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Meet the Midwives

Elizabeth Fontenot, CNM, Director

Elizabeth joined Birth Center of Baton Rouge in 2015 as a midwife assistant and nurse manager. During the same year, she also began pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing in Nurse-Midwifery at Frontier Nursing University. In 2018, she completed her studies as a Nurse-Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and is honored to continue in this role at the birth center.

Elizabeth believes pregnancy and birth are a normal part of women’s lives and ought to be treated as such. She believes allowing labor and birth to unfold naturally and physiologically leads to optimal outcomes for mother and baby, and this is what she hopes to facilitate by providing midwifery care at the birth center. She also recognizes that there is a time and place for interventions and a more medical approach to care. She believes this is at the heart of midwifery care – promoting normal birth, recognizing when interventions are needed, and facilitating shared decision-making with clients. All of this involves keeping a mother and her family at the center of care. Elizabeth also enjoys providing care for women throughout their lifespan for routine gynecologic issues or concerns.

Elizabeth has four children, all of whom had very different and unexpected birth stories. With her first, she had a c-section, followed by three successful VBACs, two of which were in the hospital setting and one at home. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, cooking, reading, and the outdoors.

Meghan Bardwell , CNM

As a Certified Nurse Midwife with a Master's in Nursing from Frontier Nursing University, Meghan has dedicated her career to empowering women through childbirth. With a background spanning six years as an OB nurse and another six as a childbirth educator, she brings a wealth of experience to her current role as a Midwife, and an Assistant Professor of Nursing at William Carey University.Inspired by her own unmedicated births, Meghan is deeply committed to guiding and supporting expectant parents through their birthing journey.
 
Certified in lactation counseling and Lamaze childbirth education, Meghan excels in providing comprehensive prenatal care, supporting breastfeeding, and advocating for physiologic birth.
 
As an elected board member of Lamaze International, Meghan is deeply involved in advocating for research-based childbirth practices and high-quality childbirth education. She actively participates in legislative efforts to support women's rights in childbirth and promote safe birthing practices.
 
Meghan's ultimate goal is to empower her patients to embrace their innate strength and power throughout the childbirth journey, fostering a sense of pride and fulfillment in their birthing experience, and to change perspectives surrounding birth.
 
"Birth is a transformative rite of passage, and I love witnessing the confidence and strength grow in every woman I care for." - Midwife Meghan

Kelli Lewis, CNM

Kelli has worked with birthing women for over 25 years. As hospitals started to implement evidence-based care and fewer medical interventions were used, she saw that the outcomes for mothers and babies were improving.
 
Being passionate about providing the best birth for her patients, she discovered that the Midwifery Model of care was in complete alignment with the experience she wanted to provide for birthing families. Kelli believes that education and shared decision making with the families are central in promoting best outcomes for both mother and baby.

Allison Champagne, CNM

Allison attended LSU Health Sciences Center School of Nursing with the plan to become a Labor and Delivery nurse. During nursing school, one of the primary instructors for women's health studies was a Certified Nurse Midwife. This midwife's passion for caring for women and families made Allison want to pursue midwifery.

Allison worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse while studying at Frontier Nursing University for her Master of Science in Nurse Midwifery, graduating in 2019.

"The midwifery model of care puts the woman at the center of her care. I enjoy being a supportive partner to women by truly listening to them and providing evidence-based education and guidance. I can't adequately say what a joy it is to meet so many wonderful, brave, kind, strong, smart, and diverse women and their families. I can't wait to walk with you during this time in your life!" - Midwife Allison

Rachel Heisman, CNM

Many of her family members had careers in healthcare, so you could say it runs in her blood! Her grandfather was a family physician in Canada and would provide homebirths, and her great-grandmother was a missionary in India who was trained in community health and would do home deliveries and provide postpartum care to new mothers and their babies.
 
She started nursing school with a plan for pediatrics, but when she assisted with a birth for the first time, she knew she wanted to be a midwife. She saw how vital prenatal care is for the health of newborns, and she loved how midwives provided holistic prenatal care that focused on a woman's whole person, mind, body, and soul. For there to be healthy children and families, you, of course, need healthy moms.
 
She comes to us with over five years of experience as a midwife in the out-of-hospital birth setting and also worked with OB/GYN physicians in San Antonio and Austin, providing obstetric and gynecologic care for women from adolescence to menopause. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member for the School of Nursing at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, leading OB clinical groups for undergraduate nursing students.
 
She had four children while she was studying for a Masters in Women's Health and Midwifery, all born with the help of midwives: one in hospital, two at birth centers, and one at home. Experiencing midwifery care during her pregnancies further strengthened her desire to provide midwifery care to other women on their own journey through motherhood.
 
"There’s a Norwegian proverb that goes, “The greatest joy in life is to become a mother. The second greatest is to be a midwife.” Being a mother has brought me such joy. I’m incredibly blessed to be a midwife and walk with women on their journeys to becoming mothers, witnessing them experience the joy of motherhood for themselves. With that great joy, there is, of course, great responsibility, and that is why I believe it’s crucial for women to strengthen, support, and believe in each other. Midwifery, more than any other health profession, does this in such a beautiful way. For mothers, there are often no prizes given, no medals or trophies handed out, and yet they are the real heroes, and their work of nurturing life is sacred. It’s an honor to care for those who care for and do so much for others!" - Midwife Rachel

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225-761-1200 277 Rue de la Vie Baton Rouge, LA 70817  
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Office Hours: Mon-Thu 9AM-4:30PM • Fri 9AM-12PM • ph: 225-761-1200 • f: 225-761-1215
Office Hours: Mon-Thu 9AM-4:30PM • Fri 9AM-12PM • ph: 225-761-1200 • f: 225-761-1215
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Office Hours: Mon-Thu 9AM-4:30PM • Fri 9AM-12PM • ph: 225-761-1200 • f: 225-761-1215
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • SERVICES
    • MIDWIVES & STAFF
    • OUR STORY
    • BIRTH STORIES
    • RESOURCES
  • EVENTS
  • CONTACT
    • TOUR
    • INQUIRE
  • NON-PROFIT
  • PATIENT PORTAL
  • FAQ