdom of Black and Indigenous midwives on this continent. There is a huge racial disparity in the midwifery community, and at PregnantTogether, our values are aligned with those of the racial justice movement.

  • A midwife is an expert in normal pregnancy. Midwives offer a holistic care approach to pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. We know how to support people physically and emotionally throughout pregnancy, not just from a Western medical perspective. Obstetricians, on the other hand, are trained surgeons and are often more oriented around what could go WRONG vs what can go RIGHT. At PregnantTogether we believe that there’s a place for all different kinds of support people throughout pregnancy- but that midwives know best how to support pregnant people during the challenges and joys common to the pregnant experience.

  • Studies have shown that feeling connected to community drastically improves mental health. In over more than a decade of caring for people who are pregnant and trying to conceive, Marea has noticed that many, many folks feel disconnected from community while trying to conceive and experiencing pregnancy. People deserve to feel connected and well while growing the next generation— community really does make a difference.

  • The PregnantTogether community offers:

    Access to your own personal midwife who can help you navigate through the challenges and joys of TTC and pregnancy

    A community space for people to connect and support each other through each phase of preconception, pregnancy, and the postpartum.

    Weekly live Q&A's with Marea Goodman, LM, CPM

    Monthly webinars with experts specializing in some aspect of the TTC or pregnant experience

    Recorded video content and self-paced courses containing educational and empowering information about every stage of pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum

    And so much more!

  • PregnantTogether monthly memberships currently range from $9.99-$25.99 dollars per month—we care deeply about making this accessible to as many people as possible. 10% of all profits from PregnantTogether are donated to the organization Black Mamas Matter, in the effort to support the work to heal the Black maternal health crisis in the US.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

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Blue speech bubble: Community members are saying "I am happy to connect to people from all over. I don’t want to do this kind of engagement on [traditional social media], so having a more dedicated space is really nice.”