After having my second baby at home with a midwife, my life passion turned from being a performance oriented dancer to becoming a midwife myself. From running support groups for new mothers, to childbirth education, on to midwife assisting at home births, my life change brought me to becoming a full time midwife with my own privately owned homebirth service. I was fortunate to include well-woman gynecology to my practice and throughout the years was able to see my clients through their childbearing years and into menopause. As the years passed I identified women who had been sexually abused and adjusted my care, both during pregnancy and birth, but through their annual gynecological care as well. I then earned my Master's degree in psychology to better understand and help this particular group of women and meet their needs. I also identified my own need to make sure the babies I was fortunate to attend while they were being born had a good and calm start to life. I then joined one of the two organizations in the world which is dedicated to understanding that how we are birthed makes a difference in how in our lives. In 2004-05 I volunteered with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and was part of a medical mission in Liberia and the Darfur Region of Sudan. I still work with this organization to strengthen the women/infant health portions of their projects as I believe that the health of a country can only be fully realized when the women and children are healthy. In addition, I fully believe that if a baby is born peacefully and given an opportunity to know it is loved and cared for then this is the beginning of building a peaceful world. I also believe that natural childbirth, something that is disappearing in my country, is a right for women. I feel that women, by giving birth of their bodies in full awareness and participation, learn the fullness of their strength and power as givers of life that they are in this world