Sara Brown, CNM, CNP, APNP

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Sara Brown, CNM, CNP, APNP

Certified Nurse Midwife

Sara’s career in midwifery and women’s health started over 20 years ago. She started this path as a doula and nurse on Hennepin County Medical Center’s busy high-risk labor and delivery unit and the low-risk midwifery unit. In 2013 she began her career as a nurse-midwife with a special interest in waterbirths and vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC).

Sara is a lifelong learner! Her free time is often spent studying a topic “new to her.” While working as a midwife she completed certification as a Women’s Health Nurse-Practitioner (WHNP). During this mentorship she began her training in functional medicine, hormone replacement therapy, and fertility treatment.

Continuing this journey of following her passions, she began training through the School of Applied Functional Medicine (SAFM) and became certified in 2023. Functional medicine is the art of evaluating the whole person to uncover the root cause of a disease dynamic versus solely treating a symptom. One of the hallmarks of functional medicine is diet and lifestyle change, education, and targeted supplementation.

Through the functional medicine lens, Sara treats many conditions including the following: anxiety and depression, weight gain, resolving insulin resistance, perimenopause/menopausal symptoms, autoimmune disorders, Hashimoto's disease, optimizing thyroid function (looking at full thyroid panel), gut health, colitis, IBS, skin rashes, PCOS, and fertility optimization.

One of the main reasons women come to see Sara is for improvement of overall health- “I just want to feel like my old self and feel like I am thriving again!”

On her days off she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, cross country skiing, yoga, trying new foods, traveling, exploring the Boundary Waters and overall living simply and practicing mindfulness.

Professional Interests

  • Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare including Primary care
  • Individualized Prenatal and Birth Care
  • Waterbirth
  • Functional Medicine
  • Pelvic floor Care (i.e. incontinence, pelvic pain)
  • Infertility Care
  • Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
  • Hashimoto's disease

*At this time Sara is not seeing patients for the following conditions: mast cell activation syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, chronic mold exposure or Hyperthyroidism.

Certifications

  • American Midwifery Certification Board
  • Certified Waterbirth Provider- Waterbirth International
  • Pelvic Floor Care Certification- Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute
  • Hormone Replacement Certification- Worldlink Medical
  • Evaluation and Treatment of Infertility Certification- American Society of Reproductive Medicine
  • School of Applied Functional Medicine- September 2021- present.

Every birth and every family is significant. Each person is an expert on their own body and ultimately knows what is important and key for them. I view my role as an educator and guide providing information, options, and full informed consent. I feel especially called to serve families who may have had a previous difficult birth and are hoping for a different experience.

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