Berlin Wellness Group OC

What a life saver! I experienced ligament pain very early on in my pregnancy. I thought it was something I would have to endure since nothing I did seemed to relieve it. Even a friend who is a physical therapist just gave me suggestions on how limit certain movements in order to not feel it as intensely. Then on one of my visits to my midwife at SouthCoast Midwifery they recommended Berlin. Let me tell you I like deep tissue massage and I will still tell you that the first session is difficult to get through but oh SO WORTH IT!!! If it hadn’t been for Berlin I would’ve barely been able to walk for most of my pregnancy without being in pain. Also, I found that by learning to breathe and focus through my treatments helped me prepare for labor! I also received acupuncture as well as chiropractic care all of the above being excellent!!! Please go here because you will be doing yourself such a huge favor. I strongly believe that the treatments they offer here contributed greatly to me having a smooth and quick labor and delivery. Don’t forget to come in post delivery they will see the baby as well. I can’t say enough good things!!!

I went here at the recommendation of a couple of people to try to «flip» my breech baby. At 36 weeks, I didn’t have much time. Dr. Jayme (the chiropractor) told me they have a 90% rate. Dr. Joyce told me that they usually see increased fetal movement and the baby turning about two days after the treatments.
Well, it worked! My baby turned on the third day after I had gone there. Of course, she might have turned on her own, but I do think it was the combination of the chiropractic work & acupuncture, along w/​the prescribed stretches and moxibustion that I did every night thereafter, that helped my baby turn.
Dr. Jayme is excellent. She also does massage. She is very careful and thorough. This is my second pregnancy and I’m having a lot of pain in my back, sacrum, and pelvis. I’ve been back since the first visit and both times I have walked out of there pain-​free.
Dr. Joyce was also extremely good. She took her time in interviewing me and seeing that I had low blood pressure, gave me a nutrition bar to eat before we started our session. Unlike my previous acupuncturist, who removed needles right away if I complained of pain upon insertion of a needle, Dr. Joyce asked me to describe the sensationI was feeling. When I described it, she then assured me it was normal and it meant it was working, and it would go away shortly. It did, and I actually became incredibly relaxed and fell asleep! (There was only one needle that hurt, the rest were painless).
There’s an eco-​boutique here with a small selection of maternity belts, swaddling blankets, delicious pregnancy health bars and other stuff.
There is plenty of parking as well and the bathroom is right in their lobby with a changing table, which I really appreciate (it’s not fun waddling to the bathroom when you’re pregnant and the bathroom is miles down the hall!).
Having said all this here are the cons:
— they are CLOSING this location in December! So if you have a breech baby, PLEASE go ASAP and see both Dr. Jayme & Dr. Joyce for the combined breech protocol they do.
— they don’t bill insurance (but they do give you the bill so you can submit it yourself, along w/​the diagnoses and other info)
— they are pricey. My first visit was well over $ 300 for both chiro & acupuncture. Second visit (chiro alone) was $ 129, minus the Check-​In deal of $ 10 off.

I saw Dr. Valerie during my pregnancy starting around 30 weeks. During my last pregnancy I had to leave work at 35 due to severe back pain. This pregnancy I had back pain but with Dr. Valerie’s help I was able to work and do the things I enjoyed. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that they don’t bill your insurance. Unfortunately, my insurance didn’t cover Dr. Valerie but it was well worth the expense because the last trimester of my pregnancy wasn’t miserable.

Dr. Barsom was AMAZING. I went in at 4mos pregnant for a massage and adjustment because I was having a lot of pain in my round ligaments. I was definitely sore after but started feeling better the next day and didn’t need to return until the end of my pregnancy. I should also mention that Dr. Barsom is just a really sweet and fun person to talk to. I would recommend this to every pregnant woman I could!

I want to start this review by stating that I had never received chiropratic care in my life and was always skeptical. During pregnancy I started to get very stiff and experience sciatic nerve pain. I heard about Berlin and decided to give it a try. Dr. Valerie was very helpful and comforting and put to rest all of my concerns. I started to feel better after the first visit. I then continued treatment (massage, chiropratic adjustments and acupuncture) to get ready for the labor and delivery of my first baby. I truly feel my delivery was a lot less painful due to the looseness in my hips and pelvic area from the treatments at Berlin.
About a month after my daughter was born I started to notice that she was having severe gas pains and she would cry for up to 40 mins in a high pitch scream /​cry. I felt helpless and started to research natural options to help her pain. I kept reading about the success of chiropratic adjustments to relieve gas in babies. Once again I found myself skeptical and nervous about adjusting my baby girl. I finally decided that it was worth a try, since the pain was not going away and I couldn’t watch my baby scream and cry anymore. I went in to Dr. Valerie and she told me not to be nervous. The adjustment was nothing like an adult adjustment, it was very calm and did not bother the baby one bit. Within an hour after the adjustment my baby had a major blow out, like a colon cleansing of her insides. For the next 3 days she had major bowel movements and not a single bout of gas since the adjustment. Even our day care provider felt that our baby was changed. She said it was like a new baby — not so stiff and no more gas pains.
I will forever be grateful to Dr. Valerie (and Dr. Sarah, acupuncture) for all they have done for me and my baby girl. I thought I had tried everything to solve this issue myself, but really I only needed to try this ONE thing — chiropratic!
Thanks again to the Berlin Wellness Group!

