Midwives
Shar La Porte is a Licensed Midwife (LM) and an American College of Nurse Midwives Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) currently licensed as a Midwife and Registered Nurse (RN) by the State of New York. Her education includes an Associates of Science in Nursing from Philips Beth Israel School of Nursing and a Master of Science in Nurse-Midwifery from Jefferson University. Shar is currently enrolled in a Masters degree program in Clinical Herbalism with the Maryland Institute of Integrative Health.
Shar’s journey toward home birth midwifery started twenty-three years ago when her son was born at Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center. That profound experience led her to become a childbirth educator and doula, and later a labor & delivery nurse. During this time Shar worked with a home birth practice as a birth assistant as well as continuing doula work. After becoming a midwife in 2008, Shar worked as a staff midwife at Brookdale Hospital for four years, She then went on to join an established home birth practice for a year before establishing Midwifery Care NYC (MCNYC) in 2013.
Lindsey Mayo is a Licensed Midwife (LM) and an American College of Nurse Midwives Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) currently licensed as a Midwife and Registered Nurse (RN) by the State of New York. Before embarking on her career as a midwife, she was a birth doula for eight years. Lindsey’s dream of becoming a midwife was cemented through her work with Family Care International, a NY based non-profit focused on making childbirth safer for people in rural and indigenous communities in Africa and Latin America. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish from the college of Charleston and has spent extensive time traveling through South America. Lindsey then completed a Master’s of Midwifery at SUNY Downstate in New York City. Lindsey is now pursuing continued education in advanced clinical herbalism through the Herbal Academy. Having been witness to all forms of birth in all birthing environments, she believes strongly in evidenced based care and client-centered birth practices.
Julia Steinrueck Julia is a Licensed Midwife (LM) and an American College of Nurse Midwives Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) currently licensed as a Midwife and Registered Nurse (RN) by the State of New York. Julia’s love of birth and midwifery started when she was 17 years old and had the privilege of shadowing a homebirth midwife for a year. Since that time she has been working towards becoming a midwife including working as a doula and homebirth assistant as well working as a labor and delivery nurse for over 5 years in a busy NYC hospital. Julia holds a Bachelor’s of Nursing from NYU and a Master’s of Science in Nurse Midwifery from SUNY Downstate. Julia believes in respectful evidence based care, and the importance of informed consent and shared decision making. She strives to provide individualized and safe care tailored to the specific needs of each birthing person.
Office Staff
Nicole Primoff is a certified nurse-midwife, women’s health nurse practitioner, and lactation counselor. She joined the team at Midwifery Care NYC as a birth assistant in September 2015 and as a staff nurse in May 2016.
Since completing the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing (GEPN) program at Yale University’s School of Nursing, obtaining her RN in August 2015, and graduating with her MSN in Women’s Health and Nurse-Midwifery from the same program in May 2017, Nicole has been excited to continue her work as a staff nurse with MCNYC in addition to working as a midwife. Nicole has supported women in the home, birth center, and hospital settings throughout her career as a nurse and midwife. Most recently, she started her own home birth practice in the Hudson Valley after moving to Beacon, NY with her family in 2019. She also counts herself lucky to be an MCNYC client, having given birth to her first child, Eudora Jane, in July 2017 and Simone Winter in October 2020.
Kevin Bernard is a stay at home dad who also works as a Broadway actor, theatre teacher, and since 2011 as an administrative assistant to his wife, Heather McFadden, who is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. While helping Heather through the delivery of their two children and their subsequent difficulties in breastfeeding, he became inspired and moved by the power of motherhood. He has helped run the back office of Heather’s business ever since she became an IBCLC. Because life is full of synchronicity, Kevin also spent nearly a decade on the board at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mt. Sinai where they developed innovative music therapy that brought tiny miracles to Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Kevin is excited to be part of yet another business that is dedicated to babies and their birthing families’ wellness as MCNYC’s administrative assistant.
Midwifery Fellows
Indigo Adler is a Licensed Midwife (LM) and an American College of Nurse Midwives Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). She is currently licensed in New York State as a midwife, Registered Nurse (RN), and Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Born into the hands of a home birth midwife, Indigo was raised to see birth as a natural life event with the potential to transform and heal. She became a midwife because of her desire to empower birthing people, making them feel seen and heard. Indigo holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing with a minor in Spanish from Simmons University and a Master’s of Science in Nurse Midwifery from NYU. With over four years of experience as a labor & delivery nurse in high-volume NYC hospitals, as well as Jazz Manhattan Birth Center, Indigo has had the privilege of supporting and advocating for hundreds of birthing people and new families. Passionate about promoting health equity for people of every identity, Indigo joined Midwifery Care NYC–a practice committed to the same mission–as a Birth Assistant in 2023. She is thrilled to continue working with this group as a Midwife Fellow.
Manuela Casuriaga is a Registered Nurse (RN) by the state of New York. She is newly graduated from New York University’s Master of Science in Nursing – Certified Nurse Midwifery program as of May 2024. Manuela was born in Uruguay and moved to the U.S. at 7 years old. Watching her immigrant family navigate the healthcare system growing up instilled a passion for equitable, client-centered, culturally competent care as the driving force in her career. Manuela received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Health from a small liberal arts school in PA. During her time there she studied abroad in South Africa for 6 months where she saw first-hand the power of community birth and midwifery care. Since then, Manuela has been working towards pursuing a career in midwifery. She received her second bachelor’s degree in nursing from Pace University. Manuela began her nursing career on a Labor and Delivery floor at a major NYC Hospital, where she has worked for the past 4 years.