Meet Faith Freeman | Licensed Midwife

We had the good fortune of connecting with Faith Freeman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Faith, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I feel that if I want to truly get to where I want to be in life, I have to take risks. I don’t want to miss anything in life or not give my daughter the best life she can have by being afraid to take the next step.

I’ve been an entrepreneur since day one – first as a young person to put myself through school, I traveled back and forth out of state weekly for school 5 days and then back to work 2 days. People didn’t think I could handle the schedule and intensity, but I made it through.

After owning my own midwifery practice in Oklahoma (where I’m from) for several years, in 2017 I had my daughter. I knew I did not want to raise her in Oklahoma, and although financially my practice there was stable and ideal, I knew emotionally, socially, and relationship wise – we were better off leaving.

When she was a few months old, I came to LA with nothing but knowing that she deserved better. It’s been a long road, but by working really hard, the support of some truly amazing people along the way, and never giving up – after 5 years of living here, life and work is finally coming more into fruition. I feel I am almost to where I want/need to be to have the quality of life with my daughter that I’m striving for.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started a full time private midwife homebirth practice in 2010 – 3 years after becoming a midwife. My original practice was in Oklahoma – where I’m from – and I practiced there until I moved to California in 2018. It was not easy – as a single woman without good family or community support, I struggled a lot to build a practice and I had to work two jobs initially to support me buying my supplies, equipment, medications, and just pay the bills. I was also raising my teenage sisters at the time as well. I worked really hard – there were some weeks where I barely slept, I gave discounts and payment plans to everyone so they would hire me. I included free classes, extra home visits, free birth pools, But eventually my practice gained traction and really was thriving. I specialize in individualizing my care to each client for their exact needs as well as what my client’s individual preferences were/are.

I know something that sets me apart is that I use a lot of herbal medicine and protocols. I use herbs, supplements and partner with other holistic modalities including chiropractic, acupuncture to balance and improve my client’s blood levels, liver and kidney function, blood pressure and more. I’ve gained a reputation for being a thorough, dedicated and involved midwife. I love working with clients who are also dedicated to their health, and willing to put in the work and effort to be the healthiest version of themselves.

In 2017 I became pregnant with my daughter and had a difficult ,but amazing homebirth with midwives in Oklahoma. When my daughter was a few months old, she and I moved to California for a new/fresh start. I did not want to raise her in Oklahoma, and was also ready for a change of scenery myself.

Coming to California was wonderful, but also meant I was starting over from scratch again. I was hired on as the senior midwife at one of the LA birth centers. It was wonderful to have a built-in job, but the practice I joined wasn’t as ideal as I had hoped. While working there I was able to make several improvements around client care, birth center function and team dynamics. However, even working as hard as possible, I wasn’t able to fully bring the level of the client care to where I felt I was able to give my clients their best options.

After about 15 months, I was able to leave that birth center and start back into private practice here in LA. Two weeks later, COVID hit – which was both a blessing and a curse. COVID brought me an influx of clients – which was great – but the clients weren’t familiar with midwifery care, which made it more difficult to prepare them for their birthing experience.

It has been a struggle in LA to be a single parent without a lot of support, making ends meet, finding childcare – especially while being on call. Thankfully one of my sisters was able to move in with me a little over a year ago – as that has been a huge help with my daughter.

I’ve been hustling since being here in LA, first starting at the birth center, then moving back into private home birth practice and, then last year I was finally able to open my own birth center here in DTLA. It was a whole process trying to open a birth center – for the last few years I struggled and hit a lot of roadblocks – mostly with landlords being very wary about leasing space for a birth center, as well as coming up with funding. After almost 2 years of searching and hitting dead ends, including leasing a space and then the landlord changing their mind and pushing us out, we were finally able to lease the space where the birth center is now.

Our current landlords are so amazing – kind, accommodating and treat our clients so well. Our space is beautiful and I am able to provide the full options and quality of care that is important to me. Clients can choose to birth at the birth center or still choose a homebirth as well.

Lastly, one of the things I am most passionate about is training other midwives. Since I began practicing, I have been a midwife preceptor and have had residents that work and train with me for 1-3 years each. Over the years I have trained over 15 midwives – most of who are practicing full time with their own busy practices. I love the process of seeing a new, fresh student develop into a well prepared, knowledgeable midwife.

The last years have not been easy, but it’s been so worth it to see my daughter thriving, my business finally building to where I have been hoping to be, being able to live in LA and enjoy the weather, the beach, the community – I truly can say that despite all the challenges and struggles, it has been worth it all. I’ve learned that i can truly do anything if I put my mind to it and am willing to put in the work, miss a lot of sleep, find resources, build community, thanks to so many friends providing support, encouragement, and love. And really just live and enjoy each day as it comes.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely the beach! I love Venice, but really anywhere that I can lay on the sand and listen to the waves. My daughter loves taking everyone to The Last Bookstore, which is really close to where we live. We love eating at LaLa’s Argentine grill and Mrs. Fish. Places where we can walk in DTLA are the best!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to Shoutout Tamara Robertson. She is a beloved and well-respected doula in the Greater LA birthing community. I met her at a birth several years ago, and since that time, she has been a huge support to myself personally, as well as being so supportive of my practice and referring many clients to me. I am so fortunate to also call her a dear friend. Not only is Tam is a queen and pillar in the birthing community – providing stellar support, resources, kindness, wisdom and love to not only her clients but to everyone she comes in contact with, she also has an amazing shop – Divine and Twined, where she sells herbs, candles, incense and many other physical and spiritual supports. Tam also mentors and supports many other practitioners in the birth community and showers everyone she knows with love, kindness and wisdom.

Website: mindbodybirthla.com

Instagram: @mindbodybirthla

Facebook: facebook.com/mindbodybirthla

Yelp: Mind Body Birth Wellness and Birthing Center

Image Credits
Karissa M. Raya Krista Mason