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I grew up in and around San Francisco as part of a multilingual, immigrant family and owe my love of nature and science to my animal-loving mother and my research physiologist grandmother. Looking back, my very first introduction to midwifery actually came at age nine when my semi-feral cat decided to give birth to her kittens on my lap—but I did not recognize the foreshadowing at the time.

Years later, I earned a BA in Environmental Studies/Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz, with an effective minor in Women’s Studies. That coursework, along with hearing stories of friends’ homebirths and my concern for social justice issues, together sparked my passion for women’s health. Then a dear friend invited me to her hospital birth and I was profoundly moved by witnessing this most primal event and by my friend’s strength. However, I was also very frustrated with how she and her baby were treated. Believing that women and birthing people deserve options when giving birth, I changed my life’s trajectory and began to pursue becoming a midwife.

My midwifery education began in 1993 and included extensive coursework and apprenticeship with homebirth midwives in the San Francisco Bay Area, at Maternidad La Luz, (a freestanding birth center and midwifery school in El Paso, Texas), as well as, with traditional midwives in Mexico. I earned my CPM credential from the North American Registry of Midwives in 1999 and my midwife license (LM) from the Medical Board of California in 2008.

In between I became a mother myself, giving birth to my son at home in a waterbirth tub with a midwife’s help.

I am honored to serve all growing families as an affirming health care provider– regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, socioeconomic background, marital status/single-hood, weight, sexual orientation or gender expression. When not catching babies, I can be found walking in nature with my son, researching family trees, and tending my garden.

Get in touch for a free consultation