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Can I Still Have a Home Birth If I Have Gestational Diabetes?
This is a question I get asked quite a bit, and the short answer is...
Maybe!
Like many things in pregnancy, the answer isn't simply yes or no. It depends on what type of gestational diabetes you have and how well your blood sugar levels are controlled.
Let's start from the beginning.
One of the reasons we spend so much time getting to know your health history during your first prenatal visit is because some women have risk factors that make us want to screen for diabetes earlier in pregnancy. If those risk factors aren't present, we typically screen everyone around 28 weeks.
If you're diagnosed with gestational diabetes, don't panic.
I know those words can feel overwhelming, but many women go on to have healthy pregnancies and beautiful home births.
There are two types of gestational diabetes you'll often hear us talk about.
GDMA1 means your blood sugar levels are well controlled with diet and lifestyle changes.
GDMA2 means your blood sugar levels require medication to stay in a healthy range.
That distinction is really important.
If your gestational diabetes is diet controlled (GDMA1), you're often still a great candidate for home birth.
We'll ask you to monitor your blood sugar four times a day so we can make sure those numbers stay where we'd like them to be. We'll also talk about nutrition, and I highly recommend meeting with a nutritionist who has experience working with gestational diabetes. Small changes can make a big difference.
The goal is healthy blood sugar levels, not perfection.
So why does medication change things?
Here's where understanding the "why" becomes important.
When Mom's blood sugar levels are consistently high during pregnancy, baby responds by making more insulin. After birth, baby's body doesn't immediately know that the sugar supply from Mom has stopped. That means baby may continue producing extra insulin for a little while, which can cause low blood sugar after delivery.
When gestational diabetes is well controlled with diet, this risk is much lower. We still recommend checking baby's blood sugar about one hour after their first feeding to make sure they're transitioning well, but this can often be done while remaining at home.
If blood sugar levels can't be controlled with diet alone and medication becomes necessary, that's when I recommend consulting with Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM). Medication-managed gestational diabetes (GDMA2) changes the level of monitoring both Mom and baby need, and at that point I recommend planning for a hospital birth.
Sometimes families are disappointed to hear that.
And I understand why.
But one thing I always tell my clients is that recommendations aren't about taking something away from you. They're about making sure you and your little one are in the safest place for your particular pregnancy.
Every recommendation I make comes back to the same question:
"What is the safest plan for Mom and baby?"
Sometimes that's a home birth.
Sometimes it's a hospital birth.
Neither one is a failure.
The goal has never been home birth at all costs.
The goal is a healthy Mom, a healthy baby, and making decisions together based on the information we have.
If you've recently been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and you're wondering what that means for your birth plan, don't be afraid to ask questions. Every pregnancy is different, and every family deserves to understand their options.
Sometimes the diagnosis sounds much scarier than the reality.
Sometimes it simply means we adjust the plan together.
Either way, you don't have to navigate it alone.
If you're considering a home birth in the Tampa Bay area or have questions about gestational diabetes and whether you're still a candidate for home birth, I'd love to talk.
You can reach me here:
https://www.livingwatersmidwiferyfl.com/contact
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What Happens If There's an Emergency During a Home Birth? *Trigger Warning - Hemorrhage and Neonatal Resucitation discussed in this blog*
This is probably one of the first questions families ask me: "What happens if something goes wrong?"
First, I'm really glad you asked. It's an important question, and honestly, it's one that every family considering a home birth should ask.
One of the biggest misconceptions about home birth is that we simply show up hoping everything goes smoothly. That couldn't be further from the truth. We spend a lot of time preparing for emergencies, even though we hope we'll never need those skills.
Let's start by talking about Mom.
One thing I always tell my clients is that healthy, low-risk women usually do really well in labor. Our bodies are designed for birth. But birth can also be unpredictable, and that's exactly why we prepare.
If there is an emergency during labor, our first priority is stabilizing both mom and baby while baby is still in utero. Once everyone is stable, we'll call 911 and begin transfer to the nearest hospital. Either your midwife or another member of your birth team will go with you. You will never be alone through that process.
