Panhandle Birth Services

08/17/2025

39 weeks is here and I’m so ready to meet the person who has been calling me home for over 9 months. Thank you for capturing these precious moments for me. I love watching my body change to grow life, it’s incredible.

03/22/2025

18 weeks with baby #4.

Most days I have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the moment. This pregnancy looks different than the other 3. 3 different hand prints on my mirror, Velcro baby always nearby.

My first pregnancy I was just so excited to enter motherhood.

My second pregnancy, I was exhausted. But this time I was excited to have a second chance at it all, another chance to experience labor and birth, breastfeeding, parenting techniques, etc.

By my third pregnancy I had two kids who had blossoming personalities and I had learned to appreciate the chaos and beauty of parenthood and this time I just couldn’t wait to meet the person on the other side. I had done it all, medicated vs. unmedicated birth, had one boy, one girl, this time I truly just couldn’t wait to meet my baby.

Now in the thick of my fourth pregnancy, I’m trying to relish it all. I get to experience pregnancy again, labor, birth, I’m so excited to meet my baby and see who they become, I get to see my kids gain another life long friend. It’s so hard, I’m exhausted, but my heart is so full and I’m so incredibly blessed to be doing it all again.

03/15/2025

Yay!! 🎉🎉

📣 We have BIG news!!! 📣

Senator Hansen and Senator Spivey have combined three bills together - LB676 (the CNM bill), LB374 (our CPM bill), and LB701 (the doula bill) to create one big bill they’re calling “The Momnibus”!

These bills will all be combined under LB676, with 374 and 701 included as amendments. And Hansen has made it his priority bill for this session! 🎉

We are hopeful that this bill will go forward with lots of support from both the Senators and the public. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us - stay tuned!

02/25/2025

I adapted these tips from . Check out this resource if you haven’t. They have great blogs and podcasts too.
#8: For a breech baby I also recommend looking into spinning babies, and consider receiving chiropractic care. If a vaginal breech birth is of interest you’d need to travel to Colorado for the closest provider who is trained in vaginal breech birth.
#7: There is little evidence on positives to continuous fetal monitoring. If you are low risk, you might be a good candidate for intermittent auscultation.
#6: Avoid lying on your back, even if you are able to rest between contractions and get some shut eye during your labor try to get comfy on your side with pillows, peanut balls, etc.
#5: Move your body! Follow your intuition and do what feels right.
#4: Wait, wait, wait! Don’t go to the hospital the minute you feel a contraction. Especially if your drive isn’t too far, most babies take at least 8 hours to make their debut.
#3: Receive doula care. I’d love to support you! And if we aren’t a good match or you are delivering in Rapid City or outside my usual area I have resources to help you find a doula.
#2: It’s okay if you only get one 20 week ultrasound. If your doctor suddenly suggests at 36 weeks you might have a big baby, an ultrasound isn’t going to be able to accurately diagnose this. After 20 weeks the most accurate way to measure size of baby is 2 ultrasounds at least 2 weeks apart to trend and compare, that’s hard to achieve late in pregnancy. Make sure you truly need an ultrasound in late pregnancy before just agreeing to imaging of your baby.
#1: Receive midwifery care. This is extremely hard in western Nebraska. Scottsbluff has two midwives otherwise you’ll be heading out of state or further east in Nebraska to find midwifery care. If midwifery care is important for you the drive may be worth it, also Nebraska currently has 2 bills waiting to be passed through the legislature, if you are curious about these or want information on how to contact your senator or the HHS board to help increase access to midwifery in Nebraska please let me know and I’ll point you in the right direction. LB374, LB676.

01/31/2025

Such a good point is made here, Nebraskan’s will continue to choose homebirth-so why are we keeping licensed, trained, medical professionals away from homebirth? Even if you wouldn’t chose homebirth for yourself, let women who desire homebirth be able to do it safely with trained professionals.

🤰Nebraska Women Deserve Safe Birth Options🤰🏿

Did you know that in Nebraska, homebirth is legal but having a midwife assist you is not?

Nebraska is the 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 state where Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) are banned from attending homebirths. It is actually a felony for a CNM to provide care at home, even though they are highly trained medical professionals. Meanwhile, 49 other states allow CNMs, Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), or both to provide regulated homebirth care.

