Cara Muhlahan, CNM

Cara on becoming a Midwife: "I have been a Midwife my entire adult life. I was 19 years old when I felt the initial stirrings of the call to Midwifery. After almost 30 years of learning and practicing, I have come to realize that I have chosen well. With each passing year, I discover that the work that I naturally love to do has many rewards that I never anticipated when I began: the art of refining clinical judgment calls, for one. I have realized that being in a healing profession is a natural extension of my character. It is what I am made to do. It is what I am called to do. I watched a movie about two Italian doctors in Afghanistan, taking care of soldiers from both sides of the conflict. The doctors just wanted to make everyone better, heal the wounds, and see them back on their feet; no partisanship. I related to those guys. As I matured from my ideological beginnings, I have come to realize the joy in facilitating each woman’s unique expression and empowerment.

How and where a woman gives birth has a profound affect on her life thereafter. At home, in a protected space, where intimacy can exist, families experience joy and triumph as they give birth according to their own values, upholding their own priorities. I am honored to be a player in this great event."