Cheryl Gates, CPM
Cheryl, owner of KC Homebirth, began as a student midwife in 2004 after teaching childbirth classes and offering support as a Certified Doula (2002). She accepted her first family in 2006 and became certified by NARM in 2007. During her time as a midwife she has attended over 900 births (as of 2020) and continues to offer care consistently to the families she cherishes around the region. Having been raised in rural culture, Cheryl loves hard work and authenticity at every level. She is a mother to 6 children of her own, loves knitting, and baseball. Her own childbearing history has built a strong compassion for serving woman where they are whether that is in the joyful times or ones full of sorrow. She is nurturing and compassionate without losing her keen eye and sense of humor.
Our Students
In 2017 I (Cheryl) made an important decision. After seeing first hand the impact of racial disparity, systemic racism, and rural provider desert on midwifery and childbearing woman I felt a growing need to put my feet to the pavement to do what I can to help enable the people who will make change to do so. Fate brought me a variety of women who all share a vision of safe, accessible, culturally appropriate care for every woman. In our practice we will train midwives of many colors, religions, and backgrounds. We will pass down the lineage of traditional midwifery in an accessible format leading to CPM’s who will be leaders in change. I can no longer be a silent passenger in a broken system. In that vein I accepted more students and began teaching classes. We meet 2-3 times a month as a group. We review charts and notable issues, we peer review our births with one another looking for what went well and how we can improve what we do in the future, we study topics together and practice skills. Our students are certified in NRP and adult, infant and child CPR. We work together until they are ready to practice, not just for numbers. I have been shocked by how inviting a group of woman to work by my side, rather than only one, has led to an improvement in our systems and care. Together our team is growing the future!
