Debbie Schneider

Certified Professional Midwife & Primary Midwife

liv-1.jpg

 

I am honored to be a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) in the state of Georgia. My training is specifically in out-of-hospital birth and I am nationally certified by the North American Registry of Midwives. I consider midwifery a noble profession and a true calling – and next to my family, it is my heart. I am dedicated to nurturing, educating, and empowering women in pregnancy and childbirth (and beyond); I have been a primary midwife to over 1000 women and their babies.

I have had 2 natural births, (way back in the early 70’s) and have had the joy of being present for 4 of my 5 grandchildren’s births, 2 of which were at home. In fact, it was the home-birth of my grandson that I realized I could no longer ignore the call to midwifery. The timing was perfect, my children were grown and I could now devote my life to this amazing work!

I approach my personal life as well as my midwifery practice with a holistic mindset. Birth is not inherently a medical event; but rather one of the most intuitive and individual experiences of a lifetime. Listening through my hands and heart teaches me how to best support the journey of the individual. My goal is to offer support in collaboration with the individual so one can flourish through self-empowerment. I believe in utilizing medical intervention when necessary, while respecting pregnancy and birth as a normal physiologic life event.

I have an extensive knowledge of herbs, having studied both formally and informally for the last 35 years and I am currently enrolled in Aviva Romm's very thorough Herbal Medicine for Women course of study. I am also studying homeopathy, and also love to incorporate the responsible use of aromatherapy for myself, my family, and my practice. I am a Professional Member of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy; as well as an Academic Member of the American Botanical Council and a Member of the American Herbalist Guild.

I am Certified in The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal TherapyTM having studied under Rosita Arvigo. I truly enjoy this aspect of pregnancy and well-woman care and I am very excited with the results I see.

I am currently the Vice President of the Georgia Midwifery Association. I am also a member of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) and former MANA Membership Chair. I was a co-facilitator of the Greater N. Atlanta Homebirth Meetup, and we hosted the first BOLD Red Tent Event in Atlanta, in 2008 and then again in 2009.

In March of 2006 I went to Senegal, West Africa with the African Birth Collective and worked in a midwifery clinic for the month. It was an incredible and life changing experience.

I have found myself embarking on the most spiritual journey of my life in becoming a midwife. Each family and each birth are so unique and wonderful and I walk away completely awed and inspired once more by the miracle of birth.