About Back Up Midwives “These are the women I trust to take care of you in my absence – they have been an integral part of The Birth Place TEAM for many years. They will take exceptional care of you during the birth of your precious little one”. – Jennie Joseph

Melissa Conord Morrow

Melissa has been working with women and families in the Central Florida area for the past sixteen years. She began as a mother reaching out to others, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor at WIC, Perinatal Educator and Doula, before completing her midwifery education at Miami Dade College. Licensed in 2004 Melissa has since enjoyed serving others in her calling and is very excited to be a part of the mission here at The Birth Place. Melissa has her own home birth practice in Lakeland, Florida – Celebrate Birth Midwifery (find her on Facebook at Celebrate Birth Midwifery). She is also a Registered Nurse with experience in the Emergency Department.

Personally Melissa is a native of Florida happily married with six beautiful children. She is very involved with her church family, enjoys great food, and local historical natural spaces.

Marianne Power

“My own birth experiences guided me to a career as a midwife. After a hospital birth with my first child I knew birth could be managed without all the medical technology. My next two babies were born with the help of midwives in a birth center and at home. My experience includes 30 plus years working as a nurse in a variety of hospital settings, including labor and delivery as well as10 years as primary midwife in a busy birth center. In October of 2010 I started my own home birth practice Lakeland Midwifery Care.

Midwifery is about making a safe space for women to find their own path through the birth process. Midwives are here to guide, teach, learn, and mentor women during their pregnancy and birth, with the ultimate goal a safe and satisfying birth experience. The real work lies with the mother, in the creation of her child in the healthiest body possible, then preparing her mind, body, and spirit for her path to becoming a mother. Midwives are the guardians of normal birth. We can only provide the sacred space, it is the woman who must occupy that space.

During my training I experienced the healthcare inequalities that exist in the third world as well as our own back yard. The Midwifery Model of Care is a sustainable and affordable solution to healthcare disparities. A healthy model uses midwifery care from the top down, where every woman starts with midwifery care and utilizes high risk specialists only when necessary. Lakeland Midwifery Care provides respectful culturally sensitive care to women regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, or national origin”.

Please login to contact Back Up Midwives directly. Otherwise, use our general contact form.