The Birth Cottage Staff
Adrian Feldhusen
Adrian is a Certified Professional Midwife and New Hampshire...
Adrian Feldhusen
Adrian is a Certified Professional Midwife and New Hampshire Certified Midwife who lives in Southern New Hampshire with her husband and 3 children. Adrian has been involved with birthing families since 1992 as a midwife, doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding counselor.
She is the founder and owner of The Birth Cottage of Milford. Adrian trained at The Birth Center in Dearborn, Michigan and also at Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, both of which served diverse cultural and ethnic populations of childbearing families.
During her studies for a BS in Community and Human Services with a Concentration in Maternal and Perinatal Health through the State University of New York, Adrian's work was featured in a variety of publications.
Adrian was appointed by the Governor to sit on the NH Midwifery Council, the state's and was licensing and regulatory board, and was the Chair of the Council for 10 years. She has been instrumental in lobbying for legislation regarding insurance reimbursement for midwives in the state.
Adrian also served on the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) as a board member for 6 years. Adrian is an adjunct faculty member of Birthwise Midwifery School, and continues to teach her art to others.
Athena Antal
Athena is a Certified Nurse Midwife who enjoys partnering ...
Athena
Certified Nurse Midwife
Athena is a Certified Nurse Midwife who enjoys partnering with women and families in their reproductive care and journey toward parenthood. Her goal is to form collaborative, trusting relationships centered around empowerment and support during life’s most transformative moments. She is thrilled to provide community-based, out of hospital care.
As a labor and delivery nurse, Athena was consistently inspired both by the women she accompanied in labor and by the compassion and support of the midwives with whom she worked. She decided to become a midwife because the profession embodied her own philosophy of holistic pregnancy, birth, and well-person care.
She recently graduated with her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery from Frontier Nursing University. She has particular interests in breastfeeding support, maternal mental health, and providing sensitive care to those with a history of trauma and/or addiction.
Within the last 6 years Athena has lived in 7 different states in 3 different time zones, and is now happy to be settled in New Hampshire. When she is not working, she can be found wrangling her two sons, ages 4 and 2.
Shelly Fawson
As our receptionist and office assistant extraordinaire, Shelly...
Shelly Fawson
Office Assistant
As our receptionist and office assistant extraordinaire, Shelly has been helping the Birth Cottage provide the utmost customer service since May 2015. She is who often handles phones, filing, faxes, and other office operations.
Shelly had her son, Thomas, at the Birth Cottage and he is one of the "office mascots" who can often be seen greeting clients as they walk through the door. Shelly is an actress, singer, and dancer in her off time and she loves pinball and haunted houses. She write for a haunted house blog and is a yoga instructor.
Shelly has a BFA in Musical Theater from Hartt School of Music.
Now, in addition to working at the Birth Cottage, Shelly enjoys performing and musical theater.
Piper Caryl
Piper is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant ...
Piper Caryl
IBCLC and Childbirth Educator
Piper is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Childbirth Educator, and holds a Masters of Science in Perinatology. She studied and practiced midwifery at Cork University Maternity Hospital in Ireland, and interned at The Birth Cottage upon returning to the United States. She has traveled extensively throughout the world, participating in studies and fieldwork in maternal-fetal health. These different models of care have allowed her to establish a deep understanding and appreciation of obstetrics, and the significance of holistic prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care.
Piper currently works as an IBCLC and chair of lactation at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, providing breastfeeding support for inpatient and outpatient couplets, as well as in the NICU. She is extremely passionate about improving our breastfeeding culture in America, and regularly develops protocols and educational workshops for postpartum nurses at PRH. She is thrilled to be a part of the Birth Cottage team in teaching the Childbirth Education Series and offering private lactation consultations.
In her free time, Piper enjoys spending time with her new husband, Matt; being a menace to her cat, Geppetto; drinking absurd amounts of tea; eating lots; yoga, long walks, and chopping the entirety of the Feldhusen family's log supply for winter.
Megan Feldhusen
Megan is our office manager and also handles our office front end...
Megan Feldhusen
Office Manager
Megan is our office manager and also handles our office front end finances,, insurance contracting, bookkeeping, and management of human resources. She has been working alongside of her mother, Adrian, since she was a young girl to grow and support the practice.
Megan graduated Cum Laude from Keene State College in 2016, with a BS in Psychology and minor in Substance Abuse and Addiction.
She is an avid skier and enjoys riding her motorcycle.
Marissa Davis
Marissa is a New Hampshire Certified Midwife and Certified...
Marissa Davis
Marissa is a New Hampshire Certified Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife. She has relocated here to Southern New Hampshire from Northern Minnesota. Marissa has been involved with birth work since 2010 as a doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, midwifery assistant and midwife.
Marissa completed her midwifery degree in Wisconsin. She completed her hands-on training in Minnesota, Indiana, Oregon and finally here in New Hampshire at The Birth Cottage. Marissa has an Associate’s Degree in Direct Entry Midwifery from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College and a bachelor’s degree in Management from The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota.
At first Marissa really enjoyed helping people find their voice while teaching them to advocate for themselves as a doula. As time went on, she felt she could make a greater impact by becoming a midwife and giving them the choices that she helped advocate for. Now she really enjoys providing families choices in their care that are healthy for both themselves and their baby. She wholeheartedly believes in the autonomy that out of hospital midwifery care provides.
When she is not busy working, Marissa can be found enjoying nature with walks in the woods, kayaking, fishing, and camping. When she needs to be indoors, she enjoys reading a good book, making jewelry, good coffee, and conversations with friends and family.
Galleries
Here you'll find a few of our friends and the new additions to their families. If you have images you would like to share email them to info@birthcottage.com
