A Day in the Life of Beth Lang from the Santa Barbara Birth Centre
Santa Barbara, California, is a small seaside town in central California. Since 2011, it has been home to the Santa Barbara Birth Centre, an independent group midwifery practice that offers sexual and reproductive healthcare services, as well as pregnancy, birth and postnatal care to families in the community. Staffed by three full-time, and one part-time midwife, the birth centre serves around 85 to 110 clients each year. About 60% of births take place at the Centre, while 40% happen at home—a balance that reflects growing trust and comfort among clients.
We spoke to Beth Lang, a midwife in the practice, to get insights on what her typical day looks like. Beth has four young children, and works part-time with the practice.
A Typical Day
Asked what a typical day looks like, Beth laughs: “I don’t even know if I have one.” One day might start with prenatal visits, detour into a postpartum home check, and end supporting a birth—often with little notice. But thanks to a group practice model, the team shares call schedules, preventing burnout and ensuring well-rested midwives are available. “It’s a model I love—and our clients do too.”
Midwives in the practice have on-call and off-call days, and none of them are on call 24/7 every day in the month,
“That would be really difficult. With this model, we’re able to have a not exhausted midwife at your birth, we’re able to relive each other. I really appreciate this model, and I think our clients do too, because when you’ve been up for 24 hours, you might need a different energy as a midwife and it’s important to have someone who is well-rested be able to come in.”
The Centre also helps midwives balance the demands of their own lives. Beth explains, “I have four kids myself, some days my husband takes them to school, other days a colleague steps in for me so I can be there for an important family moment. There are moments that you really can’t miss, or don’t want to miss, and having a group practice where we rely on each other really helps that.” Ensuring that midwives can balance work and life obligations also helps retain midwives in the profession.
Beth concludes,
“Ultimately, I am passionate about a woman’s right to choose her reproductive and birthing plans, including where and how to give birth. There is nothing more sacred than holding space with a labouring woman and new family, and it is a privilege I carry with the utmost respect and honour.”
