Victoria Dean
LM, CPM, CLC

Midwife

I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico at home, into the hands of a skilled midwife. Midwives and home birth were always part of my story.  

I went to an experimental middle and high school which focused on service work and social justice. We had a mentorship program, where we found professionals in the community who would volunteer their time with us throughout the school year. In my senior year, I was able to work with a local midwife. 

It wasn't an instant passion for midwifery, but rather a steady and consistent understanding that this was what I was meant to do. I was able to experience the day to day work of midwives, the length and breadth of care, and finally what it meant to tend to a labor not knowing how long you'll be there. 

Midwifery was the way I would be able to live my values; to be of service to my community, to be a small part of fixing a broken system, to experience human connection every day. 

In 2013 I was accepted to Birthingway College of Midwifery in Portland,Oregon just after I turned 20 and made my first big move away from home. 

In Portland I was trained at Vivante Midwifery by Certified Professional Midwives and Nurse Midwives practicing home birth. I passed my certifying exam with NARM in the summer of 2017, and continued to be an assistant midwife with Vivante. I've also worked as a postpartum midwife at various birth centers in Portland, and as a co-primary midwife in rural Eastern Oregon, and in my own practice Consuelo Midwifery (named after my grandmother) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In 2021 I moved to Philly to join Refuge Midwifery. Being able to work in a practice with a clear vision toward social justice, midwifery as reparations, and by LGBTQ for LGBTQ healthcare is a dream come true!