Midwives &
Lactation
Consulting

Specializing in Safe,
Personalized and
Holistic Care

Midwives &
Lactation Consulting

Specializing in Safe, Personalized and Holistic Care

Northshore Midwives & Lactation Consulting is a unique and special practice

We offer the highest quality midwifery care available. There are three midwives in our practice and we make every effort to ensure you have two midwives, who you know well, at your birth.
Continuous caring relationships have shown to produce better birth outcomes. You will receive your prenatal care, birth care and postpartum care from the same providers, building a close relationship with the midwives who will be attending your birth, which helps you get the birth experience you want.
Andrea is currently the only licensed midwife who is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in Washington State.
Breastfeeding support from a Board Certified Lactation Consultant is integrated into your prenatal and postpartum care, thus improving your breastfeeding experience.
We are the only local practice that offers all clients a one-on-one lactation consult a few days after birth, which is covered by insurance.
Sadie and Courtney are both clinical herbalists and specialize in herbal medicine for the childbearing years.
Experience is important when choosing your midwives. Together our midwives have attended over 1500 births.
We offer home birth or birth center You have all the time you need to decide the best location to birth your baby.
Nitrous Oxide is available at our birth center births.
Postpartum Doula services are offered to all families, including those who have had home births, birth center births and hospital births.

We are committed to providing personalized and holistic care to families. Each care plan is tailored to the client’s specific needs and desires, together with informed choice and family centered care.

The intent is to see clients more frequently and with longer visits. This practice style allows us to build relationships with our clients, which is the foundation of midwifery care and ensures clients are getting the quality care they deserve. We offer both natural birth and water birth in either a home birth or birth center setting, while recognizing the needs of different cultures and lifestyles.

Northshore Midwives & Lactation Consulting is a sustainable practice committed to minimizing waste products such as paper and medical supplies. In addition, we take a limited number of births each month to maintain our ability to provide the highest quality care for each of our clients. We would love to meet you, schedule a consultation today to meet with a midwife.

About Us

Andrea Henderson, LM, CPM, IBCLC

Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

I wanted to be a “doctor who delivers babies” since I was young, “a calling” some would say. As a child, I did not know what a Midwife was, but I have always been interested in pregnant people, birth, babies and breastfeeding. I started my midwifery journey at Central Washington University, working towards a BS in Pre-Midwifery, a degree that I helped to develop with my advisors. I continued my education at the Seattle Midwifery School, earning a certificate in midwifery. Upon graduation, I enjoyed catching hundreds of babies while working at the Puget Sound Birth Center located in Kirkland, WA and the Eastside Birth Center located in Bellevue, WA. Additionally, I am an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)…

Sadie Whitten, MSM, LM, CPM

Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife, Clinical Herbalist

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to “help pregnant people”. To learn what that meant for me was where my journey to become a midwife began.

The Pacific Northwest is where I call home. I spent four years in Boise, Idaho, where I attended Boise State University for my undergrad. There, I received a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a minor in Spanish. I had the opportunity to intern at a hospital in San Ramón, Costa Rica during a summer studying abroad. There, I observed my first births as well as volunteer for the local milk bank. I soon realized that I felt passionate towards serving families during this transition into parenthood and giving birthing parents the right of autonomy during their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

My journey to midwifery continued when I decided to apply to midwifery school. I graduated from Bastyr University and received a Master’s of Science in Midwifery. For my Master’s track, I chose to emphasize my studies in Botanical Medicine. This was an extensive two-year training that has helped develop my passion towards the use of herbs during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. During my time as a student-midwife, I was able to apprentice with Northshore Midwives and Lactation as well as with Eastside Midwives. Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with many families in the greater Puget Sound region. It is my devotion to serve families with inclusive, evidence-based, and individualized care during their childbearing year.

Outside from midwifery, you can find me crafting, hammocking, and out finding adventure while wearing my Tevas.

Ella Karpenko, MSM, LM, CPM

Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife

Ella’s path to midwifery began after attending a dear friend’s home birth as her doula. Witnessing her power as she triumphantly pushed out her baby after 28 long hours of labor, and being part of welcoming new life inspired her to apply to Bastyr University with the dream of getting a Masters in Midwifery.

It was a seven-year journey through the medical industry to arrive at that Masters in Midwifery. It started with volunteering at Providence Hospital, then interning as an electrocardiograph technician at Overlake Hospital, a lab technician at Virginia Mason, and a nursing assistant at a rehab center. While pursuing her undergrad degree Ella spent more than four years as a phlebotomist at Evergreen Hospital in various departments. It was this exposure that brought her to realize her passion for women’s healthcare. She has had the privilege of supporting over 1,000 families through prenatal and postpartum care and has caught over 300 healthy babies.

Ella’s experience in midwifery has shaped the values she upholds today in her own practice. She believes in compassionate, client-centered, and evidence-based care. She believes in providing parents with options in their care and helping families make educated choices. She grew up in a predominantly Slavic and Russian-speaking community and hopes to increase access to midwifery care for this group and other culturally diverse communities. Ella currently lives in the countryside with her husband and son Levi where she enjoys reading, the outdoors and spending time with her family.