Meet the Midwife
B. Maria Cranford, MSM CPM-TN LM(AL)
Education & Certifications
Masters of Science in Midwifery, Magna Cum Laude, Midwives College of Utah
Licensed Midwife, Alabama, Tennessee and Utah
CPM and Approved Preceptor, North American Registry of Midwives
Certified in Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP)
Certified in BLS for Healthcare Providers (CPR)
ALACE Labor Assistant Training
Professional Midwifery Experience &
Affiliations
Member, Alabama Midwives Alliance
Member, Georgia Midwifery Association
Member, National Association of Certified Professional Midwives, Georgia Chapter
Former Member, OOH Subcommittee, Utah Women and Newborns Quality Collaborative (UWNQC), 2015 - 2020
Immediate Past President, Utah Midwives Organization, 2013 - 2018
Former Clinical Director, Midwives College of Utah
The Story
My journey to midwifery began as a young girl, hiding in my mother's room while Mom was busy with the siblings and devouring the pregnancy and birth books I found. (Confession time, Mom!) When it was time for college, I was actually pre-med, but inspiration and advice took me on a different path, for which I am so grateful. After my hospital experience with my 5th child, I knew there had to be a better way to birth and sought out alternatives. Those alternatives allowed God to lead me in 2006 with the instruction that I was to be a midwife, and then get a "DO IT NOW" answer when I tried to dismiss the prompting due to being a mother of many littles.
When I was pregnant with #6, my husband and I decided I needed to get my Master's degree if I was going back to school to become a midwife. I was trying to choose between becoming a CNM or a CPM. Unbeknownst to me, my husband was actually praying for me to "have an experience to show Maria the direction she should go." I'm so glad he waited to tell me about that prayer until AFTER the birth. Even though I was SUPPOSED to deliver at a birth center in Florida, I caught my daughter at my in-laws’ home in Thomasville, GA, unassisted, after only 7 contractions while my husband frantically dialed (and connected with) the midwife. My application to my master's program was submitted 6 weeks after she was born. One child later, I was a nationally credentialed Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and licensed to practice and, after one more wee one, completed my Master's of Science in Midwifery. (And, yes, if you were counting, an additional baby while constructing the birth center for my former practice makes nine children.)
I'm very grateful for my journey in becoming a midwife as my path took me to places I never knew existed. And that is why I am PASSIONATE about informing and educating my clients on ALL their choices and options for their pregnancy and birth. We are very happy to be back home in the South, close to family and friends, and I am excited to be able to serve the women of Alabama and Tennessee.
Life is incredible, full, joyous, blissful and abundant. I am so blessed with a family (who supports me in my vocation and helps me get crazy and stay young), and clients whom I love and who allow me to walk beside them on their journey.