The Berlin wellness group is also a motherhood support place. A great place for new moms looking for support and a place to meet other moms. They have a weekly breastfeeding group, a baby wearing meeting, and many other classes you can attend. I bought a boba wrap for my baby and Elizabeth was super nice and great at explaining how to use it. My son fell in love with the boba wrap and its amazing. I also stayed for the breastfeeding support group with Elizabeth and she answered all my questions about my breastfeeding concerns. I will be going back to work soon and I am uneasy about the caregiver handling the breast milk so Elizabeth said i could bring the caregiver in and she would explain all the logistics of handling frozen breast milk before I go back to work.
Located inside the Berlin wellness group is the Pump Station, which a great little boutique to buy breastfeeding pillow, wraps, books, etc.
Britton Lunde also teaches many mother/​baby support groups here and they are amazing.

This place is such a gem and a lifesaver both during my pregnancy and afterwards. I started seeing Valerie (Dr Barsom) at around 24 weeks for excruciating back and hip pain. Nothing I tried to manage the pain seemed to work. Her adjustments were gentle and within 4 sessions, I noticed a lot of improvement. I returned around 34 weeks for weekly «labor prep» adjustments to help prepare my body for labor. I naturally delivered a healthy whopping 8 lb 9 oz baby boy. I called their office within 3 days of labor to get adjusted as my pelvis/​hips basically went to war and back during labor and was glad to find out they did house calls. This place is pricey but well worth it especially when you’re at your most delicate and pregnant.
They also have acupuncture and massage services here. I’ve tried both when they run specials (their last one was for around $ 130 to sample chiropractic services, massage and acupuncture) and no complaints there.
One of my favorite things about Berlin is the breastfeeding support group led by Elizabeth, their lactation guru. She is very helpful and is a wealth of knowledge about baby care, baby wearing and of course breastfeeding. I think she is a Pump Station affiliate (pump station has a boutique inside the Berlin office).

Motherhood isn’t always easy. But thanks to the good folks at Berlin Wellness in Costa Mesa, it doesn’t need to be painful.
I received a complimentary visit and follow-​up in a drawing for the Boobiepalooza event. I happily cashed in on the offer and was very pleased with Dr. Barsom’s treatment. She was thorough and took time to address several of my aches and pains. I felt terrific afterwards!
Flash forward to about 25 weeks postpartum. My son was diagnosed with GERD at eight weeks, but was acting as though something else was making him uncomfortable. I decided to see if chiropractic could help him and called up the wellness center. Lucy, their office manager, was able to get us an appointment for their next business day.
Dr. Barsom was just as thorough with my son. She found a few places on his spine where he needed adjustment, and a few places were his muscles were hypertonic. She gently adjusted and massaged my baby (though he didn’t enjoy the massage at first), even allowing for us to take a few breaks to soothe and nurse him. Within a few hours of his first treatment, my son was showing signs of improvement! He was considerably less cranky and more cheerful.
We saw Dr. Barsom twice more for follow-​ups. At each visit the good doctor took time to thoroughly examine my baby’s back, hips, neck and shoulders. With each visit, my son had fewer areas of tension. Now, my son is much happier, more comfortable, and has improved range of motion, too.
I should add that they also have a wonderful boutique for new mom’s and babies. Many great products from nursing supplies to baby carriers, bath tubs to baby shoes. Definitely worth checking out.

I am 23 weeks into my second pregnancy and I have experienced low back pain much earlier than I did with my first. I also had bad sciatica pain in the final months of my first pregnancy and did nothing for it. This time I wanted to be proactive. I decided to give Berlin Wellness Group OC a try after poking around on their website. The office is beautiful and clean and Dr. Barsom is very friendly, knowledgeable and professional. She started the visit with a consultation and then we moved to a massage room where she did at 25 minute prenatal massage to get my muscles warmed up. That 25 minutes targeted my glutes and lower back in a way that no massage therapist has been able to do. She worked on my hips and neck as well. It was hands down the best! After the massage we went back to the adjustment room and she adjusted my back. I felt so good after. My back was screaming for that kind of attention. I was a little sore the next day but that’s how I knew that the massage and adjustment was effective. I can’t wait to go back!

Late in my second trimester I began to experience intense pain due to sciatica. It was so bad that I could no longer work. After suffering for a month or so, I was referred to the LA office by a friend who is a doula. Dr. Berlin began treating me, and I began to benefit from his treatments.
However, the drive to LA was really hard in my condition, so I was thrilled when their OC office opened in April 2011.
I have been so pleased with the treatment that Dr. Barsom has been giving me, and my back has improved a great deal. She is very sensitive to the needs of pregnant women, and well-​versed in appropriate treatment methods for our condition.
The office is beautiful and they have many useful products available for expecting and new parents. Both Dr. Barsom and her front office staff are very warm and welcoming. I look forward to seeing them each week.