ABOUT
Welcome to Sumner County Childbirth & Beyond, the heart of holistic women’s health care in northern Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky.
I’m Gaylea McDougal, CPM-TN, CPM-KY, a Certified Professional Midwife and lifelong resident of Sumner County, where I have had the privilege of serving families throughout our communities with compassionate and individualized care for over a decade. I have been married to my high school love for over 30 years and we have 3 sons, Austin, Bailey and Casey. We lost Austin in 2021 which has only deepened my commitment to serving in a holistic healing capacity, supporting people and families through life and loss, holding love along the way.
With decades of experience supporting women through pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, and beyond, I believe that every season of a woman’s life deserves to be honored and supported with wisdom, respect, and empowerment.
At Sumner County Childbirth & Beyond, I provide homebirth midwifery services, postpartum doula care, childbirth education, and menopause support, blending evidence-based practice with the kind of personalized attention that helps families feel seen, safe, and strong. I am also a NARM preceptor and sit on the Tennessee Midwives Association board as the central rep.
I enjoy hiking, kayaking, gardening, bee keeping and practice meditation and yoga regularly. I also serve as the President (and founder) of the Art Rest Move (ARM) Foundation (501c3) supporting those who are in relationship with grief.
My mission is simple: to offer nurturing, empowering care across the lifespan—from the first flutter of new life to the transitions that shape us in midlife and beyond.
BIRTH STATS
Although many factors go into every years birth stats, and it is not the best indicator of whether or not a midwife is a good fit, I post mine every year because its such a common question. Below are the prior years stats. Follow me on social media for every years stats.
Pregnant clients added : 39
Live births : 36
Still births : 0
Neonatal demise : 0
Miscarriages : 3
Transferred before labor : 3 (breech, cholestasis, PreE)
Transferred during labor : 3 (maternal exhaustion & non-reassuring FHTs/non-emergent)
Transferred after birth : 0
Total transfers: 6
Vaginal births : 33 (92%)
Breech births at home: 0
Breech births in hospital: 2
Attempted VBACs : 2
Successful VBACs : 2 (HBACs)
Primary cesareans : 3(2 breech)
Repeat cesareans : 0
Total cesareans : 3 (8%)
Vaginal births with intact birth perineums: 30 (83%)
Vaginal births with intact amniotic sacs (en caul): 2
Vaginal births with lacerations needing repair: 3
Episiotomies : 0
Vaginal births with 3rd or 4th degree lacerations : 0
Home births : 30 (83%
Water births: 5 (17%)
Hospital births : 6 (transfer rate 14%)
Emergency maneuvers: 4
Emergency meds used: 6
Shoulder dystocias: 3 (all resolved at home without complications/injuries)
Neonatal Resuscitations: 3 (all stabilized at home)
Emergency transfers: 0
Emergencies stabilized at home not needing transfer: 4 (11%)
Contact Me
Let me know how we can support you. I’d love to help. Fill out the attached form and I will be in touch soon!