New Moon Midwifery began in Ann Arbor in 1987, providing the homebirth community with reliable and skilled midwifery services and support. Over the years, midwives at New Moon Midwifery have assisted with the births of hundreds of babies, to clients of all walks of life, in their homes, respectfully and according to their individual needs and wishes. We have attended births for mothers whose ages range from 18 to late-40’s, for those having their first babies as well as their 9th or 10th, and for mothers planning first or subsequent homebirth after Cesarean (VBAC/HBAC). Assisting with waterbirth and the unique environment it creates is an important part of our practice.
Amanda A. Howell,
Certified Professional Midwife
Amanda has felt called to attend birth since her childhood. Before becoming a midwife, she completed a Master’s degree and worked as a medical and biological illustrator. She joined New Moon Midwifery in 2000. Amanda has been a Certified Professional Midwife since 2004. She also served as a boardmember of the Michigan Midwives Association for multiple terms, and is the organization’s current Vice President. Amanda and her husband grow organic veggies and eggs on a tiny farm west of Ann Arbor. |
Jamie Eidsath,
Certified Professional Midwife
Jamie Eidsath believes that the care women receive during their pregnancies makes a difference in their whole lives. In a culture that too often confronts pregnant women with violence and disrespect, it is a midwife’s responsibility to nurture and listen to her clients.
Jamie grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated from Wellesley College. She joined New Moon as an apprentice in 2007 and began practicing as a primary midwife in 2011. |
Anna Fernandez,
Certified Professional Midwife
Anna Fernandez is a Certified Professional Midwife and Master Herbalist. She was born and raised in Ann Arbor though has had the privilege of experiencing life in a few other states before returning back to her roots. She began attending births in Washington State in the year 2000 after the birth of her first child, with the belief that each child born into this world in peace will contribute the same to its family, community and global society. She loves her work and is humbled and honored at every birth she attends and with every family that she works with.
Anna is an apprenticeship-trained midwife, partly trained with New Moon Midwifery, and partly with a practice in Maine and rounded out her training with a month in El Paso, Texas, at a busy free standing birth center. In addition to her midwifery passion, she has a Chartered Herbalist certificate from the Dominion Herbal Collage and a Master Herbalist certificate from the School of Natural Healing and is the owner of Mother Bloom Botanicals. She lives with her husband Cris and her kids Aidan and Nadya -two more homeborn people in this world. |
Sandra McCurdy,
Student Midwife
Sandra became a doula providing professional labor support in 1997. In 2003 she was nationally certified in massage therapy specializing in prenatal, labor and infant massage. In 2009 she completed 1 ½ years of midwifery clinical experience at a free standing birth center. In 2011 she graduated with honors from Ancient Art Midwifery Institute. She is currently a student midwife with New Moon Midwifery and working on her midwifery certification. |
Team Midwifery
Midwives at New Moon work in a seamless team to assure we can meet your needs. Clients get to know all of the midwives well during the prenatal time, and a minimum of two skilled attendants are available at any time to assist you. Typically, two midwives and a student midwife attend most births. Having a team of midwives means there is much less of a chance of having a backup midwife you don’t know called to your birth if your midwife is sick, is at another birth, has a family emergency, is out of town, or if you have a very long labor.
Fellowship with Midwives in the Community
We are fortunate to share our calling with other skilled homebirth midwives in the community. In the event that we should need to consult with another midwife, or hire a back-up midwife, there are a number of options available for qualified backup midwives.
Links to other Southeast Michigan midwives
“We love what we do, and feel very drawn to helping women give birth.
We try to empower women and provide a safe space for them to do
what they know how to do. We feel very fortunate to do this work.”
- New Moon midwives