We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robin DeStefano a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Robin , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

In the mid ’90’s, I had been working for a birth center for a few years while I completed the requirements for a newly created national certification called Certified Professional Midwife or CPM. I was already a Licensed Midwife by the state of Texas. My role was to labor mothers, assist the Certified Nurse Midwife with delivery and care for mother and baby in the immediate postpartum period. I was attending to a mother as she was delivering and there a few complications that I was managing without concerns. The CNM arrived and took over without regard to my ability to handle the situation. I was angry that she took over when I had the situation well in hand. It was that experience that made me realize that I was no longer a student but a midwife in my own right. Shortly after this experience, I left the birth center and started my own home birth practice. I have used this experience in my own mentoring of students. Helping them realize that they must step out from under the protection of a more experienced midwife and take responsibility for managing a situation all on their own. It is only then that they can see themselves as a true midwife.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have been a midwife for more than 3 decades. I love to assist families in bringing their baby into the world. I believe that each delivery is a unique miracle. Being a midwife is so much more than giving medical care to a woman during her pregnancy. It encompasses physical, emotional and spiritual components of the woman and her whole family. The Legacy Midwives seek to provide holistic care during pregnancy. We view pregnancy as normal and natural in a woman’s life. We use a variety of tools to assist the mother to have a healthy pregnancy: education, herbals, homeopathies, and nutrition. We are committed to walking along side the mother on her journey of pregnancy and beyond. We view the mother as an individual; with unique needs, concerns and goals. We provide the ability for families to birth their miracle in the comfort and privacy of their homes. Allowing them to choose who will be in attendance. Whether it is just her partner or the extended family. Birth is a celebration of life and we treat it as such.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

NO. I have no doubt that I was called to be a midwife. I knew early in my life that I wanted to birth outside the hospital. Our first child was born in a birth center, but it was when our second child was born at home that I chose to pursue the calling to become a midwife. In those early years, a traditional midwife trained under the teaching of a senior midwife. There was no formal training. I read, took anatomy and physiology at the local college and attended births with my midwife. I look back on all the families who put their trust in me to walk along side their journey to motherhood. I am grateful for having been a part of their lives. There are sacrifices to being a midwife, long hours away from home, missed family events. It takes balance to not give everything you have to others. I am grateful for the lives I have touched and those who have touched mine.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had been working for a growing and successful birthing center for many years. As the practice grew, I began to feel pulled away from the type of care I wanted to offer. I wanted to spend more time with our mothers, give support and teaching and use my knowledge in alternative health solutions. I also wanted to return to my first love of delivering babies in the family’s home. It took me on a journey to discover what type of midwife I wanted to be. In 2018 I decided to strike out on my own again in private practice with a former student, now Licensed Midwife, Krista Young. Together, we formed Legacy Midwives. Our goal is to provide the personal, intimate and holistic care that we felt families were looking for. We have been blessed to serve many families in north Texas in the past 4 years. I am grateful that I was able to follow my passion for providing home birth as an option for so many families.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.legacymidwives.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/LegacyMidwives
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/LegacyMidwives

Image Credits
Headshot credit is deannacampbellphotography.com All others are personal photographs