One of the most common concerns families have is postpartum hemorrhage. The good news is that we don't just recognize hemorrhage, we can begin treating it immediately. We carry emergency medications including Pitocin, Cytotec, Methergine, and TXA. We can also start an IV, give fluids, and closely monitor how you're responding.
Another thing many people don't realize is that we don't estimate blood loss. We actually weigh it. That gives us a much more accurate picture of what's happening so we're making decisions based on facts instead of guessing.
Many postpartum hemorrhages respond well to treatment right at home. If your bleeding continues despite treatment, you're showing symptoms of significant blood loss, or we feel you need additional resources only available in the hospital, we'll call 911 and continue caring for you until EMS arrives. Again, someone from your birth team will stay with you throughout the transfer.
Now let's talk about baby.
Every member of our birth team is certified in Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP), and we regularly train for newborn emergencies. Thankfully, most babies transition beautifully after birth. Occasionally, though, a little one just needs a little extra help figuring out life outside the womb.
If that's the case, we're prepared. We have the equipment to suction baby's airway when appropriate and provide breathing support with a T-piece resuscitator if it's needed.
Many babies simply need a little extra time and support before they settle in. If baby responds well, we'll continue monitoring closely for the first four hours after birth and, depending on the situation, may recommend overnight observation at the hospital.
If baby isn't responding the way we'd like after our initial interventions, we don't wait. We'll call 911, continue caring for baby while EMS is on the way, and go with your family to the hospital.
At the end of the day, I hope this gives you peace of mind. Planning a home birth isn't about pretending emergencies never happen. It's about planning for them.
We talk through emergency scenarios during your prenatal visits long before labor begins because I want you to know exactly what our plan is. The goal has never been to avoid the hospital at all costs. The goal is a healthy mom, a healthy baby, and making sure you're in the right place if additional care is ever needed.
I hope you never need any of these interventions. Most families don't. But knowing your midwife is prepared, carries emergency medications and equipment, and has a clear plan if something unexpected happens can make all the difference.
If you're considering a home birth in the Tampa Bay area and have questions about safety, emergency planning, or whether home birth is the right fit for you, I'd love to talk. Sometimes the best place to start is simply asking questions.
You can reach me here:
https://www.livingwatersmidwiferyfl.com/contact
Coffee Chat ☕
What Really Happens During a Home Birth Prenatal Visit?
One of the questions I get asked all the time is, "So... what actually happens during a prenatal visit?"
Honestly? We talk. A lot.
Sure, we'll listen to your baby's heartbeat and make sure everything is looking good, but those things only take a few minutes. The rest of our time is spent talking about you, your baby, your family, and whatever is on your mind that day.
One of my favorite parts about home birth midwifery is that I come to your home. There's no rushing out the door, sitting in a waiting room, or trying to squeeze everything into a short appointment before someone knocks on the exam room door. Instead, I come to you.
Sometimes we're sitting at your kitchen table. Sometimes we're on the couch. Sometimes there's a toddler showing me every toy they own while we're trying to listen to baby's heartbeat. And honestly... I wouldn't have it any other way.
I plan for at least an hour at every visit. Not because every appointment needs a full hour, but because I never want you to feel like you have to choose which questions are worth asking.
If you've had blood work or an ultrasound since I saw you last, we'll pull everything up together and go over it. We'll talk about what the results actually mean, not just whether they're "normal." I want you to leave understanding your pregnancy, not wondering what your portal is trying to tell you.
Every visit also includes listening to your baby's heartbeat, checking your blood pressure, and, after about 20 weeks, measuring your belly to make sure baby is growing right on track.
But if I'm being honest, those aren't usually the parts families remember.
They remember finally having enough time to ask every question they've been saving all week. They remember talking through birth preferences without feeling judged. They remember their older child helping hold the Doppler or wanting to "help" measure Mommy's belly. They remember feeling like they had a provider who actually knew them.
Pregnancy is such a unique season of life. Some weeks you'll have a list of questions written in your phone. Other weeks you'll just want reassurance that everything is okay. Both are perfectly normal.
My job isn't just to check boxes and move on to the next appointment. It's to make sure you feel heard.
