Midwifery

Natural Birth is a choice all women deserve for themselves, their child, and their family.  
Women have the innate ability to give birth with confidence and dignity. As women search for 
ways to reclaim the beauty and power of birth, more women are choosing to give birth with midwives.

Pregnancy and birth is a rite of passage in which mother and child experience a journey of depth, power
and transformation.  During this process, it is important they receive loving support from their
trusted community and care providers.  The mother needs to retain her power, to be listened to, and
encouraged to trust her own intuition.  I believe in education as a path to empowerment.  I encourage 
opportunities for mothers and families to discuss and understand their choices during pregnancy and birth, 
so they may make healthy decisions based on their personal values.

My training as a midwife began at the Northern New Mexico Women's Health & Birth Center 
and I graduated from the National College of Midwifery by 1999.  Receiving my National
Midwifery Certification,  I passed the NARM  (NorthAmerican Registry of Midwives) requirements and 
became a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) in 2000.  Working at Andaluz Waterbirth Center, 
specializing waterbirth in birth pools, I earned my  Oregon State Midwifery License in 2001. Traveling to 
Senegal, West Africa, I worked for the African Birth Collective in 2007 working alongside African 
midwives while training American midwifery students.  Currently I work with Mother Tree Birth Services 
in Portland Oregon and am facilitating The Artemis Institute which is offering holistic doula trainings and 
courses in Women's Healing Arts for the Childbearing Year.

 
What is a Midwife?

A Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is an independent healthcare practitioner who has met the standards 
for certification set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and is qualified to provide the
Midwives Model of Care, working primarily in out-of-hospital settings.
The Midwives Model of Care is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life events. 

The Midwives Model of Care includes:

*monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle;
*providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and 
*prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support; 
*minimizing technological interventions; and
*identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention.

The application of this model has been proven to reduce the incidence of birth injury, trauma, and
cesarean section.
© Midwifery Task Force