Our Team
Mischa Orbons
CPM, LDM
Founder and Primary Midwife of Artemis Midwifery llc
Mischa’s midwifery journey started in a small village in the Alpujarra mountains of Southern Spain. There, she attended her first few births and learned from international home birth midwives who were passionate about sharing their knowledge & skills.
She meanwhile applied and was accepted into a midwifery college in the Netherlands, her country of birth, and started her midwifery education there. In Dutch culture midwifery is the standard of care for all healthy, low-risk pregnant women.
Coming from this background, Mischa too believes every woman should have access to midwifery care and the opportunity to have an empowered, supported birth experience in the place where she feels most comfortable, supported, and at ease. Mischa feels honored to be present for such an intimate, powerful and vulnerable part of women’s lives, and to witness women’s innate strength.
While on a summer vacation to Southern Oregon, Mischa was offered a midwifery apprenticeship there. She moved to the U.S. and completed her midwifery training, learning skills both in home birth and birth center settings. She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Licensed Midwife (LDM) in the state of Oregon.
Mischa is the founder and primary midwife of Artemis Midwifery llc.
At Artemis Midwifery we work as a two-midwife team, to ensure both mom & baby’s safety in the event that both are needing urgent attention and care at the same time.
All midwives on our team are trained and keep up to date with Neonatal Resuscitation, CPR, and birth emergency skills such as resolving post-partum hemorrhage & shoulder dystocia.
Mischa will be attending your birth with one of the following lovely & skilled midwives:
Caitlin Maddigan
CPM, LDM
THW doula
Caitlin Maddigan is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through the North American Registry of Midwives and Licensed Direct-Entry Midwife (LDM) in the state of Oregon. She studied Culture, Power, and Politics with an emphasis in Social Justice Education at Prescott College. She began her midwifery education at Birthingway College of Midwifery and through a beautiful and brutal apprenticeship in a busy birth center she found herself as a midwife.
In our practice, Caitlin often attends births in the role of a THW doula, providing emotional support and comfort measures during labor. As a THW doula, she will also do an additional prenatal visit to discuss your birth preferences, and will follow up with you postpartum as well. She has done additional training to provide postpartum mental health support as well.
Caitlin also specializes in supporting families with preconception & fertility and offers in home IUIs. She lives in Ashland with her partner, Simon, their two children, Teja & Lichen, and their big brute of a loving pitbull, Barley. Both of their children were born in the water, outside and at home.
Mischa and Caitlin share their office space in Ashland together, and support each other at births, and as back-up midwife for each other’s clients if needed.
Micaela Gauss
CPM, LDM
Micaela Gauss has been a licensed home birth midwife since 2012. She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through the North American Registry of Midwives and Licensed Direct-Entry Midwife (LDM) in the state of Oregon. She lives in Williams, Oregon with her husband and children. Micaela marvels in the beauty of nature and natural birth. She trusts birth and works to support its natural hormones and physiology. Micaela loves helping local mamas and babies in the greater Applegate region.
Micaela studied at Birthingway College of Midwifery in Oregon. This comprehensive midwifery training included lecture, skills, research, and self study. At the same time she apprenticed with several different home birth midwifery practices.
In December 2009 she birthed her first son at home in the water. Giving birth anchored her knowledge firmly in bodily experience. Nearly ten years after her first child was born, she gave birth to her second son, again at home in the water.
“ My son Atreya and my step daughter Hannah watched in awe as my husband Peter caught baby John. Birth is so magical! John is a delightful addition to our family.”
Shauna Kenealey
CPM, LDM, IBCLC
In 2006, Shauna’s youngest daughter was born into her hands in the water, attended by her father, sister, and a few of her midwife friends. Her daughters’ pregnancies and births taught her many lessons of patience, surrender, inner wisdom, and love. They continue to be her greatest teachers.
Shauna graduated from Birthingway College of Midwifery, earning a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery (BSM) after completing three years of rigorous midwifery-focused academics. She apprenticed and worked as a primary midwife under supervision with a busy, experienced home-birth practice in the Portland area.
She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and a Licensed Direct-entry Midwife (LDM) in the state of Oregon. In 2011 she also sat for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners test and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Having been a midwife for many years, Shauna says:
“ I am still in awe of the beauty surrounding the emergence of a new human being. Birth is an incredibly profound experience for the baby, mother, and family. I love being a midwife and feel honored each time I am invited by a family to share in the growth and birth of their baby. When not midwifing, I enjoy exploring the world with my children, hiking, gardening, riding horses and caring for our animals. I am also one of the founders of Woodland Charter School, a Waldorf methods charter school in the Applegate Valley. ”
Shauna has moved down to northern California and now practices midwifery there, and we miss her dearly. If her schedule allows for it, she may travel up to Southern Oregon to assist at births that require an additional experienced midwife.