“After several years and hundreds of hospital births, my heart really yearned to assist women with homebirth where many women feel empowered by having a greater sense of control over how their child is brought into the world.”

Tell us about the path you took to end up in Encinitas as a midwife? I started my career as a midwife in the obstetrics department of a hospital in Paris in 1997. I am grateful for the experience that gave me as I worked with a wide variety of births including delivering twins, breech births and vaginal births after C-Section (VBAC). I also became highly skilled at suturing all degrees of vaginal and perineal tears, resuscitating premature and full-term newborns, and providing critical care required for post-partum newborns and mothers.

In 1999 I moved to Florida and completed the pre-licensure program and the NARM Board exam to become an LM (licensed midwife) and CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) in the State of Florida. For four years I provided both home and birthing center services at a busy Tampa birth center (Labor of Love). I was able to bring my unique experience and skills to hundreds of women who chose to give birth at home or in a birth center.

In April of 2003 I moved to Encinitas, California, became a Licensed Midwife through the Medical Board of California, and have been providing both homebirth and doula-monitrice services throughout San Diego County since that time.

What is the most important aspect of childbirth for you? I believe the most important gift I can offer is to help guide women through a natural birth process, whether it is at a hospital or home.

You have two children. What was your personal birthing experience? Liam was born at home in Encinitas in 2003, with the help of Bonnie Marsh and Layla was born also at home in Encinitas in 2011, with the help of La Shel Montgomery. Both experiences were a powerful confirmation of my faith in women and their families and in women’s power to birth naturally.