Hi there! My name is Leacoln Bale, and I volunteer for the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition.

I’m an eastern Kentucky native who packed up and moved to the big city of Louisville. Here, I met and married my husband and gave birth to our first child, Ellie, at home. My husband and I are currently expecting our second child and are planning another CPM-attended home birth this winter.

I first became interested in home birth when I found that my wishes and expectations for my birth experience were not fully supported in the hospital setting. I then began a very long, confusing search for a home birth midwife in Kentucky. In doing so, I ran across the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition and was able to connect with like-minded mothers who helped point me along the right path.

Working the KHBC Information table at a community event with my little one in tow. Photo cred: MommaKT Shoots

The moment my daughter was born, so was my passion for home birth and the community surrounding it. Since then, I’ve been volunteering in ways big and small. I started off by volunteering my time at community events by staffing the KHBC information table. Then, I began contacting my legislators when our home birth bills were active. I attended our most recent lobby day in Frankfort in March of 2017. I picked up random tasks like sorting mailing lists, or soliciting donations for our auction. Now, I am one of several people who work our social media pages.

I volunteer with KHBC because I want ALL Kentucky women to have access to the care of a Certified Professional Midwife if they choose to do so. This option won’t be readily available to all women until we are able to license CPMs in Kentucky; to do that, we need people. We need more volunteers and supporters to make our voices heard.

If you’ve been thinking of volunteering for the home birth coalition, consider this your sign! What we need most is people who are willing to give up some time out of their busy lives. Most of us are not professional-anythings. We’re just moms, wives, or single women coming together for a common good. I promise, you’re going to meet some amazing people and do incredible things for Kentucky mothers and babies!

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”