Des Moines Midwife Collective, Caitlin Hainley
The work of the Des Moines Midwife Collective is one born out of a foundational draw toward justice, a genuine interest in and respect for people, and the belief that all birthing families should have access to quality, compassionate and affordable care.
My [Caitlin] pull toward this work parallels my own journey into birth and motherhood. A journey that began in 2008 and, at times, felt quite lonely. I was living in Wuhan, China, at the time and had few English-speaking resources available. After a traumatic entry into motherhood which included a c-section, a rocky beginning to breastfeeding, and a lot of pig's foot soup, I thought, “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this as alone as I did.” I began to work with La Leche League International, becoming a resource on lactation for English-speaking expats in Shanghai, China, and I provided doula and childbirth education services, helping expats navigate their way through the Chinese hospital system during pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
Our family moved back to the U.S., where our other three children were born, one into the hands of my midwife and two into the hands of their dad, in 2011. Reentry to home countries after living abroad can be isolating at times, and compounding this during our first few years back in the U.S. was our financial situation. We were on Medicaid and food stamps, and many of the communities I longed to be a part of were closed to those unable to pay cash out-of-pocket.
Those first few friends I met during our first years back in the U.S. I will cherish forever. And, through the support of my family, and various scholarships and grants, I drew nearer to the vision of ‘community for all’ as I worked first toward my RN license, then my Midwifery license, and finally my Doctorate in nursing practice. I was blessed to have spent my first few years of midwifery practice working for an organization that focused on care for the uninsured and under-insured. Many of the women I worked with were refugees, having their babies in the U.S. (a country other than their home country)—just as I had years ago.
I met Emily in 2014, just as we were both beginning our midwifery education. Emily and I began working together in 2019. During this time, we began to see continued patterns of unmet needs in our community revolving around accessibility and affordability in lactation and maternity care. This led to the vision and creation of The Des Moines Midwife Collective, the first free-standing lactation clinic accepting insurance in the Des Moines Metro area and the only homebirth midwifery service fully in-network with insurance, including Medicaid, in a 230-mile radius.
For us, this work is our ministry. It is about offering community and relationship to the lonely, a place of rest to the weary, and a spirit of welcome to the heavy-laden (whatever their burdens might be). We are a community inclusive to all, saying, "Here is a place you will be welcomed."
The Des Moines Midwife Collective (DMC) is a collective of Certified Nurse-Midwives serving the Des Moines area and Central Iowa. Our mission is to provide affordable and accessible reproductive and wellness care while partnering with families to create safe, physiologic, empowering experiences in birth, parenthood and self-care.
Our team of midwives practice full-scope midwifery and are experienced in gynecology, prenatal care, birth assistance, postpartum care, lactation and more!
For us, midwifery is more than simply a career—it’s a calling. Our midwives have received extensive training and certifications to provide exceptional care for every family we serve. We’re proud to have an amazing, dedicated team of midwives to help guide our pregnant patients and assist them at every stage of life.
Part of it was that Emily and I both had many of our own babies at home and loved the physiologic birth setting, which allowed us to maintain our autonomy during labor and birth. Part of it was that I had been really poor and on Medicaid, food stamps, etc., during my baby-having years and had a difficult time finding community birth providers with a heart for that population. We wanted to be part of the solution to this gap in care.
A big inspiration was the idea of building solutions. Emily and I tried to solve the problem of gaps in care where we worked before. I filled out multiple, multi-page project charters to start lactation programs, birth center care, etc. Each time we would turn the charter in we would hear from admin, "We don't have the bandwidth for this." Finally, Emily and I came to the conclusion that if these ideas were so good and our employer didn't have the bandwidth for them, we would strike out on our own. We had the ideas and the bandwidth; we just had to figure out how to put it together—that's where SCORE really helped."
Des Moines Midwife Collective is the only homebirth servicing provider in a 230-mile radius in-network with insurance, including Medicaid. Our goal is to make homebirth services affordable and accessible to all, and we are doing that. We also opened the first free-standing lactation clinic in central Iowa. We provide home lactation services, clinic lactation services and same-day lactation appointments.
The bottom line is we have a heart for people and relational care. We combine that with quality, in-network services to fill a care gap in the central Iowa community.
Emily, my business partner, found the information for SCORE on the SBA website and thought we should try it out.
When we first met with our SCORE mentors, they were really just a sounding board for us to talk through our ideas. As the plan began to take shape, they guided us through some of the core processes, like how to do a business plan. Once our business was grounded, they could troubleshoot and offer advice on many topics such as marketing, accounting, legal referrals and more. We still meet with them from time to time.
I mean, with no business background, we started a freaking business that is profitable and thriving! We went from being two midwives with no business background to managing four employees. Our clients served more than doubled in one year. We built this business because we saw a need in our community that wasn't being met. We're so happy we can provide people with the birth experience and lactation support everyone deserves.
They were always available and encouraging. They asked good questions that led us to think about things we hadn't thought of or think about things in a different way than we had. They volunteered so much of their time and knowledge.
Have a good idea. Spend wisely. Make friends with entrepreneurs. Read good books on business in the modern world. Find a SCORE mentor.
I recommend SCORE to everyone. The help you will receive is unparalleled.
Mentoring Specializations: I specialize in manufacturing operations, resource management,
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