Birth Sanctuary of Gainesville

I am a doctoral prepared, board-certified nurse midwife with a comprehensive background serving a diverse birthing community for the last 13 years.

Unfortunately, if you are having a baby in the state of Alabama there are ZERO freestanding birth center options available. Midwifery care during pregnancy, labor, and birth, whether at home or at a free-standing birth center - is truly superior care owing to midwives 1:1 patient-centered approach among many other things. (Please ask - or comment with your donation on why you know this to be true)

Alabama ranks #18 for morbidity and mortality, challenges to access in rural areas increase these statistics.  Longstanding evidence finds that comprehensive midwifery care is a large part of the solution in addressing these health care disparities.

Gainesville, Alabama is a rural town in Sumpter County,  situated in West Alabama just shy of Mississippi. Birth Sanctuary Gainesville will address the needs of the immediate rural birthing community while offering comprehensive care for other areas of women and non-binary health care for healthy non-pregnant persons as well.

Funds collected here will go directly to the building/outfitting of the physical structure Birth Sanctuary Gainesville, as well as for the construction of comprehensive prenatal education programming.  Any remaining funds will be used to directly finance Midwifery care for those who would otherwise be unable to utilize these critical services.

Home and birth center births are safe alternatives to the hospital settings for families who are appropriate candidates.  Freestanding birth centers purposely divest from high-volume fast-paced, depersonalized care.  Birth Sanctuary Gainesville offers to bring labor and birth back where it rightfully and safely belongs. 

While we wait for large medical-industrial birth spaces to eliminate racial bias, make purposeful inclusion of gender-affirming care, become respectful of religious and personal freedom, and begin to follow the best evidence for low-risk labor and birth as the standard of care - Families and individuals can receive comprehensive care at Birth Sanctuary Gainesville, being certain that their specific needs will not be overlooked.

Please, feel free to contact me directly if you feel you may be in a position to offer your resources or other forms of privilege to this large project.


Dr. Stephanie Mitchell, DNP, CNM, RNC-OB
[email redacted]