My passion is to make the world a better place one family at a time. I believe making a difference means helping women and their families birth the way they wish, surrounded by love and support. I am passionate about being a guardian of women's wishes and the natural birth process. I also feel that peace starts with every child entering the world in a loving and non-violent way.

After becoming a licensed massage therapist andstudying to be a herbalist, I attended the Oregon School of Midwifery and received my bachelor's degree in Holistic Midwifery at New College in California. I trained under a traditional midwife whose approach to birth taught me patience and faith in the birth process and in women's ability to give birth. I am licensed in California and joined a busy practice attending eight to twelve births a month. At the same time I had a GYN practice for three years doing birth control exams, infection checks and treatment, ultrasounds, and lab work. I opened my own practice in California for two years and then chose to move to Portland and started practicing in 2002.

I feel honored to be able to attend women and their families at such amazing and pivotal time in their lives. I feel strongly about education and making sure our clients know all of their options so they may choose what is right for themselves, their pregnancy, and birth. I feel that the midwife/client relationship is one of partnership and equality, based in trust and education.

I grew up knowing and learning about natural childbirth from my mother and vividly recall her pregnant belly and remember being fascinated and awed as I felt the little one inside. In all my childhood pictures I am holding a baby and I remember playing at giving birth and nursing my dolls. I also remember going bowling and as I waited for the bowling ball to return, holding my hands out and pretending that I was catching a baby as it was being born!

I taught preschool and provided child care for several years. When I was pregnant with my first child in New Mexico and went to the clinic there I was told to see the midwife, not the doctor. I had the very positive and amazing experience of having a natural childbirth in the small hospital there.

When I was pregnant with my son a few years later, I was asked to teach infant development at Birthingway College here in Portland and loved immersing myself in the midwifery community. I had a beautiful (and fast) home birth and loved being tucked into bed with my family. It was at a friend’s home birth that the midwife asked me to to be her apprentice and I began attending home births. I then applied to be a full-time student at the college and graduated with my Bachelor's of Science in Midwifery. I am now a busy practicing midwife, mother, and instructor.

I am humbled and awed by this work of supporting, monitoring, and witnessing women at their most raw, vulnerable, and powerful as they birth new life.

Jennie--In the ten years since attending my first birth, I have read, investigated and sought out hands-on participation in all the mysteries of fertility, pregnancy and birth. My work began in California where I trained to be a doula, helping women have their birth their way. I advocate for informed choice. I believe we the right to make personal choices about our health.Families make better decisions when they understand the implications of the all choices available. My background in women’s healthcare includes working at an infertility clinic, counseling pregnant and parenting teens, and offering free labor support in several hospitals.

As a doula, I met with women during their pregnancy offering childbirth information, pregnancy photographs, help with breastfeeding, and new mom support. I am always there with an open heart and hands to hold.

I moved to Portland, Oregon in 2005 to become a homebirth midwife. I was accepted to Birthingway College of Midwifery where I have been trained in phlebotomy, neonatal resuscitation, labor support, pelvic examination and herbal preparations. I met Ellie and Heather as instructors at Birthingway College of Midwifery. My husband and I asked them to be our midwives and saw them for all my prenatal care. I gave birth to our son in a tranquil pool of warm water in our home. It was everything I dreamed and more. Currently, I am completing my requirements for Oregon state licensure. I am proud to learn from Ellie and Heather and honored to share that same amazing care that my family received with your family.