About us
Ingrid Andersson, RN, CNM, MS
As a girl on my family's small farm, I grew up with normal relationships to processes of life. I never thought of them as “normal” until I lived in places where animal foods seemed unrelated to real animals, and birth and death were visible only as announcements in the newspaper.
Many of us are seeking to return to more normal, real and loving relationships with food, our environment, and other forces that shape our health.
I became a nurse to become a midwife, and a midwife to attend women at home. I have worked as an ecological midwife, writer and health advocate for over 16 years.
I studied midwifery at Frontier Nursing University in Hyden Kentucky. FNU has a benchmark history in serving low-resource families at home. I have a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Bachelors of Arts in Cultural Anthropolgy, Scandinavian Studies and German Literature.
I am the Founder and President of Mothers' Milk Alliance, Inc., a Board member of Women's Medical Fund, Inc., member of the Dane County Public Health Fetal and Infant Mortality Review team and former Steering Committee member of Wisconsin Environmental Health Network. I have been a regular guest speaker in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and Department of Gender and Women's Studies, as well as at Edgewood College, Madison College and Dane County Emergency Services. Prior to midwifery, I worked as a volunteer family crisis intervention counselor and later as a doula. For 8 years, I worked as an RN in high-risk antepartum, postpartum, newborn and breastfeeding care at St Mary's Hospital (SSM Health) in Madison. While a nurse, I travelled to Kenya to learn from traditional birth attendants and British-trained midwives.
My practice is dedicated to my mother, Karolina. My uneducated immigrant mother, and millions of women like her, experienced fear and humiliation in the hands of medical practitioners. My mother never understood what really happened during her labors, why nurses and doctors treated her cruelly, or what medications made her unable to remember birth and made her milk dry up. But my mother did know, as millions of women do, how to raise children committed to taking back relationships at the heart of life.
Hannu Andersson
Community Midwives would not exist without the tremendous physical, intellectual, and emotional support of my husband, Hannu. Hannu expertly handles book-keeping, web design and maintenance, office improvements, lab runs, snow-clearing, home maintenance, dog-grooming and just about everything else under the sun. As a native Swede/Finn, he grew up where the midwifery model of care has always been the cultural norm.
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Kai Andersson
Our 18-year-old son, Kai, was born at home with his pappa, mormor (grandmother), primary midwife (Kate Brethauer) and other strong women present. Kai helps maintain the popular sibling playroom adjoining our home office, is skilled with a vaccuum cleaner and is becoming an IT wiz who helps me solve smartphone and computer problems. Kai helps care for our two little Dachshund-Bichon sisters, Astrid and Elodie. He is the primary caregiver for our four chickens.
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Johanna Hatch, RN, SNM, IBCLC
Apprentice
My journey to midwifery began when I was working at a shelter for survivors of domestic violence, with pregnant folks who had little support and were facing birthing alone. I knew deeply then, as I know now, that every person deserves support, autonomy, and deep respect as they birth. What I didn’t know that this conviction would lead me to midwifery!
I became a registered nurse in 2015, and worked as a nurse in reproductive health for three and a half years before beginning my studies in nurse-midwifery. Before becoming a nurse, I worked in the community as a doula and childbirth educator. I am also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. I am supported in this journey by my spouse and two children, both born with the care of midwives – one in the hospital, one at home.
I believe deeply in the wisdom of the midwifery model of care to transform our relationships with health and health care, and I am committed to working towards the transformation of systems to increase access and equity for all who seek this care. Pregnancy and birth are at the same time the most normal and most transformational parts of life. I am grateful and honored that you are allowing me to join you on this journey.
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