One midwife’s path to helping mothers bring life into the world.
With Mother’s Day rapidly approaching, it’s the optimal time to address common questions that are asked to practicing midwives. One midwife, Sabrina Bias from Columbia, discusses her mission through midwifery: to help mothers feel empowered, confident, and calm throughout their birthing experiences.
Q| Why did you choose to become a midwife?
A| For my first baby, I had an unnecessary C-section. I was induced, and 24 hours later I was only six centimeters dilated. My labor was deemed ‘failure to progress,’ but my body simply needed more time. Four years later, I delivered a baby (over two pounds larger) vaginally with no problems. I had my fifth baby out of hospital, and as soon as I had her, I was like, ‘I will be a midwife one day. More women need to know this is a valid and safe option.’ It was such a completely night and day experience for me.
Q| What education do midwives typically have?
A| It takes several years of education, apprenticeship, and working underneath a preceptor where we are gaining skills as we’re gaining knowledge. There are different programs in the United States. You can do a two year program to become a midwife or a four year program. Apprenticeships take usually four years, but you can get it done in two to three years if you’re working with a midwife who’s that busy. Most of us are certified professional midwives, and so there’s a national board that certifies us. Here in Missouri, the Certified Professional Midwife credential, like mine, is recognized as a legal provider.
Q| What might shock readers about midwifery?
A| Only about two percent of women choose to birth out of hospital in this state. In my practice, my C-section rate—the number of women who go to the hospital and end up needing a C-section—is four-and-a-half percent. Hospitals average 33 percent.
Q| How is working with a midwife different from a hospital birthing experience?
A| I serve women who want to experience natural birth. They want to be an active participant in their care and fully understand, ‘Why are things being done to me and my baby? What are my options?’ At a hospital, you don’t get that specialized, one-on-one care, as the doctor’s case load is too big.
Q| What is the best, most impactful experience that you have had as a midwife?
We had a mom who had ended up with a C-section for her first baby. She had her second baby this morning (March 4, 2025). As she’s going through labor, I can tell she’s kind of afraid. There’s a lot of fear that is pushed into pregnancy and birth. Labor is like 98 percent mental. She’s pulling back during the contractions, and she just kept saying, ‘I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared.’ Her baby’s heart rate starts not sounding good, and I was like, ‘Listen, if they continue to sound like this in the next 10–15 minutes, we’re going to have to go to the hospital.’ And so, she started working with me more; she didn’t want to go to the hospital because she knew that she would probably have to get a C-section. Her baby’s heart rate started sounding better, and then, she had a baby! It was just amazing. I got a little bit weepy because I completely saw myself in that experience. I needed that. That was redemption. It was redemption for all the things I didn’t get with my first.
This Q&A was originally published in the May 2025 edition of Missouri Life magazine.
