My Background:
I basically grew up in Colorado. I then moved a few times, and now have settled in Boulder. Throughout my life I have had some very strong female figures, they have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. My dream to become a midwife was something that perhaps always existed in me. My Great-Great Grandmother Kuka was a midwife to many women. I knew for years that I wanted to help people in the medical profession and as I grained that experience through paramedicine I began to think I wanted to work with mothers and babies. Although as a paramedic I had attended about 10 births, they were not planned homebirths. It was after I was present for my sister-in-law's homebirth and my own homebirths that my path became clear to me. As we work together and develop a relationship, I look forward to sharing with you the birth stories of my two children and the impact they have had on my life.

My Education, Training and Affiliations:
I have competed general college courses at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO and biology studies at Metropolitan State College of Denver, CO. I attended the National College of Midwifery in Taos, NM and received an Associate of Science in Midwifery. I spent some intensive clinical training time at a very busy free-standing birth clinic in El Paso, TX. I keep current a Certified Professional Midwife certificate and am registered to work in Colorado. I am CPR-certified, and am certified in Neonatal Resuscitation. I attend a minimum of two midwifery-related conferences per year and participate in a local monthly peer review. My professional affiliations include membership with the Colorado Midwives Association, the Colorado Alliance of Independent Midwifery and the Midwives Alliance of North America.

My Philosophy:
My basic belief is that your body has the ability to birth a child into this world. And while there are many different variations of these abilities, I believe that women are very powerful and it is my job to help you find your strength in the birth process. I am someone who accepts people as they are, and I can easily appreciate any differences from my opinions or practices. I also believe that you must take responsibility in your life...for example I can guide you in choices of a healthy prenatal diet, but I won't shop and cook for you! People often are attracted to me as a midwife because of my emergency medicine background, and some are not, because of my emergency medicine background. I find that while I practice daily a more "alternative" life, my bio-technical experiences come in handy, such as my ability to remain calm in scary situations. I have excellent critical thinking skills, and clear communication skills. In my practice, alternative medicine and western medicine are combined to take the best care of you and your baby throughout our care together.