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 sister had health insurance; she should have been warned by her doctors that she was at risk. But she was a minority. The doctors took little interest in her as an individual, and she fell through the cracks. And died.

I get happy very easily and very often.

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.

I sing, I clean house, I write poetry. I cry. And I tell everyone I can, "I Believe in YOU."

I am just one of many many thousands of midwives, who are devoted to saving lives gently.