When I was growing up, I asked my mom how babies were born to which she responded, “the doctors cut them out of you.” To no fault of her own, she had 3 cesareans which she felt like she had to do because she was given no other options. I grew up in India and Ukraine, and when we first moved overseas and saw the realities of how people lived, I had an innate knowing that there had to be another way that people gave birth. When I pressed my mom about this, she answered that some people give birth vaginally. There and then at 10 years old in Delhi, India, I felt an intense pull on my life to help usher new life into the world as a midwife. I had no idea what that meant or how I would get there, but I promptly googled “midwives in Delhi” and emailed the first ones I found and asked them to teach me about midwifery to which they declined because I was 10 years old (valid). I moved on and assumed that maybe I misheard and wasn’t supposed to be a midwife. I got my degree in Biblical Literature with a concentration in the Old Testament as my way of getting a liberal arts degree- no matter what I ended up doing with my life, I knew there would be wisdom in there that would help. About halfway through my undergrad, I panicked knowing I needed to make some decisions about my future. When I got quiet, I realized that I knew what I was supposed to do and had been told many years ago. From there, I bought a camera and attended my first birth as a birth photographer. As soon as that sweet babe was born, I knew that 10 year old Alyssa heard right and this was exactly what I was supposed to do with my life. Fast forward to now, after a wonderful apprenticeship, I became a Certified Professional Midwife and Licensed Midwife and launched my private practice, Levana Birth Midwifery in 2024. I aim to practice in a way that honors women’s innate ability to give birth, believes in the physiology of birth, and radically empowers women in their pregnancy and birth experience. I truly believe that out of hospital birth is the solution to many of our issues that women and babies face today. Even if you don’t see yourself as a home birth mom but something your reading resonates with what you are wanting for this experience, please reach out. Let’s sit over a cup of coffee and brainstorm all the possibilities of how you can harvest the beauty and joy that is possible in this time in your life that is rich with opportunities for transformation. In this day and age we have “jobs” but I am the community’s midwife and my greatest joy is supporting a woman in understanding her options and seizing her power. I would be honored to be part of your journey in any way.
