Holiday Babies!
Holidays babies are the best.
I’m a December babe. I was born at 39 weeks because my mom’s OB wanted to induce her for some vague medical reason. (Knowing what I know now, I can’t help but wonder how much the Christmas holiday influenced that decision!) I also had a December baby myself (see pics below!). My third baby was born on December 11th…just a few days before my own birthday…and I’m so glad she got to choose her birthday entirely herself.
Each year in the Denver birth community, I see pregnant folks looking for homebirth midwives who take clients over the holidays. As birth workers, being on call 24/7 is DEMANDING and so many midwives and other birth workers elect to take a much-needed break over the holiday season. But December babies are still conceived each and every year….and so many families want amazing providers to walk beside them in pregnancy and birth.
Below is a list of homebirth providers in the Denver area that are accepting clients over the holidays. I’ve attended homebirths with these midwives - they are more than colleagues, many of them are dear friends. Please note that these folks may have already filled up by the time you reach them! If you’re on the fence about homebirth - I highly recommend it! But we also have some amazing birth centers (Colorado Birth & Wellness, the Birth Center of Denver, and Seasons) and some incredible hospital midwifery practices too.
Adrienne Leeds of Abundant B’Earth
From Adrienne’s website: Adrienne Leeds is a Certified Professional Midwife and Certified Clinical Herbalist. A graduate of the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies' 3-year Clinical Herbalism program, Adrienne is also Reiki II practitioner and flower essence formulator. Adrienne deepened her study of women's health with Wise Womanhood, The Matrona, The Association of Texas Midwives' Midwifery Training Program, Postpartum Ayurdoula Ysha Oakes, Ruth Shepard, and Dr. Rosita Arvigo. She is a married mother of two homebirthed children, gardener, hiker and rollerblader.
“I’m taking Christmas babies but leaving Thanksgiving open. I’ll come as far South as Westminster, Broomfield, Golden, Thornton, parts of Brighton. My usual service area is Boulder County, Broomfield, Peak to Peak, South Larimer (Loveland/Berthoud), West Weld Co. (Frederick/Firestone/Ft. Lupton).”
From Keri’s website: I’m a registered certified professional midwife (CPM) trained through the National College of Midwifery and accredited by the North American Registry of Midwives. I’ve attended births around the world from Los Angeles to China and I look forward to how my unique background can bring you the ideal birth experience. My love for birth began through getting to know international midwives working in underserved and low resource communities. I became a doula while finishing my university education and the births I saw there drew me to travel to a birth center that served remote villages in the Philippines. Over two years there I delivered babies in rooms without power, the backs of convenience stores, and homes throughout the communities. After my own two home births in Los Angeles and Denver I confirmed what I had been seeing for years…that through the birthing process we learn that we are capable of more than we ever knew was possible. My goal is to provide client-centered care that focuses on the innate capability of the birthing body and to provide individualized and empowering support for the motherbaby dyad. I currently live in the Denver area with my two children and partner where I enjoy exotic cooking, independent film, dancing, and mornings practicing yoga on my deck.
Geneva Montano and Sena Johnson of Sacred Birth Choice
From their website: We believe pregnancy, birth and babies offer us the opportunity to remember that life is sacred-meaning life is special, each moment and each breath are full of possibility. The model of care that we offer is based on this belief.
We are committed to:
Creating community
Keeping homebirth accessible
Treating each birthing person, their families and their experiences as unique and sacred
Remembering that your body is doing something AMAZING and treating it accordingly
Peace Love & Shari (303-243-5130)
They are currently fully booked for November and December but her practice does normally take clients over the holidays.
Shari attended my 3rd and 4th births. She is a certified nurse midwife (CNM) with an extensive background in midwifery, but more importantly, she helps clients process past trauma and anxiety so that they can approach their births with peace and joy. Shari works with Donna, who is also a CNM and has a passion for out-of-hospital birth.
Robin Melkus, Caring Hands Birth and Wellness Services
From Robin’s website: Your birth, your way. I’m a Colorado midwife serving families who want to have their babies at home. My practice encompasses south metro Denver, Arapahoe, Elbert, Douglas and El Paso counties, and surrounding areas. Aurora, Bennett, Castle Rock, Centennial, Commerce City, Elbert, Elizabeth, Englewood, Highlands Ranch, Kiowa, Littleton, Lone Tree, Monument, and Parker are just a few of the cities I serve. You choose who to have with you at the time of your birthing. You choose the tests and procedures you would like to have, and those you would like to avoid.
From Kristen’s website: High Information, Low Intervention. We have lengthy appointments with each other not just to make sure that you and baby are happy and healthy, but also to establish a strong relationship with one another. The clinical tasks (listening to baby's heartbeat, performing any tests you might need or request, and taking your vitals) typically only take up a few minutes of our appointment time. The rest of our time is spent on educational topics and talking about life. I make sure that you understand the how's and why's of everything. Midwifery care is about empowering you to make your own educated decisions, and providing evidence-based information to help you make those choices. I consider myself to be a guide, not a gatekeeper.
Dia Ingalls of Colorado Midwifery Services
From Dia’s website: Our midwives facilitate home births that allow you to stay present as your child enters the world. Throughout your pregnancy, we follow the standard obstetrical schedule for visits, monitoring, and testing. When it’s time to deliver, we dedicate ourselves completely to your family and your family alone. We partner with you to create a plan for bringing your child into the world, then we navigate and adjust when the unexpected arises.
Natalie Baca of Holding Light Midwifery
From Natalie’s Website: What I love about being a midwife is that I get to bring my whole self to every visit, every birth, every family I work with. I'm able to integrate body, mind and spirit into my midwifery practice. I work to inspire the same for my clients. In preparing for childbirth, I encourage birthing people and their families to be knowledgeable, to practice body awareness and to strengthen and maintain their spirituality.
They are not taking holiday babies this year, but they will in 2024. I always applaud when folks take some much needed rest and time off!
From their website: Melissa has always been drawn to the midwifery model of care because of how much it enables her to empower other women. It's a model where women are truly heard, honored, and cared for as whole beings, not just bodies. She is grateful for the opportunity to form trusting and nurturing relationships with her clients while at the same time providing a high level of experienced medical care. Samantha has loved birth and babies for as long as she remembers. She has a passion to provide truly informed, client focused, empowering and well educated care. Melissa and Samantha have worked together since 2018 when Melissa accepted Samantha as a student. The continue to work together providing a midwifery dream team to our incredible community.