Lena Wood, CNM, ARNP, PMH-C
About Lena
I came to midwifery through my experiences as a full-spectrum doula, pregnancy options counselor, and patient advocate volunteer at Planned Parenthood. All of these experiences opened my eyes to the complexity, beauty, and resilience we all embody throughout our lives–and particularly during transformational experiences like pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. For me, the personal and the political are never far apart. Midwifery is the intersection of my feminism, my passion for reproductive and social justice, and a deep calling to serve my community as a healer.
I grew up as a Korean-American adoptee in Minneapolis, so I’m pretty familiar with the complexities of family and family constellations. I am opening Revolutions Midwifery because we need more community midwives who understand the impacts of racism, intergenerational trauma, and structural oppression on the current disparities in perinatal health outcomes in the United States. I am proud to be part of a growing movement of midwives and other birth keepers who are breaking down old ways of thinking around sexual and reproductive health to make this care more equitable and inclusive.
After four years of working within the hospital-dominant health care setting, I am starting my own practice so that I can fully show up with you as the midwife I want to be. My clincal approach integrates holistic practices such as mindfulness, herbal medicine, and nutrition/exercise counseling along with more conventional screenings, diagnostic testing/imaging, and pharmacologic therapies as needed.
While I enjoy the full-spectrum of midwifery care, including pregnancy-related care and sexual and reproductive health, my passion is perinatal mental health. I am a certified Perinatal Mental Health Provider through Postpartum Support International and continue to attend conferences and workshops to strengthen those clinical skills. In January 2022 I will begin post-graduate studies at Frontier Nursing University to become board-certified as a pyschiatric mental health nurse-practitioner, focused on perinatal and reproductive mental health.
Training and Certifications
I am a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) and licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) in both Washington and Oregon. I also have a Master’s degree in Montessori elementary education and worked with children from birth through age 12 for ten years prior to moving into midwifery. I’ve practiced in a variety of settings, including a private physician-owned clinic, Planned Parenthood, and a large hospital-owned midwifery practice.
I am in the process of pursuing an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and will weave lactation support into my practice as I complete my training and gain certification.
Additionally, I have completed the requirements to sit for the Midwifery Sonography certification exam, which I took in July 2021. Afterwards I look forward to integrating ultrasound into my clinical practice in the fall of 2021.
Bachelor’s and Master’s of Nursing, Nurse-Midwifery
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
Certified Nurse-Midwife
American Midwifery Certification Board
Certified Perinatal Mental Health Provider (PMH-C)
Postpartum Support International
Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Teacher Training
Levels 1 and 2 completed
*As a CNM I am able to assess and initiate treatment for uncomplicated perinatal depression and anxiety, but am not yet licensed to offer talk therapy or treatment for more complex or severe mental health disorders. I am always happy to provide referrals.