Meet Marinah Farrell of Phoenix Midwife in North Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marinah Farrell.

Marinah, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been a longtime activist and public health advocate, in addition to being committed to helping families have loving and safe births in whatever environment they chose. Politics brought me to midwifery, and I am excited to share time and healing work with families looking for alternatives to hospital or obstetric based birth. I was raised by parents who were into more natural parenting and health and learned at an early age what it meant to share that knowledge with others. I have had a practice in Arizona for 17 years, and in that time have always been involved in midwifery advocacy and innovative business models to better serve families who want more personal time with their providers. I have also had the benefit of doing national political work so that I understand what needs to change when it comes to how families are taken care of during pregnancy and postpartum period. I just moved back to the home my parents built near Happy Valley. I had both of my children in that home and also my parents passed away there. It is a wonderful land and has healing energy, so my office is also located on that land and I’m excited to start seeing families here and holding more events where people can escape their busy lives if only for a moment!

Has it been a smooth road?
Being a midwife who works out of hospital (I work in both birth centers as well as home birth) is challenging in a country where a lot of people haven’t heard too much about midwives or understand the safety of out of hospital birth. Midwives are regulated all over the place, but for the most part, once families start to understand who we are and our education and skills, they start to love the personal attention of midwives. There is also the reality that birth isn’t the best in our country when you look at statistics, but midwives have been seen globally as the solution. There is a lot of evidence about the quality of our care, so our families become true supporters. Hopefully, we can further change legislation and opinions to support more options for birthing families!

We’d love to hear more about your work.
Phoenix Midwife specialized in taking care of families from preconception to postpartum. What most people do not know is that midwives can do all of their care, generally, and yet we do it in a way where there isn’t a crazy on–call schedule, we spend usually at least 40 minutes with our families at every appointment, and often become a part of the family in a very real way. I do a lot of education around nutrition and the transition of birth, and I feel that this also helps parents be more prepared in so many ways.

I am apart from other midwives because of my background in traditional indigenous healing. I feel that it gives me more ways to help my families, and I also can work with people from traditional backgrounds as well. I also speak Spanish fluently, which is important to a lot of families in Arizona.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think it is a great place for midwives! Our state needs many more, and as we continue to grow, families will need more options for good care during their pregnancy and postpartum.

Contact Info:

• Address: 26038 N 17th Avenue, Phx AZ 85085
• Website: phoenixmidwife.com
• Phone: 602-793-5063
• Email: coyotemidwife@gmail.com
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/phoenix-midwife-phoenix-3

Image Credit:
Brittany Beus

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