10/11/2026
A Little About Me…
As we wrap up National Midwifery Week, I’ve been thinking about the many people who have been part of my journey into midwifery and the work that still lies ahead of us. I hope we can keep the spirit of this week going throughout the year!
It’s also been a while since I’ve introduced myself, and with so many new people following this page, I thought I’d share a little about who I am, my family, and how I ended up doing what I do… all of it!
I’m a Pennsylvania native, have been married to my husband for almost 30 years, and together we have 10 children and three grandchildren (so far!).
My journey into midwifery really began with my own experiences having babies. All 10 of my children were born naturally, although their births were certainly not all alike!
My first baby was planned to be born at home in Blair County, PA. After being fully dilated for hours, with no urge to push and a baby who was posterior, we decided to transfer to the hospital.
As it turned out, the rough, graded highway between Tyrone and Altoona was just what we needed! Somewhere along that bumpy mountain road, he finally started descending. He was born pretty quickly after we arrived at the hospital, before they could even get an IV in me!
I went on to have eight homebirths and one birth center birth.
We spent 13 years living out West, and during that time I had babies in Washington State, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. I was fortunate to get to know different midwives and midwifery communities along the way, and those experiences have had a lasting influence on how I view midwifery and the care families receive.
My fourth baby was born in Colorado, where I was told that going beyond 42 weeks was “not allowed” under the rules governing midwifery care. I couldn’t find a midwife willing to attend me, so I ended up having an unassisted birth.
It wasn’t what I had planned or particularly wanted. I would have preferred to have my midwife there!
That experience gave me a perspective on what happens when laws and regulations interfere with a family’s ability to access the care they want. Having experienced midwifery in several states, I’ve seen firsthand that the way midwives are allowed to practice can vary considerably. I’ve also learned that there are many different paths to becoming a good midwife.
All of those experiences have influenced my passion for keeping community-based midwifery independent and autonomous here in Pennsylvania.
We moved back home to PA in 2018, and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to build my practice and serve families here in my home state.
But midwifery is only one part of my life!
My favorite place to be is with my husband and children. We’ve always homeschooled, and four of our children have now graduated. It’s been such a joy to watch them grow up and begin making their own way in the world.
Our family spends a lot of time talking about history, faith, ethics, and just about anything else that comes up around the dinner/game/school/craft/everything table. We’ve always tried to help our children develop a perspective on life that encourages them to think for themselves, serve others, and be a witness for their Creator through the way they live.
We have a small homestead with chickens, turkeys, hogs, and a mini-Appaloosa. We also have a dog who is pretty sure she’s one of the children!
I enjoy reading, knitting, and hiking to do my best relaxing and thinking; our family enjoys playing games where we can all be together across the country through online games and a speaker phone. And now we have three grandchildren, which has been another wonderful chapter of life.
Our days are often busy, sometimes chaotic, and rarely go exactly as planned. I suppose being a mother of 10 has been pretty good preparation for being a midwife!
I love my family, and I love the life we’ve built together. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
So how did I end up getting involved in midwifery advocacy?
I certainly didn’t start out with plans to lead organizations or become involved in legislative discussions. I just wanted to be a midwife and care for families.
But after more than 12 years of practicing and serving nearly a thousand families, I’ve come to realize that sometimes caring for families means doing more than attending their births.
In 2025, I founded Birth Freedom PA with the hope of bringing together families, midwives, lactation consultants, birth workers, and others who support family choice in maternity care. I wanted families to have somewhere to connect, learn, ask questions, and find support for making informed decisions about their care.
I’ve since passed the baton on the day-to-day operations of Birth Freedom PA and continue to support the organization as its founder and advisor.
As that work developed, I became increasingly aware of another need. Pennsylvania’s community-based midwives needed an organization that could bring us together, represent our interests, and help us maintain our independence as maternity care providers.
That calling eventually led me to accept the position of President of the Midwives Alliance of Pennsylvania (MAP).
And what a job that has been!
It has taken an incredible amount of time and energy, but it has also been such an honor to watch MAP become an active, functioning organization. We are welcoming new members each week, developing committees, planning educational opportunities, and building relationships with other providers and organizations across the state.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most is seeing midwives connect with one another. So many of us spend years working independently, caring for our own families and clients, often without much opportunity to get together with other midwives. There is so much knowledge and experience among the midwives serving Pennsylvania, and I believe we have a great deal to offer one another.
MAP’s mission is especially important to me because I believe Pennsylvania’s community-based midwives need to retain their autonomy.
Midwives have been serving families in Pennsylvania for generations, long before hospitals became the usual place to give birth. Our profession has a rich history of apprenticeship, practical training, and knowledge passed from one midwife to another.
