About Tara Dean
Tara making placenta prints at Holy Family Birth Center, Weslaco, TX Having grown up in the woods of northern Massachusetts, the wonders of the natural world have fascinated me for a lifetime. That, combined with a congenital curiosity for what it means to be human, have led me to birth work in a surprisingly direct way. I learned at a young age the profound wisdom of simply observing and listening to the world around us. And so, when I heard the calling of midwifery at 17, I took a deep breath and dove in.
In the years since, I have had the pleasure of learning from several amazing mentors, and serving many families from Vermont to Texas and beyond. I began my formal training as a birth and postpartum doula with midwife Michelle L'Esperance of Warm Welcome Birth Services in September of 2009. The two following winters, I interned at Holy Family Birth Center in Weslaco, TX, eleven miles north of the Mexican border, where I was honored to spend every waking moment with wonderful mothers, birth workers, and newborns. In continuation of this passion for intercutural service learning, in March of 2011 I traveled to Sénégal with the African Birth Collective as a student midwife and activist. There, in the small seaside village of Kafountine, I gained lots of invaluable experience assisting at births and postpartum visits, and caught my first handful of babies. Now, I am practicing as a doula and continuing my lifetime study of birth in beautiful Asheville, NC.
It is with such deep gratitude and joy that I come to this work to be with growing women and families. I believe deeply in the transformative power of childbirth, and that empowered birth can open pathways for a healthier global future. I trust strongly in the wisdom of nature, and to see pregnant and birthing mothers embody this on a regular basis is such a gift.
Education:
- The Matrona, Quantum Midwifery School
Holistic Midwifery Immersion: Winter - Summer 2012
- Costa Rica School of Integrative Massage
Massage Therapy: Spring - Fall 2011
- Ancient Art Midwifery Institute
Advanced Midwifery SkillsLab: Summer 2011
Basic Midwifery SkillsLab: Fall 2010
Introduction to Midwifery: Winter - Summer 2010
- WomanCraft Midwifery Education
Beginning Midwifery Workshop: Fall 2010
- The Farm Midwifery Center
Neonatal Resuscitation: Spring 2010
- Midwifery Today Conference, Philadelphia, PA: Spring 2010
Several workshops, notably: Mexican Midwifery, Placenta Medicine, Waterbirth
- Warm Welcome Birth Services
Postpartum Doula Training: Winter 2010
Birth doula training: Fall 2009