Hello, I am Angie Neis CPM-TN, LM. For over 20 years I have had the privilege of serving women with maternity care and home birth services in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia.
I have always loved babies! When I was young it was baby birds, kittens, and even mice. As I grew up it was puppies, raccoons, and other wildlife. Then I got pregnant and the world changed. My mother had taught me that pregnancy was a magical, wonderful time in a woman’s life, and while it was absolutely that, it was also trying, and outright miserable at times! Giving birth was bigger than I expected, and it pushed me to move into places within myself that I had never known. My midwife created a safe space for me in the hospital where my son was born, shielding me from the standard procedures that women birthing there were normally subjected to. Through a mirror I watched as my son’s head was born. It was simultaneously the most painful, challenging and empowering thing I had ever done. It wasn’t just having a baby; it was being catapulted years forward in my development as a woman and a mother. Afterwards, looking into my son’s eyes was something that words can’t do justice. I was hooked!
My second son was born under the care of a Certified Professional Midwife in the comfort of my home. After a short labor he emerged with a head of brown hair, and his older brother announced his gender. Our family was complete! My home birth was as magical as my hospital birth: teaching me that location is less important than love.
In time it became clear to me that not everyone had this experience. I could see there was a need to do for other moms what my midwives had done for me. To offer maternity care with respect, education, and choice. To meet each woman where they are and help them get to where they want to go. To know that not only is there a beautiful baby developing, but also there is a woman developing into the person she didn’t know that she could be.
Every time I have the privilege of seeing this unfold the world becomes a brighter place.