Explore every episode of the podcast Journey To Midwifery

Geneva shares her journey to midwifery that was inspired by her own childbirth experience. She shares her stories of juggling motherhood, getting her midwifery education and LIFE!

She has a book and a course linked below...

www.genevamontano.com

@genevamontanomidwife IG

https://a.co/d/fb1mOoY

Dr. Lonnie Morris, ND, CNM, is a midwifery trailblazer who has dedicated her career to advocating for women, advancing maternal health, and empowering families. She attended 7,000 births across her 45 year career. Join us as we dive into her inspiring path, the lessons she’s learned, and the wisdom she has to share with midwives everywhere.

Connect with Lonnie instagram: @lmcnm

Recommended in the show: Nobody Told Me That by Ginger Breedlove

Dana has been a midwife for over 30 years and has many words of wisdom to offer while sharing her story. It's always so insightful to learn and hear the stories of "seasoned" midwives!

Dana also wanted to share in the podcast that her friend and colleague from Windy Hill Midwifery, located in North Central Wisconsin, near Wasau is looking for experienced midwives, student midwives, and semi-retired midwives who are passionate about providing high-quality care and making a positive impact on our community. She can be reached at thestorkflysopportunity@gmail.com  You can also check on Dana's very own podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/31eQBV6lUHwW9qZRHIYWKn?si=8f1143b9b9064c0c

Join me on this episode as Ann Konkoly tells her Journey of becoming a midwife, making some major system changes at leadership levels, then transitioning to owning her own business as a Life Coach after experiencing some feelings of burn out and trauma. Check out her social media pages at @AnnKonkolyCNM Midwife & Life Coach 

I had the great pleasure if intervieiwing Jeanice Mitchell, a pelvic floor therapist and owner of the thriving Instagram page @MyPFM. She shares lots of pelvic floor tips for midwives during patient care, when to refer to Pelvic floor PT and how to better help the population we care for. 

Listen to Shauna tell her fun Journey to Midwifery that involved early career relocation, relationship changes and now a satisfying job in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Check her out in IG @midwife.shauna 

On this episode we share Lauren's journey to midwifery. She is currently practice in a home birth setting in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. She and her partner are  TWO of very few CNM's in Colorado Springs doing home births, and they run a wonderful practice called Mountain Miracles Midwifery. Check them out on the web and facebook 

Laurie, a now-retired Certified Nurse Midwife shares her amazing story of her 40 year career. She is a mother, a driven career woman, an inspiration and a trail-blazer for all of us midwives! 

Heather is the owner of a birth center/home birth practice called Central Texas Birth Center. Listen to her journey through motherhood, the challenges of raising a family during training and becoming an entrepreneur, opening her own practice and growing a community supporting birthing families in Central Texas. 

Join me on this episode where we get to hear Angie's Journey to Midwifery as she went to school, worked TWO jobs, AND be a mom and wife, all while serving her country in the United States Navy. 

Listen to Andrea's Journey to Midwifery. She is currently practicing at her dream job in Minnesota. It took her 18 years to finish her journey of becoming a midwife--she put being a mom first for a long time before pursuing her dreams. If you are struggling with choosing motherhood on your journey to midwifery, listen to Andrea's story, she will definitely inspire you. 

Dr. Amber Price is the Chief Operating Officer of TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Tennessee. Her Journey to Midwifery is unique, inspirational and empowering. She is leading the way to system changes that will provide optimal, patient centered care. You will enjoy hearing her story, her powerful words and you will walk away wondering what changes YOU can make to continue to to be the driving force of change! 

This short episode is launched in honor of Midwifery week 2019. This episode focuses on what a Certified Nurse Midwife is, the education path, and scope of practice. Aspiring midwives, student midwives and international midwives will find this information really interesting! 

Guest host Jamie Guertin from A Midwife Nation talks with James Austin, DNP, CNM, IBCLC. As a new grad CNM, Austin stumbled upon the gold mine of midwifery residencies at El Rio Health in Tucson, AZ. Listen to her valuable experiences to see if a midwife residency after graduation may be the right step for you.

Listen to the Journey of Midwifery for Samantha, who started graduate school for Midwifery at the young age of 23! Samantha is now serving her country in the U. S. Air Force as a full scope Certified Nurse Midwife AND Women's Health Nurse Practitioner with a Doctorate in Nursing Practice degree.

Alice is a music teacher turned midwife!! Join me today when talking with Alice about her Journey to Midwifery, how she made the decision to pursue a second career and her experience as a birth center Certified Nurse Midwife in North Carolina.  

