National Midwifery Week 2021 is here! In the United States, midwives have been serving communities for more than a century. National Midwifery Week was created by ACNM to celebrate the work and dedication of midwives and midwife-led care. From community education to prenatal visits to deliveries, ACNM’s national week of celebration is a time to show your support for all that you do.
This year’s theme, “Midwives for Every Community,” acknowledges the unique skills and abilities of all midwives across the country. The ACNM aims to celebrate midwives in all areas of the country that work in diverse environments to care for women and families. The week will focus on how midwives help address health disparities in underserved communities, provide culturally competent care, and improve health outcomes overall.
Meet the Midwives at Midwife360
P. Fadwah Halaby
Founder of Midwife360 in West Palm Beach, P. Fadwah Halaby was born on March 17 in Washington DC. Fadwah is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, as well as a Certified Nurse Midwife. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in nutrition from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Fadwah studied both childbirth education and home-birth training in Colorado. She is a Certified Nurse Midwife by the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing.
When taking a deeper look into Fadwah and the reason behind her passion for midwifery, these were her answers to some of our questions.
Why Did You Choose Your Career?
“I was moved by Spiritual Midwifery– an iconic book written by Ina May Gaskin- the mother of modern midwifery. I read this book while in college at the age of 19, and knew I had found my calling.”
How Long Have You Been Working in Midwifery?
“I gave birth to my first child in 1985 as a ‘free birth’- confident in my ability to birth through my self-study in midwifery over the previous 5 years. I went on to assist another woman in free birth with a breech baby in 1986. In the early 90s, I trained as a lay midwife, completed my nurse-midwife training in 2005, and started my first job as a CNM in 2006.”
What is Your Favorite Part of Your Job?
“Knowing that I had a part in empowering a woman and family through the birthing process. Also, being able to assist women that no one else will help, for example, high order VBACs, twins, and breeches.
What Do You Think is Most Important About What You Do?
“Educating families about the normalcy of birth, as well as protecting the spiritual experience for mama and baby.”
What are 3 Facts About You That Patients Should Know?
- I live a plant-based lifestyle
- I practice Native American spirituality
- I am Palestinian
What Motto Do You Live By?
“Live and let live.”
What is Your Favorite Book and Why?
“The Presence Process, this book has changed my life for the better. It has made me a better and happier person by enabling me to exist in the present moment.”
What is Your Favorite Quote and Why?
” A quote by Octavia Butler says, ‘All that you touch you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.’ This quote for me means nothing is permanent, time marches on, and flowing with it is the only way to stay sane!”
What are Some of Your Goals for 2022?
“Continue to organize Midwife360 so that all of our employees feel supported. Create a space where everyone who enters feels like they have come home. Achieve a sustainable work/life balance, including time with my kids and grandkids.”
Joanna Bronkema
Another midwife at Midwife360 is Joanna Bronkema who was born on November 21 in Grand Rapids, MI. Joanna is a Certified Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner, however, she first began her career as an environmental biologist. She went back to school and attended the University of California San Francisco where she received her RN, CNM, and NP degrees.
Below are the answers to our questions to get a better understanding of why Joanna chose the midwifery path.
Why Did You Choose Your Career?
“I love science and I love supporting women’s rights. Bringing a midwife approach, who uses science and compassion to empower women around their health.”
How Long Have You Been Working in Midwifery?
“I started teaching reproductive health in developing countries in 2010. I then became a doula, a nurse, and finished by receiving my NP and midwife license in 2016.”
What is Your Favorite Part of Your Job?
“Watching families find out that they can take back their own power surrounding their health and birth.”
What Do You Think is Most Important About What You Do?
“Health and patient autonomy are the most important objectives of my work.”
What are Facts About You That Patients Should Know?
“I see myself as a lifeguard at birth, letting the family take the lead while quietly monitoring for safety.”
What Motto Do You Live By?
“I am love, I am energy, I am peace.”
What is Your Favorite Book and Why?
“Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols. Nourishing the self nourishes the baby and sets into motion lifelong healthy habits.”
What is Your Favorite Quote and Why?
“The quote by Gandhi that says, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ This is because we all need some inspiration, and living with integrity gives my life purpose.”
What are Some of Your Goals for 2022?
“I joined Midwife360 in 2021 and we moved to a bigger, and nicer office a few months later. So, in 2022 I’d like to continue to see us grow and develop as a cohesive team.”
Lauren Marie Danella
Our final midwife at Midwife360 is Lauren Marie Danella who was born on June 5 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lauren is a Certified Nurse Midwife as well as Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with a dual master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Lauren worked as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse, and as a Pediatric Nurse for orphaned children with complicated medical conditions. She also studies the art of natural childbirth with the midwives of Bali, Indonesia.
Below are the answers to the questions we asked Lauren to learn why she chose midwifery.
Why Did You Choose Your Career?
“After working in an orphanage for 8 years in Mexico, I was looking for the next step in life. I know I’m happiest when helping others and wanted to find a career I could be passionate about by knowing I was helping others in a loving way. In the orphanage, I saw children healing from their trauma just by connecting with a staff member and feeling loved.
Midwifery seemed to be a way to help mothers bond with their babies from the very beginning, so they are loved from the very beginning and grow up with the strength they need to face the world.”
How Long Have You Been Working in Midwifery?
“I started working in the birth world as a doula in 2009. Then as a nurse in the NICU and pediatrics. I graduated from my midwifery program in 2016.”
What is Your Favorite Part of Your Job?
“Seeing our peaceful, smiling babies who were born gently at home. When parents who have had previous children in the hospital sometimes ask, “Is she okay? she never cries.”
What Do You Think is Most Important About What You Do?
“Creating an environment where our mothers feel safe and supported. When there is no fear and doubt, this makes for a faster, more comfortable labor, and babies take their first
breath coming into the world where they feel the love surrounding them from the beginning. This is when babies are born gently.”
What are important Facts About You That Patients Should Know?
- Multiple trainings with Debra Pascali-Bonari, creator of Orgasmic Birth
- Lived in Bali, Indonesia for over a year, working at Bumi Sehat Birthing Center and trained by Ibu Robin Lim and Lianne Shwartz
- Graduated from The University of Pennsylvania, one of the top midwifery schools in the country. It is also recognized as the top nursing school in the world.
- Before midwifery, I helped to open an orphanage and elementary school in Mexico, where I taught yoga, meditation, and nutrition.
What Motto Do You Live By?
“Keep Life Simple.”
What is Your Favorite Quote and Why?
“My favorite quote is by Liza Rossi and she says, ‘Love is the Answer to Everything,’ which I find to be so true.
What are Some of Your Goals for 2022?
“To continue learning and learning new practices and techniques to have the ability to give each mother and baby the care and love they deserve.”
Visit Midwife360 and Meet the Midwives
Midwife360 began in 2014 and is now a staple to women’s care in South Florida. At Midwife360, they offer holistic gynecology as well as midwifery services such as routine women’s care, family planning, and pregnancy care and birthing.
Along with their three midwives, their team also includes Sandra Alandete (Admin), Vanessa Scoz (MA/Admin), and Dawn Downs (Office Manager). This team of beautiful and intelligent women all share the same passion for combing traditional care methods with modern medicine. Furthermore, they bring together a practice based on a deep connection between provider and patient, individual needs, and true healing.
