Marria Fjelstad
CPM
About Me
Name: Marria Fjelstad
Favorite Books: Aviva Romm, Leigh Bardugo, Brené Brown.
Favorite TV Shows: Diners, Drive-ins, and Drives, Beat Bobby Flay, Mandolorian, Anne with an E, and basically any Nat Geo show
Hobbies: Spending time with loved ones, eating delicious food, traveling, exploring, fishing, hockey, and visiting museums.
Favorite Foods: I am a foodie, so I really enjoy food! Some of my favorites are Korean food, Indian food, and Thai.
Places I’ve Been: Canada, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, Netherlands, South Africa, Mozambique, India, United Arab Emirates, and many states in the U.S.
Background
My name is Marria (MARRia) Fjelstad, and I am a graduated midwife from a MEAC accredited program. I hold current certification in CPR/BLS and Neonatal Resuscitation.
I attended my first birth of a family member in 2008, and I remember being completely fascinated by it, even as a teenager. I spent my years after that knowing I would go into healthcare one day, and then more specifically, midwifery. I was raised by a natural-minded mother, which had a major impact on me. I was ingrained with the idea that we can take care of our bodies using food and herbs as medicine.
After high school, I pursued my dreams of traveling. While overseas, I continued to have healthcare and midwifery on my mind. I began my midwifery education in 2019. My favorite thing about midwifery care is the core value of relationship-based and client-led care.
“My favorite thing about midwifery care is the core value of relationship-based and client-led care.”
Education & Experience
While a student midwife, I had experiences with various midwifery practices. I began as a student midwife with New Birth Midwifery in January 2021. Once I graduated from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (SWTC) in 2022, I began as an assisting midwife at NBM.
After graduating, I was able to spend a month in a hospital and birth center setting as a new midwife in India, cementing my training and helping me see and manage things I wasn’t exposed to in the low-risk community birth setting.
I am so excited to report that I passed the midwifery board exam for the CPM credential in September of 2023! Working as a student with NBM was a very pleasant experience, so I was pleased to join the team as an assisting midwife while I was studying and preparing for licensure, now that I am finished, I love that I got to transition into a full time midwifery role with a team I already knew and loved.
New Birth Midwifery
My time as a student and entrance into midwifery all inter-connects with New Birth so it is hard to separate it into different categories but one of the things I love about being at NBM is the team based practice allowing me to see more than I would starting a home birth practice on my own.
I love working with midwives who have been doing this longer than me but I really love working with student midwives as I was a student not that long ago and can remember how nice it was to have someone teach me the tricks of the trade and love passing along that knowledge.
Personal Life
I was born and raised in Shakopee, MN. After the age of 18, when I wasn’t overseas, I called Kansas City, Missouri my home for 6.5 years until I moved back to Minnesota for midwifery school. I visit KCMO often, as it holds a special place in my heart, with many of my friends still residing there.
Much of my family is in Minnesota, and when not doing birth work, I am likely spending time with them, reading a book, watching a hockey game, or going on a walk.