About Beth
Midwife
Midwifery is a calling, a commitment, and a lifestyle that allows me to accompany families through one of life’s most dynamic and mysterious thresholds. I’ve helped hundreds of families welcome their babies in birth centers, homes & hospitals, each with their unique stories, needs & desires; all with the universal need for competent care that doesn’t compromise their agency or dignity. I believe that all clients deserve the best in individualized, evidence-guided medical care while being supported, trusted, empowered and celebrated. A cornerstone of my practice is trusting in the inherent wisdom of the body and the sanctity of birth while maintaining a watchful clinical eye. Care extends well beyond the birth to ensure that physical and emotional needs are tended and that newborn care and feeding are off to the best possible start.
I received my Midwifery License in 2012 after being a doula and childbirth educator since 2004 and embarking in Midwifery school in 2009. I received a Masters degree in Maternal Child Health Systems from Bastyr University in 2017.
Mother
I raised my three kids here in Bellingham and was blessed with the care of a licensed midwife, an OB, lactation consultants, doulas and a village of family and friend family that carried us through all the ups and downs of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and growing alongside our young ones. My births were just as unpredictable as the next, but each taught me about advocacy, trust, surrender, and that indescribable bath of oxytocin when my babies came into my arms. Their birthdays remain rooted forever in my heart. We don't get to choose exactly how our births go, but we do get to decide who we plan to have alongside us and where we want to be. And for me, that made all the difference in the world.
Advocate
As part of my decades long commitment to midwifery advocacy, I’ve served on the board of the Midwives Association of Washington State (MAWS); as a local liaison and state-wide workgroup member for Smooth Transitions (a program of the Foundation for Healthcare Quality); contributed to the publication of outcomes of Licensed Midwives in Washington State in ACOG’s Green Journal; assisted in the development of a data repository to track outcomes of community birth; led groups of students, clients, midwives and allies in advocating to our elected officials in Olympia, and served as adjunct faculty in Bastyr University’s Midwifery Department.
This Chapter
I often say that being a mom made me a better midwife and being a midwife made me a better mom. I believe it wholeheartedly. Both roles have taught me the practices of patience, acceptance, research, wonder, grit, advocacy and resilience. They have given me the opportunity to be present with the rawest of human experience, emotion, power and connection. To have a calling in life is a great blessing. To have two, both of which involve lifelong learning, growth, humor, letting in and letting go - is beyond the wildest dreams. And yet, I've been so blessed! I've witnessed my home crew launch into their adult lives, leading me to a new chapter of mom life. The next chapter of midwifery is here at Salish Sea, where it feels like coming home. My other passions are hiking, outdoor adventure, music, reading, and spending time with beloved friends and family.