Today we’d like to introduce you to Andi Webb, CPM.
Hi Andi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
From a young age I knew I wanted a career that involved helping others. I graduated from college as a psychology major and music minor with the hope to provide music therapy to individuals on the spectrum one day. After only finding low-paying positions working in the community, I felt drawn to choose a new path. When I was 26 my best friend asked if I would officiate her wedding. I became an ordained minister and loved the feeling of being able to help someone experience an important life event in the way they wanted to. This desire to support others in an alternative way led me to midwifery where my journey began quickly and with divine timing.
Initially I had intended on becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife, meaning I would first need to acquire a nursing degree. Halfway through my first semester of prerequisite classes I realized this was not the path I was meant to follow. I wanted to learn how to care for women in the way traditional midwives had practiced, utilizing herbs and wise woman knowledge, and attending deliveries outside of the hospital. I began an alternative process that was completely apprenticed and self-educated base, concluding with the same exam administered to individuals completing a formal midwifery program. I was fortunate to connect with my initial preceptor quickly and with luck she had an opening for a new student a few months later. I became pregnant with my first child a month after beginning my apprenticeship. Not only was I learning a new skill but had the personal experience to relate to the mothers I was supporting.
In the 7 years I spent studying as a student midwife I apprenticed under 7 different midwives learning as much as I could from each individual woman. I became a Certified Professional Midwife in July of 2020 and opened my first business, Barefoot Birth StL, providing midwifery and home birth services to the greater St. Louis area. During this time I became reiki attuned as a way to support my clients in labor and delivery with energy work. I had no idea how much I would enjoy energy healing and began providing reiki sessions as well. After working for 3 years and experiencing the most beautiful to most the most tragic of births, I closed my business after giving birth to my 3rd child at the end of 2023 with the intent to be a stay-at-home parent. As it does, life happens, and I found myself as a single mother for a second time the following year. With the need to support myself and my children and the strong pull I have towards midwifery work, I made myself a promise to care for us all while doing something that I feel so passionately about. This led me to opening my 2nd business, Barefoot Midwifery, in the fall of 2024.
This time around I knew I could not balance the incredibly stressful on-call life and being a full-time solo parent with a baby. I have always felt that midwifery has the power to heal women in multiple ways and decided I wanted to make it more accessible to more families. My new business model allows more people to access holistic and truly personalized maternity care as needed.
Barefoot Midwifery offers:
– Supplementary Prenatal Visits as needed, supporting women with functional nutrition and lifestyle changes to enhance their pregnancy and keep them low-risk, regardless of who their primary care provider is
– Preconception Care to help support the fertility journey
– Postpartum and Newborn Care all provided in-home
– Collaborative Care with an obstetrician where I provide the prenatal care and in-home postpartum care, and our client delivers in hospital with the doctor. This option allows for women who desire or need to deliver in the hospital the ability to experience holistic midwifery care.
– Energy Work, including Reiki and intuitive healing sessions
I love that I get to continue my work in supporting families and especially women in becoming the healthiest and most empowered versions of themselves. I do miss witnessing the immense beauty and power that is present in the birth space, but have no doubt I will return to it again one day. At this time, I feel fortunate to offer the level of midwifery care that I do and have already witnessed the positive effect it has on my full-scope clients that deliver in the hospital. Midwifery care has the ability to assist women in experiencing more conscious and intentional pregnancies, empowering deliveries, and healing postpartum periods. It is so needed in our culture and should be accessible to all.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been curvy, bumpy, and uphill with the occasional downhill drop into divine timing and situations. During the 7 years of being a student, I gave birth to two children and went through a divorce. 3 months prior to becoming officially certified I bought a house, 2 weeks before COVID shut everything down. It was a big responsibility and stress being a healthcare provider during a very unpredictable time. We didn’t know what the virus would do to women or babies in childbirth and tried to continue providing informed and safe care. Being on call 24/7 while having 2 small children and living alone as a single parent was honestly more difficult than the work itself. I had to have sitters set up for every hour of the day, 5 days a week. I probably lost years of my life from that stress alone. No one taught me how to set up or run a business so this was another aspect of the job that I had to learn by myself. As a midwife in a solo practice, you wear all the hats; marketing, office administrator, accountant, supplies sterilizer, birth attendant, all while being extremely sleep deprived and always ready to run out the door within 5 minutes of getting the call.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have always considered myself an intuitive and empath from a young age. When working with women in pregnancy it’s easy for me to understand where they’re coming from and to help them find peace mentally and emotionally. It’s a passion of mine to help others strengthen their intuition and empower them to be their own healers. My clients often thank me for helping them to feel relaxed, confident and empowered in their journey to becoming mothers. When I attended births, I would have a feeling about how the birth would go and would prepare myself and the team so that we were ready to navigate tricky situations. The energy work that I provide is very much intuitively led. I’m given information, or a knowing, about what my clients need to assist them in experiencing a more healing or balanced life. This is helpful when working with others on discovering what support their body needs, from supplement recommendations to necessary lifestyle adjustments. I’m proud of the work I’ve done in supporting others heal trauma, promote healing, and make changes that have greatly improved their long-term health and quality of life.
How do you think about luck?
I thoroughly believe we are able to manifest our reality and are given the situations and lessons necessary to teach us what we’re meant to learn. Even the experiences one might deem bad luck have helped shape me into the person I am today. I feel as though I have worked with the right clients at the right time and have gotten really lucky with the individuals I’ve had the opportunity to know and support over the years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://barefoot-midwife.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_barefoot_midwife/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barefootmidwiferystl
