One of the most common questions I’m asked is why I chose to become a midwife. During nursing school, I was aware of just one midwife who practiced over an hour away. Yet, I felt a strong desire to meet her and learn about her approach to care. That encounter sparked my dream of becoming a midwife, a goal that stayed with me through the 14 years it took to achieve it. But, I did it!

I grew up in a small town in central Illinois. I graduated nursing school and married my high school sweetheart, Ed, the next day. I worked in a local hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care for nine years before moving to Labor and Delivery. Working in L+D steeled my determination to become a midwife because I wanted to provide a different type and level of care to what I saw daily at work. During that time, I became a mother to three and a foster mother to many. When my youngest son was starting Kindergarten I entered midwifery school.

My first position as a midwife was in a private physician’s practice delivering babies in a small community hospital. Life circumstances (family first!) resulted in several moves and job changes over the next few years. I had the opportunity to practice in a large high risk center as well as at the Birth Center in Rincon and Savannah. I opened my own practice, Hart at Home Midwifery, in March of 2025.

What I have come to realize is what is most important to me and many of the families I have served is the provision of personalized healthcare, where the woman and family’s wants, needs, and educational goals are addressed. I may not be able to care for as many women as I once did, but the ones that seek my care fill my cup!

My children are grown and have children of their own. Being a grandparent is one of life’s greatest blessings and keeps me young at heart.

And Ed, he’s still at my side after all of these years!