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About Wisdom Within
Elizabeth Mendoza
pronouns: she/her
I am a midwife, educator, and advocate. I love pregnant bellies, baby coos, and helping people find their inner strength. Here's my story.
I have been supporting pregnant and laboring people and their families since 2010. I also have a background in various non-profit health education programs aiming to help people reach their fullest, healthiest potential. My original goal in founding Wisdom Within was to make high-quality childbirth education and doula support more accessible to all parts of my community. In that same spirit, I also organize Tucson's annual Birth and Baby Fest to connect families with like-minded resources. This background of promoting support, education, and community-building is still fundamental to how I practice as a midwife today.
During my years working as a doula and educator, I saw too many expectant families be excited, supported, and well-prepared - only to have their plans crushed during labor. I saw too many families fall victim to discouraging or detrimental routine policies at their birthplace or to the whims of an individual healthcare provider.
These families needed better options. They needed a system and providers that would genuinely respect their wishes. And quite frankly, I was tired of bearing witness to it all. After enough of this, I realized that if I wanted to see a change in the landscape of care for Tucson's birthing families, wishing and hoping for better options to come along was not going to cut it. I needed to do more. So I went back to school to become a midwife.
I wrapped up my midwifery education in 2020 with Midwives College of Utah, and now have two Bachelor's degrees: one in Midwifery and one in Psychology. I am credentialed as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through The North American Registry of Midwives and am a Licensed Midwife through the Arizona Department of Health Services. I have also been a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator since 2010 and trained as a birth doula through DONA International.
When not attending births, I can usually be found barefoot in my garden, hiking around town with an audiobook in my ear, or being disgruntled by some patriarchy somewhere. My two kiddos - born in 2012 and 2015 - help round out my days and keep me on my toes!
My Philosophy of Care
This midwifery practice was founded with the belief that when pregnant people trust in themselves and their body’s abilities, it helps to create an empowered person and a powerful birthing experience. Within pregnant people is the innate wisdom of how to birth and care for their child, but then with encouragement, education, and effective support, this strength can be magnified. Through our work together, I support people to have the confidence necessary to make the appropriate pregnancy and birth decisions that are right for them and their families.
Mission
Wisdom Within's mission is to empower families by providing comprehensive, compassionate, and safe midwifery services. Care is provided in a manner that is evidence-informed, trauma-informed, and recognizes each person’s exceptional journey and unique contributions that they bring to their own care. Our work together aims to help create a path through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood that is filled with both profound strength and a deep sense of achievement.
Statement of Ethics
Recognizing the unique and intimate role that a midwife encompasses within a community and within clients’ lives, it is crucial that midwives adhere to a statement of ethics as a guidepost in practice and as a communication tool to the public at large. As such, the ethical principles upon which this practice is built include:
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Care will be provided free from any sort of discrimination. Intolerance and bigotry of any sort from staff, students, associated professionals, clients, or their support people are not tolerated in this practice.
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Every client has the right to make a variety of choices that are right for their body, self, and family without judgment or retribution of any sort from this practice.
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The aim of midwifery care is for harm to be reduced as much as humanly possible, but this is done with the understanding that there is still inherent risk in birth and in the childbearing year. Harm reduction strategies will be applied to each client through a thorough discussion of risks and benefits in the process of education and shared decision-making and through staying within an appropriate scope of midwifery care.
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This practice strives to promote the welfare and optimal physical, emotional, and holistic wellness of all clients, staff, and students involved.
Still curious about what midwifery looks like in Arizona or what a Certified Professional Midwife's scope of care is? Read more here.
