Genesis Midwifery Services

03/02/2026

It’s not everyday you get to experience labor and birth outside, under the stars ✨ 😍

Is this somewhere you could picture yourself giving birth?

02/27/2026

It affects how your labor progresses.

Labor runs on hormones — especially oxytocin.
Oxytocin flows best when you feel safe, private, and undisturbed.

✨ Dim lighting → supports melatonin, which works synergistically with oxytocin to strengthen contractions.
✨ Privacy → reduces adrenaline, which can slow or stall labor.
✨ Familiar faces → lower stress hormones and increase feelings of safety.
✨ Comfort (movement, water, quiet) → helps your body release endorphins, your natural pain relief.
This is why calm spaces matter.
This is why continuity of care matters.
This is why feeling safe is not a luxury — it’s physiology!

If you’ve had a birth where things felt chaotic or stalled, that does not mean your body can’t do it, it just means environment plays a powerful role.

When the brain senses threat — bright lights, frequent interruptions, strangers walking in — it can release catecholamines (fight-or-flight hormones). In early labor especially, this can slow contractions or space them out.

Your body is not “failing.”
It is responding exactly as it was designed to.

Your environment is such a key role in your labor and birth, and this honestly isn’t talked about enough.

When the body is supported in the way it’s supposed to be, birth can flow exactly how intended.

If you’re in the Shenandoah Valley VA area and your wanting pregnancy care that will support your body, mine, and birth environment. We would love to serve you. 🌿💛 Link in bio for a free consultation!

02/26/2026

01/20/2026

Birth is not something to be fixed. ✨

Pregnancy is not an illness.
Labor is not a malfunction.
Your body is not a system waiting to fail.

Birth is a physiological process, guided by hormones, instincts, and a design that has brought life into the world for generations.

When we treat birth like an emergency before it is one, fear replaces trust and interventions begin to manage what was never broken. Most births don’t need correcting — they need time, patience, privacy, and support.

Contractions aren’t a sign something is wrong.
They are the work of opening, moving, and meeting your baby.

Pain isn’t proof of failure.
It’s communication — information guiding your body forward.

What birth often needs isn’t fixing…
It’s being left alone in safety.

A quiet room.
Familiar faces.
Providers who watch carefully without rushing.
Support that trusts the process and steps in only when needed.

When we begin to trust birth, that’s when everything changes.

01/14/2026

There’s something reassuring about seeing your baby without ever leaving the comfort of home 🤍
Our in-home ultrasound service means no rushing, no sterile rooms, and no pressure — just a calm, familiar space where questions are welcomed and time is honored.

It allows the assessment of baby’s growth, position, and wellbeing while keeping care personal, unrushed, and centered on you. Partners and siblings can be present, tears can flow freely, and the moment becomes an experience — not an appointment.

Gina Kirkpatrick (shown in video) is our ultrasonography expert! She joins our team with 39 years of experience. She was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, is a Nay Nay to 11 wonderful grandchildren and on any given fall weekend you can catch her cheering on the Hokies.

Her passion for work can been seen in every single scan she does. In home ultrasound is truly her calling! She takes so much pride in building relationships with her clients and creating a lasting impression.

🌿If you’re in the Shenandoah valley area (Charlottesville, Waynesboro, Staunton, Lexington, Harrisonburg) and you are considering midwifery care, we would love to work with you. Genesis midwifery care is a team of experts that are passionate, not only about birth, but also personalized care prenatally and postpartum.
🔗Click the link in our bio and set up a free no-pressure consultation with us! 🤍

01/02/2026

Meet Sarah May Chavez, RN- our full time birth assistant!