I don’t want to see that lost.
I also don’t believe that community-based midwives need to become subordinate to physicians or hospital systems in order to be respected, competent, or collaborative.
We can work with hospitals, physicians, EMS, and other healthcare providers while remaining independent in our own practices. In fact, developing those relationships and improving communication, especially during transfers, is something I feel very strongly about.
Collaboration doesn’t have to mean giving up our autonomy.
I would love to see Pennsylvania develop a strong, independent, midwife-led network that supports the midwives already serving families, provides education and training, creates opportunities for students and apprentices, and improves access to maternity care throughout the Commonwealth.
I am especially interested in how community-based midwives can continue serving rural Pennsylvania, where families may have limited maternity care options and increasing distances to hospitals.
I also want to see more young women entering midwifery, learning alongside experienced midwives, and having the opportunity to develop the skills, judgment, and confidence that come with years of hands-on experience.
We’ve been given so much by the midwives who came before us, and I believe we have a responsibility to pass that knowledge along.
There are certainly days when I wonder how I managed to add all of this to an already full life! Between my practice, my family, MAP, and the many other things that seem to find their way onto my calendar, there is rarely a dull moment.
But fortunately, I don’t usually have to do it all on the same day. And on the days when I do, well, those tend to be character-building experiences!
I am grateful for the midwives who have stepped forward to help with MAP, for the families who continue supporting community-based midwifery, and for the opportunity to be part of something that I hope will benefit Pennsylvania families and midwives for many years to come.
And through all of this, I still love being a midwife.
I’ve had the privilege of caring for nearly a thousand families over the years, and I continue to learn from every one of them.
I’ve witnessed beautiful births, difficult births, unexpected transfers, loss, grief, and the incredible joy of welcoming new life. There have been experiences that changed the way I practice, challenged what I thought I knew, and reminded me of the responsibility that comes with being invited into a family’s life.
I believe in physiologic birth, informed choice, and the importance of the relationship between a woman and her midwife. I also believe in being prepared, knowing our limitations, continuing our education, and recognizing when a family needs something beyond what we can provide at home.
Midwifery is not always easy, and it certainly isn’t always predictable. But it is deeply meaningful work.
Some of my favorite moments aren’t even the births themselves. They’re the prenatal visits when the older children come running to greet me, the conversations over the kitchen table, the middle-of-the-night phone calls, and the postpartum visits when the whole family is gathered around their newest little person.
It’s watching families grow, sometimes welcoming several babies into the same family over the years, and knowing that for a little while, I’ve been allowed to share in their story.
I don’t take that privilege lightly.
And as National Midwifery Week comes to a close, I hope we can carry its spirit forward.
Supporting midwives shouldn’t happen just one week out of the year.
We need to continue recognizing the midwives who have served generations of families, supporting those who are practicing today, and making room for the students and apprentices who will carry this work into the future.
When I think about my own children and grandchildren, the families I’ve served, and the generations of midwives who came before me, I see so much that is worth preserving.
Faith, family, community, service, and the knowledge and traditions that are passed from one generation to the next.
I hope that my work, both as a midwife and through MAP, will help ensure that Pennsylvania families continue to have access to community-based midwifery care and that the next generation of midwives will have the freedom and opportunity to continue this work.
I suppose that’s what so much of my life has been about — raising a family, serving other families, and trying to leave something worthwhile for those who come after us.
And before I close, I’d love to ask for your support! ❤️
If you care about family choice, access to community-based maternity care, and preserving independent midwifery in Pennsylvania, please follow the work of these two organizations:
💜 Birth Freedom PA
https://www.facebook.com/birthfreedompa
💙 Midwives Alliance of Pennsylvania (MAP)
https://www.facebook.com/MidwivesAlliancePA
Both organizations are doing important work, and we need families, midwives, birth workers, and community members following along, sharing our posts, and participating in the conversations.
You don’t have to be a midwife or planning a homebirth to care about these issues. The future of maternity care affects our daughters, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, neighbors, and communities.
We need your voices, your encouragement, and your willingness to help spread the word!
It takes a community to preserve the things we value, and I hope you’ll be part of ours.
So, that’s a little about me! Thank you to the families who have trusted me with their care, the midwives who have taught and encouraged me, and everyone who has supported me along the way.
It’s a privilege to serve families here in Pennsylvania, the place I’ve always considered home. ❤️
Kristy Wilson, CPM, CDEM, BSM, PMH-C, ICST-C
Harrisburg Midwife & Wellness LLC
Founder & Advisor, Birth Freedom PA
President, Midwives Alliance of Pennsylvania
www.birthfreedompa.org
www.midwivesalliancepa.org