On this episode, we get to know Danielle, a practicing Certified Nurse Midwife in New Jersey. Danielle graduated in 2015 and has been in practice ever since. Hear her journey to midwifery and what's it's like to be a community midwife in central New Jersey. 

Carol is another wonderful trailblazing midwife that has spent her career in the North Eastern part of the United States. She has not only done birth work, but blazed the trail for midwives to practice legally in her area. She has also participated in birth internationally and has written 2 books! She is enjoying retired life in the woods of Maine now, but all midwives today are thankful for women like Carol who have pathed the way for those of us practicing today.

An American Midwife in Moscow (you tube link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3GA5bsrMEk

Books:

Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart: A Midwife's Saga  Bad Beaver Tales: Love and Life in Downeast Maine

Haley is not our typical guest on Journey to Midwifery, but she an amazing and wonderful perspective on having OT's (occupational therapists) as part of the prenatal/postpartum practice model for midwives. Hayley currently works with midwives at Tree of Life Midwifery for some fantastic collaborative care for their clients.

Check this episode out...guest hosted by Jamie from A Midwife Nation (thank you Jamie) and listen to this wonderful, passionate discussion about how to continue to support pregnancy and postpartum care.

Jamie from A Midwife Nation is the guest podcast host again, interviewing Jamie Peleaz CNM who works at a birth center in TN (linked below) AND is faculty and the midwifery program at Loyola University (linked below). Jamie has lots of wisdom that she offered along the way and she has worked in quite a few places in the past 5 years. Jamie's sister Samantha Lawson was on in 2019-here is her podcast link as well https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/nF5jfGhiNGb

Streams of Life Birth Center https://www.streamsoflifebirthandwellness.com/

Loyola University Midwifery Program https://www.loyno.edu/academics/colleges/college-nursing-health/master-science-nursing-nurse-midwifery

Megan Frank, who is a very recent graduate and a SOON to be Certified Nurse Midwife shares her very tumultuous journey as a midwife student. I encourage ANY one looking into midwifery to listen to this episode to understand the realities of what happens during the graduate program. Megan is happy to be done and excited to start working as a CNM, but it was a hard road for her to get there. Thank you to Megan for sharing her VERY real story

Jamie from A Midwife Nation is a guest host again with Diane Thomas, retired CNM. Diane is a prior collage of both Jamie and I and had LOTS of mentorship to offer when Jamie and I came through, she as a brand new midwife, and I was a student.

Diane shares her journey and long-time career of about 30 years before retiring. Be prepared to CRY as Diane shares two of her most memorable birth stories!!

Kelli shares her journey to midwifery and starting in a practice with no other midwives, the challenges, and growth of that practice and what it is today. She offers some great advice for midwives that may be the first in a practice with only doctors, for midwives starting in a busy practice and for student's.

Enjoy this fabulous interview, with Cynthia Jaffe, who is now retired after a long and rewarding career. This interview is done by guest host Jamie Guertin, founder of A Midwife Nation. Thanks to both for a another fantastic podcast episode.

Silvia Esparza, CNM runs a solo out of hospital birth practice in Texas. She shares her journey to midwifery from active duty Navy corpsman to full scope practicing midwife today!

Deborah is a midwife, mother of 6, and grandmother who describes herself as "a birth junkie from birth!" Her journey to midwifery started as a young child who was magnestized to helping mothers and babies, then was refined across decades of supporting friends and family through their own pregnancies, births, and postpartum events. She is passionate about home birth, informed consent, and having authentic relationships with her clients and families that extend to friendships well after the babies are born. Her story traverses across the US and back a number of times as she completed midwifery training and found her place to put roots down for her own home birth practice in Southern Utah - Aravah Midwifery. Join us for another heartwarming hour of laughter, storytelling, wisdom, and of course, a journey to midwifery. Mentioned in this episode:-

Birth with Insight | https://www.birthwithinsight.com/index.html |

Marcy Kuntz, LDEM- Midwife to Be training | https://midwifetobe.com/-

Three Rivers Midwifery | Cindy Wylie, CNM | https://www.threeriversmidwifery.com/-

Mercy in Action Midwifery School | https://www.mercycollegeofmidwifery.edu/-

Book: Anti-D Explained by Sarah Wickham | https://www.sarawickham.com/anti-d/sara w book-

Aravah MIdwifery | https://www.aravahmidwifery.com/

Laura Denman is a midwife in the Seattle Washington area, who shares her journey and insight over her 36+ years career in midwifery.

