When I watched my pet goat give birth at 9 years old, my life was changed. I watched the process of her pregnancy and then her birth and was in awe of what could happen, it seemed miraculous. I was that kid who was always holding babies and staring awkwardly at mother’s pregnant tummies amazed at how life grew. I attended my first human birth at age 16 in the hospital through my High School’s ROP health sciences program. It was a long labor for a first time mom that ended with a vacuum delivery, resuscitation and a hemorrhage. As wild and as complicated as that birth was, I was hooked. The nurses had a hard time getting me to leave Labor & Delivery as the years went on.

I come from a long line of nurses and always planned to go to nursing school myself. Due to health challenges I had to forego that dream earlier in life to take care of myself. Through that adventure and spending so much time in the hospital, I decided I didn’t want to pursue a career in the hospital setting. With that decision I figured my dreams of working in maternal healthcare were over. Then a friend used an out of hospital midwife for her delivery. Turns out midwives didn’t go extinct in the medieval era! This led me to seek out more information about midwifery and here we are 12 years later and I’m working in the field I’ve dreamed of since childhood.                                                                                                                                                               Before starting in midwifery, I was a career nanny and helped raise 16 kiddos over a decade, 9 of those were newborns when I started. As much as I loved all my babies who called me JoJo, I knew my own health challenges led me to women's health. It seems anyone who endures a decade of health catastrophes should be granted an honorary doctorate degree. That didn't happen unfortunately but my knowledge of health and healthcare both western and traditional grew exponentially. What's beautiful is that I now get to bring modern methods of wellness (such as prescription medication and ultrasounds) with a mixture of traditional wisdom (such as herbology, homeopathy and energy medicine) into the pregnancy experience for my clients.  At one time my own doctors told me that I was dying, and here I am helping to bring new life.

This work is intensely spiritual and meaningful to me. Conception, pregnancy and birth are all miraculous and a little crazy. I’m in love with this work and the magic it holds. Forever grateful for the opportunity to be invited into this sacred space where families grow.                                         When I’m not helping babies out I like to read, kayak, spend time with family and craft herbal remedies after going for an herb walk in the woods.