TARA STEPHEN, MSM, RM, CPM

Tara has been a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Colorado Registered Midwife (RM) since 2013.  She lives in the Black Forest area of Colorado Springs, Colorado.  She and her husband Rick have been married for 25 years, and they have four children.  In her free time, Tara loves spending time with her family in the great Colorado outdoors hiking, biking, skiing, swimming, and gardening.  She also enjoys reading, crochet, and cooking.

ExPERIENCE

Tara has attended over 370 births since 2009.  She has expertly handled many complications, some of which are:  shoulder dystocia, postpartum hemorrhage, respiratory distress of the newborn, nuchal cord, compound presentation, malpresentation, broken cord, maternal hematoma, cord prolapse, surprise breech, and placental abruption.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Tara earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1994.  After working in a number of different fields, marrying an Air Force man, and becoming a stay-at-home mom, she felt the call to Midwifery with the life-changing homebirth of her 4th child in 2007.  She immediately began studying with the Midwives College of Utah and completed a four-year apprenticeship.

Tara earned her Associate of Science degree in Midwifery from the Midwives College of Utah in 2013, and then continued on to earn her Master of Science in Midwifery, also from the Midwives College of Utah, in 2017.  Tara is passionate about improving midwifery education, and with her Master Thesis Project entitled “Direct Assessment in Competency-Based Education for Direct-Entry Midwives”, Tara hopes to help change how we think about and approach education, as well as making higher education more attainable.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

In addition to serving the homebirth community in the area surrounding Colorado Springs, Tara is a member of the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC) Continuing Education Unit Review Team in an effort to ensure that safe midwifery care is available for all.

Tara is also a member of several professional organizations including the Colorado Midwives Association (CMA), The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM).