A loan helped a Tucson-based homebirth midwives open their community practice.


Maryann's story

My name is Maryann, I was born and raised in LA by a single mama who always empowered my passion for biology. In my early 20s, I began offering free “radical menstruation” and Fertility Awareness Method workshops every summer in rural Vermont. In 2013 I started my doula practice in Boston, MA while volunteering at different organizations in the city.

In 2016, I started midwifery school at Maternidad La Luz and began training at their high-volume birth center on the border between El Paso, TX, and Juárez, MX. While there I served hundreds of Juarense families and became passionate about birth on the border. Then, I moved with my partner to Puerto Rico, which had just been hit by Hurricane Maria, to be closer to her family. In 2018, I started a midwifery practice with another midwife. In 2021 my partner and I conceived with our first attempt at home IUI and I birthed our child at home in 2022. Three months postpartum, I began working in a community midwifery practice with the non-profit organization Caderamen. We recently decided to move our family to Tucson, where we have friends and a community with kids.

My name is Sarah, Midwifery called to me during my undergraduate education during a lucky exposure to out-of-hospital birth incorporated into a reproductive biology course. We watched a video of a physiologic midwife-attended birth at home, and I knew immediately and in my heart that this had always been my path. After becoming a midwife in 2014, I caught babies both in and out of the hospital. I finished training and began working as a midwife with Tribal Health in the Diné Nation and in rural New Mexico. I then caught babies at a midwife-run freestanding birth center in Albuquerque where I continued to learn from my co-midwives, honoring and providing space for the physiologic processes of labor, birth, and transition to parenthood. In 2019, after birthing my son in the water at the birth center, I worked again in rural NM. Later, after relocating to Tucson, I worked at an academic institution for several years and continued to hone my special focus on breastfeeding lactation care, and perinatal mental health.

Midwifery is our calling and our passion, and we believe all families should have access to compassionate care options, regardless of barriers in place to access such care. As midwives, we are committed to community health and well-being and wish to make our services available to all members of our Tucson community. To address access to care, and to help with start-up costs, necessary medications, and equipment, we are seeking your support. The evidence is clear, midwifery care promotes optimal outcomes for birthing persons, infants, and families, and families are the foundation of the community. We believe in the physiologic process of birth, and we thank you for helping us provide compassionate care for birth and other reproductive health needs. Thank you!


This loan is special because:

It supports a small business owner with 0%-interest, zero-fee capital.



Loan details


About Well in the Desert Midwifery

Industry: Health
Years in operation: 6 months - 1 year
Website: tucsonmidwife.love

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Loan details