Rebecca Feldman is the owner and practices at Brooklyn Parent Support, a practice specializing in pregnant and postpartum mental health. She shares her journey to and through midwifery and how every piece of that journey led to her being prepared for her practice she has today.

https://brooklynparentsupport.com/

If you love research, this is the podcast for you! Judy has had a long, rewarding career with the last 20 years spent doing research, in particular with the benefits of delayed cord clamping. Judy is a brilliant woman with so much going on in her mind, she is fascinating! Here's a link that lists the many articles Judith has published:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Judith-Mercer

Cynthia shares her journey to midwifery that happened later in life at age 47, after she had raised and homeschooled her 8 children. I love Cynthia's story that says it's OK to wait! Midwifery will be here when you are your life are ready! She also shares how her midwifery colleagues and her share a birth co-op, super neat concept!  http://www.wichitabirths.com/cynthia-barger-cpm1.html

Nancy is a CPM in North Carolina who has been practicing the art of midwifery since the 1970's. She has worked for families and advocated for midwifery for all those years. We talk in depth about business and owning a birth center and the legalities of midwifery in North Carolina. 

Meg, CNM who is currently spending her retired years in North Carolina discusses her long career of over 40+ years as a midwife. She has cared for such a diverse population in the United States. She has done everything from birth, to family planning, to abortion care. She has some beautiful insights looking back at her career that we have the pleasure of hearing from her story. Thank you Meg for sharing your experiences and thoughts with this community! 

Elizabeth "Liz" Munoz, CNM on to the podcast today to share her journey to midwifery from being in theatre as an actress, to feeling a change inside of her after seeing "The Business of Being Born." Liz shares her journey through school, her career past, current and really awesome FUTURE endeavors (yay for new schools of midwifery opening up!!). Finally, we talk about the birth of her own children and how they played a role in her practice as a midwife. 

Christine shares her journey to midwifery from RN to CPM, and now educator along with continuing her home-birth practice. Here are links to the websites she discussed:

http://www.purebirthmidwifery.com/

https://www.carolinabirthjunkies.com/

Sarah Thompson is the author of the book, Functional Maternity - Using Functional Medicine and Nutrition to Improve Pregnancy and Childbirth Outcomes.
​​She brings over 20 years of experience working directly with medical doctors in the fields of Pain Management, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and advanced studies in both Acupuncture and Functional Medicine. In this podcast she shares some pieces of her VAST knowledge toward prenatal nutrition and functional medicine. Sarah's book is a must-read and I hope you can enjoy a little sneak peak of what you'll learn in her book by listening to the podcast episode. 

https://www.sacredvesselacupuncture.com/

 www.functionalmaternity.com.

Kelly and Tiffany from Beautiful One Midwifery, based out of San Diego discuss their journey into midwifery and lots of talk about how they run their business sustainably and have an actual work/life balance as homebirth midwives

FREE Roadmap to Sustainable Midwifery guide: https://beautifulonemidwifery.mykajabi.com/roadmap-to-sustainability

Beautiful One Midwifery Website: 

https://www.beautifulonemidwiferysandiego.com/

Annetra shares her journey to midwifery and choice to settle at the The Midwife Center for Birth & Women's Health in Pittsburgh, PA. She shared a great resource for midwife students of color to find a mentor. Here's the link for that.

https://blackmidwivesalliance.org/

Lisa's journey to midwifery started in the 1950's which many turns along the way. She went from an informal "lay" midwife to eventually a CNM in the hills of North Carolina. Lisa shares her story to get her history recorded after several strokes and some memory loss. Her story is amazing and inspiring, and I am honored that she chose this platform to share it with everyone. Happy 76th Birthday on 2/25 to Lisa! 

Link to Lisa's website

https://www.lisasremedies.com/about

Arielle is a CNM in Connecticut and shares her journey of how she got tired of watching women treated in labor "by the rules" and wanted to provide care with autonomy. She is now at a wonderful collaborative practice that is fully supportive of midwifery care and patient choice

Cheryl is Certified Professional Midwife in Colorado and owner of Your Thriving Pregnancy (links below). Cheryl shares her journey and career path that has now culminated into starting Your Thriving Pregnancy, a fantastic online resource for pregnant families! Listen to hear more!

