Luna Midwifery

05/10/2026

Happy Mothers Day!
We honor and celebrate all mothers. Thank you to all mothers, for nurturing, loving, and supporting us. Thank you to biological mothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, mothers in law, stepmothers, and chosen mothers.

We also recognize that Mother’s Day can bring up complex feelings and grief. We hold space for all who have lost their mothers, those who are estranged from their mothers, who have not been mothered, whose dreams of motherhood have not been realized, and for those who are triggered or pained by Mothers Day.

Today I celebrate and honor the mothers who are closest to me. My mother Grace, who gave birth to me in 4 hours. My maternal grandmother Julia, who mothered her 5 siblings, her nieces and nephews, and her own 3 daughters, and who lived 99 long and full years. My paternal grandmother Duane, for whom I am named, who taught me how to cook and sew, and how to listen and hold space. My mother-in-law Gloria, who took me in immediately and is constant in her love and support of our family. My daughter Carolina, who came into my life as a new mama, and has mothered her entire extended family, and is one of my best friends. I’m very blessed, thanks be to God.

Thank you to all of our clients, for sacrificing for your babies, for loving unconditionally, for exemplifying mothering to our community and world. We honor you today, and are thankful that you have invited us into some of the most intimate and special moments in your family’s life. God bless you and your family, today and always.

❤️

05/06/2026

Happy International Day of the Midwife! Luna Midwifery thanks all of our clients for inviting us into your sacred space, and for teaching us, and for making us midwives! We also thank all of our mentors and all of the midwives who have gone before us, paving the way and sacrificing time and energy to serve families. Thank you to all midwives in the world, past, present, and future, for your dedication and love.

The International Confederation of Midwives is leading a campaign called “One Million More Midwives.” Here’s how you can help!

🤱🏿Sign their petition calling for governments and health leaders to invest in one million more midwives at https://millionmore.org.

🤱🏻Check out and follow the ICM Instagram page at .

🤱Make a post about your experience with midwifery care and tag your midwife.

🤰🏾Share stories about how midwives have impacted your life. (I mean in person, with people you know! Real life stuff!) Many people do not know that midwives still exist, are competent, safe, and are primary maternity care providers. Please help to spread awareness.

I (Degra) selected a few pictures to celebrate this day!
1. ”This was the best day ever!”, according to this mama who has had 1 baby at the Roanoke Birth and Perinatal Center (our birth center!) and 2 babies at home.
2. Luna Midwifery Retreat 2026: Midwives: Danielle, Degra, Christina, Sam and Birth Assistants: Rachel and Brittany
3. Sweet and fun family who have had 3 babies with us at the Roanoke Birth and Perinatal Center. We have shared a lot of laughs!
4. Courageous mama who we love who has had 3 home births with us!
5. Awaiting a baby, in awe of mama’s strength and of God’s power and blessing.
6. Danielle doing a newborn exam, checking out baby foot reflexes!
7. Homebirth Community Potluck Picnic 2024
8. Degra, Rachel, and Danielle at Neonatal Resusciation Re-certification class at Leslie’s house.
9. Awesome strong mama who has rocked 2 home births with us. And dad who is the best cheerleader.
10. Degra and Debbie (retired midwife) hiking. We also hiked the Camino de Santiago together!

(Continued in the comments)

04/28/2026

One of our sweet families is going through a true tragedy right now. In the third trimester of pregnancy, this mama lost her partner and the father of her 2 children. She is a SAHM and needs all the help she can get. Can you help her reach her Go Fund Me goal and with some items on her registry? If not, can you share? Links in comments.

04/28/2026

Thank you to Huddle Up Moms, a local non-profit. Today I stopped by and picked up some much needed supplies for a local family. The whole process was super easy.

HUM is a great community resource. This is from their website: “We believe in empowering women to prioritize their well-being and in connecting mothers to the support they need to be happy, healthy, and confident. Our goal is to sustain a community-based organization that supports women on their
motherhood journeys in Southwest Virginia.”

HUM has a diaper bank. They also have other supplies available for families. If you are pregnant or have a child 4 or under, and need help with supplies, check out their website. https://www.huddleupmoms.org

HUM is also accepting donations. See the photo of accepted items above. Learn more at their website. https://www.huddleupmoms.org/supportshop

04/26/2026

Birth Affirmation.

We encourage birthing mamas to listen to their bodies. Our bodies tell us when we are starting labor. Our bodies tell us when to rest, when to eat, when to hydrate. Our bodies tell us when and how to move. Our bodies begin pushing when it’s time for our babies to move down through our pelvises.

Pay attention to your body! Listen to your body! Pregnancy is a time to hone in to your inner knowing and to follow your body’s lead. Your body won’t lie to you, listen to her.

04/25/2026

The Luna Midwifery team had a staff one day retreat at the home of Christina DiEno, our dear friend and elder retired midwife, in Floyd.

We shared stories, ate delicious food, exchanged foot baths and massages and hand massages, dipped in the hot tub, and just relaxed together!

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful team of women working together to support and provide midwifery care to area families.

Rest and rejuvenation are essential to living a healthy lifestyle. We encourage our clients to take time away for rest, and we practice what we preach!

