My given name is Deborah (Fawn) Gilbride. I am a wife, the mother of two wonderful daughters, and grandmother to one boy and four girls. My journey in midwifery began in 1974 in San Luis Obispo, California. I was pregnant with my second child when I met a pregnant woman in the market. I noticed her in the health food section looking at prenatal vitamins. I introduced myself and asked her who her doctor was. She said that she was seeing a midwife in Santa Cruz and was having her baby at home.  She told me about her Midwife and the gentle loving care she was receiving. I was overcome with a safe, warm feeling I'd never experinced before. I knew right away homebirth would be the best thing to do for myself and my baby. I was so intrigued; I went straight home and began searching for information about homebirth. I quickly learned there were no midwives doing homebirth in San Luis Obispo, so off to Santa Cruz I went. Each month I made the nearly three-hour drive for my prenatal care. After just a few visits with my midwife, she asked me if I had ever considered becoming a midwife. She could tell I was hooked; it had been all I had been thinking about. In fact I had been reading everything I could find about midwifery. Soon after that I began my formal training. I apprenticed under several qualified midwives and attended a three year Midwifery program.After my apprentiship I worked with a wonderful, gentle OBGYN in my hometown. We worked together several years doing home and hospital births. I have witnessed the miracle of birth for over thirty years now and am always awed by the experience. There is nothing in the world that can compare with the power and beauty of birth. I feel blessed to be a part of each. Midwifery is my calling and my passion. I am a I am  a California Licensed Midwife and a Certified Professional Midwife. I am certified in CPR, advanced first aid, and neo-natal resuscitation. I am the regional representative of The California Association of Midwives, a member of the Midwives Alliance of North America and the North American Registry of Midwives.I attend monthly peer review and work very hard at keeping open communication with local Doctors and hospitals.   I believe that women should have the right to choose with whom and where they give birth. I trust in a natural process that has been passed down for generations and truly believe a woman’s body was made to birth without intervention. I will guide and support you, trusting in your intuition, doing the best I can to to protect your rite of passage.  Thank you for considering me as your Midwife.  I am truly honored. Fawn Gilbride, CPM homebirthmidwife@sbcglobal.net