I have always enjoyed encouraging people and sharing knowledge with them, especially about health. As a freshman at FriendsUniversity in Wichita, Kansas I had the opportunity to interview a midwife and thought it sounded like a fascinating profession. The next fall some family friends needed a place to have a home birth and my parents opened their home to them. I vividly remembers right after the baby was born the new mother holding the baby and saying to the dad about the beautiful baby girl, "This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen." I was struck with how peaceful and empowering the birth was for the couple and thought maybe I would like to become a midwife and be able to bless people in that way. Soon after that I was able to work with a midwife in Wichita assisting at births, helping during prenatals, and working in the office. I loved the relationships that were built and the community that home birth offered to the women who oftentimes had attended birth classes together.
As a young girl I did some missions work with my family and since then I have had a great desire to do more missions work and help the poor and needy by showing them God’s love. I enrolled in Mercy in Action School of Primary Health Care and Midwifery and co-enrolled in the National College of Midwifery. The curriculum mixed missions training with specialized midwifery training to equip those who desire to use their skills both in the U.S. and in developing countries. After a semester in Boise, Idaho I headed to the Philippines to finish the clinical portion of my training.
Working in Manilla, Philippines at a free birth center for the women of Welfareville, at the time the second largest slum area in Manila, I received more training than I ever imagined. My colleagues and I lived at the clinic assisting women with their personal health needs and delivering babies. We served the poorest of the poor while confronting a wide range of circumstances, many of which were considered very high risk due to malnutrition and poor living conditions. I assisted at over 150 births, being the primary midwife at over 50. This time helped me gain the skills and confidence that most programs are unable to offer midwives. On returning to the United States I took my CPM board examinations and became officially certified with NARM, North American Registry of Midwives, as a Certified Professional Midwife.
I then began my practice in Wichita, Kansas where I had a great partner and mentor. I grew in my knowledge of natural health, nutrition, and preventive care for pregnancy and the whole family. During this time I continued pursuing my desire to do missions and help missionaries by going on mission trips to Israel and Mozambique. My partner enabled me to do this by being on call for my clients while I traveled. My heart's desire after finishing my training was to be able to use my midwifery skills to help missionaries on the field, to go where they are serving and assist then with home births. My first opportunity to do this was in the spring of 2009 when I traveled to India and delivered babies for two missionary couples.
I have a deep passion for helping families and am excited to continue providing personalized care of women. I would love the opportunity to meet you and discuss ways that I can make your pregnancy and delivery a healthy, happy and heartfelt experience.