09/24/2026
Meet Dr. Whitney Elsesser, DNP, CNM, Medical Director and Administrator of Birth Haven, and one of our three co-owners.
Whitney’s path to Birth Haven actually started long before Birth Haven even existed.
Khadijah met Whitney when she was still working labor and delivery in the hospital, and pretty quickly realized that the way Whitney thought about birth was much more aligned with out-of-hospital care than the hospital world she was working in. Whitney mentioned also that she had a goal to someday open a birth center in NH
After some conversations about birth, autonomy, physiology, and what maternity care could look like, Khadijah finally told her:
“Whitney, your philosophy aligns with out-of-hospital birth. Why not come back to supporting normal physiological birth?”
And it wasn’t long before she did.
Whitney is a Certified Nurse Midwife and Doctor of Nursing Practice, and she brings such a valuable mix of strong clinical experience and a real respect for normal physiological birth, informed choice, individualized care, and women having a true voice in their own care.
She is also the founder of Holistic & Hormonal where her work goes far beyond pregnancy and birth. She has a special interest in hormones, fertility, cycle health, preconception care, and holistic women’s health, with a strong focus on looking for root causes instead of just managing symptoms.
At Birth Haven, Whitney oversees much of the clinical operations side of the center while also caring directly for the women and families we serve.
One of the things that brought us together in the first place was a shared belief that birth is most often a normal physiological process, women deserve to be listened to, and excellent clinical care should never require someone to give up their autonomy.
Birth Haven really grew out of conversations like those early ones, talking about what maternity care could look like if strong clinical knowledge, respect for physiology, and genuine respect for women all existed in the same space.
Now we get to build exactly that.
We’re so excited for you to get to know Whitney. 🤍
