My Story
The first birth I ever saw was at the Circus Sideshow at Coney Island. Really. It was 1994, and I was 19 years old. My boyfriend, Nick (now my husband of 24 years) and I had just watched the Human Blockhead hammer two six-inch spikes into his own nostrils when the emcee announced that for an extra $2 each we could gain entry to an adjacent room where we were guaranteed to witness the most hair-raising, bone-chilling, spine-tingling spectacle known to man. Of course we immediately handed over our money and joined the crowd behind a heavy curtain in a tiny room containing nothing but a television. As the curtain closed behind us a video began to play. It had that somber, grainy quality of 1970's film stock, blue-tinged and faded. As my eyes adjusted to the decontextualized sight, the abstract shapes on the screen sorted themselves into the close-up image of a baby crowning, dark wet hair plastered to its head, fluid seeping in little rivulets along the margins where labia stretched and opened to astounding capacity. While the process took its precious time, the whole symbiotic dyad alternately bulging and receding, then bulging even more, I heard the people around me gasp and groan in horror and disgust. In contrast, I was absolutely riveted. As the faceless mother gave her final push, the newborn tumbled out in a dramatic surge of fluid and blood, prompting a climactic cry of revulsion from our fellow spectators. I walked out of that room very much aware that despite the shabby setting and the questionable company, it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen in my life.
The next year I took a course at Bard College called Anthropology of Medicine, which included a survey of childbirth practices around the world. Just like that day on the boardwalk I was endlessly fascinated by the black and white photos in my textbooks of people giving birth in cultures that supported unmedicated, physiologic birth, cultures where midwifery care was the norm. These images of people, squatting, standing, kneeling, actively birthing in power and joy, told a different story than the one I'd seen in movies and TV. So, despite not having been raised in a culture of natural birth, I sought out the care of midwives for the birth of my first child. Luca was born in 2000 at the first free-standing birth center in the nation, the Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center in New York City. And after experiencing the transformative power of physiologic, midwife-supported birth, I wished everyone could have that opportunity! It was at this time I first learned that my great-grandmother had been the midwife for her Norwegian immigrant community in Westby, Wisconsin. I was inspired.
However, I was already pursuing other passions. I earned my Master of Arts in Teaching from Montclair State University where I focused in urban education. I taught science in an underserved public high school before leaving the world of public education in order to homeschool my own highly sensitive child, and for several years I developed and taught my own inquiry-based, hands-on science program for the homeschoolers in our community.
My daughter was born at home in 2013, a wonderful experience that reignited my interest in midwifery. In the 12 years that had passed since the birth of my first child, the Elizabeth Seton Center had been forced to close due to soaring malpractice insurance costs, the cesarean rate at our local hospital had reached 49%, and I'd heard more stories than I could count from birthing people whose choices had been stripped away by a cascade of unnecessary interventions. New Jersey had the second highest cesarean rate in the nation, one of the highest maternal mortality rates and some of the worst racial disparities in maternal and newborn outcomes. New Jersey families needed more support, more information, and more options.
In 2015 I became a certified birth doula and in addition to serving private clients, I volunteered as a doula through a social service organization in Newark, NJ. I enrolled in Midwives College of Utah in 2016 and apprenticed under Kasey DiVine, CNM in New Jersey for four years before temporarily relocating my family to a barn in Vermont and completing my clinical training with Katherine Bramhall at Gentle Landing Birth Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. In 2021 I earned my Bachelor of Science in Midwifery from Midwives College of Utah and became a Certified Professional Midwife and NJ Licensed Midwife.
Upon returning to New Jersey, I founded Collective Midwifery Care together with my former preceptor, Kasey, a wonderful mentor and a great friend. For personal/family reasons I'm currently on hiatus from accepting my own home birth clients. However, although we've dissolved our formal partnership, I still love working with Kasey, and I attend many of her home births as second midwife.