"I have very fond memories of watching A Baby Story on TLC after school in elementary school, longing for the day in which I would have my own baby story. Despite my avid fascinations and dreams, I had never considered the option of being a part of baby stories as a vocation. About 5 years ago when I was praying about going back to school, I was given a book called ‘Diary of a Midwife.’ As I read, it became increasingly more clear the Lord was prompting my heart. I started to watch documentaries about home birth and began asking the mothers in my life about their birth story. As I read, listened, and watched I was shocked by the lack of transparency, autonomy, education, and emotional/spiritual counseling that was seemingly the reality of birth in America. I continued to pray, and soon felt it was abundantly clear the Lord was shepherding me into this calling of coming alongside women through pregnancy, birth, and the gift of motherhood in a way that empowers others and glorifies God. I decided I wanted to approach this with a nursing background in order to have a broader scope of practice and more clinical training. I am currently pursuing further education to become a nurse midwife.

After nursing school there weren’t any labor and delivery jobs available and so I accepted a job in the Emergency Room and was questioning what was next. While in school, I had heard things about Genesis Midwifery and the wonderful work Heather (and now Magen) was doing in the community. I then joined Genesis as a part time birth assistant and was so excited for the opportunity to finally be a part of home birth. After the first birth I attended, I got home and my husband looked at me and said “you’re glowing.” It was all I could think about for days. I couldn’t believe how beautiful, peaceful, and intimate it was. There was something truly special about supporting a couple as they brought their baby into the world. It was unlike anything else I have had the privilege of doing. In the wee hours of the morning a sacred scene is set - a woman using all the strength she has, a man at her side with all tenderness, and a little miracle taking its first breath.

In her book, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, she proposes that where there is love, gratitude, and grace - fear and pain have a difficult time interrupting the body’s progression through labor. I am here to serve in a way that helps to cultivate that very love, gratitude, and grace in order to help each family individually welcome their baby with warmth, strength, and great joy. I pray that with each birth I can continue to be the hands and feet of Christ for each family and their baby story."

01/02/2026

A peek into what home birth can look like.🥰 We dare you to not shed a tear!

01/02/2026

Book an in-home gender reveal ultrasound today!

01/02/2026

Exciting news! We now offer doula services through our full time RN birth assistant and certified doula, Sarah May Chavez! For those of our clients pursuing a home birth and desire a doula, Sarah May is the best! She will visit you in your home to meet, go over labor and birth preferences, coping tools, and labor positions. She will give plenty of labor support and direction at the time of labor and she will do a follow up home visit at 3-5 days postpartum to check on mom and how breastfeeding is going.

Sarah May will attend all Magen and Heather's home births as birth assistant. She will also be starting her midwifery training in the fall with the plan to join Genesis as our 3rd home birth midwife when she is done, we can't wait!

Reach out if you are our client and are interested in a free doula consultation with Sarah May.

01/02/2026

Thank you Zoe for sharing these beautiful pictures of your home birth! Here’s what Zoe had to say about her experience with Magen:

“The birth of our second child at our home was a true dream! Thanks to Magen at Genesis midwifery we felt comfortable and safe embarking on our first home birth experience. She was a delight to work with—addressing all of our hopes, fears, and questions. Magen and Lindsey supported me as I gave birth to my baby boy in our home. The postpartum care is a game changer when working with Genesis— mother and baby are well cared for and have multiple check-ins before the end of 6 weeks. It gave me such comfort to know that I’d have this extra support. I wouldn’t have received this care as part of the traditional postnatal care within the medical model. I believe that our birth experiences shape the way we experience our postpartum— and I am SO grateful that I decided to give birth with Genesis.”

01/02/2026

Did you know that we offer many other services in addition to home births?

-In home first trimester and gender reveal ultrasounds
-Sneak peak in-home blood draws for gender detection as early as 6 weeks
-In-home well woman annual visits with pap smear, or problem visits
-In home or virtual preconception counseling
-Evaluation and treatment of postpartum mood changes including postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression from a holistic perspective first, medication second
-Postpartum only package: In-home postpartum & newborn care from birth to 6 weeks including direct access to your midwife every day with questions or concerns and 1, 2 and 6 week visits for both mom and baby keeping you out of the doctor's offices during an important time of healing
-In-home prenatal, postpartum, and newborn care for hospital births at your preferred hospital of choice