As your pregnancy progresses, we'll naturally talk about different topics. Nutrition. Preparing for labor. What happens after your baby is born. Breastfeeding. Newborn care. Whatever season you're in, that's where our conversation goes. I don't expect you to know everything before labor starts. That's what I'm here for.
By the time your birth day arrives, we'll have spent months getting to know one another. We'll have celebrated milestones, worked through worries, laughed together, and built trust long before labor begins.
I think that's one of the most beautiful parts of home birth care.
You're never just another appointment on my schedule. You're someone whose story I get the privilege of walking alongside, and I don't take that lightly.
If you've been wondering whether home birth might be the right fit for your family, or you're simply curious about what personalized midwifery care looks like, I'd love to answer your questions.
No pressure. No expectations. Just a conversation.
You can reach me here:
https://www.livingwatersmidwiferyfl.com/contact
The Incredible Placenta: Your Baby's Lifeline Throughout Pregnancy
Your body grows an entire organ just for your baby.
Take a minute to think about that.
The placenta is one of the most incredible things your body will ever create, yet it's something many of us don't think much about until after the baby is born.
As a midwife with Living Waters Midwifery, one of my favorite parts of prenatal care is helping families understand all the amazing things their bodies are doing during pregnancy. The placenta is one of my favorite topics because it's quietly working behind the scenes every single day to help your baby grow and thrive.
Whether you're planning a home birth in the Tampa Bay area or simply wanting to learn more about pregnancy, understanding the placenta is a great place to start.
When Does the Placenta Develop?
Believe it or not, your placenta begins forming very early in pregnancy, often before you even know you're expecting.
As soon as the embryo implants into the uterus, your body gets to work creating an entirely new organ whose only purpose is to support your growing baby.
During the first several weeks, another structure called the corpus luteum helps produce the hormones needed to support pregnancy. Around 10 to 12 weeks, the placenta takes over that job and continues producing many of the hormones that help your pregnancy stay healthy.
From that point on, the placenta continues growing and changing right alongside your baby.
What Does the Placenta Actually Do?
The easiest way to think about the placenta is that it's your baby's lifeline.
Since your baby isn't breathing air or eating food yet, the placenta does all of that work.
It delivers oxygen and nutrients to your baby.
It carries away waste products.
It produces hormones that help maintain your pregnancy.
It even passes antibodies from you to your baby to help support your baby's immune system before birth.
It's often described as your baby's lungs, kidneys, digestive system, and hormone-producing organ all rolled into one.
Where Is My Placenta?
One of the most common questions I hear after an anatomy ultrasound is,
"So... where's my placenta?"
Most of the time the answer is simply that it's exactly where we'd expect it to be.
Your placenta may attach to the front of your uterus (anterior), the back (posterior), near the top (fundal), or along one side (lateral). All of these locations are usually completely normal.
An anterior placenta can sometimes cushion your baby's movements early in pregnancy, so you may not feel kicks quite as soon as someone with a posterior placenta. That doesn't mean anything is wrong—it's simply a different location.
Occasionally, the placenta develops lower in the uterus near the cervix. Early in pregnancy this is often called a low-lying placenta. As the uterus grows, many low-lying placentas naturally move upward on their own, which is why we sometimes recommend a follow-up ultrasound later in pregnancy.
Why Do Some Moms Need Extra Monitoring Near the End of Pregnancy?
This is another question I hear often, especially from families who are approaching or have gone beyond their due date.
Like every organ in our body, the placenta changes as pregnancy progresses. As it matures, it's normal for it to begin showing signs of aging.
You may hear your provider mention placental calcifications on an ultrasound. That can sound scary, but small calcifications are often just a normal part of the placenta maturing.
When we recommend additional monitoring later in pregnancy, especially around or after 41 weeks or for certain medical conditions, we're not looking at one ultrasound finding by itself.
Instead, we're looking at the whole picture.
We're checking your baby's movements, breathing, muscle tone, amniotic fluid levels, and how the placenta appears to be functioning. The goal isn't to create unnecessary interventions. It's to gather information so we can continue supporting a healthy pregnancy while making thoughtful decisions together.
The Third Stage of Labor
Once your baby is born, there's still one more part of labor left: delivering the placenta.