Pictured above: Danielle (senior student midwife), Degra (midwife), Sam (retired midwife who practiced in and around Floyd and happened to be back in town!), Brittany (new doula and birth assistant in training), Tina (Elder Retired Midwife), and Rachel (birth assist for 10 years!)

We unfortunately took the picture after some of our team left. So not pictured are Elissa (midwife who is opening her own practice and thankfully still available to help out Luna Midwifery when needed), Nikki (doula and student midwife), and Lydia (doula and birth assistant.)

04/25/2026

6 weeks postpartum mama and baby visit!

Did you know that midwives provide care for 6 weeks after the birth, for both mamas and babies? We provide home visits for the first few weeks and office visits after 2 weeks. Most families have 4-6 postpartum visits. Our postpartum/newborn care includes the following and more:

⏱️Vitals checks for mama (blood pressure, pulse, temperature, Involution of the fundus (the uterus returning to normal size)

🤱🏻Breastfeeding support, recommendations, tips, referrals if needed.

🧾Referrals for baby oral constriction releases.

⏱️Vitals checks for baby (heart rate, respirations, temperature)

⚖️ Baby weight and measurements

♥️ Experience and recommendations for normal postpartum and newborn care.

🤱🏿Emotional check-in and recommendations.

♥️ Pelvic floor PT referrals.

👂A lot of listening. A safe space to process all that we women experience during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and the transition to motherhood.

👩🏻‍🦰 Pretty much anything else mama and baby need to support them to have the best transition possible!

We are honored and blessed to be invited into the sacred space of birth. During our care for one pregnancy, we usually have 15 visits, plus the birth time with a family. We spend a lot of time together. We are so privledged to get to know people in such an intimate and special way.

The 6 week visit is bittersweet. It’s the end of almost a whole year of walking through life together. Yet it marks a transition into a time of greater certainty and a grounded strength. We are always available for chats after 6 weeks postpartum, but our official midwifing role shifts.

We have been extra fortunate to walk with some families throughout multiple pregnancies. Those relationships are always sweet and dear to our hearts. Danielle and Degra got to be with mama Christine for 3 births. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of our time together! And we have all learned a lot about ourselves and about birthing babies! Thank you, Christine, for trusting us and for inviting us into your home and heart. ♥️

04/17/2026

Save the Date! Virginia Midwives Alliance. Annual meeting. 6/27/26. 10-6. Richmond. Business meeting, CEUs, peer review. More details to follow.

04/11/2026

Affirmations.

Say “I am highly favored and deeply loved.” To yourself 5 times in a row! Even if you don’t believe it. That’s the beauty of affirmations, the more we say them, the more we believe them to be true. Because what we say matters. What we think matters. Saying and believing positively about ourselves has positive impacts on our lives. And even if you don’t believe it in this moment, you really and truly are highly favored and deeply loved.

04/11/2026

Book Review: Motherwit , An Alabama Midwife’s Story. Onnie Lee Logan as told to Katherin Clark

This is Onnie Lee Logan’s autobiography. She was a Black homebirth midwife in Alabama for 53 years. She was licensed by the Alabama Board of Health. In 1984, the BoH stopped issuing midwife licenses, without any explanation. This was all part of the plan in the USA at that time to eradicate midwifery. Onnie was a wonderful midwife, loved practicing, and her patients had great outcomes. She argued that she was a good midwife, had had no problems, and wanted to continue her work. She tried to get the BoH to reinstate her license, but they never even responded to her requests. So, she decided to write her autobiography, in her own words: “So I’m lettin out one a my secrets. I don’t want to bury em. There’s so much that I don’t want to die with. Not sharin it with somebody. That’s what give me the idea to do a book because I have so much experience in here that I want to explode. I was not taught to do that. God give that to me.” page 142.

Onnie orally told her story to Katherine Clark, An English professor at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Katherine Clark wrote down Onnie’s words, preserving her life’s story and work.

Onnie had a HUGE faith in God. This is what I love the most about her story. She mostly credits God with training her, and with keeping her and all of the families she helped safe.

Onnie practiced midwifery from 1931-1984.

Onnie’s paternal grandmother and mother were also midwives. Her grandmother died when she was a young child. Her mother died when she was 18, before she became a midwife. Both of these women inspired Onnie to be a midwife.

Onnie recalls many stories about her grandmother and mother’s midwife practices. They used to give women castor oil in labor to “work their bowels off real good and bring the contractions close together.” page 53.

Onnie’s brother in law was also a licensed midwife.

Onnie and her ancestors worked for both black and white families. Most midwives during the time she practiced were black. Page 59.

Continued in the comments.

04/08/2026

Thank you, Evidenced Based Birth, for addressing this concerning topic! At Luna Midwifery, we are very concerned about the use of AI causing misinformation to negatively affect our health, and also about AI’s negative environmental effects. We do not use AI for research or to write content for our clients.

EBB 394 – Team EBB’s Stance on AI in our Workplace by Rebecca Dekker | Apr 8, 2026 | Podcast Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to our podcast and leave a review! iTunes | Spotify | YouTube Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how people search for information, including how families lear...