When a woman has a home birth it is a unique and special experience.   She labors in her own comfortable environment, surrounded by familiar sounds and smells, simple comforts and her chosen community of support.  She can move freely, walk around her back yard, labor in a birth tub or her own bed, all with minimal intervention.  She may have intimate moments with her partner, and may have an older child present to witness the miracle of birth. There are limitless examples of how women follow their body’s powerful instincts and find their own best way to give birth when they feel safe, respected and supported at home.


Glow midwives enter the home of a laboring woman with loving, peaceful energy and a reverence for her birth experience.  We watch, we listen, we assess the well-being of mother and baby, and we offer our support through words and touch.  We are patient, knowing that women’s bodies open in the fullness of time, not according to a graph or specific timeline. We have many ideas for comfort measures, pain coping techniques and position changes, but for every woman our support is individualized, responding to her unique needs, desires and experiences. We have spent long hours through the night massaging a woman to help her soften and open, and have sat quietly outside the room when a woman has desired to labor in solitude. We provide reassurance when all is well, share information we gather from listening to fetal heart tones, and are comfortable using our advanced midwifery skills when they are needed.

We believe in creating an atmosphere of gentleness, peacefulness and love for babies when they are born—this is a sacred time!  Babies thrive when they are kept skin-to-skin on their mother’s body, are spoken to by the familiar voices of their parents, and are touched with tenderness and respect.  We are midwives for the babies as well, and bring our careful attention to their experience of birth and life outside the womb. 

Glow midwives place safety for mother and baby as the highest goal, which means that occasionally transporting to the hospital is indicated.  We have spent time cultivating good relationships with doctors and midwives at local hospitals so that our transports are as smooth and professional as possible, and our clients are treated with the respect and kindness they deserve. We discuss why and how transports occur and make a plan with every client during prenatal care, so should the need arise we are well prepared. One of the primary reasons home birth with a skilled midwife is so safe for most women is because we have the knowledge and experience to detect when there is a problem and change locations. 

Welcome Solace