Peninsula Midwives

12/15/2025

(So behind on birth announcements!)

Gorgeous Kaia was born swiftly at the end of Sept, weighing a chunky 9 ! Her parents have been through a hell of a lot together on the last bit, and it was incredible to sit and reflect on that together. I just adore them. Her mama gave birth in awesome power, among a circle of badass women and supported beautifully by her partner. She is calm and steady and also good at letting her desires be known. And just look at those peach fuzz shoulders!!!!

12/15/2025

Being off-call means I can relax into a new and kinda complicated baking adventure! We made the most amazing gf star bread tonight! New holiday tradition unlocked! 💜💫 Thanks

11/28/2025

Why I offer and recommend the Tdap in pregnancy to all my clients. (Of course, it's not forced and not everyone says yes, and I respect that...but this is my why!)

Babies are dying of whooping cough across the US... and it is largely preventable.

We’ve had more than 25,000 pertussis cases this year so far. Cases are on track to surpass 2024 (a year that already saw a fivefold jump from the year before). In the first three months of 2025 alone, the U.S. logged 6,600 cases — 4× the same period in 2024 and 25× 2023!

Deaths have occurred in several states: three unvaccinated infants in Kentucky, two infants in Louisiana (we are not sure of vaccination status), and a child under 5 in Washington state who had received some doses but had not completed the DTaP series (and had other contributing health factors).

Between 2000–2017, 84% of U.S. pertussis deaths occurred in babies under 2 months old — the window BEFORE they can get their first DTaP.

IF ONLY WE HAD A WAY TO PREVENT THIS....
We do. And yes — we’re upset. These deaths should not be happening.

When children receive the complete 5-dose DTaP series on schedule, the vaccine protects about 98% of them in the year after the final dose. When pregnant women get Tdap between 27–36 weeks, it prevents ~78% of pertussis cases in newborns and is ~91% effective at preventing hospitalization.

The problem is that people aren’t getting it...

DTaP coverage among kindergarteners has fallen to 92.1%, down from about 95% pre-pandemic. That may look like a small drop — until you understand herd immunity thresholds. And until you start counting dead babies.

Pertussis in infants is brutal. About 1 in 3 is hospitalized. About 1 in 5 develops pneumonia. Some suffer seizures or brain swelling. Around 1% die.

Adults describe coughing until they vomit or break ribs.
Infants? They turn blue. They stop breathing. They die.

Whooping cough was rare for decades after vaccination became widespread — until the 2000s, when waning immunity, natural cycles, and pockets of low coverage (fueled by misinformation) allowed it to roar back.

We had this under control. Fear and misinformation are undoing decades of progress.
Get vaccinated. Get your kids vaccinated. If you’re pregnant, get Tdap between 27–36 weeks.

https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/third-unvaccinated-kentucky-baby-dies-of-whooping-cough/
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/pertussis/cases-rise-nationally-2-infants-die-pertussis-louisiana
https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/news/two-louisiana-infants-die-of-pertussis-amid-drop-in-vaccinations/

11/26/2025

🎉🎉✨️✨️💫💫🎂🎂

Read to the end for a request/invitation...

In a few hours, I turn 40. I'm beyond overjoyed to celebrate 40, it has long felt like the age of arrival for me. Like coming home. Home into my wrinkles and hot flashes. These 40 years have been an incredible gift though not without griefs, big and small. I feel like I've had many lives in these years. It's wild to consider that I started pre-reqs for midwifery school almost half my life-ago, shortly before I turned 21. These days, I lean deep into parenting, partnering, and caring for my clients. As the years have gone by, ive also gotten better at caring for myself- holding healthy boundaries, prioritizing sleep, friendship and nourishment, working to give myself grace and ease away from people pleasing and perfectionism. In the last few years, I've found a surprising joy and delight in regularly lifting weights and somatic exercise. If you told me when I was 25, this is something I would start doing when I was 38, I would have laughed in your face, but it makes such a difference in my stress response and it's been amazing watching myself get legitimately physically strong. I don't know what the next 40 years hold, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be to step forward into it with joy, curiosity and reverence. Bring me into my medial woman years!

