Abigail Eaves CNM, MSN (E-mail Abigail)

I was born and raised in Albuquerque and attended the Albuquerque Academy. I went on to UNM and received both of my nursing degrees — a Bachelor's in 2000 and Master's with a concentration in nurse-midwifery in 2002. I knew from a very young age that being part of natural childbirth was my calling and I realized that I was to be a midwife by the time I was 16 years old. The path has been difficult and long, but midwifery is my passion, my life's work and worth every minute that it took to get here!

Birth is one of the most important moments in a woman's life and I believe the caregiver, whoever the birth attendant may be, should nurture and empower a woman in that moment. I am passionate about all women receiving care that strengthens them as individuals and gives them the power to make informed health decisions about their own care, as well as their family's care. I attended deliveries at Lovelace Women's Hospital from January 2004 through July 2009, but have always had a desire to attend women in a birth center. I fiercely believe that women need as many options as possible to birth their babies and the birth center option has been missing too long and is greatly needed in our community.

I am married and have a son who is 13 and a step-son who is 17. My husband and I also have a new baby boy born in February 2009. I resigned from Lovelace in order to spend the majority of my time with our new baby and my family. The rest of my time is spent working to get this center off the ground. My family gives me infinite joy and ongoing strength as I continue to work on creating this incredible organization. I am privileged to have a family that believes in my path and supports my every step. We currently live in Corrales and have a house full of dogs and cats, smiles and laughter.

Dr. Larry Leeman, Medical Director/Medical Consultant

I am trained in family medicine and obstetrics with a primary focus on working with pregnant women and newborns. I work primarily at the University of New Mexico where I am an associate professor of Family Medicine, and OB/GYN and co-medical director of the new Mother Baby Unit. In my private practice at UNM, I especially enjoy working with women desiring natural childbirth. I also work with pregnant women at UNM with complicated pregnancies, including twins, diabetes, prior Cesarean deliveries, and preterm labor or in need of Cesarean delivery. I care for newborn babies, as well, in my practice.

I graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed a family medicine residency at UNM prior to moving to the Zuni reservation. At Zuni, I practiced full scope rural family medicine and became the director of obstetrics. The Zuni women delivered in a birth center setting where over 90 percent did not request pain medicines in labor and where the Cesarean rate was only seven percent despite a high incidence of pregnancy complications due to diabetes and hypertension. The experience of working in the birth center setting at Zuni helped me to see that all women don't require a hospital for childbirth.

After leaving Zuni, I received a fellowship training in obstetrics — operative and high risk — at the University of Rochester and returned to the University of New Mexico in 1998. In addition to teaching maternal and child health to resident physicians in family medicine, OB/GYN and pediatrics, I also do research in the areas of pregnancy outcomes, rural maternity care and contraception. I have three boys and my spouse, Rebecca, is a nurse-midwife. Our recreation includes international travel, scuba diving and gardening.