Meet Danielle Bergum

Midwife is what my clients call me.  I would describe myself as a Traditional Birth Attendant that offers knowledge and skills for preventative maternity care, perinatal education and support, and breastfeeding counseling.  I am the Founding Director of MOV Birth and offer my services through a private member-to-member relationship. Most healthy mothers and babies that surrender to the birth transformation do not need medical care during the childbearing year and I believe home is the ideal place to support non-medical psychophysiological childbirth.  I believe this transformational journey should be protected and held as the sacred rite of passage it was created to be.  I believe most births don’t need direction, though a calm, experienced presence can help a mother and her family confidently surrender to the birth transformation by providing guidance through the wide range of birth variations of our modern culture.

I solidified my Christian faith through my first birth in 2008 and I have been called to share that journey ever since.  I am a mom of two home-birthed and home-schooled children (breastfed each for over 2.5 years while fluctuating between working full-time, part-time, and being a SAHM & WAHM), wife to my husband which I have been with for over 23 years, and lover of smiles, logic, and rabbit holes.  I occasionally use social media but would rather lose service in the forest.  You can find me on MeWe, IG, & FB as well as the monthly Birth & Breastfeeding Social in Parkersburg.  If you want to venture to my house in the country, we can cozy up by a bonfire or I’ll make you a cup of tea and chat about all things birth, breastfeeding, and life.

I am a bit of an opinionated empath; strong-minded and will serve you fiercely.  I love cooking on a crackling fire while staring at the sky on a warm summer night and a cold snowy day.  I love tasty wholesome healthy food that makes me FEEL good and occasionally will indulge in fudgy brownies, sausage + pepper pizza, and sparkling seltzer.  I feel hard. I play some. Born in autumn, I have an analytical motherly personality that thrives on philosophical conversation with spirit swirled all around.  I have my stuff like everyone…  God is helping me work that out and guiding me to help you work your stuff out, too… or just embrace it with grace.

Midwifery is with-woman in whatever way that needs to be.  I’m here to help you find YOU, if you’re interested and to remind you that “professionals” don’t know everything, science and evidence are flawed and ever-changing, but creation is incredible.  I’m here to encourage you to listen to your inner voice… to Spirit… if you’re willing.  I LOVE sharing what I know. Telling my story. Passing on wisdom.  It was through prenatal education that my life was flipped right-side-up and it is through educating that I serve and help support you through the childbearing years.

Serving families in the childbearing years has completely changed my soul.  I want my potential clients to understand the kind of care I desire to provide and what care with me may look like before they choose me.  While we can’t control birth and have to be ready for the twists and turns this journey may take, I believe it is my responsibility to share with you some of the expectations you can have when asking me into your sacred birth space.  Every provider, every midwife, practices quite differently.  We all have different journeys that have led us here and different skill sets.  Here is just a little about me:

• Traditional Midwife by calling, domiciliary
• Advocate for maternal rights to choose however, wherever, and with whomever they want to birth and fundamentally against midwifery licensing and regulation (because a title does not guarantee quality of care, most births don’t require medication or a medical attendant, and telling a provider what they can’t do never made quality care more accessible to anyone… licensed providers also get sued so it doesn’t offer protection for the birth attendant, either)
• Guide of Happy Healthy Birth in all ways, for all people, in all birth locations and thankful for medical backup in the rare cases it could be beneficial
• Educationally focused,YOU-centered, prenatals
• Doula from 2016-2022 (midwifery, and physiologic-support environments, is my soul-focus now)
• Breastfeeding & Babywearing Guide – Leading the Mid-Ohio Valley Breastfeeding, Birth, & Parenting Social since 2010 and assessing Oral Restrictions including Tongue & Lip Ties
• Perinatal Mentor & Educator – Designer of Esali Birth Perinatal Education in 2009
• Rebozo is an extension of my arms and I love drawing on bellies, too
• Herbal, Nutritional & Functional Wellness Counselor (including TTC and fertility support)
• Nutritious Movement Aware
• Emotional & Wellness support to help prevent and care for perinatal mood disorders
• Photographer (Commercial & Journalistic)
• Mainstream-turned-Back-to-Basics

I believe there is a midwife for everyone and mothers that seek care from someone that resonates with their desires usually have more pleasant memories of their experience.  Reach out to learn more about my care.