The request...because I'm a pretty sappy person, I bought an empty book to be filled with words from my friends, family and community. If you know me IRL and feel called to share, drop me a line with: 1. What you see the last 40 years have gifted me. 2. What gift you wish for the next 40 to bestow for me. I'll put it in there with your name! If a picture is more right, or you want to write your own, send to PO Box 1660 PT! And I'll glue/tape it in!

Love you all! Here's to being born! (Thanks ma...like a fish!)

11/10/2025

Welcome, Sweet Rowan! Born mid-October weighing 8 . He is tall, and so awesome, just like his parents and older sibling! This repeat family is so dear to me, and walking with them on this journey, with all its twists and turns was such an honor. (How cute is this profile picture of him?! 😍)

11/07/2025

It was great to represent the midwifery perspective on safe sleep (for both infants and parents), mental health, and the deep importance of postpartum support at the First Steps Dream Team event with Allison Berry, MaryJane Ides from the amazing The hi•dubał baʔas and Allison William from First Steps. One of my favorite take aways was the idea of "glass balls" and "rubber balls" when it comes to assessing what aspects of life you can let drop during the postpartum period. *Hint...your sleep is NOT a rubber ball!* Here's to destigmatizing bed-sharing and instead arming parents with the information they need to do so as safely as possible.

What was the best and worst advice you got around sleep when you had an infant?

I'll go first- Worst: Lady at the grocery store telling me that letting my baby sleep in a carrier was "spoiling" him and he'd never be able to sleep on his own. We do not "make" our babies one way or another, they are tiny humans who have thoughts and opinions (which will change over time) and our job is to interpret their needs to the best of our ability (which will both change and grow over time!)

Best: "Book end" sleep- having my partner take the baby for a few hrs in the late evening/early night and again in the early morning. He would get a solid chunk in through the middle of the night, and I wouldn't go into the night with evening dread and I'd start the day feeling (almost) rested. We did this well beyond the newborn stage. You shouldn't stop getting support at 2 or 3 months...

You're doing a good job!

11/05/2025

Super excited about this offering next week from The Milk Circle and ! Erica from Discovery PT is such an amazing provider and human! You don't want to miss this!

11/04/2025

I'm participating in a panel discussing Safe Infant Sleep, including safe bedsharing practices this Thursday in Port Angeles.

🌙 **Join “The Dream Team” for a Free Family Sleep Event!** 💤

Because every family’s sleep journey is different, come connect with local experts to learn about safe sleep practices for you and your baby.

📅 Thursday, November 6th
🍽 Dinner: 5:00 – 5:30 PM
💬 Presentation & Panel: 5:30 – 7:00 PM
📍 Port Angeles Library – Raymond Carver Room
2210 S. Peabody St.

👶 What to Expect:
✨ Expert panel on best practices for safer sleep
✨ Free dinner for all participants
✨ Safe sleep kits available (while supplies last!)
✨ All caregivers welcome

🎙 Featuring:

* Allison Berry, MD
* Allison Williams, ATR, LMHC, PMH-C
* Maya Horrocks, LM, CPM
* MaryJane Ides, Indigenous Doula/Birthworker

📲 Free and open to the community!
To register or learn more please visit https://forms.office.com/r/jzWJRjFC9P

Hosted by Parents as Teachers at First Step Family Support Center in partnership with Wellpoint

10/25/2025

I'll find more words soon, but learning from these two for 2.5 days and alongside a roomful of amazing Midwives with a variety of depth in Breech experience was amazing, and I'm so so grateful for the opportunity! Flying home tomorrow. 💜💜💫💫

10/22/2025

I'm on an adventure this week! Came to NY (Yonkers) yesterday for a Breech Birth Workshop! It starts this evening, so today, I'm going adventuring on the Metro down into the city! New things in big places are definitely an anxiety starter for this country bumpkin, so drawing on my youngest daughter's adventurous nature for my courage today!

10/16/2025

When you have clients where the papa is an incredible Gyotaku artist, and are gifted the most gorgeous placenta prints you've ever seen! 😍😍 Thank you, Nam!

10/15/2025

Welcome Darling Eudora! Born after a surprisingly very fast first labor in early Sept. The 2nd of another late summer "2 fer" on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, she was born only 4hrs after another Peninsula Midwives baby, weighing 8 pounds even. Her parents are appropriately obsessed with her sweetness! And I'm loving watching them find their way in parenthood, always an honor!