About Birthmoon
Intimate. Wild. Primal. Autonomous. Spiritual. Healing. Free.
Birth can look like this. When you give birth at home, in your own power, you have innate trust in your body and trust in your baby.
Why? Because birth works. Free of unnecessary intervention and disruption, our bodies know how to give birth, and our babies know how to be born.
The physiology of birth is designed to help us find the power we have within, and carry that from birth into postpartum and mothering. You feel powerful and capable, rather than feeling like you owe someone something, like you’re not enough.
This is why Birthmoon Midwifery holds the birthing person’s unique needs and desires for pregnancy, birth and postpartum care in the highest regard, discussing benefits and risks together, and ultimately giving the power of consent and choice to the mother and family.
Homebirth is safe
For low-risk women, homebirth is safe.
Multiple studies 1,2 of hundreds of thousands of women show that for women who intend to give birth at home, there is no increased chance of the baby’s perinatal or neonatal death compared to other low risk women who intend to give birth in a hospital.
Countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, which have the best birth outcome statistics in the world, use midwives as their main maternity care providers.
Birthmoon Midwifery’s hospital transfer rate is consistently under seven percent, and c-section rate is consistently under five percent. Midwives are trained to know when a transfer of care is indicated, sometimes even if the mother herself isn’t sure.
Meet the Midwife
Midwifery is Dawn’s calling. After a traumatic hospital birth with her first child, she went on to birth her next baby at home — and quickly became her midwife’s apprentice.
Since 2012, she has attended well over 150 births across Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, and birthed three babies of her own at home. Dawn has devoted herself to serving families through respectful, collaborative midwifery care that puts the family at the center.
Dawn is a Certified Professional Midwife and a licensed midwife in Iowa and Wisconsin. She is skilled in breastfeeding support and has over 15 years experience as a breastfeeding counselor. She’s also certified in CPR and neonatal resuscitation.
A native Iowan, Dawn went to college in Iowa City, got married in 1999 in Jamaica, and she and her husband started their family in 2004. Her four children are in middle school through college. They live on a hobby farm in Cedar Rapids, where Dawn raises Shetland sheep, plus a few goats, bees and a flock of chickens for fun. She gardens, camps, and runs long distances as her self-care.
Dawn’s extensive experience, calm and supportive presence, and genuine care for mothers, babies and families will make her an invaluable and beloved member of your birthing team.