“Marlene brings enthusiasm and support to pregnancy. She helps empower the natural birthing process by supporting mothers in finding their personal power.

Marlene’s presence at home a birth is soothing and reassuring. She is a powerful coach and well educated in all medical matters concerning births at home. She is very knowledgeable, highly skilled, and incredibly passionate. Her love for people and the birthing experience is evident in her language and actions.

We look forward to working with Marlene for our future child(ren)’s birth and we will highly recommend her throughout the community whenever we have the opportunity.”

Sincerely,

Matt, Annie, and the newborn, Penelope Kuehlhorn

“Our pregnancy and birth experience were exactly how we wanted it….thanks to Marlene! She is calm, patient, supportive, knowledgeable, extremely competent, and a generally wonderful person. Throughout my pregnancy, Marlene demonstrated compassion and caring when I needed it and provided me with informed answers to all of my questions (and there were many).  She was always available, day and night, via phone call or text. She made me feel comfortable and supported every step of the way.  As my time drew near, I felt certain that we could have a successful homebirth with Marlene’s help.  Marlene’s calm energy and relaxed-style was just what I desired in a midwife. When we had a complication during labor (the same complication that sent my friend to the hospital for her labor just a few weeks before), Marlene handled the situation with exceptional skill and loving kindness and our son was born in our bed.  Marlene’s post-partum care is great…so convenient to have her come to our house and her encouragement continues to be helpful to us as first-time parents.  I couldn’t have asked for a better midwife or a better birth experience. Marlene is a mother’s dream come true”

Gratefully,

Tish, Caleb, and Huck Mullen

“When my husband Chris and I first found out that I was pregnant, the thought of a home birth never crossed our minds. That is until I began speaking with other women who had given birth to their children at home and I began to realize that a home birth might be the right path for me. When I mentioned this to Chris he was less than excited with my newest idea, but agreed to meet with Marlene to test the waters. After our initial meeting with Marlene we walked out of her office with no doubt in our minds that a home birth was the right choice for us.

Throughout my pregnancy Marlene was always just a phone call or e-mail away to answer any questions that I had, and believe me I had a lot of them. She was never rushed, always calm and very informative.

When it was time for our son to be born Marlene was amazing, she was trusting and encouraging, she listened and understood me and my needs, and most of all she believed in me and my ability to bring another life into this world. And when we were faced with a challenging situation her wisdom and calmness helped me to stay calm and let my body do what needed to be done. I feel so fortunate to have had such an amazing birth experience, and Marlene was the one that made it all possible.”

- Lana, Chris and Hagyn Athey

MY HOME BIRTH EXPERIENCE (Casey)

“My daughter, Willow Grace, arrived Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 weighing 6 lbs. 9 ounces. Giving birth at home was truly an amazing experience. Marlene is a highly professional and extremely skilled midwife who was there every step of the way throughout my pregnancy and delivery. It is difficult to find the words to express how deep my gratitude is for her guidance and her caring and compassionate nature.

Marlene’s provision of pre/post-natal care has also been of the highest quality. Each visit was very thorough and I never felt rushed to ask all the questions I had, and there were many. Also, Marlene remains available by phone at any hour of the day, even after the contracted 6 weeks of post-natal care.

My Labor Begins:
My labor began on a Saturday afternoon with mild, irregular contractions and by that evening they we’re becoming more regular. I made my second phone call of the day to Marlene and she and her assistant, Annie, made their way over to set up camp. As soon as they arrived, my contractions dwindled and became irregular once again, but Marlene and Annie stayed the night with us anyway. They left early that morning to attend another birth.

