Faith's Birth 

I'm a Mom of two... I have a son and a daughter. My son was born in the hospital and I had an induced labor. I told myself I didn't want to experience that again; I wanted a more comfortable setting and a less stressful one. Not saying it wasn't safe at the hospital and all was well... but I wanted something different when I got pregnant with my daughter. I researched home births and what the risks were and what the benefits were. My husband was on board with a home birth, being in our home meant we both got to be comfortable after the baby was born. So, we started our local search for midwives that worked in our area. 

As a woman of Faith, I chose to pray and be led to the right midwife. God sent us Joy! As I researched and found Joy's website, we really enjoyed her birth stories on her page, we liked her credentials and work experience as well as her bio about her family and her life leading up to her midwife business. So, I had pretty much made up my mind at that point that we would work with Joy. Even though I made up my mind, I kept searching for other midwives and asked some friends if they had any recommendations and a friend did... and it was Joy Harris. At that point we knew she was our midwife. After meeting and talking to Joy; her calm and caring presence alone was reassuring enough that we had made the right decision. God is good. 

The experience of having Joy come to our house for my monthly checkups was such a comfort. My son got to hear his sister’s heartbeat on our couch for the first time, his facial expression is one I won't ever forget. Leading up to the birth of my daughter, Joy was on her way to live in Tennessee with her family. She told me I was the last Mama she would be able to work with before she left. I was grateful that Joy stayed with me until I had my daughter. Faith came a week early. As I went into labor, Joy stopped by that morning to check on my progress and stayed in touch all morning. When she left, my labor progressed very quickly. My husband and my son left and went to church that morning, while I labored on a medicine ball and tracked my contractions on a cool app. Joy answered every call, and every text. We finally got to the time that she needed to be with me. My husband came home and we moved me into the shower, when I was getting close to delivery and Joy got to our house, I walked into my living room and the room had turned into a "medical facility". The birthing pool was ready and everything I was worried about was there and available, with an extra midwife on her way. I felt safe and secure. Joy handled our birth with such professionalism and care. She is a true professional midwife. Her care, love and attention to us alone proved that to us that day and throughout my pregnancy. I highly recommend Joy; she is a wonderful person to have by your side during such a miraculous experience of life. 

The Morrow's 

Peralta NM - August 2022

I have four beautiful children, and all of them were home births with Joy! I have to say that having the experience of laboring and birthing at home was such a huge blessing! It was so important to me that I was in an environment where I felt comfortable and supported during my birthing process, but also had access to medical intervention should it be needed. I also really valued the assurance Joy gave that if there were any warning signs of something wrong or if I ever got uncomfortable with being at home, that a transfer to the hospital would be top priority.

Joy provided the best of care in all aspects of the birth. She was very informative during each pregnancy and answered any questions I had. She was present, encouraging and supportive during the labor and honored our wish for my husband to be able to catch the babies if possible. He was able to catch all four and he says that was one of the most amazing things he has ever done!

My last birth was very hard for me and I did not progress quickly or easily in labor. Joy was patient and willing to let me labor as I wished but also had some very good suggestions as to different positions and ways to help my labor progress. In the end it worked and I was able to fully dilate and have a successful water birth. 

After each birth I was given an hour or more of immediate skin to skin time with my babies to breastfeed and bond before the newborn assessments and weight checks were done. Postpartum care was well established with both phone calls and follow up weight checks where I never even had to leave the home! Joy is a wonderful midwife and I would highly recommend her to anyone who is looking to have a home-birth experience! 

Joanna

Los Lunas NM - 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted a home birth. Joy came highly recommended by another midwife in the area, and after an initial consultation we decided that we would love to work with Joy.

Joy was such an amazing person to work with during my pregnancy, she had such an aura of calmness and I always looked forward to our appointments at home. She was incredibly reassuring and supportive throughout, and constantly reinforced her belief that I could easily give birth how I wanted, at home. The birth was honestly, one of my favourite moments of my life, I absolutely loved it. Joy allowed me to birth how I wanted and only stepped in when I wanted her to. Taliesin, my son, was born at home and swam out into the pool, where I was able to catch him. It was the perfect birth.

Having Joy come visit over the following 6 weeks was so important to me, when I was choosing a midwife. With my first son, the constant check ups at the doctors office, really made the nesting, breastfeeding and the postpartum period very difficult for me. Having all the newborn care done at the house made those first 6 weeks so much easier, and so the newborn phase was just a dream. I fee so lucky to have been able to have Joy as our midwife, and highly recommend her to anyone else. Thank you!

Harriette 

Albuquerque - May 2022

I work as a registered nurse on a postpartum unit and I had never even considered a home birth before. What I have previously experienced with home-birth has not been positive. I have only ever seen what can go wrong. 

But I have had three previous unmedicated hospital births and was preparing for a fourth. When the whole world was suddenly turned upside down. In an instant I wasn’t going to be able to have my husband or my mother by my side during the delivery like I had always had previously. I was going to be isolated and I was going to have to wear a mask during a time of intense pain and discomfort. I wasn’t going to be able to have my kids and my family there to support me and help to welcome the newest little member. None of it felt right and I just didn’t want this to be our story. It was enough for me to start asking questions. To start looking into other options. And the advice I received from all of my providers was that I was an excellent candidate for a home-birth. 

And that’s when a friend put me in touch with Joy and there was no looking back. What a difference! I honestly could never go back now. The prenatal care was excellent. Joy spent a lot of time talking with us answering our many questions, putting our minds at ease. I loved having the visits right at my house with my children and my husband there and involved. I felt so comfortable and like we mattered. It wasn’t just business anymore. We were developing a relationship and building trust along the way towards the end goal of her helping me through natural childbirth.

As we got closer she was available anytime I called or texted even just for some reassurance if that’s what I needed. When I went into labor she came as soon as I requested. Our actual birth experience was absolutely amazing and unlike any of our other ones. Joy really let me listen to my body and allowed me to just do what felt comfortable. And we got to be surrounded by our family and our older children instead of in isolation. I was so comfortable and at peace. It was our quickest delivery to date and I think my mindset was probably part of it. It’s surely an experience I will never forget.

I was so thankful that we were put in touch with Joy and that we were brave enough to go through with it in the end. My husband kept saying how nice it was to be able to just be home and be in our own space afterwards and not have so much poking and prodding. We are seasoned parents and yet every baby is still so different and it was nice to have someone that took my thoughts into consideration with her plan of care and gave me her recommendations, but ultimately allowed me to make the final decisions. 

We would definitely do it again.

Katie

Los Lunas - May 2021