05/23/2026
Thank you of Gainesville for taking the time to chat with us 🌸🌸🌸
Words to live by:
Taina: “Just trusting in the universe.”
Irina: “Trust is the word that comes to mind. Birth is a very unique time and space. I think our lessons have been in that light of staying humble and trusting.”
Taina: “We are definitely big proponents of out-of-hospital birthing and, most importantly, physiological birthing. Our bodies are very smart and they know what to do. When we allow trust and the right environment and context, things work as they are designed to work. So we really feel that we are guardians of that space to promote physiological birthing. I think there is a misconception that out-of-hospital birthing involves no assessment, but we take everything in context and don’t impose standards on people when they don’t fit.”
Irina: “Wildflowers Midwifery has been born out of love and service. I think that all the women who support us professionally also live in that mindset. It’s important to say that we are really a community-sourced care space. Yes, we are midwives - but we also work with body and energy workers, chiropractors – just incredibly gifted people. What makes Wildflowers unique, beyond the fact that we are very traditional in our care, is we really show up as full community for the women that we serve. We want to support them in every aspect of that journey - which looks different for every person. Also particular to our practice is we also live in ceremony. A lot of our work, in particular in how we approach birth and in all of the things that happen before and after, is rooted in the ceremony of that very sacred time and space. All choices and decisions are made in partnership with the women we serve and in reverence of that ceremony.”
Ms. HOG: “What do you appreciate most about your business partner?”
Taina: “I think the easiest way to summarize it is that it feels like breathing when we are working together. There is an ease to it. I never really have to think about why this decision was made or the intention behind it – I always just understand. There is an openness to be authentic with each other that just feels really light and meant to be.”
Irina: “Well, I couldn’t say it any better than that!”
Taina: “I came here from West Palm Beach to attend UF in 2015. WPB has a lot of little niches where people stick in their communities whereas Gainesville really feels like a melting pot/collective and I really appreciate that.”
Irina: “I’m learning that Gainesville is a very small town – and I mean this is the best way. It’s one degree of separation: my kid’s teacher also teaches one of my favorite yoga classes; this brings me the biggest joy. Even how we ended up at this market. I shop here all the time, half the vendors are our friends, so it was like a no-brainer: why don’t we just table at a place that we already love?”
- Taina Coicou and Irina Shlain, licensed midwives with Wildflowers Midwifery, tabling at the Grove Street Market. In addition to home birth for low risk pregnancies, they offer prenatal, labor, and doula support for those planning on in-hospital births.
More info: http://www.wildflowersmidwifery.com