I believe midwifery is a calling and no formal midwifery education can replace the ancient wisdom passed down through generations of experienced midwives.  The Spiritual Art of Midwifery is being lost, and I feel so gratefully blessed to have had the opportunity to learn alongside multiple senior traditional midwives to obtain wisdom impossible to gather otherwise. I am forever thankful for their years of experience and wisdom that they were willing to share with me and feel so blessed to have them in this journey of service.  I am also thankful to live in a time where access to information helps us to refine our skills and information shared.  I have been educating & supporting childbearing families of the MOV area (and virtually) since 2009 through Esali Birth. I now offer Traditional Midwifery support and wellness counseling with a holistic and herbal approach including parallel care for families planning birth center or hospital birth.

• Midwifery birth care to 100+ families throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley and many more for prenatal and postpartum care including support within multiple Plain Communities
• Self-Study & Workshop-Based Education along with a 2-year Apprenticeship in Midwifery with four DEM, CPM, and CNM senior midwives
• Midwife Assistant & Primary Midwife Back-Up at the Rio Care Plain Community Birth Center in Rio Grande, OH – 2019-2021
• Completed Breech Without Borders Breech Pro Hybrid course – 2022
• Completed The Art of Birth course by Naoli Vinaver – 2020-2022
• Spinning Babies Trained – 2016
• Observed at the Dr. Jack Newman International Breastfeeding Centre – 2018
• Neonatal Resuscitation Trained – since 2018
• Basic Life Support Trained – since 2020
• Certified Level III Forest School Practitioner – 2018
• Graduate of Science & Art of Herbalism 3-Year Study – 2017
• Creative Designer with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design – 2006
• Licensed Nail Technician – 2003 (I know, so random)

I am a strong advocate of educated decisions with a focus in maternal birth rights and changing the systematic cultural influences on maternity care in our modern world by providing an alternative to care (rather than just dealing with the current system). It is my goal to counteract the mainstream approach by helping to build confidence and awareness in childbearing families and help you to obtain the information and resources to make respected informed decision.

My goal is that you learn to hear that voice inside you, to listen to its guidance, and birth in the way that you desire and need.  It’s not about can or can’t. It’s that something is going to happen somehow, some way, and you’re there to experience it one way or another.  THAT is our ONLY guarantee.

I am like a trail-buddy.  I’m happy to join you on your journey, and am blessed when you are a part of mine.  I can walk alongside you and remind you that the path is fairly straightforward, and while birth matters, birth is not the purpose of our journey in our time on earth.  All of us experience this life journey differently.  Some take a side trail now and then, even eat a wild mushroom, and sometimes God has to take us through raging rivers and over mountains to get us back.  I’m here to share wisdom and comfort in those times.  To share knowledge that you may find helpful for making informed decisions, how to read a map even if I’ve never seen your map before, and some ways you can climb a rock, even though your cliff is a bit different.

I can’t birth for you. I can help you be aware of all the tools you have available to you and to remind you that everyone packs something different in their pack, and everyone will need or want a different tool to use.  Many moms will continue the path to birth at home, and some will find that their journey leads them to medical support.  The passage ahead might only be big enough for one person. I might have to go ahead at times and you may take a short cut, but you can, and will, take the first step when you’re ready.

I am a person, with a family, on a journey.  Nature is our peaceful place.  The forests and hills in simple mountain seclusion are our playground.  We are thankful to live in a modern culture and be able to blend ancient wisdom into our daily lifestyle. We enjoy wildcrafting, chilling in the hammock, picnicking under the trees and being immersed in the forest hiking on a trail or our backyard when I’m not anticipating the birth season of a client.

I feel called to support mothers and their families through the childbearing years and love sharing my personal experience of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, postpartum, parenting, and life and how my personal birth and support journey continues to grow my faith in, and relationship with, God. Stories shared is how we connect with birthing women, and their families, throughout history and I believe sharing our birth and breastfeeding stories is one of the most impactful ways of gaining knowledge for the childbearing year.  I am truly blessed to live this life of caring for families in the childbearing years. I support families of all backgrounds, beliefs, faiths, and daily lifestyles and support the journey that every family member experiences during this time of their life.

I’ve walked this path like so many women and families before and would be happy to support you through your journey, too, if you discover that my presence is a positive addition to your space. I look forward to meeting you and provide free web-based consultations.