Meet Leah

A pregnant woman is lying face down on a mat, receiving a massage outdoors from a woman sitting beside her on a cushion. They are on a patio with potted flowers nearby and a white wall with a window behind them.

Nurturing Your Nature!

With my background as a Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife, Doula, international school Teacher and Mother, I am thrilled to share my experience & expertise with you & the world as a Microbiome-Mindful Perinatal Educator!

Blending my passion for all things birth & education, it is my joy to offer education, support, inspiration & empowerment, by way of teaching classes for holistic birth & baby preparation, active & physiologic birth, breastfeeding, the infant microbiome, the 4th trimester, conscious parenting & more!

For the past 20+ years, sparked by a pivotal university course in medical anthropology, my focus has been on women’s health, midwifery care, childbirth education, the human microbiome, prenatal & perinatal psychology, conscious parenting, yoga, breath-work & meditation.

My work, studies & interests have taken me around the world starting in the USA, through parts of the Middle East, Africa & Europe. My husband is from the Algarve, Portugal, where we have made our home base and, since 2019, we have been living on our sailboat ~ cruising, working & raising our son!

It is a true privilege to work with growing families through one of life’s greatest & most profound transformations.

Birth work is Powerful work. In my case, it doesn’t feel like work ~ it truly feels like my life’s calling. It fills me with joy, purpose, meaning, & the strength of knowing that together, we can make a difference in the world ~ one baby, one mother, one family, at a time.

It is my belief that you, your baby & your entire family deserve personalized, respectful & empowering, evidence-based care that supports & nurtures your health, growth & joy through pregnancy, the birth process & beyond.

With Love,

~ Leah

A BIT ABOUT MY TRAINING:

Over the past 25 years I have dedicated my studies and work to the incredible fields of perinatal, maternal and infant health. With a Bachelors degree in Gender Studies with a focus on Women’s Health & Healing (UMass, Amherst, USA) and a Master’s of Science in Midwifery, specializing in Physiological Birth (Bastyr University, Seattle WA, USA), I have supported hundreds of new families through pregnancy, birth and postpartum as they’ve welcomed their little ones into their lives!

In addition to becoming a Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife in Seattle, WA, USA in 2013 (LM/CPM), I have also had the privilege of training and certifying with Janet Balaskas as an Active Birth instructor, Toni Harman as a Microbirth Approved Provider and Peter Walker as a Developmental Baby Massage teacher. I am also certified with the Spinning Babies Training for Health Professionals and am a teacher of The Natural Breastfeeding Program by Nancy Mohrbacher (IBCLC) and Dr Theresa Nesbitt (OB/GYN). In addition, I have had the privilege of training with renowned Penny Simkin and Phyllis Klaus to be able to offer trauma-informed support. I continue to attended international courses and conferences with leading experts in effort to stay up-to-date in the fields of midwifery care, lactation/breastfeeding, the infant microbiome and more.

Connecting timeless birth wisdom with cutting edge scientific research, it is my passion to support new parents in making informed choices that feel right for their growing families.

A woman with curly blonde hair smiling outdoors with a blurred blue ocean and sky in the background.

WORDS OF GRATITUDE!

  • A young child in a striped hoodie sitting on a hospital bed, smiling and laughing while a woman, likely their mother, holds them. The bed has a newborn baby in a hospital bassinet, covered with a blanket, and surrounded by teddy bears. The woman and child are sharing a joyful moment in a hospital room.

    "Preparing for Eva's birth with Leah's guidance was super empowering. Leah helped us feel informed, calm about different scenarios & supported us every step of the way. The sessions made all the difference - the time & space created by her felt safe, respectful & full of heart. What we learned with her stayed and was carried into the birth of our 2nd baby as well. We'll always be grateful.

    ~ Filipa ~

  • A newborn baby breastfeeding while lying on a bed, wearing a striped hospital hat. An adult is holding the baby's head with one hand.

