I became a midwife after working for eight years in the hospital as a nurse. I worked at a hospital that had a very high cesarean section rate and I felt by working there, I was contributing to the problem. I was the one putting women in bed and strapping them to monitors, and I was assisting the doctors in the operating room. I was often the one taking the baby to the nursery and separating it from the mother. I felt these things were wrong, and I wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem.

We moved to Houston in 1988, for my husband’s work, and I promised myself I would not go back to work in a hospital. I would get a job in a birth center or an old folks home or someplace where I was really helping people, or else I woiuld not work at all. I met a midwife in my area who had a busy birth center, and I worked for her part-time as a volunteer for three years. After that, I started doing births on my own. I began working on my Masters degree in nurse-midwifery at the University of Texas at Galveston in 1998 and I completed that program in April, 2001.

I believe women should have a peaceful and loving atmosphere in which to birth. When I am with someone in labor, I do my best to help her with the labor and also keep the atmosphere calm. I always expect normal, but I know what to do if something abnormal occurs. I bring the same basic emergency equipment to a home birth that is available in the hospital (such as oxygen, ambu bag, IV equipment, emergency drugs for a hemorrhage, etc…).

I have five sons- two were born in the hospital and three were born at home with the assistance of sister midwives (that's a whole other story). I love being a mother and helping other women to become mothers. I enjoy associating with other midwives and open-minded people. It is such a privilege to be a midwife and every birth is still very special to me. I am one of the lucky people in the world who loves her work, but it is not really luck, because I’ve worked hard to arrange it that way.

I was first documented by the Texas Department of Health as a midwife in 1990. I later got a Masters' Degree in midwifery and became a CNM. I have always belonged to the Association of Texas Midwives since I first became interested in midwifery in 1986. I also belong to the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). I was  the treasurer for our local Houston Homebirth Midwives organization for 10 years. I am currently the President of the Association of Texas Midwives since 2005. I’ve helped produce several midwifery conferences and I try to attend at least one midwifery conference every year. I am also a board certified lactation consultant. I’ve been a La Leche League Leader since 1985. I hope I will always have the privilege of working with families to welcome their new babies.