Hi, there! My name is Michaela Baldwin. I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois, where my passion for midwifery was born. I am the primary midwife and owner of Prairie Child Midwifery St. Louis LLC and Prairie Child Midwifery Illinois PLLC.

My journey to this work began during my own pregnancy and birth, when I experienced firsthand the value of hiring a community midwife. Living in rural Illinois, I experienced a gap in the maternity healthcare system. Finding a midwife was not an easy task: At the time, there were no legal community birth providers serving my area. Despite these challenges, I miraculously pieced together my birth team, and I experienced a life-changing amount of support in the midwifery model of care.

During this transformational experience, I caught a glimpse of my future calling. I spent the next few months falling in love with motherhood with the strength of this new community behind me. I soon began training as a doula and was accepted into Midwives College of Utah (MCU). While working through my midwifery training, I continued to work as a doula & birth photographer, attend workshops, and support the legislation efforts of Illinois Friends of Midwives. 

I trained in Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), and traditional midwife-led practices, in both freestanding birth centers and in client's homes. I moved to Washington state for my final phase of midwifery training, where I worked in a medical system that sets standards for ways to improve outcomes by encouraging better integration of midwives, improved communication and collaboration, and accountability. My passion lies in using these experiences to improve outcomes for our own community.