Links:

This is the link to the app and the Your Thriving Pregnancy Roadmap: Free 5 week Challenge: http://onelink.to/yourthrivingpreg  (This link will take them to the web, Apple, or Google Play Store depending on their device)

They can also find out more about us here: https://yourthrivingpregnancy.com/

Instagram: Your Thriving Pregnancy (@yourthrivingpregnancy) • Instagram photos and videos

Facebook: Your Thriving Pregnancy | Facebook

Belinda Lashea is a Certified Nurse Midwife, a Direct Entry Midwife and a PHD candidate. She is a faculty member at ECU in North Carolina, runs an herbology business and is practicing and a director of a birth center. Belinda has a journey to midwifery that is literally from the ground up. She was a teen mother, living in poverty, unable to buy groceries, and now has a voice in midwifery as a leader, she is an expert in so many subjects and is a doctoral candidate.  https://www.facebook.com/bearrootmidwife/ IG @bearrootmidwife 

This episode is with Angela Lugiano who is a retired CNM with over 40 years of experience in birth work. She shares her journey and many words of wisdom along the way. I hope you will take the time to hear the advice and story of an experienced midwife. (This is an updated and re-recorded version of Angela's journey, if her story sounds familiar to you.) 

This episode is with Pamela, a CNM that has been in practice for 18 years. She shares her journey, her experiences, and resources available to her community for both clients and midwives. Check it out! 

In this episode I get to talk with Heather, who was born and raised on Scotland and has been a practicing registered midwife for over 7 years. She and I talk about her journey, the differences of midwifery pathway and practice in the U.K versus the U.S, and some talk of the massive midwife shortage happening in the U.K. It was super fun to have this chat with Heather! 

Jessica is a Certified Professional Midwife in Anchorage, Alaska and co-founder of the Pacific Birth Institute created to train birth assistance. This episode IS about Jessica's journey, or her call to midwifery, but also about the dynamics of midwifery education and salary, some of the thoughts behind maternal mortality and morbidity and lots about community birth care. (there are a few curse words in here, just a few...in case you need to know that) Links below mentioned in the show: https://pacificbirthinstitute.com/ Use the code “JOURNEY “ for 10% off! https://www.facebook.com/pacificbirthinstitute https://www.instagram.com/pacificbirthinstitute/?hl=en

Marielle Tomlin is a CNM practicing in rural Lancaster PA. She is the new sole owner of WomanKind Midwifery and is venturing her first year of practice AND business ownership! She shares her journey to midwifery and how she balances life with a busy homebirth practice with upwards of 15-20 births a MONTH! Here are links to her social media pages as well. Marielle is on a mission to spread the word and beauty of physiologic birth. 

https://www.facebook.com/womankindmidwiferyllc

IG: @SimplyMamaLLC

TikTok SImplyMamaLLC

Deidre DeGrado is a wife, mother, and Certified Professional Midwife practicing in the Wichita Kansas area. Deidre shares her calling to midwifery with a passionate and powerful story. She has been in the world of midwifery for over 30 years! 

Nalah Morrow, CNM is a new grad that traversed Minnesota, Arizona, and Nevada to get her midwifery training completed at Bethel University in Minnesota (all while commuting from her home in California). Nalah was set to become a veterinarian, but after a brief trip to labor and delivery to assist a friend in labor, felt the calling to become a nurse-midwife. Nalah speaks frankly about her training, her fellowship at GWU and her next steps post-fellowship: back to California to join a birth center practice!

Find Nalah on instagram @MidwifeNalah

Links from the show:

Nurse Pocket Prep app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nursing-pocket-prep/id1501741725

EngagED Midwife prep course: https://delivered.learnworlds.com/home

Bethel University:

 https://www.bethel.edu/graduate/academics/nurse-midwifery/

This episode is with Dr. Stephanie Mitchell, CNM, DNP and very soon to be CPM. She is on Instagram as @doctor_midwife. Stephanie interviewed originally in Dec 2019 sharing her Journey to Midwifery...you should definitely go check that interview out, it's under "REPLAY..." This episode is an update on Stephanie's journey over the last 24 months and how she has moved from Boston to Alabama, taken steps to get her CPM licensure and open a free-standing birth center in Alabama, AND written a book! She's been busy! 

Birth Sanctuary IG page....go to make donations! 

https://instagram.com/the.birth.sanctuary?utm_medium=copy_link

IG page for @doctor_midwife   https://instagram.com/doctor_midwife?utm_medium=copy_link

Link for Stephanie's book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/164876200X?maas=maas_adg_7DEAC3B1E36A6B1DACAF4B72F1686CA5_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas

Carolyn is a CNM with a long history of midwifery and birth work, dating back into the 1970. She has part in theicipated writing of Varney's Midwifery, she has been in clinical practice, has taught and led the midwifery program at Georgetown, and is currently the owner and instructor of Ultrasound for Midwives--an excellent course offering both didactic and hands-on skills for midwives. Check out the episode and links below to ultrasound course website.  

https://www.ultrasoundformidwives.com/about-1