San Diego Homebirth Midwife Talks About How to Become a Midwife

I'm Barbara E. Herrera, Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife and working as Ama Mama Midwifery.    I'm in a solo practice, but have a wonderful apprentice Donna, mom of 9. My partner of 22 years, Sarah Hubbard and I have 4 kids between us.

I've had 3 kids - one hospital birth, one unassisted homebirth and one car birth. Sarah had a hospital birth. We co-nursed and co-parented and shared parenting with their fathers. The children are now all over 21 years old.

Birth is a passion for me. I fell into it unwittingly and have found it mesmerizing for over 24 years. Counting, I am at about 900 births attended. I was a doula long before the word was created in the United States and have worked with doctors, nurses, CNMs, LMs and CMs in hospitals, birth centers and in the home - learning something different from each person I trained with and under and next to. I have learned so, so much.

I am not so arrogant as to believe there is no place for medications or physicians or hospitals. I know there absolutely are complications in pregnancies and births that require transfers of care to OBs and operating rooms. Part of my skill level is in knowing what is safe to remain in the realm of "natural" and what should be looked at with a more critical/medical eye. It is what I am hired to do. I'm very careful not to exploit the trust my clients so generously offer me. I also expect amazing amounts of trust from them, too. It is absolutely a two-way street.

Natural birth. I know a thing or two about it. Let's yack, shall we?

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