Becca Van De Water, CNM, ANP

Midwifery is a true calling, which has been with me since childhood. After studying anthropology and art history in college, I took a few years to teach 2nd and 3rd graders in an independent school within inner city New Haven, CT. During this time I also worked on nurturing my own inner artist. A few years passed and then, one bright spring day, my calling came again in its loudest voice. It was time. I promptly started my training as a Nurse-Midwife at Yale University, and have savored every moment since.

My training has taken me through hospitals and birth centers, rural clinics and urban tertiary care centers. My passion for medical anthropology (specifically regarding the way birth happens across the globe) has led to an extensive study of the practices and belief systems of lay midwives in the villages of India. I have also had the privilege of catching babies in a rural hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where most women have been exposed to HIV and extreme drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis. These two travel experiences in particular have opened my eyes to all the ways in which our world of women live their lives.

I feel particularly drawn to nurse-midwifery because it adds the component of primary care and global health to my scope of practice. The process of creating life is a spiritual and empowering journey, and I feel honored to be called into working with families during this part of their lives. My intention is to be midwife to women of all generations as they seek wellness throughout their lives.