Hi. I am Tracy. I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and my mission. I am a Certified Nurse Midwife who has been practicing in the West Valley for the last 5 years. In February of 2022 I took a giant leap of faith and left my stable paying job and the only team I’ve known to open my own practice. The short and simple is that I felt convicted to continue to change the way we provide care to women throughout their lifespan… but particularly during pregnancy and birth. In order to make changes in the field I needed the autonomy to make choices on how that care was provided to women. I think it is noteworthy to add that as a daughter of an entrepreneur, it has always been a dream of mine to own something that was very near and dear to my heart as well. So here we are!
My back ground is in nursing, I spent a year in labor and delivery as a new graduate then took a job at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital and spent a few years there in the NICU, before moving 1500 miles away to sunny Arizona where my husband and I took jobs at Phoenix Children Hospital. My husband and I both share a passion for healthcare, we met working together at CCHMC while he was a Neonatology Fellow and I was a nursing extern. We moved to our dream state of Arizona while I was pregnant with our first daughter Ryan (now 17) and quickly added a second, Morgan (now 15). After the birth of my second daughter I took a job here on the West side at Banner Estrella in their NICU to be closer to my daughters. I worked there from 2008-2015. In 2015 I had a deep calling to pursue my masters and to find a way to have a deeper impact on helping moms get healthy. I signed up for Midwifery school and never looked back. I graduated in 2017 with my Masters in Nursing and passed my Boards for Midwifery. I took a job as the first midwife at Estrella Women’s Health Center where I worked my butt off to establish credibility and became the first midwife credentialed at Banner Estrella and Abrazo West. I was lucky enough to work alongside some very strong doctors that allowed me the autonomy to build a very strong practice of midwives. They say that flames are forged in the fire and I learned that through hard work and perseverance. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears were shed over a 7 year period of jumping through midwifery school hoops and all the politics that play into healthcare… in particularly surrounding how we care for women, and the obstacles to changing a system that doesn’t really want you to change it. Needless to say it’s been a very big battle but one that I am almost religiously committed too.
I will spare you the details of my departure from my former employer to save time and out of respect for their privacy. But I will say this…. the months to follow were some of the hardest battles I have ever faced and I now understand why I waited as long as I did…. because I was not ready for the hardships that come as a midwife trying to start her own practice, in a small town where the politics are hard at work. But God built me super persistent and gritty and with a lot of prayer, a whole lot of hard work, and a little bit of help from some friends (Dr Elliot, Dr Mclaughlin, and Dr West) and God… here we are. As I write this today I have to pay gratitude not only to those who have patiently taught me, loved me, and allowed me to grow into the provider I am today. I am grateful to each and every provider I have learned from. And lastly thank you to all the women who have trusted me, even as a brand new midwife. I have learned so much from each of you and I am eternally grateful for the time, the relationship, and the experiences we shared together in our provider/patient relationships… that often time bloomed into friendships.
A little bit about my training or background might be helpful for my patients and community to understand how my philosophies transpired. I have been an avid exerciser since I was 18, but I would say my journey with Crossfit in 2010 was what really changed my way of thinking, eating, working out, and really living. I adapted to a more paleo type lifestyle and learned through daily lifting and training that this would all transfer over into how I approached life. Crossfit challenged my beliefs about what health and wellness really is… and allowed me to get out of the mindset of eating and exercising to loose weight and into a mindset of fueling my body with rich minerals and micronutrients in order to obtain the fuel needed to do life. I stopped worrying about my weight, tossed the scale, and unapologetically started taking up space in this world… which allowed me the confidence and voice to lead women out of that scarcity mindset and into an empowered way of living. I joined Crossfit Fury in 2011 and have never looked back. So much so that when covid threatened closing down our gym I jumped at the opportunity to co-own this space and community that meant so very much to my evolution into health and wellness and we are heading into our 3rd year as gym owners! I have been blessed to coach crossfit, endurance, and BirthFit classes for over a decade now. Empowering women through community, movement, nutrition, and sleep has been one of the biggest joys of my life. And to share in this passion alongside my husband has been an absolute blessing. He has been a staple in my growth in serving women and my rock when this world likes to push us around.
So here we are…. Modern Day Midwife 2.0. We offer midwifery services, full scope gyn services, childbirth prep, exercise support, and we now work in house with behavioral health! We are actively pursuing land in the West Valley for our forever home and birth center so that we can offer Total Care to women including out of hospital and in hospital birthing options to the women of the west valley. We are committed to changing the maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality statistics by changing the way that we care for our women. We use a collaborative team approach that uses a functional/integrative approach to health and wellness in conjunction with traditional western medicine to build a strong team that addresses all things women’s health.
I am so excited for the Future of healthcare for women in America. I am thrilled to ask you to follow along with us as we take our cumulative years of service to only grow more strong together. We thank you and look forward to serving the women and families of the West Valley!!!!
Much Love,
Tracy Burns, CNM
Modern Day Midwife