Sunday followed a similar pattern as Saturday, and Marlene said I was experiencing something called prodromal labor. I didn’t sleep Saturday or Sunday night due to the prodromal contractions and by the time Monday rolled around I was feeling quite tired. Thankfully, the contractions started to pick up a bit in frequency and intensity around 3:000 pm on Monday, and I called Marlene. She suggested I use some homeopathics and breast stimulation to get the birth going and reassured me that I was in labor and I was going to have a baby soon. These suggestions made a huge difference in my progress and by 7:00 or 8:00 pm Marlene and Annie showed up. Around 9:00, I hit the self doubt sign-post and Marlene determined I was 9 cm dilated, though it would still be another 3 hours before Willow would be born. Around 11:30 I wasn’t progressing nor getting an urge to push. Needless to say, I was also exhausted from the lack of sleep. It was at this point that Marlene made some important decisions to help bring Willow into the world. She performed something called ribozo to readjust Willow’s birthing position, she coached and encouraged me through the pushing though my body never had the urge to push. It was here that I truly could not have birthed Willow naturally without Marlene’s expertise and Annie’s assistance. My husband, Eric, of course also played an integral role in our child’s birth. Eric was at my side comforting me and offering me support throughout the labor. I thank Marlene for helping us have the kind of intimate birth experience we desired. The final push that brought Willow into this world was performed on my husband’s lap. Now, that was the ultimate birth experience! We never would have been allowed to labor and birth like this in a hospital. It was an AWESOME birth experience!!!

Thank you Marlene! I will forever be grateful to you as a midwife, woman and friend. You are truly a gifted midwife.”

- Casey Krawczyk, mother

MY HOME BIRTH EXPERIENCE (Eric)

“I vividly recall being in the midst of labor, leaning on my partner Noah, breathing the only way I could, and hearing Marlene whisper, “You’re doing everything perfectly.” Of course little felt perfect at the time, but I later realized she was right. I was doing everything. I was doing it! I was working with my body, my breath, my mind. No one was taking that power from me. No doctor, no machine, no drug. This was the raw experience.

A woman couldn’t ask for a better gift then an attendant who, though highly knowledgeable and skilled in childbirth, stands aside and listens. Marlene trusts nature, trusts the mother’s intuition and body, and chooses not to intervene unless emergency calls. I prepared for labor in various ways, but I never realized (until after the fact) the necessity of having people present who simply believe in you. When a huge part of my mind wanted to cry and panic and question nature, Marlene and Noah stood by, never doubting, only awaiting the cry of that newborn babe. Their faith in my ability was the only tool I needed- and really the only tool I had. I thank them for this and, Marlene, thank you for your wisdom- a needed quality in a culture that assigns birth to the realm of intellect and interference.”

- Brinley

- Laurie, Alain and Dylan Boscaro

“Marlene is one of those rare people truly working within her calling! I believe exceptional midwifery care is an intrinsic and natural part of who she is! It flows from her in the radiating, calm warmth she has about her, a presence that empowered us as a couple throughout our birthing process. Connecting with her, having her provide prenatal/postnatal care and attend the birth of our second daughter was a gift beyond words to our family!

After having had our first daughter in Idaho at a birthing center with a very seasoned midwife, we were worried we would not find that quality of care here and we were hesitant about a home birth. After meeting Marlene all of our fears were put to rest. She provided exceptional pre and post natal care for us and was exactly what we needed during our birthing process. Marlene far surpassed our expectations!

She came to our home in the evenings so we could both be present at our appointments. Each visit she spent extra time with us addressing all of our questions and even making a special effort to bond with our toddler. (Our toddler now refers to her as “My Miss Marlene!”)  It seemed as if she always knew just what to say to make us laugh, reassure us, or guide us to the right herb or homeopathic medicine. She was always very knowledgeable and informative yet continually offered a caring listening ear.

Though Marlene has the power of experience behind her, it is her intuition that makes midwifery so natural for her.  She had the intuition on many occasions to just know what we needed even before we did. She had the intuition to know when we were going into labor and came at just the right time. She had the intuition to know our sweet little baby needed just bit of help taking her first breath when she entered the world.

It can truly be said we now count Marlene as family and it will always be magical for us to know such a beautiful soul gave our sweet little baby her first breath and helped us bring her into the world!  I would without a single hesitation recommend Marlene to anyone looking for an outstanding care provider!”

- Emily and Bryan MacNieven