• Chelsea Halverson LM, CPM WA/ID

    Hi! I’m Chelsea, mama to two beautiful, wildy boys and married to my high school sweetheart of one million years. I was born and raised in the Spokane area, my husband and I both graduated from Medical Lake. We live on a small farm outside Cheney with our flock of chickens and turkeys, a handful of silly goats, our three horses, Maple, Pancake, and Chicken, our poodle, Nixon and however many barn cats are hanging around at the moment.

    We love to spend as much time as possible outside, you can usually find us riding four wheelers, picking wildflowers, wildcrafting herbs, spending time with our animals, or on a lazy hike when the sun is shining. During the summer, we also love to go to farmers markets and rodeos. My boys are both aspiring cowboys, my youngest loves to mutton bust, takes riding lessons and is learning to throw a rope like a champ and my big kid is dipping his toes into the world of calf and steer riding. They both have a huge heart for animals and can almost always be found with a cat or chicken in their arms or wrapped around a horse's belly.

    We are a homeschooling family, leaning more toward unschooling, teaching throughout the day by living our lives. We love to cook and bake together, care for and process our animals when the need arises, and are forever working toward the garden of my dreams.

    After several late term losses and hospital experiences that felt rushed, impersonal and traumatic, I gave birth to my younger son at home. His birth healed a wound in my heart that felt irreparable. I will never forget sitting in my bed with my tiny newborn, researching how to become a midwife. I knew this was where I belonged, holding mamas, reminding them of their strength, witnessing them, holding space for them, and having the profound privilege of watching them dig deeper than they knew they could to bring forth a new life. I became a midwife for the mamas, the babies are a wonderful perk, but the mothers are the ones who truly leave a mark on my heart with each pregnancy and birth I am allowed to walk alongside them. The word midwife means “with woman”, and that is where I love to be, with a woman who has embraced her power and trusted me to walk beside her.

  • Primary Student Midwife

    Becoming a midwife has been a longtime dream of mine. Prior to taking my steps into midwifery I ran Evergreen Valley Doula Services for birth, postpartum, and specialty doula services such as belly mapping and postpartum meals for several years. I’ve had three homebirths that have each ignited and deepened my love for this work in differing ways. I’ve completed everything required for my NARM PEP route and ready to take my exam for licensure.

    My partner and I have house full of wild and love with 6 kids between us. I love spending spare time on creative activities or outside in nature. I’m a nurturer to my core and enjoy gardening, cooking, and taking time to pour into others.

Our Story

Chelsea and Aubrey’s story together began while they were students at Wild Womb Midwifery. At the time, Chelsea was wrapping up phase two of four for the NARM portfolio evaluation process (PEP) and getting ready to head into her primaries while Aubrey was just getting started with her assisting phase. As the schedule for Wild Womb picked up they spent a lot of time attending clinic and births together and learned that working together was seamless and just felt right. Cue becoming attached at the hip and finding any way to make a one person job into two, while also being able to divide and get the work done…just as long as it could be done together. The opportunity for being able to learn together, problem solve, and also learn from each other fostered a rich growth of teamwork and skills that continued well past Chelsea’s completion of PEP and licensure, and Aubrey finishing up her numbers. It wasn’t long after that they decided that they wanted to continue the dynamic duo because two is in fact better than one in this story. So, Thistle & Fern become a labor of love and began our adventure as our very own team.

Why Thistle & Fern?

Thistle and Fern Midwifery is named for, and rooted in the wisdom of the wild. The thistle, known for its fierce beauty and protective thorns, represents strength, resilience and sacred boundaries. Thistles have a long history in folklore as a guardian plant, warding off harm and standing tall even in harsh conditions.

Ferns, ancient and gentle, their unfurling leaves embody the mystery and beauty and fragility of new life. They are symbols of fertility, new beginnings and unseen realms. Ferns are deeply rooted in forest lore and rituals, often associated with the liminal space between worlds. They represent the quietly magical unfolding of growth, the unseen becoming seen. Together, these plants honor the balance of strength, vulnerability, and calm surrender that birth requires.

This name reflects our connection to the earth, the cycles of nature and the moon, and the ancestral ways of walking beside you through your pregnancy and attending your birth in quiet confidence in your body and baby. It’s a nod to plant medicine, to witchy wisdom, to soft moss and strong roots. It’s for the families that wish to birth boldly, without fear, surrounded by midwives who are intuitive, grounded and just a little magic. We strive to provide care that is warm, informed, evidence based and woven with both strength and softness.