meet the birth journey team

Head midwife 

I have always dreamt of helping families through childbirth since my teens and began on my path to birth work straight out of high school. Because it never sat well with me that the medical model views pregnancy and childbirth as a problem to be solved rather than the beautifully natural process that it truly is, I walked away from this dream for a few years to work odd jobs until I became fed up and decided to dedicate my life to something more fulfilling than selling office furniture.

I moved to Salt Lake City from Reno, Nevada in 2017 in order to attend the Midwives College of Utah and worked as an assistant and student midwife with Birth Journey since then to serve the communities in and around the area. This time working with Birth Journey only helped to solidify my love and passion for midwifery even further as I learned to provide evidence-based care, support, and education to empower families to take charge of their pregnancy and birth experience.

In the fall of 2021, I graduated from the Midwives College of Utah, earning my Certified Professional Midwife credentials before successfully applying for my Licensed Direct Entry Midwife credential through the state of Utah in December 2021. 

Through this transition, I hope to continue to provide safe and respectful prenatal, birth, and postpartum care to families at Birth Journey.

Staff midwife

I am a wife of 40 years to an amazing husband and the mother of two now-grown children born into the hands of midwives. The care I received with my babies influenced me to pursue birth work. I trained first as a childbirth educator, attended births as a doula, certified as a lactation consultant, and then became a midwife through the apprenticeship model in Alaska.  

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I’ve been involved with birth since 1981 and attended my first births as a student in '82, becoming a midwife soon after the state passed the law in '92 providing a midwifery board and an avenue to be a midwife in Alaska. I moved to Utah in 2001 and continue to enjoy serving families as a midwife now more than ever. 

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I savor the memories of being grandmother, mom, and midwife simultaneously at the births of my grandchildren. These were pinnacle experiences in my life that have fueled my passion to provide competent and compassionate care to those seeking guidance on their birth journey. I am honored to be a part of such a special time in your life and work to create a space that is peaceful and respectful. I believe that in a vast majority of cases, out of hospital birth provides the most comfortable environment for women to labor as well as the most gentle and safest welcome for baby.

Birth assistant, student

Kyra began working with families during their childbearing years after completing the DONA Doula Training workshop in 2014. From there, she worked as a volunteer doula working with the University of Utah before taking on a larger role in the community with personal clients. Kyra is currently enrolled at and aspiring to graduate from the Midwives College of Utah in order to become a CPM and LDEM. She joined our team in April of 2021.

Through personal health struggles, she came to be an advocate for individuals taking charge of their health, becoming an advocate for themselves, and listening to their bodies. She strives to help our clients do the same.

In her free time, Kyra loves spending time with her loved ones. She’s an outdoors girl and enjoys most outdoor recreational activities. Through school, Kyra has found a passion for herbology and enjoys growing her own herbs.

Well-Person Care

Kayla provides well-woman and contraceptive care for clients at Birth Journey. She graduated with her Master's of Science in Nursing from Yale University in 2014 and holds dual licenses as a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP). 

She practiced as a full scope midwife for 10 years in birth centers in Montana, Colorado, and Utah, but is taking a break from the on-call life to raise her family. She is passionate about people reclaiming their power in healthcare and educating clients about their amazing bodies. True informed consent is a central tenet of her practice. 

Office Manager

Nicole is our office manager and has been with Birth Journey since 2017. She moved from Utah to Idaho in 2019, where she lives with her husband and 3 dogs near Bear Lake. She helps our clients throughout their care with scheduling, general questions, birth certificate filing and many other behind the scenes things to help run our clinic as smoothly as possible. You can always reach her at our office number and she'll be happy to help with whatever you need.