Birth is designed to be one of life’s most profound experiences, and it deserves to be honored, protected, and supported as such.
Skilled Support for Physiological Birth
My name is Rachel Fracassa, and midwifery isn’t just my profession, it is truly the calling of my life. I believe birth is not broken. It was designed to work in harmony with the deep intelligence of the mother’s body.
With five children of my own, I’ve walked this path myself. Raising a family with a focus on holistic health and trust in physiology has shaped not only my personal life but the heart of my practice. These experiences give me a deep respect for how birth weaves into the fabric of family life. When I step into the birth space, I bring both the clinical skills of a midwife and the perspective of someone who has lived the transformations of pregnancy, birth, and mothering.
My Training & Experience
Before I ever trained as a midwife, I lived these questions myself. Some of my own births were self-directed, and those experiences gave me a unique understanding of the autonomy and intuition many families value.
When I moved into formal midwifery training, I apprenticed with midwives in mid-Missouri and the Kansas City metro area. Each brought a different style and philosophy, which gave me a deep respect for the living, breathing nature of midwifery. There is no single way to support birth well. Good midwifery is responsive, relational, and grounded in both skill and intuition.
My background is in bodywork and holistic health. Long before becoming a midwife, I worked in allergen-free catering and supported families using food as medicine. That path eventually led me into craniosacral therapy and myofascial release, where I witnessed firsthand how the nervous system shapes health, pregnancy, and birth. Training in Somatic Experiencing built on that foundation, giving me tools to help create safety, support regulation, and build capacity in the birth space and beyond.
My background in bodywork naturally led me to specialize in supporting babies in unique positions. I am a Spinning Babies® Aware Practitioner and have trained in breech-specific bodywork, offering gentle, trauma-informed positional release as a complement or potential alternative to ECV. Each year, I continue advanced training through Breech Without Borders, expanding my skills so that families seeking a safe, physiological breech birth have real options.
Because birth is unpredictable, I’ve also built a strong foundation in emergency response. I am certified in NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) and CPR, have completed B.E.S.T. (Birth Emergency Skills Training), and hold EMT training to ensure I am prepared when urgent situations arise. These layers of preparation allow me to bring calm, capable support even when birth takes an unexpected turn.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of attending a wide range of births in the home setting, including VBAC, twins, and breech, while continuing to deepen my clinical skills. My own path as a widowed mother of five has also shaped the way I practice, grounding me in both resilience and compassion as I walk with families through their own life-changing moments.
For me, midwifery is about tending both the practical and the profound—holding readiness for the unexpected while honoring the sacred story unfolding in your family.
My Philosophy
I believe every mother deserves care that respects her instincts, honors her autonomy, and supports the wisdom of her body’s design. My role is to offer guidance when it’s welcome, skill when it’s needed, and space always.
Some births ask very little of me, while others call for a steadier, more hands-on presence. My intention is to meet each family with exactly what is needed—no more, no less. At the heart of good midwifery care is discernment: listening closely, responding wisely, and holding space for birth to unfold in its own way.
What Sets My Care Apart
When I think about how I want families to feel in my care, it comes down to these guiding commitments:
A calm, grounded presence so you feel safe, seen, and supported throughout pregnancy and birth
Commitment to physiological birth, with the training to respond wisely if complications arise
Collaborative care where your voice leads and decisions are made together
Hands-on skills used with restraint and respect, always trusting the natural unfolding of labor
Specialized training and experience in breech birth, offering real options for families who want skilled support beyond surgery
Respect for the full spectrum of birth choices, from traditional midwifery to self-directed paths, honoring each family’s chosen way
Integration of craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, and nervous system support, bringing a depth of bodywork rarely woven into midwifery care, whether through focused techniques or something as simple as a calming touch.
Flexible, Respectful Support
While my heart and focus are on full midwifery care, I also honor that some families choose self-directed paths such as wild pregnancy or freebirth. For those families, I offer select services—like prenatal visits, labs, newborn exams, or postpartum support—within clear boundaries around scope and availability.
I hold deep respect for the many ways women choose to walk through pregnancy and birth. If you’d like to explore how I support freebirth and wild pregnancy, I’ve created a dedicated page that shares my approach with honesty, clarity, and care.
Roots & Influences
My journey into midwifery has been shaped by both lived experience and dedicated training. I came to this work first as a mother, learning through my own births the strength of instinct and the value of sovereignty. Later, through apprenticeship with midwives across Missouri and Kansas City, I grew in the skills and discernment that now ground my practice.
I’ve continued to seek out learning in areas where families are often left without options—breech, twins, and variations of normal that deserve safe, skilled support. I’ve also been deeply influenced by traditional midwives, whose teachings remind me that midwifery is not only clinical care but also sacred service.
At the heart of it all is my faith. I believe birth was divinely designed—woven into creation with wisdom, not error. Each unfolding labor, each first breath, is a reminder to me of the Creator’s presence and care. This conviction shapes the way I serve: with trust in the body, readiness for the unexpected, and reverence for the sacred story being written in every family.
Birth is Both Magical and Serious Business
What once felt like an ideal has been forged in the fire of lived experience. I have learned that birth is both utterly magical—and never to be taken lightly. It is at once mystery and design, sovereignty and surrender. It demands our full presence, deep respect, and unwavering trust, calling us to show up with everything we have as mothers, and at times, everything we have as birth attendants too.
Birth is designed to empower us and to humble us all at once.
Look below for a peak of some of my own precious memories of my homebirths, crunchy mom life, and my grandbabies who thus far have all been born at home (and yes, that’s a minivan birth in there 😂)
Reach out and connect.
If you think we might be a good match, let’s connect and see! Zoom calls, coffee shops, and my kitchen table are all options. I want to hear your story.