About the Midwife

Pamela Hines-Powell, CPM

I am fundamentally - and unapologetically - passionate about gentle, unhindered birth.  When women are given time and privacy they birth safer and have fewer complications.   Some births take hours, others may take days...it is not a midwife's role to define what a mother/baby is experiencing and what "should" be happening.  A midwife is there to hold the space, offer skills and information when necessary, and be witness to an incredible, beautiful miracle.

In my practice, my clients customize their prenatal care and birth.  I do not take a heavy hand in managing or directing them towards certain tests or procedures.  I believe in honest communication about informed choice and personal responsibility.  I use the latest evidence-based research and a mother's intuition throughout our practice, which sets the midwifery model apart from the medical model.  Rather  than viewing birth with anxiety and fear, midwives honor the delicate balance of hormones with our knowledge of current research to achieve fewer complications (cesareans, postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, etc) than in a hospital setting. 

I enjoy writing about midwifery issues, challenging myself, and witnessing women give birth essentially without assistance from anyone but herself.  I am an adaptable midwife, offering more hands-on care for those that desire it, but am sometimes sought out by people looking for a more autonomous birth experience.  This leads to constant re-evaluation of my practice, what I believe about birth, and how I approach pregnancy and birth in all terms.  The most valuable  education I've received has come from families I serve - whether it's their first baby or their twelfth.

Hoping one day to write an account of my midwifery experiences, I keep a midwifery blog documenting beliefs, research and some birth stories (with permission, of course).  I also enjoy speaking at midwifery conferences about evidence-based midwifery practice and unhindered birth. 

When not immersed in business or birth related issues, I'm often found drinking coffee at any number of Salem's independent coffee houses, reading voraciously, knitting or laughing with friends.  I have a soft spot in my heart for vintage furniture, art, Europe, magazines, handbags and (most) any sort of smelly bath product.

I live in South Salem with my daughter (born in 1994).  We are enthusiastic activists for homebirth, waterbirth,  breastfeeding and babywearing. 

I wholeheartedly support the training of midwives through the ancient tradition of apprenticeship.  I typically have one assistant/apprentice midwife that works with me: she attends prenatal appointments with me, comes to the birth with me and helps with postpartum visits.  If this student is advanced in her training and studies, she assumes a more primary role with supervision.  This means that a midwifery student may do tasks prenatally, in birth and postpartum that are part of her clinical training.  If, for some reason, you wish to limit the role of the apprentice in your hands-on care, please let me know.