Here’s the reality: 98% of CNMs practice in hospitals, and that will continue to be the primary place of birth. Legalizing homebirth midwifery isn’t about shifting births away from hospitals. It is about ensuring that the families who 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 homebirth have access to qualified, regulated midwives and seamless hospital transfers when needed.

More Nebraska families are choosing homebirth than ever before, but without legal options, an underground system of birth attendants has emerged. Some are highly trained, but others have no formal training, leaving women vulnerable and without safe, integrated care. Nebraska's answer thus far has been to prosecute homebirth attendants. Despite the massive amount of taxpayer dollars that are spent on these legal costs, this plan does not stop homebirth, and continues to leave Nebraska families vulnerable.

This isn’t about whether you would choose homebirth. It is about making sure that those who do have access to skilled, regulated providers.

This is why we are asking for support for LB676, a bill that will modernize CNM statutes and expand our ability to serve families in Nebraska, including the ability for CNMs to provide homebirth services. It is also why we are supporting LB374, which will license CPMs in Nebraska.

It is time to fix this. Let's bring Nebraska in line with the rest of the country and make homebirth safer for everyone.

01/23/2025

This would be amazing! More options for women and their families in Nebraska.

🚨 Big News for Midwifery in Nebraska! 🚨

We’re excited to share that Senator Hansen is sponsoring and has introduced LB 676, a critical bill that will help expand access to Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) across Nebraska.

For over 40 years, CNMs have been delivering safe, high-quality care to Nebraska families. It’s time to modernize our statutes to reflect CNM expertise and ensure Nebraskans have more options for personalized, compassionate care.

Check out the graphic below to learn more about what is in the bill. Let’s expand the reach of CNMs to make an even bigger difference for more Nebraska families! 💙

Here is a link to read the bill and follow the progress: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=59164

01/20/2025

Why do we want licensure for Certified Professional Midwives?

Currently there is no mention of CPMs in Nebraska’s law. The only place homebirth is mentioned is in the CNM law, which states that “a Certified Nurse Midwife shall not attend a home delivery”. (Nebraska is the ONLY state that doesn’t allow CNMs to attend homebirths, by the way!) Unfortunately this law is often unfairly applied to Certified Professional Midwives, by a legal system that just doesn’t understand that there are different types of midwives. CPMs are then charged with practicing medicine without a license.

There are two such cases currently active in Nebraska. In 2024 they were both appealed by the state Attorney General to the Nebraska Supreme Court, which ultimately stated that “individuals who engage in the conduct in which [the Certified Professional Midwife] allegedly engaged are required to hold a credential under the Uniform Credentialing Act”. This means that they believe CPMs must have a license from the state to practice - but Nebraska doesn’t have a license for CPMs! We are trying to change that, and join the 38 other states that offer licensure for Certified Professional Midwives. We want to be able to practice openly and freely, without fear of arrest and prosecution for doing what we are trained to safely do.

In addition to avoiding criminal charges, licensure would allow Nebraska's Certified Professional Midwives to:

- Carry lifesaving medications within their scope of practice
- Safely transfer clients who are in need of a higher level of care
- Order lab work and ultrasounds
- Collaborate freely with doctors and CNMs
- Have easier access to continuing education opportunities
- Own and operate independent birth centers
- Suture perineal tears at home
- Perform the Newborn Screening blood test
- File birth certificates for homebirth families
- Openly advertise their services and care for their clients

Licensure would greatly benefit both the midwives and the families of Nebraska. We hope that you will join us in this effort!

01/15/2025

Nebraska needs more options for women and their families, this would be an amazing start!!

10/24/2024

How exciting!!

We are thrilled to announce that the Nebraska CPM Alliance will be working with Senator Ben Hansen to introduce legislation that would give licensure to Nebraska’s Certified Professional Midwives!!

Licensure will make homebirth and CPMs so much more accessible to the families of Nebraska, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling. We have worked hard to ensure that our bill wording brings MORE freedom to Nebraskans and midwives, not less. It’s being worked on by bill drafters right now, and we are SO excited to share it with you when it’s ready!

Please like the page and follow along for updates and opportunities to join us in our efforts!