My education in home birth began well before my formal training. Raised in an extended family in which home birth is the norm (many of my cousins were born at home), I was always fascinated by the births of puppies and kittens (that always somehow happened in my bedroom), and was actually sought out by my cat for a labor and birth companion when I was a teenager. The cat rested against me between contractions while birthing her litter, and I began to feel the stirrings of my midwifery calling as I sat in awe of the birth process and the honor of being chosen to be present at birth. 

My after-school job as a teenager was as a care provider for developmentally challenged women at Mount Saint Joseph, a facility in Illinois in which I was trained to care for women with a variety of special needs.  My life experience following that included a one-year stint at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago which taught me that the art world didn't embody my belief in service and activism in a concrete enough way to continue. I was then able to work in the field of Art Therapy with the same women I had worked with in high school, as well as expanding access to art at other facilities and organizations that served people with disabilities. After spending time working as a nanny in the Chicago area, I spent three months in Guatemala in 1994, traveling, learning Spanish, and doing human rights work. This trip was pivotal for many reasons; I was able to understand the privilege and also the disadvantage of being born in America in a profound way, I became more committed than ever to doing work that might bring about change and peace in the world, and I became pregnant with my son, Eiden! During my pregnancy, I voraciously devoured everything I could get my hands on regarding home birth and midwifery, while being cared for by Chicago Community Midwives, a non-profit home birth practice for whom I later served as a board member. It was during this time that I was inspired, or called, if you will, to pursue midwifery as a path that would engage my creativity and present a challenge, while fulfilling my need for a profession that can change the world for the better. I believe that babies born with love and calm can better come into the world as peaceful and positive citizens, further, mothers that birth their own way in their own power will then be empowered by their belief in themselves to be mothers that support the next generation through love, nurturing, and the example of the belief in themselves. 

My midwifery training began in earnest when I began apprenticing at Alternative Birth Choices in Las Cruces, NM in 1997. Meanwhile, I worked at Las Cruces' natural foods co-op, (for 12 years and counting) which has greatly complemented my midwifery training in the area of Herbal and nutritional remedies. I have also attended the midwifery school at Maternidad La Luz, returning to work occasionally on the staff when needed. I have been licensed as a midwife in Texas in the past, but as the license is much more expensive than a NM license, I have let it lapse, so can serve texas families by working with area midwives who are licensed in Texas. I'll close this narrative by saying that my single greatest teachers have been my three children, Eiden, Aizel and Ojia, followed by the mothers, babies and families I serve. See below to read about my formal credentials. For more about me see my About Heather page. For more about my experience, see the link below to read my Informed Consent Document. 

An Informed Consent document is an important part of your midwifery care. This allows a midwifery client to educate herself about her midwife’s educational experience, philosophy, protocols and style of practice. It also informs clients about the laws regarding midwifery in their state or jurisdiction. With this information, midwifery clients can make informed decisions about their pregnancies and births. This information may also be a springboard for a client to ask more questions and educate herself about the process of childbearing. Clients who are informed are a major facet of good midwifery care and are integral to a healthy childbearing year. The practice of informed consent reflects the philosophy that a client and her family must take responsibility for the process of childbearing, including choices of birth location and practitioner, self-education, knowledge of risks and benefits, and self care during pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

To download and read the Informed Consent Document, click the link below.