This is called the third stage of labor.
Families have several options for how they'd like to approach this stage.
Some choose active management, where medication is given after birth to help the uterus contract and reduce the risk of heavy bleeding.
Others choose expectant, or physiologic, management, allowing the placenta to separate and deliver naturally on its own.
Some families also choose a lotus birth, where the umbilical cord isn't cut and the baby remains attached to the placenta until it naturally separates over the following days.
Another decision many families make is whether they'd like delayed cord clamping.
Delayed cord clamping allows blood to continue flowing from the placenta to your baby after birth. Research has shown this can improve newborn iron stores, reduce the risk of iron deficiency during infancy, and support a smoother transition to life outside the womb. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends waiting at least 30 to 60 seconds before clamping the cord in healthy newborns, while the World Health Organization recommends waiting at least one minute.
Some families choose to wait even longer, allowing their baby to remain attached to the placenta throughout the first golden hour while enjoying uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding before the cord is clamped.
Here's another fun midwife fact.
The placenta doesn't always come out the same way.
Sometimes it separates from the center first. This is called a Schultze presentation, and bleeding often stays hidden until the placenta is delivered.
Other times it separates from the edge first. This is called a Duncan presentation, and bleeding is usually seen a little earlier. Neither is necessarily better or worse, but it's one of the many things your midwife is paying attention to during the third stage of labor.
What About Placenta Encapsulation?
One question I hear quite a bit is,
"What can I do with my placenta after birth?"
There are actually several options.
Some families choose to bury the placenta beneath a tree or in a special place. Others preserve placenta prints as artwork or save a small section of the umbilical cord as a keepsake.
Another option is placenta encapsulation.
Placenta encapsulation involves preparing the placenta after birth, usually by steaming, dehydrating, grinding it into a powder, and placing it into capsules that can be taken during the postpartum period.
Many mothers choose encapsulation because they feel it helps support their postpartum recovery, energy levels, milk supply, or mood. Like many aspects of pregnancy and birth, this is a personal decision. My role is to provide balanced, evidence-based information so families can choose what feels right for them.
Every Placenta Tells a Story
One of my favorite moments after every birth is taking a few minutes to examine the placenta with families.
Its size, shape, cord insertion, membranes, and overall appearance often tell the story of the pregnancy. It's one more reminder of just how incredible the human body really is.
At Living Waters Midwifery, I believe education is one of the most important parts of prenatal care. My goal is to help you understand what’s happening in your body so you can make informed, confident decisions throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Whether you’re planning a home birth in the Tampa Bay area or a hospital birth and would love personalized prenatal and postpartum care in the comfort of your own home, I’d love to connect with you.
Schedule a free phone consultation to learn more about Living Waters Midwifery and the care options available to you:
Book a Free Phone Consultation
References
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Committee Opinion No. 814. Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping After Birth. Reaffirmed 2023.
World Health Organization. Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping for Improved Maternal and Infant Health and Nutrition Outcomes. 2014
Images By Melanie Amparo Photography
Why I Talk About the Pelvic Floor So Much
If you've been one of my clients, you've probably heard me talk about your pelvic floor.
Maybe more than once.
As a midwife, one of the things I've become increasingly passionate about over the years is pelvic floor health. I've had the privilege of working alongside many incredible pelvic floor physical therapists, and if there's one thing I've noticed, it's this:
I have never had a client tell me they regretted seeing a pelvic floor therapist during pregnancy or after birth.
I have, however, cared for many women who wished they hadn't waited.
For many women, the pelvic floor doesn't become something they think about until after they've had a baby, when they're leaking urine, dealing with pelvic pain, feeling pressure or heaviness, or struggling to return to the activities they love.
The truth is, your pelvic floor is so much more than just your bladder.
It is a group of muscles that supports your pelvic organs, works together with your abdominal muscles and diaphragm, helps stabilize your core, and plays an important role in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery.
During pregnancy, your pelvic floor can influence your posture, movement, comfort, and even how your body creates space for your growing baby. I've seen pelvic floor therapists identify muscle tension, asymmetries, and movement patterns that may be contributing to discomfort or making it harder for a baby to settle into an ideal position. While every pregnancy is different, addressing those issues has, in some cases, helped create more favorable conditions for fetal positioning.
