About Us and Our Home Birth Philosophy
Photo by @mindfulwayfarer
Catherine Bailey, CPM, LDM (she, her, hers)
Catherine graduated from Birthingway College of Midwifery in Portland, Oregon in 2013 with a Bachelors of Science in Midwifery (BSM) and has been a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) since 2013. She has been a Licensed Direct-Entry Midwife (LDM) in the state of Oregon since January, 2014. Catherine was the Secretary of the Oregon Midwifery Council from 2014 - 2016 and has been an active member of this organization and volunteer CEU conference organizer since 2009. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and moved to New York after high school where she received a BA in Liberal Arts with concentrations in Studio Art and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College. When she was living in Austin, Texas and working in education, Catherine was first exposed to midwifery and began attending births in 2008. Catherine moved to Portland in 2009 to attend Birthingway and has found a wonderful community here. She had the pleasure of apprenticing for two and a half years at a busy birth center in Portland from 2011 to 2013 where she had the opportunity to learn from many different midwives. Since her apprenticeship Catherine has worked both in private practice attending home births and as a midwife at a birth center. She has attended just over 240 births. Catherine can’t imagine any career that is more suited to her skills than midwifery and is so grateful to have found this rich, inspiring, and powerful work. Catherine was born via cesarean section to a mother who was never told that having a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) was an option for her. She is particularly passionate about supporting clients through VBACs and ensuring that all people have choices in the way that they have their babies. Catherine enjoys the sunshine, anything outdoors, knitting, hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family, friends, and 14 year old son. |
Photo by @mindfulwayfarer
Sarah Dinger, CPM, LDM (she, her, hers)
Sarah started on the midwifery path at Birthingway College of Midwifery in Portland in 2016 and completed core coursework there. She began attending births that year, supporting families primarily in the hospital setting as a doula. In 2017 she started her apprenticeship with Celeste Kersey, CPM, LDM, attending home births in rural Oregon, and also began apprenticing with Catherine at Unfurling Birth in early 2019. She became a CPM in November 2020 and licensed as an LDM in early 2021. She has been a member of the Oregon Midwifery Council since 2018. Sarah grew up in Ithaca, NY, then received a BFA in apparel design from Rhode Island School of Design before moving to Portland in 2003. However, she stopped working in design after the birth of her first baby in 2005. This baby was followed by two more, both born at home with midwives, providing Sarah's first exposure to the midwifery model of care and planting the seed that would eventually lead her to pursue this path herself. She has a passion for evidence-based care, connection, and for supporting clients' agency as they navigate health care choices. She wants clients to feel held and supported as they apply their own values to their journeys into birth and parenting. She had the opportunity to work closely with a lactation consultant while in school and loves to offer help with breast and chest feeding. Sarah recently welcomed her fourth baby, who was born at home in October of 2020. When she's not feeding the baby, working or homeschooling, she enjoys sewing, making pottery, being with her dog, gardening, and using plants to make medicine. |
Philosophy of care/homebirth:
At Unfurling Birth and Midwifery, we offer personal, individualized care for all fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum needs. We believe that birth is a natural, physiological process. At births, we are present to think quickly when changes need to be made to protect the well-being of the birthing parent and/or baby, but most of the time we are simply quiet witnesses to the physiological process of birth. We believe that people hold great intuitive knowledge about their bodies and well-being and we respect and support the clients' role in their care. Informed choice is a key aspect of our midwifery care in which we offer information and support so that you can make your own health care decisions for you and your baby. We enjoy working with families of all types and structures, and from all cultures and faiths. We strive for authenticity and integrity in our midwifery practice and are committed to using open, honest, and compassionate communication. We believe that all families deserve quality midwifery care and the option to have a home birth with a midwife as a safe alternative to hospital birth, and we are honored to be a part of their journeys.