At this time I'm enjoying developing other aspects of my own midwifery practice that I hope will further benefit our community. I'm excited to be offering Evidence Based Birth® classes, which align so well with my own mission to promote autonomy, informed choice, and self advocacy in all birth settings. I believe that everyone should have access to the midwifery model of care, no matter their circumstances, so I'm also happy to be bringing my midwifery expertise to the role of monitrice in order to support families for whom home birth is not an option. As the parent of a transgender son I have years of experience navigating the medical system through the lens of queer and trans-friendly care and inclusion and have always worked towards that ideal in my own practice. I am especially happy to be adding fertility counseling and home IUI services to better meet the needs of LGBTQ+ families as well as single parents and anyone else looking for a more holistic and accessible alternative to the fertility clinic. And finally, I'm excited to help all parents explore their full range of options for feeding their infant, including breast and chest feeding for transgender parents and inducing lactation for nonbirthing parents. Thanks for stopping by and getting to know me!
The next year I took a course at Bard College called Anthropology of Medicine, which included a survey of childbirth practices around the world. Just like that day on the boardwalk I was endlessly fascinated by the black and white photos in my textbooks of people giving birth in cultures that supported unmedicated, physiologic birth, cultures where midwifery care was the norm. These images of people, squatting, standing, kneeling, actively birthing in power and joy, told a different story than the one I'd seen in movies and TV. So, despite not having been raised in a culture of natural birth, I sought out the care of midwives for the birth of my first child. Luca was born in 2000 at the first free-standing birth center in the nation, the Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center in New York City. And after experiencing the transformative power of physiologic, midwife-supported birth, I wished everyone could have that opportunity! It was at this time I first learned that my great-grandmother had been the midwife for her Norwegian immigrant community in Westby, Wisconsin. I was inspired.
However, I was already pursuing other passions. I earned my Master of Arts in Teaching from Montclair State University where I focused in urban education. I taught science in an underserved public high school before leaving the world of public education in order to homeschool my own highly sensitive child, and for several years I developed and taught my own inquiry-based, hands-on science program for the homeschoolers in our community.
My daughter was born at home in 2013, a wonderful experience that reignited my interest in midwifery. In the 12 years that had passed since the birth of my first child, the Elizabeth Seton Center had been forced to close due to soaring malpractice insurance costs, the cesarean rate at our local hospital had reached 49%, and I'd heard more stories than I could count from birthing people whose choices had been stripped away by a cascade of unnecessary interventions. New Jersey had the second highest cesarean rate in the nation, one of the highest maternal mortality rates and some of the worst racial disparities in maternal and newborn outcomes. New Jersey families needed more support, more information, and more options.
In 2015 I became a certified birth doula and in addition to serving private clients, I volunteered as a doula through a social service organization in Newark, NJ. I enrolled in Midwives College of Utah in 2016 and apprenticed under Kasey DiVine, CNM in New Jersey for four years before temporarily relocating my family to a barn in Vermont and completing my clinical training with Katherine Bramhall at Gentle Landing Birth Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. In 2021 I earned my Bachelor of Science in Midwifery from Midwives College of Utah and became a Certified Professional Midwife and NJ Licensed Midwife.
Upon returning to New Jersey, I founded Collective Midwifery Care together with my former preceptor, Kasey, a wonderful mentor and a great friend. For personal/family reasons I'm currently on hiatus from accepting my own home birth clients. However, although we've dissolved our formal partnership, I still love working with Kasey, and I attend many of her home births as second midwife.
At this time I'm enjoying developing other aspects of my own midwifery practice that I hope will further benefit our community. I'm excited to be offering Evidence Based Birth® classes, which align so well with my own mission to promote autonomy, informed choice, and self advocacy in all birth settings. I believe that everyone should have access to the midwifery model of care, no matter their circumstances, so I'm also happy to be bringing my midwifery expertise to the role of monitrice in order to support families for whom home birth is not an option. As the parent of a transgender son I have years of experience navigating the medical system through the lens of queer and trans-friendly care and inclusion and have always worked towards that ideal in my own practice. I am especially happy to be adding fertility counseling and home IUI services to better meet the needs of LGBTQ+ families as well as single parents and anyone else looking for a more holistic and accessible alternative to the fertility clinic. And finally, I'm excited to help all parents explore their full range of options for feeding their infant, including breast and chest feeding for transgender parents and inducing lactation for nonbirthing parents. Thanks for stopping by and getting to know me!