Meet the Team
Annette Weller | APRN, MSN, CNM
I live with my family in the beautiful southern foothills of western South Dakota. Originally from Pennsylvania, we relocated to the area in 2013. Since that time, my work has primarily centered around caring for women and children in various settings. My husband and I have been married for about 33 years and we have 12 children and an ever-growing number of grandchildren. We have an ongoing history of homeschooling and enjoy building on a homesteading lifestyle. I am a follower of Christ and consider this work He has blessed me with as a wonderful privilege. My personal birth experiences have included hospital and birth center births including epidural, all-natural, and cesarean births.
My nursing background goes back to 1990 and started with working in both acute care settings and home health nursing. After relocating to South Dakota, I spent a few years working as a RN home birth midwife’s assistant in conjunction with being staff RN in a high risk labor & delivery unit, postpartum & newborn nursery, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, and the emergency department. As part of my midwifery training, I attended births at Monument Health and provided hundreds of women’s health exams in local OB/GYN clinics. My master’s degree in Nurse-Midwifery was granted by Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky and I am board certified by AMCB, the national certifying agency for Nurse-Midwives.
I am a firm believer in autonomy and options when it comes to giving birth, and support women’s desires for birth whether in or out of hospital. My goal is to encourage clients to be active in the decision-making process and provide women with low-risk pregnancies with safe, satisfying birth experiences in the comfort of their own home. As a “mobile midwife” I offer home visits for prenatal assessments and other women’s health concerns. Individualized care and shared-decision making are important aspects of building relationships for continuity of holistic care, family satisfaction, and optimal birth outcomes. I am committed to investing TIME for each visit and providing SAFE, evidence-based care and education to my clients. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be with women during this exceptional season of life. We are honored to offer home birth services in the Black Hills and cover a service area within approximately a 2 hour radius of Rapid City, South Dakota, with an office location in Spearfish for our more rural clients in Wyoming, Belle Fourche, Newell, Spearfish, and beyond.
Shannon Church | CD, BCE, Midwifery/Birth Assistant
Native to the beautiful Black Hills, I transitioned into birth work over a decade ago. It was after the home birth of our daughter that my love and passion for this path truly began. In 2009 I founded Vintage*DOULA. The goal was to meet the growing need for labor support in our community. Since that time, our Certified Doulas have been so honored to have supported well over 500 families as they journey into one of the most pivotal experiences in their lifetime. My extensive experience as a professional doula led me down the path to become a Certified Childbirth Educator as well as the opportunity to birth assist with a number of local home birth CNM’s. I am absolutely honored to now have the opportunity to birth assist with Annette as she serves families in the Black Hills. I know her clients will experience birth in awareness... feeling confident, informed and surrounded with so much care and respect as they get ready to meet their new babies.
Aside from birth work, I’m a big fan of laughter, good friends, great conversation, campfire and just spending quality time with my sweet family. I’m married to an incredible man with whom I share five gorgeous children (three of which were born right at home, one welcomed in the hospital setting and one brought to our family through adoption.) Amazing people, and I’m so grateful to be living this life with them.