    I never thought that this course would become so important for us during our pregnancy. It has empowered me & my partner in all possible ways. We also learned far beyond birthing, which was great! Leah is seriously good at sharing knowledge & listening to us. Trust & comfort were immediately created. This was fundamental in these pandemic/confinement times. It's incredible how the right information set us up for a calm and joyful path to labour. We feel lucky for having done the Birth & Baby Prep course with Leah!

    ~ Ana ~

  • A man holding a newborn baby close to his face, baby sleeping with thumb near mouth, man wearing a blue striped shirt, inside a hospital.

    I can't recommned this course highly enough! When we started, we knew so little about the process of birth that we didn't even know what questions we had. By the end of it, we felt able to form our own opinions about what was important to us in birth, what we wanted to discuss with our doctor, etc. We also felt much better prepared for what was to come - for example, what do we do if the baby arrives on the drive to the hospital? But most importantly, spending this time with Leah made birth more of a reality & got us talking to each other. As a father, I realised that letting Mum decide everything is not really the most helpful attitude. You want to be a sounding board, not an echo chamber, & there are moments when Mummy will be rather busy & you'll have to make the right decisions for everyone. Enroll in this course. Leah will make it both meaningful & fun!

    ~ Ole ~ (Dad)

  • Two pink watercolor hearts overlapping on a white background.

    During my 1st pregnancy I had many worries about giving birth & becoming a first time mom. I also didn't have much support from friends & family living so far abroad. Leah helped me with her knowledge as a midwife & with her support in general. Leah is not only a professional but also a very humane & loving person. I couldn't recommend her more.

    ~ Sissi ~

  • A man with brown hair and a beard smiling, wearing a white T-shirt and beige pants, standing in a bright living room with a balcony.

    Attending Leah’s Birth & Baby Prep workshop was one of the best decisions we made during pregnancy. As a first-time dad, I had a lot of questions & really valued having one person we could always go to & trust. This workshop not only answered those questions but helped me feel confident, informed, & ready to support my wife every step of the way. The workshop made my life easier during one of the most important & raw experiences of my life: the birth of my child. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt grounded & ready. That confidence made all the difference. I feel that so much of what birth is really about has been lost and Leah put everything back in its place, as it should be. The sessions were practical, engaging, & honest. What stood out most was how inclusive & empowering the experience was for me as the dad-to-be. I didn’t feel like a bystander—I felt like a teammate, truly prepared to show up, support and be the partner & dad I want to be. I’m grateful to Leah for her personal support, knowledge & guidance. I highly recommend this course to any man who wants to show up fully for his partner & be the kind of support she deserves during pregnancy, birth, & beyond.

    ~ Nicolas ~ (Dad)

  • A family of three, a man and woman, holding a baby, standing in front of a blue abstract mural. The woman's face is visible, the baby's face is covered with a red heart, and the man's face is partially a smile. The man is wearing a beige t-shirt and jeans, the woman is dressed in a beige dress with open shoulder sleeves, and the baby is in light-colored clothes.

    Leah was such a calming presence during a time I really needed it. She came to our home for a one-on-one session with me & my partner as we prepared for the birth of our son, and it brought so much reassurance. Her way of explaining was clear & gentle, and her energy made us feel instantly at ease. She stayed in touch afterwards, too, checking in with kind words & thoughtful, supportive messages. It all felt very personal & sincere. I'm really grateful we had Leah by our side.

    ~ Nashila ~

  • A woman with brown hair and wearing a blue and white striped shirt is smiling while holding two newborn babies, one in each arm, cuddling close to her chest.

    I contacted Leah for advice & support after discovering I was pregnant with identical twins. Navigating the landscape of birth options, prenatal care for twin pregnancies, & birth preparation felt very daunting. Leah provided several helpful contacts in those early days and, ultimately, helped me clarify the type of prenatal care I wanted, as well as the best possible birth plan to maximise my chances of having a beautiful, physiological birth. I can't express how important this kind of support was for me. I initially felt anxious and alone, but right up to the birth I was able to share my process with Leah, consult her on technical issues, and count on her to be a consistently loving and intelligent voice of reason and calm. I would highly recommend her to other expectant mothers as part of their birth preparation support.

    ~ Jennifer ~