About Virginia:
My interest in holistic health and women’s health began as a teenager, and has led me to become a New Jersey licensed homebirth midwife, a practitioner of herbal medicine and a doula.
My study of herbal medicine began in 1990 with David Winston at his Center for Herbal Studies in Washington, NJ. After four years of class time with David, one of foremost and respected herbalists in the country, I also completed a course at The North East School of Botanical Medicine with 7Song, also a noted and respected herbalist.
I work as a private consultant with a focus on women’s issues such as fertility and conception, premenstrual syndrome and menopausal concerns, however I have strong interest and experience on a range of issues from asthma, depression, ADD, allergies, lowered immune response, skin disorders, anxiety, and herbs for children. I also teach classes on many of these topics.
My interest in midwifery emerged in my early 20’s. After reading authors Suzanne Arms (Immaculate Deception) and Gena Corea (The Hidden Malpractice: How American Medicine Mistreats Women”), I got what is often described as a ‘calling’ to be a midwife, and to provide an alternative to the ‘medicalized’ model of birth.
My pursuit of becoming a midwife began as a Doula in 1996. A Doula provides physical, emotional and logistical support during labor and birth. In 2000 I moved to El Paso, Texas to attend Maternidad La Luz, a midwife school accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council. I attended 120 births in my 18 months of study there, 43 as a primary midwife under supervision by a licensed midwife.
I returned to New Jersey in 2002, and in 2005 I became fully licensed by The Board of Medical Examiners, as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), which qualifies me to offer homebirth. I am also a Certified Post-Partum Doula through Doulas of North America (DONA).
I attend many conferences around the country both on herbal medicine and midwifery. I have a BS from Cook College, Rutgers University in Human Ecology. I served on the Board of Directors of The American Herbalists’ Guild from 1995-1997. I am active in my local Food Coop, where I have a monthly column in the newsletter, on topics relating to natural birth and herbal medicine. Please see the Herbal Medicine section of this site for reprints of these articles.