Ellen’s Fight for Midwifery: From Outlaw Practice to Legal Recognition

In this episode of At Her Feet, Ellen Levitt, LM, shares the winding path that brought her from Long Island to San Francisco in the 1980s—and into the heart of the home birth movement. Her story carries us through the political battles that shaped California midwifery, the grassroots collectives that built community, and the deeply personal experiences of loss, motherhood, and resilience that continue to shape her as a midwife.

Ellen’s voice is both practical and soulful: she recalls the adrenaline of her first emergency birth call as an EMT, the hard-won fight for licensure that made her the seventh licensed midwife in California, and the ways her own family story—including adoption, loss, and queer parenthood—have infused her work with empathy and depth.

Ellen Shares:

• Growing up in New York, hitchhiking west, and landing in San Francisco’s queer community in 1985.
• Witnessing birth for the first time as an EMT call—and realizing, “why go to the hospital?”
• Apprenticeships with Bay Area midwives and training at birth centers in Texas and Florida.
• The six-year grassroots campaign that secured California licensure, and becoming license #7.
• Shifts in scope of practice over the decades—twins, breeches, VBACs, and changing state restrictions.
• Building the Bay Area Home Birth Collective and nurturing a supportive midwifery community.
• Her personal journey into motherhood through adoption, surrogacy with her sister, and pregnancy loss.
• The gift of breastfeeding her adopted son with the help of donated milk and lactation support.
• Herbs, homeopathy, and the evolution of midwives’ birth bags—what was gained and what may have been lost.
• Reflections on activism, peer review, free birth, and the ongoing tension between traditional and medicalized midwifery.
• Training nearly 20 midwives who now practice across the Bay Area, carrying her legacy forward.
• Ellen’s GBS Protocol

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Nancy Fredrick & Erin Carney – midwives of Labor of Love, Ellen’s first apprenticeship.
• Shannon Anton – midwife and founder of the National Midwifery Institute.
• Elizabeth Davis – influential Bay Area teacher and author.
• Linda Bennett – elder midwife; listen to her episode here.
• Brenda Capps – elder midwife; listen to her episode here.
• Gail Hart – elder Oregon midwife; listen to her episode here.
• Raven Lang – Santa Cruz midwife, author of The Birth Book (her interview will air in an upcoming episode).
• Bay Area Home Birth Collective – co-founded by Ellen, Shannon Anton, Maria Iorillo, and Danu Calderon.

Books

• Our Bodies, Ourselves – seminal feminist health guide that shaped Ellen’s early awareness.

Herbs & Homeopathy

• Blue Cohosh, Black Cohosh, Cotton Root Bark.
• Cinnamon & Cayenne.
• Sabina, Secale cornutum, Caulophyllum.
• Chinese “Red Pill” formulas (e.g. Yunnan Baiyao).

Pharmaceuticals

• Pitocin (oxytocin).
• Misoprostol (Miso).
• Tranexamic Acid (TXA).

Hands-On Skills

• Uterine massage.
• Bi-manual compression — rarely used, only in severe cases.
• Folk/traditional methods such as placenta in the cheek, pulling pubic hair, and verbal encouragement to help stop bleeding.

Ellen’s GBS Protocol

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

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