About Katie Silva:
Katie Believes that birth is a sacred doorway, a precious and defining moment and that it should be protected as such. She loves holding supportive, compassionate space for women to discover their own way of birthing and becoming mothers.
Katie holds a BA in Contemplative Early Childhood Education from Naropa University and has over 20 years experience working with children in conventional as well as Waldorf inspired and other contemplative settings. She is a parent of two children both born completely naturally with midwives (one at home and one in a birth center) and views her raising of them (one teenage one preschool age) as her meditation.
Katie is a nationally certified and Arizona licensed Massage Therapist with special certifications for prenatal, postpartum, labor and infant massage.
She is a certified Massage Doula.
Katie is a certified practitioner of the Arvigo techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage and has studied Maya massage, Maya herbalism, Maya spiritual healing and pulse reading from Maya midwives, healers and beautiful common people in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize over the past 10 years.
She is a lover of plants, an organic gardener and a graduate of Rosemary Gladstar's Science and Art of Herbalism Course and a graduate of Michael Moore's Southwest School of Botanical medicine.
Katie is a Certified Lactation Counselor.
Katie is a Midwifery apprentice with Paula Matthew, Licensed Midwife and CPM with the goal of becoming a CPM and licensed Midwife in the state of Arizona.
Katie Silva is the mother of two beautiful children. Her son was born at home with Midwives in 2004 and she gave birth to her daughter in a birth center with midwives in 1991. Her birth experiences have inspired her, given her strength and profoundly deepened her own sense of self. Her births are the most precious memories that she has and they are the reference point for all else that has happened in her life. She loves being a mother and a wife. Katie Silva has been working with families for the past 25 years as a wholistic preschool director and teacher and facilitator of the Love and Logic Parenting Techniques. Katie has a BA in Contemplative Early Childhood Education. She has been committed to and pursued an in depth study of natural health for that long as well. Her love of natural health, healing and children lead her to study Maya Abdominal Massage, Prenatal Massage, Post partum massage, Labor Massage, Infant massage and Herbalism all of which she is now certified and experienced in. It was a natural progression for Katie to become a Doula. After catching two babies while serving as a doula, she realized that all of her passions found a home in one place, Midwifery. Katie completed a one year midwifery apprenticeship in Idaho with a CPM and a 9 month apprenticeship with a CPM, LM in Arizona. Katie is a student at National Midwifery Institute and she is delighted to continue her studies and joyful service to women and their families at Motherwise Community Birth Center beginning March 2009!
