Patricia Couch, CPM, LDM
Midwife

Patricia gave birth to her first son Rainey naturally in 1995, surrounded by midwives in a rural hospital in Northern California. Her experience empowered her and changed her life and she decided midwifery would be the path she would follow. She began her studies in 1996 and has had the opportunity to learn the art of midwifery from several midwives, midwifery study groups, workshops and through self study for more than a decade. She has been submerged in birth work in Oregon since 1997 and feels that pregnancy and birth is not only miraculous it is also the filled with natural beauty. She went on to give birth to her second son, Oak, in 1999 at home in Oregon with the care of a wonderful midwife.

Patricia believes that birth can potentially be one of the most positive and transformational moments in a woman's life. With experiences ranging from homebirth, birth center and hospital birth she has witnessed hundreds of births and has learned a healthy respect and trust in pregnancy, labor, and the birthing process. Her goal is to help the people that she works with have an experience that is respectful, safe and empowering. She began practice as a midwife in 2006. She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and a Licensed Direct Entry Midwife (LDM) in the state of Oregon. She joined Bella Vie in 2008. Patricia has served families in their prenatal, birth and postpartum care Oregon, Mexico and Haiti.

Patricia is passionate about the experience that babies have when they are being born and feels that they deserve to be born safely and gently. She does her best to ensure that they are born into a loving, warm and peaceful environment in which transitioning into this world and bonding are optimal. Waterbirth is one way she offers to provide safe and gentle option for both mom and baby.

In February of 2010 she went to Haiti with some of her sister midwives. That trip was eye opening as well as life changing. Upon return Patricia along with Desiree LeFave and Jennifer Gallardo decided to start a non-profit called MamaBaby Haiti ( link to www.mamababyhaiti.org) to help reduce the maternal, fetal and infant mortality rates in Haiti. Since then her and her sister midwives haved focussed very hard on opening birth center in Haiti, which has become a reality.

She spends her free time with her husband, Darren, her family and friends. Her hobbies include organic gardening, raising chickens, watching movies, and trying to enjoy life to it's fullest.