Welcome! My name is Mercedes and I am a Licensed Midwife in the beautiful green state of Washington.
Please see the special additions to the Something Beautiful family...
reopening...updates coming. yay!
ABOUT
Formerly Purely Doula Care
The art of Midwifery called to me at nine years old. Growing up I was always interested in the medical field and became a medical assistant in 2009 and worked my way to labor and delivery. However, I finally took up the mission starting my Midwifery studies at Midwives College of Utah in 2014. I have served families as a doula since 2014, student midwife since 2016, and birth assistant since 2020. All within the Greater Seattle area and was also a doula for a small time in North Dakota. I have been honored to already have supported 300+ families in this time...and growing!
Everyone creates their own beautiful labor song.
It is my utmost pleasure to meet with families and help create a beautiful labor and birth experience. I am a very laid back, approachable, attentive and informative person. Informed choice is very important to me and I believe "knowledge is power." Birth to me is a normal and natural process and should be respected as such. I think there is nothing wrong with the quiet or loudness of birth. Everyone creates their own beautiful labor song.
Outside of the realm of birth, I LOVE to spend time with my family... visiting water, dancing, singing, sightseeing, road tripping, anything we can do together.
I can not fully express what it means to me to be a Midwife and support birthing people in the process of pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. This responsibility I hold very scared in my heart, because I know how life-shifting this experience can be. I have a beautiful full family with six children including one angel baby. I have experienced all types of birthing environments of homebirth, freestanding birth center, and hospital. I honor and value all birth settings and believe that ALL families should have a choice and information to make the best choice for them.
“It is always my goal to help create a space of comfort and freedom to labor.”
Special Additions
Jennifer Linstad, MSM, LM, CPM
Hello! I’m Jenn, one of the folks serving you with Something Beautiful Midwifery. I’ve been a licensed midwife in Washington State for over 8 years, supporting lots of families, catching lots of babies, and partnering with lots of students. I’m really excited you are exploring this option for your care!
I believe in your power, your autonomy and your fervent desire to have a healthy, respectful birth. I practice with the deep trust that when parents are given unbiased information that they will choose exactly what is right for their family, and so informed, shared decision-making is a cornerstone of the care you will receive with me. I am humble and grateful for every family that entrusts me with their pregnancy experience.
I spent 25 years in the arts before I had my first kiddo in 2005 and everything changed. When I attended my first homebirth in 2006 my path was clear and I became a doula. I realized quite quickly that I wanted to be a midwife. Outside of being a midwife, I am the parent of two really weird and amazing kids, and the three of us live with our 3 cats and fluctuating foster kittens. We are an LGBTQ+ family, and my eldest child is Trans, teaching me daily new things about all of our gender journey! Also, parenting teens is a trip, y’all, but at least the cats don’t roll their eyes at me.
As a white woman in spaces with many people from different experiences, I acknowledge that my anti-racism work is lifelong and requires constant vigilance. It requires openness to correction and listening to the ways people experience this world without the protections of white supremacy. As a white midwife, I know I have been part of systems of oppression. I am committed to continuing to identifying these systems and changing them when I can. In addition to my internal work, as a commitment to recompense, I will be donating $100 every single month to support the BIPOC community and the goal of safe births of chunky, full-term babies, for the rest of my career.
Cecillia Duncan, Student Midwife
Working with newborns, young children, and families in various capacities over the course of the past 20 years has stoked a lifelong curiosity for the whole spectrum of human development, from prenatal to postpartum.
I have been fully immersed in birth work since 2009 when I completed DONA training to become a birth doula. Since then, I have furthered my education in a wide range of fields associated with delivery, such as childbirth education (ICEA, 2017), postpartum doula care (CAPPA, 2019), newborn care specialist (Newborn Care Academy, 2020), child passenger safety (NHTSA, 2020), and lactation counseling (Healthy Children Project, Inc., 2021). To serve pregnant individuals and their families in a more meaningful manner, in 2017 I opted to pursue my love for midwifery through midwifery education at Bastyr University. As a student midwife, I am ready to rise to new challenges, problem-solve complicated and time-sensitive situations, and engage with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
I am devoted to upholding the values of the midwifery model of care. I am devoted to monitoring the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the pregnant person throughout the childbearing cycle. I am also devoted to building an atmosphere based on belonging, integrity, dignity, and transformational change for all the families that we assist. In addition to providing our customers with specialized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on support throughout labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. I'm thrilled to be joining Something Beautiful Midwifery as a senior student midwife and to contribute my own style to the team.
Long-distance running, hiking, traveling abroad, glamping, watching historical documentaries, and reading historical works are some of my favorite ways to spend my free time.
MISSION STATEMENT
Uphold a care structure that supports the birthing person and family in their aspirations of a safe, loving, and fearless pregnancy, birth and postpartum; to encourage the family dynamic in its healing and processing of the birth experience.
VISION STATEMENT
Promote the fullness of safety (emotionally, physically, and spiritually), while elevating the strength and power of the birthgiver.
VALUES
Open Communication
Accountability
Shared Decision Making
Support Informed Choice
Risk Assessment
Evidence Based Care
Continuity of Care
Community Fluidity
Equity & Inclusion
GOALS
1
Increase confidence in the Midwifery Model of Care.
2
Bring awareness to the BIPOC communities of Homebirth & Birth Center Birth.
3
Promote healthier pregnancies of BIPOC communities.
4
Decrease poor birth outcomes of BIPOC communities.
5
To be accessible to marginalized communities.
6
Support the growth of black midwives and attain more information on our birth traditions.
IN-NETWORK INSURANCE PLANS
Amerigroup
Molina
Regence/BCBS
Premera
Coordinated Care
CHPW
First Choice Health
Kaiser
Have questions?
Please feel free to contact the billers at:
Island Billing
https://www.islandbillingseattle.com/
(360)-632-4435
ingrid@islandbillingservices.com
Accepting Cash Pay clients w/payment plans and potentially other insurances.
GET IN TOUCH
Thank you for visiting!
You can contact Mercedes by using the form below—or learn more about her here.