Rhonda began her journey in the birth world in August 2004 when she attended a DONA International birth doula training. She became a certified birth doula in 2006. She finished her midwifery training through Mercy in Action in 2019. With more than 17 years of experience, she has become an asset to the birthing community. She has had the privilege of attending more than 300 births as a doula, a midwife’s assistant and a midwife in the greater Grand Forks, Fargo and surrounding areas.
She is passionate about helping women find their inner strength, intuition and voice through their birthing experience. Rhonda uses her training and experience to meet the needs of women before, during, and just after childbirth. She also helps to educate women and their partners on the birth process and the choices they have to help them have the birth experience they are hoping for.
It is important to Rhonda that partners understand the importance of their role. She supports and guides the partner during the birth process, helping to make the birth enjoyable and rewarding for both new parents.
There is a sense of vulnerability that goes along with childbirth, but Rhonda’s passion for birth is fueled when she sees this vulnerability turn to strength and empowerment in women and families. Rhonda is driven to help create a positive birth experience for all women, regardless of their circumstances or any unexpected outcomes. She looks forward to each opportunity she is given to support, nurture and encourage mothers and their partners during one of life’s most amazing moments. It is Rhonda’s goal to assist you and your partner in achieving the birth experience you desire — however you define it — ultimately giving you the best birth experience possible.
In addition to serving families through doula work, Rhonda has also finished her midwifery training through Mercy in Action and has been serving families as a home birth midwife since 2019. Rhonda continues to learn from other midwives, other health professionals, birth-related courses and from each of her clients. Over the years she has completed courses in lactation counseling, TENS use, neonatal resuscitation, and more.
Rhonda lives in a peaceful country setting just outside of East Grand Forks, Minnesota with her husband, Steve; their two (of eight) children who still remain at home, their yellow Lab, Shay; three horses, and several cats. She is not only a wife and mother, but has also been given the privilege of being a grandma to three beautiful grandchildren, with whom she enjoys spending any of her spare time with.
