About Us - La Shel Montgomery
licensed midwife and certified nurse midwife in san diego
La
Shel Montgomery: Registered Nurse, Certified Nurse Midwife.
La Shel Montgomery has been a Certified Nurse Midwife for six years and Registered Nurse for more than twelve years. She is recognized and licensed by both the California Board of Registered Nursing and the American College of Nurse Midwives.
Her studies included:
- Four year Associates Degree program in nursing at Palomar College.
- Two year program earning a Bachelors Degree in Nursing & Bachelors Degree in Public Health from the University of Phoenix.
- Three year graduate level program at New York State University, earning Master’s Degree in Nursing and Midwifery.
La Shel’s background and experience:
La Shel has been involved in the world of birth since 1995. She realized at a young age that she had a passion for working with women, infants and families. After earning an RN degree, she invested six years as a labor and delivery, postpartum, and NICU nurse at many local San Diego hospitals. Her journey to midwifery began with the homebirth of her second child. La Shel say’s, “That’s when I realized the importance of a woman’s choice to birth in the setting she chooses.”
It was a pivotal experience in her life and it led her to graduate school where she earned her master’s degree in nursing, specializing in midwifery, obstetrics and gynecology. Prior to and following her graduation, she spent long hours working at the busy Best Start birth center in San Diego providing midwifery services to women across the county.
As a certified nurse-midwife, she has attended and/or delivered hundreds of babies in a variety of settings from hospital and birth centers to homes. She has had many opportunities to work with a variety of pregnancy and birth related issues including VBAC’s, twins and gestational diabetic mothers. La Shel is highly skilled in administering IV’s and suturing all degrees of perineal tears that sometimes occur during birth. Her philosophy is one of “non-interference and personal empowerment through informed choice.”
La Shel spends her time at prenatal visits addressing questions and educating her clients on all aspects of birth, nutrition, family centered holistic health care and helping expecting Mom’s discover their own inherent power and natural ability in giving birth.
“I
have been providing both homebirth and Doula/Monatrice services in San
Diego since 2003. I believe that every woman deserves the birth of her
dreams and I am determined to help make that happen for any one who chooses
my services, whether it be in a home or hospital. Birth is a natural physiological
event and not a medical emergency. I believe that an educated woman who
is allowed to choose her birth setting and is supported in her choices
will always have the most positive outcome”.
Midwifery is more than a course study…more than a learned art…more than a holistic practice. It is an honor and a privilege to sit by a laboring woman’s side and watch the mysterious wonder of life unfold. Birth can profoundly transform and renew a woman, strengthen her faith in herself and deepen her identity.
I am the wife of Todd and mother of Savannah, 13 (born in a hospital), Brandon, 8 (born at home), and Blake, 7 (born in the water at home).
Certifications:
- Board certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Certification Council.
- OB/GYN Nurse Practitioner.
- Member of American College of Nurse Midwives.
- Licensed and recognized by the California Board of Registered Nursing.
- Certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Certified in neonatal resuscitation.