Sometimes pregnancy can catch us by surprise. Other times, we’ve been avoiding it until parenthood (or another baby) becomes an adventure we’re ready for. Preconception planning with one of our midwives can help clients get a sense of their current state of health and ways to nourish their own body before it nourishes another!
Corinne is thrilled to be joining the BRBC team and continuing their passion for community birth and trauma-informed, evidence-based birth and wellness care in this new setting. Corinne’s background since completing their nursing and midwifery education at the University of Illinois at Chicago includes over two years in community health at a Federally Qualified Health Center on Chicago’s South Side, a year as a laborist midwife in a large teaching hospital, and over three years in a busy group home birth practice — and as a result of finally getting to follow their dream of working in home birth, Corinne cannot foresee returning to hospital-based midwifery.
Corinne came to midwifery circuitously through an interest in reproductive rights and justice, fueled by a feminist commitment to bodily autonomy and social change, starting with volunteering in a small, feminist-run abortion clinic in Oakland, California in the 2000’s, where they had an opportunity to have a well person exam from a holistic midwife, which opened their eyes to the connections between birth and abortion issues. Years later in nursing school, Corinne met more midwives and attended their first birth, and they never looked back from their decision to learn and grow within the midwifery model of care as a nurse-midwife.
Corinne thrives in a team-based professional environment that promotes shared clinical decision-making between client and provider and highly prizes evidence-based client education. Corinne always seeks to honor the gift of being invited on a client’s reproductive health journey — whether through fertility, gender transition, birth, postpartum, mental health, menopause, or general wellness — by being fully present, respectful, and as an equal partner in health. They have a special interest in serving the whole person, drawing on resources and resiliency, community, and the client’s chosen team, to address physical and emotional aspects of health and wellness.
Corinne has long served as an advocate for reproductive rights and justice, against racism, and for environmental justice. They are also deeply committed to equity in birth and midwifery, especially in BIPOC and LGBTQ communities of birthing people and birth workers. In Corinne’s free time, they enjoy getting outdoors in all kinds of weather, both alone and with beloveds, including her kiddo, who she co-parents with her former partner and who was born at home attended by a CNM. Corinne also savors locally-roasted coffee, West coast and Argentinian red wines, and local foods, as well as making a cozy home in an intentional community on the West Side of Chicago.
Maria Escamilla, DNP, CNM
As a provider, Maria’s warmth and compassion simply radiates. Her dedication to supporting all people as they navigate puberty, reproductive health and choices and growing their families is apparent to all of her clients.
Maria was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. During nursing school, she was introduced to midwifery by an inspiring teacher, who was, herself, a midwife. While in nursing school, Maria worked at a private OBGYN practice where she realized she wanted to support people as they progressed throughout their lifecycle via midwifery.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Maria completed her undergraduate nursing degree at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City, Mexico in 2016. In 2017, she moved to Chicago, IL, to pursue her dream of becoming a midwife. She studied at University of Illinois at Chicago and graduated from the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in the summer of 2021. Maria’s training as a student midwife was performed at Federally Qualified Health Centers in Chicago with high volume of clients, which further solidified her interest in community-based birth and wellness care.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Maria is convinced that clients should have the right to access the necessary resources to ensure their health and well-being; she is an advocate of informed decision-making and consent. She believes that all clients deserve an evidence-based, trauma informed, and culturally sensitive approach. The care she strives to provide is founded in social and reproductive justice. If you were to ask her what she most enjoys about midwifery, her response would be: “having the opportunity to make connections and learn from the clients and families that come in my path”.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Currently, Maria lives in Bolingbrook, IL, with her fiancé, Ozan, their cat, Tobias, and dog, Orion. She spends her free time hiking, reading, and cooking. Maria always looks forward to traveling back home to Mexico to be with her family and friends.
