Warm Welcome Doula Academy
Michelle L'Esperance, Midwife & Doula
Meet the Doula Trainer
Meet the Doula Trainer
Michelle L'Esperance-Muñoz, CPM is a first-generation Chilean-American. Her calling to birthwork and reproductive/generative health was sparked while at Smith College, Northampton, MA. Attending an inspiring lecture by internationally renowned midwife Ina May Gaskin (Spiritual Midwifery) evaporated layers of fear that she had around pregnancy and birth, and revealed the incredible potential for love, wonder, and even bliss. Michelle then focused her studies on medical anthropology and women's health, working towards becoming a midwife. In 1996 an underground midwife in Georgia agreed to tutor her and bring her on prenatal home visits; so her practical education began.
with Ina May Gaskin, 1995
In 1997, Michelle birthed her first child at home. The following year, she began her apprenticeship with her homebirth midwives. Soon after, she completed a doula training, launched Warm Welcome Birth Services and began attending births as a doula. In 2002, her rainbow baby was born at home, and in 2003 she graduated with a specialized degree in midwifery from Manna School of Midwifery (accredited by the North American Registry of Midwives).
In the spring of the following year, L'Esperance-Muñoz completed her clinicals attending births at a high volume inner-city hospital in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The physical conditions there were incredibly difficult, but it was a profound teaching in how "birth happens!" even despite a lack of basic necessities. In 2004 she earned the designation of Certified Professional Midwife, a nationally recognized designation offered by the North American Registry of Midwives. She has spent years as a NARM approved preceptor, training the next generation of midwives.
"Though I didn't expect to feel ready, I believe I am. I feel like I could walk in to any laboring mother and be able to emotionally, physically and mentally support her. That is incredible. I've never left any training feeling so prepared. "
2008 participant
Michelle L'Esperance-Muñoz has attended over 760 births in homes, freestanding birth centers, domestic and Central American hospitals since 1996. She supports families in both English and Spanish, and about a quarter of her clients identify as LGBTQ (lesbian, bisexual, bisexual, trans, and/or queer).
She has enjoyed teaching hundreds of new parents and doulas since 2001, and strongly believes that we need many more active doulas, childbirth educators, and midwives to make progress towards reproductive justice; especially birthworkers who are BIPOC. These professionals, in partnership with educated, empowered families, can heal birth in our culture and restore the transformative power and integrity that are birth's true nature.
You can learn more about her expert doula services at Warm Welcome Birth Services.
