TANJA BOLLE; LM, CPM

I, Tanja Bolle, am the Licensed Midwife and CPM practicing in Santa Fe, New Mexico for New Growth Midwifery.

My licensing is coupled with experience furthered each year by attending between ten and 30 families throughout the childbearing cycle since 1996. First and foremost I identify myself as a midwife. It is not just a career, but a way of life. Midwifery encompasses the paths of life I wish to follow: empowerment, self-care, education, involvement in community, responsibility for my choices and actions, spirituality, and honor for the cycles of life. As a midwife I guide women and their families, as well as myself, through the childbearing years and support them through the incredible rites of passage. Not only is it an incredible honor and thrill to be with these birthing families, but also an amazing opportunity for growth and change within myself.

Prior to licensing, apprenticing with midwives in Chicago, Mexico City and primarily at the National College of Midwifery's training program in Taos, New Mexico confirmed my love for midwifery. My interest in midwifery began while completing my anthropology degree at the University of Kansas where I focused on women's health advocacy. I learned about overcoming barriers to women's health choices and women empowering themselves through their birth experiences and passing that power onto their children, their families and their communities.

After graduating I moved back home to Chicago and began working as a doula assisting women in the immediate postpartum period, educating them, supporting them and helping them become independent and confident in their parenting. Shortly after, a group of midwives welcomed me into their community and it was then I realized that becoming a midwife was my calling in life.

I focused and finished my training and then began a small homebirth practice in New Mexico. The intention and ideal is to of keep it small and intimate, being able to really get to know the families I work with, and to make the commitments of guiding them in their needs and leaving knowing they have the confidence to go on their own. It has been such a joy to be able to watch the children grow up and become their own selves and also attend the births of their little brothers and sisters.

As part of my commitment to advancing the sisterhood of midwifery, I also have taken on apprentices, taught a series of classes and exam preparation for aspiring midwives and assisted in providing continuing education options for licensed midwives in the area. I volunteer for local women's health and family developing organizations, and remain an active member of the Santa Fe Breastfeeding Taskforce, New Mexico Midwives Association, as well as Midwives Alliance of North America.

I currently live in Santa Fe with my sweetie/partner/boyfriend Whitney in the home we built together. And soon I hope to include my own birth among my experiences. When not practicing midwifery I love to be in the outdoors or traveling, cooking and spending time with friends, exploring something new.


Licenses and Degrees