Misty Ward

Certified Professional Midwife, Owner, Clinical Director

I began my path to midwifery at the age of 16 after attending the birth of my nephew. When I was supposed to be doing
my algebra homework I was reading pregnancy related books! For Christmas 2000 my dear friend Melaine Copeland gave me a copy of Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. I was immediately hooked
and knew that midwifery outside of the hospital was where I belonged.

Soon after, I began my midwifery studies while also completing my bachelors degree at Eastern Mennonite University, getting married, and giving birth to my own two children! Those were busy years and so very precious.

My midwifery training has been a reflection of my commitment to caring service: I have worked with 9 different Virginia midwives, volunteered with Medical Ministry International (Dominican Republic),  African Birth Collective (Senegal), interned at Casa de Nacimiento (El Paso, TX), and birth assisted at  Heartland Health Clinic (Dayton, VA). I have attended over 500 births and thousands of prenatal and postpartum visits.

Heather Brown

Office Manager, Billing Specialist

I am a Harrisonburg native and currently live in Rockingham County with my wonderful husband and two super busy boys. I decided to become a part of Brookhaven Birth Center stemming from from my own birth experiences and desire for a more natural pregnancy and delivery.

I knew from the moment I discovered I was pregnant with both of my children that I would hire a midwife and wanted no drugs or intervention during delivery. There were no birth centers in this area at that time and I hadn’t heard of home birth being an option; so off to the hospital I went. Both of my pregnancies and deliveries were very different. After laboring for 8 hours with my first son the midwife declared herself exhausted and called in an OB to perform a vacuum extraction. With my second son I was in the hospital just a little over an hour when I had the overwhelming urge to push, only to be told by my midwife that “I hadn’t been there long enough, there was no way I was ready to push”.

Needless to say I delivered an almost 10 lb boy shortly afterwards. Of course I had what would be considered natural by today’s standards, I still felt somehow robbed of birthing the way I wanted to. Who knew you could have a baby without laying flat on your back, or in water, or at your own pace?! Those options, along with many others, are the reasons I feel blessed to have the honor of helping families achieve the birth experiences that they desire.

Bree Egger

Office Assistant

I currently reside in Singers Glen, Va with my high school sweetheart and our three beautiful children. I sought out a job in the natural birthing community after attending the birth of a dear friend’s baby and having a natural, water birth at Brookhaven with my youngest son. I was eager to be involved in helping others experience a more personal and empowering birth, through the care of a midwife. My position as an office assistant allows me to be a member of the birthing community while utilizing the skills I excel in.

Savannah Fassero

Midwife Apprentice

2^nd oldest of 11 children, I was my mother’s last hospital birth, so I was introduced to homebirth at an early age. When I was eight and my mother was pregnant with her 7^th child, I asked so many questions about the process that she knew I was ready to see the birth. Afterward I remember holding my brother, in awe of what I’d just witnessed. I couldn’t get back to the normal world of being a kid and doing chores.

In 2010 I started my midwifery training through Virginia School of Traditional Midwifery. I began professionally assisting births the same year. In 2014 I started my own doula business, while looking for local opportunities to train full-time as a student midwife. In January 2016 I was accepted as a midwife apprentice at Brookhaven Natural Birth Center. I am overjoyed to be a part of their team, learning how to serve mothers and babies better.

Megan Diveley

Midwife Apprentice

 Megan’s journey into midwifery began with the birth of her third child. Her first two births were planned hospital births, and both ended in unnecessary c-sections. When she was unable to find a hospital care provider who would allow her to have a vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean), she began looking into homebirth midwifery. That birth experience, and the care she received was so profoundly healing it inspired her to become a doula, so that she might help women achieve the birth they desire.  After 6 months of attending births as a doula, it became clear that pursuing midwifery was what she felt called to do. She is currently enrolled at Via Vita School of Midwifery, and has attended over 85 births..

Megan trusts women’s bodies and the process of birth. She respects both the physical and emotional aspects of labor. She understands that women have complex needs during pregnancy and birth and deserve continuous, individualized care. She is looking forward to building relationships with area families and helping provide holistic, family centered care.

Jessica Burgess

 Bradley Method Childbirth Educator

Postpartum Doula