About us

Ingrid Andersson, RN, CNM, MSN

As a girl on my family's small Wisconsin farm and as a young woman living and working on farms abroad, I grew up with normal relationships to food, land, birth, and death. Inhumane, industrialized food production and fearful, hidden processes of birth and death sadden me deeply.

Just as millions of us are seeking more authentic and sustainable relationships with our food and land, many of us are seeking more authentic and sustainable relationships within health care. We want to invest in practitioners and models of care that respect us as partners in meaningful discussion and informed decision-making. We want to invest in accountable practice that is based in evidence, that can justify interventions performed and medical resources expended.

My midwifery practice is dedicated to my mother, and millions of women like her, who experienced fear and humiliation in the hands of medical practitioners; who wonder their whole lives what happened at their births, having been tied down and administered amnesiacs in labor; who were given medications, with and without consent,to dry up their breastmilk; who raised daughters (and sons) who are recovering the power and normalcy of processes at the center of life.

I became a nurse to become a midwife, and I became a midwife to attend women at home. I graduated from Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, the oldest school of nurse-midwifery in America, with a benchmark heritage of home-based service. I received a Masters of Science in Nursing Education from UW-Madison. Prior to nurse-midwifery, I worked for 8 years as an RN in high-risk pregnancy and postpartum/newborn care at St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center in Madison. As a nurse, I traveled to Kenya to learn from traditional birth attendants and British-model nurse-midwives. Prior to nursing, I worked as a doula, while completing degrees in European studies and Cultural Anthropology at UW-Madison.

I serve on the Midwives Advisory Council for the WI Department of Regulation and Licensing, am a regional representative for the WI American College of Nurse Midwives, and the designated liaison for WI ACNM and WI Guild of Midwives. From 2005-2007, I worked to help achieve state licensure for Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs).

Hannu and Kai Andersson

Community Midwives would not exist without the tremendous physical, intellectual, and emotional support of my husband, Hannu. Hannu handles book-keeping, web design and maintenance, continual home improvement, snow-shoveling, lab runs, and just about anything at a moment's notice. As a native Swede/Finn, he has always viewed midwifery care and natural birth as the norm.

Our 6-year-old son, Kai, was born at home with a community midwife. Kai's daily jobs include helping maintain the sibling playroom, which adjoins our home office. He also helps care for our two little canine-rescue sisters, Astrid and Elodie. Kai is as familiar with pregnancy and the process of labor as with the names and habits of his favorite dinosaurs. Recently, he has come to find labor personally empowering, informing me each time I leave, "When the cat's away, the mice come out to play...."

Cathy Szudy, RN, CNM, ICBLC
Birth Assistant

I started on my path to nurse-midwifery in the early 70's with the birth of my first daughter. All of my seven children were born in a hospital but I instinctively knew to give birth and leave soon after! My husband, Bruce (I have had only one!!!), is an elementary school teacher in the Madison Public Schools.

I was a stay-at-home mom with my first two daughters (Tammy & Renee), then a student mom with my next daughters (Caitlin, Gretchen and Valerie) as I went back to school to get my BSN, CNM & MSN, and a working mom with my last son & daughter (Max and Kelsey).

My children are mostly grown but my grandchildren are now adding to my life —Jadyn, Keion, Isadora, Odessa, Truman, Dorian, Teague and Journey.  Isadora, Odessa, Truman and Journey were home-born babies with Ingrid.

I have worked as a childbirth educator, postpartum nurse, labor and delivery nurse, lactation consultant, prenatal care coordinator and certified nurse midwife. My CNM practice was in a low income clinic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have always known that home is the best place to give birth, and I enjoy working with all of the families that share this belief. Your pregnancy and birth are the beginning of an amazing life-long journey. You will have to find or make your own path through these wonderful years. I am humbled and honored to be a part of your journey.

Hannah Bernard-Donals, CLC, Doula
Midwife Apprentice

I am a student midwife pursuing my associates’ degree in direct-entry midwifery at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. I am also a birth and postpartum doula and lactation counselor. My bachelors’ degree is in early childhood education, and I’ve worked in the field of quality childcare and as an Education Director for more than 20 years before my current transition to the wonderful world of birth and breastfeeding support.

My true passion has always been home birth and quality midwifery care. This passion led me to Ingrid. I was lucky to attend births as a doula with some of her clients, which gave me the opportunity to get to know Ingrid. With her support and encouragement I enrolled in the direct entry midwifery program at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, where I am a proud member of the first class in this groundbreaking program that trains professional midwives to practice under the license granted by the state of Wisconsin.

My family has now lived in Madison for more than a decade, but each of my three children was born in a different state: my daughters in New York and Mississippi, and my son in Missouri. Midwives attended all three births; my son was born at home.

In my role as a student training under Ingrid’s supportive and expert eye, I am learning to provide high quality, compassionate care to women during the childbearing years. I look forward to sharing this special time with you.

Emma Marie Swift, Doula
Midwife Apprentice

I moved from Iceland to Madison with my family in 2003. I studied mechanical engineering at the University of Iceland but decided to change paths and began working as a birth and postpartum doula in Madison. In 2007 I started my midwifery education at the National College of Midwifery and my apprenticeship with Ingrid began in 2008.

My husband Ivar and I have four children - born at home, in a hospital, with midwives and/or physicians. My family truly is my inspiration and motivation to become a midwife. Each birth was really unique and taught me something new about who I am and who I want to be. Labor and birth has been a great learning experience for parenthood too - to surrender and let go, to expect to be surprised and to let each child write it's own story.

I am looking forward to getting to know you - your dreams, goals, wishes and fears - your unique family story.

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