I had amazing midwives when I first became a teen-aged mom, and each of the five times I gave birth.

Pregnant women who are at risk for suffering complications and even death are in the prime of their lives. The most affected populations are minorities, Native Americans, immigrants, and women living in poverty and who speak little or no English.

My first experience of having a baby was about as natural as birth can be, and though I didn't know it at the time, it set my feet on a path that eventually led me to become a childbirth author and a midwife.

Research points to the fact that being born without trauma is the foundation for having an intact capacity to love and trust.

Statistically, the United States rates number 39 in maternal mortality. This means that it is safer to be pregnant and to give birth in 38 other countries than the USA... and less expensive too.

I became a fierce advocate for gentle birth as a solution for the most pressing problems of our times - a solution that begins at the source.

In a nutshell, I am a mom, a grandma, and a midwife.