Kristen Hall, RN, MSN, CNM

If you would have told this California girl 10 years ago that I was going to end up as a birth center midwife in Savannah, Georgia, I would have never believed you. I became interested in becoming a nurse due to my mom’s encouragement. Unable to handle seeing someone spit, I did not think I had the stomach for it. Thanks to my sisters giving me the honor of attending each of their first births, I was exposed to labor and birth for the first time- and I fell in LOVE! My initial goal was to be either a NICU or Labor and Delivery nurse. I didn’t discover nurse midwifery until I was in the middle of my undergrad nursing school program. When the “doctor” came in and caught a baby with a mama in the hands and knees position, I remarked how she she was such a great doctor…and my precepting nurse told me, “she’s not a doctor, she’s a nurse-midwife!” I thought hold the phone- I could catch babies too?! I graduated Magna Cum Laude from California Baptist University in 2011. I got my start to my nursing career serving our nation’s veterans at the VA Loma Linda Medical Center in Southern California. As the wife of a USMC vet who was active duty at the time, I was honored to serve such a deserving population. I gained experience in the ICU, and Med/Surg/Telemetry units on the West and East coast, before moving back home to help open a new hospital in my hometown. I caught my big break to enter the world of L&D soon after, however I soon learned to be a little more careful what I wished for. During this time I LOVED the mamas and families I had the privilege of caring for, and was honored to work with such phenomenal colleagues, but much of what went on within the walls of the high-intervention unit just didn’t sit well with me. I knew there was more to how we provide women’s healthcare, and labor and birth in particular. I became passionate about changing the state of women’s health…enter midwifery school! I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the historic Frontier Nursing University in June of 2016. During my clinical rotations, I gained invaluable experience working first with a nurse midwife as a part of an Ob-Gyn practice caring for low and high risk women in Myrtle Beach, SC and met many women and families who forever gained a place in my heart. During this clinical experience, I although midwifery can bring you the most joy in the world, such a position also brings you face to face with tragedy. Despite the challenges, I knew I had found my calling and chose to push forward. A family I cared for at this time became my greatest inspiration- I was even able to attend their second baby’s birth as mama’s doula after I graduated. I finished my clinical rotations at the amazing Women’s Birth and Wellness Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I immediately felt like I was home at the birth center. I knew THIS is the kind of care that all women deserve. The births I attended were absolutely magical, and I especially fell in love with water birth! I realized this is what my instructors meant about midwifery being able to flourish best in the birth center setting. I strongly believe the birth center is where natural, physiologic childbirth in congruence with the midwifery model of care can thrive the most. When my husband and I visited Savannah and I interviewed at The Midwifery Group and Birth Center, I knew we had found our home. The staff and families we partner with in caring for have quickly become like family to me. I am committed to ensuring women’s voices are always heard and provide the support they need. I am dedicated to empowering women to take control of their own health by providing holistic wellness care, and aim to give them the life changing, beautiful birth experience they’ve dreamed of. In my off time, you can find me at the beach, enjoying a good book, trying to get a good workout in—and when I can, visiting my family and 13 nieces and nephews who are back in California (and Germany). I am also pursuing my Doctoral of Nursing Practice Degree back at Frontier Nursing University- so you can always find a homework assignment nearby! Our days are about to become a whole lot busier as my husband and I are expecting our first little one in February of 2018. It has already been so exciting to experience pregnancy from a firsthand perspective. I’ve learned pregnancy sickness (forget that morning sickness myth) is not for the weak and pregnancy brain is SO a thing! 🙂