I was born in Illinois.  It was home base for my parents between military posts.  Colorado has been my home since 1972.  I am married with three grown children, two daughter-in-laws, three grandsons, and a son-in-law.  My oldest child was born in the hospital, which is why the two younger ones were born at home with direct-entry midwives.  Two of my grandsons also had midwife-attended homebirths.

Why am I a midwife?

My oldest son was born in 1974 after a supposed "natural childbirth".  Then I read Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms and Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin.  Those strange feelings of inadequacy about his birth I attribute to the Demerol at 9 centimeters, the episiotomy, and my son being taken away for six long, agonizing hours after birth.  Arms stated that midwives still attended home births (and let you sleep in your own bed!) and the result was birth as nature intended.  Gaskin had basically written a manual for direct-entry midwives with accompanying birth stories.  I was teaching for the Association for Prepared Parenthood, which offered childbirth education classes.  Every so often we'd get one of "those couples"--the weird ones who were going to have their baby at home.  I was so curious, I decided to find and interview local midwives for a newsletter article.  Who were these people and why were they illegal?  What services did they provide?  How could they consider attending births at home?

That was 1977.  I pursued every midwife in southern Colorado for that article.  Then, in 1980, I decided to have a homebirth when I became pregnant with my second child.  I was impressed with my midwife's personal and thorough prenatal care.  I decided who would be there during labor.  The birth was a family experience without masked strangers.  It was a very satisfying and personally empowering event that left no doubt in my mind home was the ideal place for healthy mothers to have healthy babies.  I felt women should have the right to choose midwifery care.

Three months after this birth, I joyfully accepted an offer to apprentice with two direct-entry midwives.

Midwifery in Colorado

Direct-entry midwifery became legal in Colorado on July 1, 1993, after long and exhausting legislative effort. My first involvement with legislation was in 1982.

Direct-entry midwives (DEMs) are those who train through self-study, study groups, midwifery schools, and apprenticeship.  DEMs must register with the Department of Regulatory Agencies.  DEMs are experts in homebirth and licensed to provide prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care.