I've also witnessed pelvic floor therapists become an incredible part of a birth team. In situations involving prolonged prodromal labor or slow labor progress, I've seen their hands-on techniques and movement strategies help women relax, improve comfort, and support labor in ways that have been truly remarkable.
And then there's pushing.
Many people assume that preparing for birth means strengthening the pelvic floor. In reality, many women actually need to learn how to relax it.
Birth isn't simply about having strong muscles. It's about having muscles that know how to lengthen, coordinate, and work with your body.
That's one reason I often recommend birth preparation programs like Push Prep. Learning how to breathe, move, and coordinate your pelvic floor before labor can help women feel more confident, prepared, and connected to their bodies before birth.
The benefits don't end once your baby arrives.
Postpartum healing is about so much more than waiting six weeks for a checkup.
Pelvic floor therapy can help women recover from birth, address pelvic pain, improve core strength, support healing after tears, manage abdominal muscle separation (diastasis recti), improve bladder function, and help women return to exercise safely.
One of the biggest myths I hear is:
"It's normal after having kids."
It's true that many women experience leaking when they cough, sneeze, or laugh. Back pain, pelvic pressure, painful intercourse, abdominal separation, and feelings of weakness are also common.
But common does not necessarily mean normal.
Many of these symptoms can improve with proper evaluation and treatment.
I often tell my gynecology clients the same thing: your pelvic floor is not something to ignore. What may seem like a small inconvenience today can become a much bigger issue over time. Just because something is common doesn't mean you have to accept it as your new normal.
Pelvic floor therapy isn't only for women who have recently given birth.
It can benefit women during pregnancy, postpartum, after gynecologic surgery, throughout menopause, and even those who simply want to move through life with less pain and better function.
One of my favorite parts of being a midwife is connecting women with other professionals who are passionate about caring for them. We are fortunate to have some incredible pelvic floor specialists and resources in our community, and I've seen firsthand the difference they can make in pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and women's health. While this isn't an exhaustive list, these are some of the providers and resources I've recommended over the years:
• Elvie Pelvic Floor Trainer
• Pelvic Soul (Sujata Martin)
• The Blue Door Infant & Maternal Wellness (Alexis Hawks & Rachel Bender)
• Fourth Trimester Wellness (Rachel Madera)
• Bliss Pelvic Health (Chrissy Daigle)
• Potter Physical Therapy
• Pelvic Solutions
If you're pregnant, newly postpartum, or experiencing symptoms you've been told to "just live with," I encourage you to have a conversation with your provider about whether a pelvic floor evaluation may be right for you. You don't have to wait until something becomes severe to seek help.
Your pelvic floor deserves the same attention and care as every other part of your health. Sometimes one referral can change the way you experience pregnancy, birth, recovery, and even everyday life.
From PCOS to Pregnancy: The Journey That Changed My Practice
If you've spent any time with me during a prenatal visit, you've probably noticed that I like to talk about more than just your baby's growth or your blood pressure.
I ask about nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, and the products you use in your home. I want to know how you're feeling as a whole person, not just how your pregnancy is progressing.
That wasn't always my approach.
Like many women, I spent years dealing with irregular cycles. I have PCOS, and for a long time I accepted that unpredictable periods and hormonal symptoms were simply my normal. I never really stopped to ask why my body was struggling. I just assumed this was something I would have to live with.
Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me.
I started asking different questions. Instead of wondering how to manage my symptoms, I wanted to understand why they were happening in the first place. That led me down a path of learning about hormonal health, nutrition, inflammation, and endocrine disrupting chemicals found in many of the products we use every day.
The more I learned, the more I realized how connected everything really is. Our hormones don't exist in a vacuum. They respond to what we eat, how we sleep, how we manage stress, how we move our bodies, and the environment we live in.
I began making changes in my own life, not because I was chasing perfection, but because I wanted to better support my body. I started paying closer attention to the foods I was eating, the products I was bringing into my home, and the daily choices that can influence our health over time. I quickly realized there was so much about women's health that I had never been taught.
