Penelope is a Licensed Midwife in both Washington (2019) and California (2017) and a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through the North American Registry of Midwives. With more than two decades of experience supporting physiologic birth, she is deeply committed to safe, gentle, family-centered care outside the hospital setting—whether at home or in a birth center.Her journey began as a birth doula in 2001. From 2002–2005 she worked on the landmark PACE LABOR research study at Harvard University, attending births at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Design and beginning graduate-entry nursing studies at Boston College, her own birth experiences and a growing conviction about the beauty and strength of out-of-hospital birth led her to change course. She trained at Maternidad La Luz in El Paso, Texas—the only MEAC-accredited midwifery school in the United States with an integrated high-volume birth center. There she completed thousands of clinical hours and hundreds of births while immersed in evidence-based, physiologic midwifery care.Over the years Penelope has cultivated a heartfelt respect for the way undisturbed birth supports secure attachment, optimal vagal tone, a healthy microbiome, and lifelong emotional and physical resilience. She blends rigorous clinical training with holistic modalities drawn from many wisdom traditions so that every family—regardless of faith background—receives individualized, compassionate support.

 

Credentials & Certifications

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• Licensed Midwife, Washington State Dept. of Health – 2019

• Licensed Midwife, Medical Board of California – 2017

• Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), North American Registry of Midwives -2016

• MEAC-accredited midwifery education, Maternidad La Luz- 2015

• Certified Birth Doula since 2001

• Neonatal Resuscitation for home and birth center Birth; 2012, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2025

• Birth & Postpartum Doula, Sacred Birthing 2009

• Birthing From Within Mentor training 2018

• The Matrona Holistic Birth training 2018

• Indie Birth midwifery philosophy intensive 2017, 2018

 

Continuing Education & Influences

 

Ayurvedic prenatal and postpartum care, herbal medicine, homeopathy, yoga, pranayama & meditation, conscious & attachment-focused mothering, ancestral healing practices, family constellation work, non-violent communication, anthropological studies of birth, human microbiome research, and the lifelong imprint of birth on body, mind, and spirit.Penelope welcomes families of every faith and background who desire respectful, evidence-informed care and the calm, empowering experience of out-of-hospital birth. She feels honored to walk beside you with skilled hands, a listening heart, and reverence for the sacred moment when new life enters the world.“I am here to guide you through your pregnancy and birth with gentleness, wisdom, and joy.”

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