That journey changed more than my own health. It changed the way I practice as a midwife.
Pregnancy is often viewed as a series of appointments, lab work, and ultrasounds. Those things are incredibly important, but they're only one piece of the picture.
I don't believe pregnancy begins the day you see two pink lines. Pregnancy is built on the health of a woman's body long before conception, and that foundation continues to matter throughout pregnancy and into the postpartum period.
As a Certified Nurse Midwife, I believe in evidence-based care. I also believe there is value in asking deeper questions and looking at the whole person. Every woman comes into pregnancy with her own health history, nutritional status, lifestyle, stressors, and environment. Those pieces deserve thoughtful consideration because they all play a role in supporting a healthy pregnancy.
This philosophy has naturally become part of the care I provide. During prenatal visits, I enjoy having conversations about nutrition, lifestyle, stress management, and environmental exposures alongside the standard prenatal care that every pregnancy deserves. My goal isn't to overwhelm families or expect perfection. It's to provide education so women can make informed choices that fit their own lives.
My interest in hormonal health eventually led me to become certified in integrative gynecology. That education has expanded the way I approach women's health and reinforced something I already believed: caring for women means looking beyond individual symptoms and considering the whole person.
One thing I've noticed is that we spend months preparing the nursery, researching strollers, and choosing the perfect baby gear, but we often spend very little time preparing the mother's body for pregnancy or thinking about what she will need after birth.
Mothers deserve that same level of preparation and care.
Whether you're planning a home birth or simply looking for a provider who values whole-body health alongside excellent prenatal care, I hope you know there is space for these conversations. You don't have to have all the answers, and you certainly don't have to be perfect. My role is to walk alongside you, provide evidence-based care, and help you make informed decisions that support both you and your growing family.
Because caring for a pregnancy starts with caring for the woman carrying it.
What Is a Water Birth?
Water birth is a birth option where labor and sometimes delivery take place in a warm tub of water. Many families are drawn to water birth because of the comfort, calm, and sense of ease it can provide during labor.
How water birth works
During a water birth, the mother labors in a tub filled with warm water that is carefully maintained at a safe and comfortable temperature. Some choose to enter the water during active labor, while others remain in the tub through the actual birth.
If the baby is born in the water, they are gently brought to the surface right away for their first breath. Throughout the process, the midwife provides close monitoring to ensure safety for both mother and baby.
Benefits of water birth
Many families choose water birth for reasons such as:
Increased comfort and pain relief during labor
Greater freedom of movement and positioning
A calming, private environment
Reduced need for medication for pain relief for some women
A sense of relaxation that may support labor progression
What does the research say?
Current research suggests that water immersion during labor and water birth are safe options for many low-risk pregnancies when appropriate screening and monitoring are in place.
Large systematic reviews have found no increase in maternal infection, postpartum hemorrhage, neonatal infection, NICU admission, or neonatal mortality compared with land birth.
Studies also consistently show benefits such as reduced pain, decreased use of epidural anesthesia, and higher maternal satisfaction. Some research suggests that labor in water may shorten the first stage of labor, although findings on total labor duration vary.
Overall, evidence supports water birth as a reasonable option for appropriately selected low-risk pregnancies when practiced with trained clinical oversight.
Safety considerations
Water birth is generally offered for low-risk pregnancies. During prenatal care and labor, the midwife carefully evaluates health history, pregnancy progress, and labor status to determine whether water birth remains a safe option.
There are times when a change in plan is needed and labor may need to continue outside of the water for closer monitoring or other clinical reasons. Safety is always the priority.
What it feels like
Many women describe water birth as deeply calming and supportive. The warmth of the water can help ease tension, promote relaxation, and allow for more freedom of movement during contractions.
Every birth experience is unique, but many families report feeling more relaxed and grounded in the water.
Is water birth right for you?
Water birth is one of several options available in midwifery care. It is not required, and it is not the right choice for everyone. The decision depends on your preferences, your health, and how your pregnancy progresses.
During prenatal care, we discuss your options in detail so you can make informed choices that feel right for you and your family.
If you are interested in water birth, we can talk through whether you may be a candidate and what that experience could look like in your care.
My Story
I was born in Florida and grew up as a middle child. When I was six years old, my mother gave birth to my little sister in a birthing center in Lakeland, Florida. I still remember sitting in my grandmother’s lap, watching in awe, not just of my mother, but of the midwives themselves. Their calmness, their steadiness, and the peace they brought into such a sacred and intense moment stayed with me in a way I did not fully understand at the time.
When I was eight, my family moved to northeast Alabama to be closer to my father’s side of the family. It was there that my passion for caring for others began to grow. I was drawn to nursing and to walking with people through different seasons of life.
I went on to nursing school and began my career in medical surgical nursing, eventually moving into the emergency room. It was in the ER that I met someone who would quietly change the course of my life. Her name was Rachel. She was working toward becoming a midwife through Frontier Nursing University, and she introduced me to a path I had not fully considered for myself.
At the time, becoming a midwife did not feel like a realistic option. Midwifery was not widely accepted where I lived in Alabama, and it felt distant and uncertain. But Rachel encouraged me to pursue it anyway, and I believe now that was part of God’s guidance in my life.
I eventually applied, was accepted, and transitioned my nursing work into mother baby and labor and delivery. I spent five years in OB, gaining experience in both high risk and low risk care. I learned not only the clinical side of birth, but also the importance of presence, timing, and trust in the process.
My clinical training took me into many different settings. I began in Nashville, Tennessee, working with a home birth practice while still building my required experience and hours. From there, I trained in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, where I worked alongside CPMs serving the Amish community. I saw true collaboration there, especially when hospital transfer was needed and care continued seamlessly.
In Columbia, Tennessee, I was exposed to high risk OB in a way that sharpened my skills and required me to be steady, alert, and responsive in urgent situations.
I then trained in Birmingham, Alabama, in a hospital based midwifery model that still reflected the kind of birth space I believe in, where midwifery and medicine can work together with respect. There I learned how powerful it can be to step back, trust physiology, and allow birth to unfold when it is safe to do so. I was only there for a short time before my student placement ended, and I suddenly had nowhere to go.
In what I can only describe as God’s provision, a midwife in Davenport, Florida reached out and accepted me as a student so I could complete my final births. This meant being away from my husband and children, but my family supported me fully. I stayed with my aunt and uncle in Florida and finished my clinical journey, catching my 40th baby just before graduation. I was deeply grateful, and also very ready to be home with my family.
I was offered a job at that same practice. After prayer and discussion with my family, we felt led to take the next step together.
Then COVID changed everything.
Just as we were preparing to move forward, I received an email saying the offer had been rescinded due to low census. At the same time, our home in Alabama was under contract, my husband had already secured work in Florida, and I had stepped away from my RN position. Everything was moving at once, and suddenly everything felt uncertain.
We chose to move forward in faith anyway, trusting that God had a plan even when we could not see it.
I came to Florida on a travel RN contract and worked for 14 weeks before transitioning into midwifery practice in St. Petersburg. I always knew I wanted to move out of the hospital setting, but like many new midwives, the path required patience, humility, and growth.
Eventually, I accepted a hospital based midwifery position, continuing to gain experience while holding onto the calling I felt toward out of hospital birth.
That opportunity eventually led me to Labor of Love Birth Center. In a full circle moment, I realized this was the same name as the birth center in Lakeland where my little sister was born all those years ago.
It felt like returning to where everything began.
At Labor of Love, I finally stepped back into the world of out of hospital birth. It was meaningful, grounding work, and the relationships built there were deeply special. But like many birth centers, financial instability eventually led to its closure. Saying goodbye was incredibly hard. It was more than a workplace. It was a community and a home.
That ending became a new beginning.
I realized it was time to step into something I had been moving toward for years, creating my own practice.
Living Waters Midwifery was born out of that season, out of years of training, transition, loss, growth, and faith. It is the culmination of every place I trained, every family I served, every mentor who shaped me, and every birth that changed me.
I am so grateful to now offer care in this way, and even more grateful for the families who will allow me to walk with them through pregnancy, birth, and beyond.
This is just the beginning of the story I get to keep writing with you.
