Staff

Desiree LeFave is Bella Vie’s co-owner, as well as a wife, mother. She was inspired to become a midwife following the incredible experience of birthing her first child, Kaeli, at home, in 1995. She recently retired from being both a midwife and Bella Vie’s practice manager.

Desiree began attending births in 1998 and became fully credentialed in 2001 (CPM, LDM). Since then, she has given birth to two other daughters, Maryn in 2003 and Eden in 2005, and has helped at the births of about 800 babies.

Desiree, along with Petra, decided to start Bella Vie Gentle Birth Center because of their strong desire to carry on the legacy of midwifery and gentle birth in an environment that can serve many women and their families. Together with their husbands, they put many years of hard work into the birth center, and are proud of, and grateful for the results. Desiree loves to hear the stories of families blessed by Bella Vie.

Desiree’s current role at Bella Vie is in management, often working on billing and insurance contracts as well as supporting our managers and midwives.

Desiree now lives in Snohomish, Washington along with her husband Kristopher, and their two daughters who still live at home. She works from there most days, but you will find her at Bella Vie nearly every Wednesday.

In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, Bible study, learning more about natural health, reading, snuggling her basset hound and homemaking after many years of catching babies.

To really understand Petra’s journey into business, you have to start at the beginning of the story…Seeking to gain freedom and opportunity, Petra’s parents fled the communist country, then known as Czechoslovakia, when she was just 4 yrs old. Through nothing short of miracles and the generosity of perfect strangers, the Prostrednik’s ended up in America to build the life that they had dreamed of.

In July of 2000 (after the fall of communist rule), Petra and her high-school sweetheart, Christopher, went back to the small village where she was born, to say their wedding vows. The following year they were blessed to find out they were expecting a baby. Very excited, and being the thorough woman that Petra is, she interviewed every hospital based midwifery practice in the Portland area. She knew that she wanted a natural birth for herself and her baby. Despite all of her research and preparation, she felt disappointed by the lack of her own self directed control and the many medical interventions. It was theoretically a successful “natural birth”, however, it did not feel “natural” in the sense that she was unable to intuitively let her body do what felt right during the birthing process. A few years later, with the birth of her second child, she opted to go to a freestanding birth center. With the loving support of her husband, her midwife (and soon-to-be close friend) Desiree, along with the birth team, and her 3-yr old daughter by her side, Petra labored in water, was encouraged to listen to her body, and in a beautiful candle lit room birthed her baby into her husband’s welcoming arms. It was a beautiful, gentle birth and in that moment, her journey into midwifery began.

Petra became determined to help other women experience the same joy. Specifically, she envisioned a Country Birth Center, where women could truly get away from the hustle of everyday life to have their baby in a natural, peaceful setting. She immediately began her study of midwifery. Soon there after, Desiree began her own private practice and asked if Petra would help be the second assistant at births. Petra jumped at the opportunity and it wasn’t long that she became her primary assistant. They continued to work together over the next three years. As her apprenticeship came to an end, it became clear to both Petra and Desiree, that they felt passionate about moving forward with the idea of bringing a birth center to Yamhill County. On August 14th, 2007 their dream, “Bella Vie Gentle Birth Center” was born in beautiful Hopewell, Oregon! Since then, Petra and Chris have also welcomed two more daughters into their family!

Petra’s role as the Business Manager is taking care of the many “behind-the-scene” business details that keep Bella Vie operating. You may see her at the center on Mondays, but she primarily works from her home office these days since she has her own little babies to take care of. Petra loves being a mother to her four sweet (and very busy!) girls, she enjoys all aspects of natural health, the outdoors, and in addition to midwifery, is passionate about Waldorf education.

Debbie has had a varied and full life exploring historical/sustainable living practices. She enjoys soap making, candle dipping, weaving, gardening, and open fire cooking, to name a few.

About 20 years ago, when Debbie’s 8 children were younger, they struggled with chronic respiratory infections, ear infections, and general ill health. Debbie began looking for something other than allopathic medicine to care for her children, and found herbology. She began studying with a third generation herbalist from the Ozarks, then continued classes with various herbalists in the Portland area. Debbie completed herbal studies with blue iris herbal school in 2001, and continues learning at workshops and the northwest herb fest. Debbie continues to grow herbs in her garden, and makes plant medicine, sharing her skills with family and friends.

A few years ago, when the “empty nest” years were approaching, Debbie’s family encouraged her to grow in a new direction that had always been an interest: mothers and babies. She enrolled in Ancient Art of Midwifery Institute. In October 2011, while completing her academic program, Debbie started her apprenticeship at Bella Vie Gentle Birth Center and was so fabulous we couldn’t let her leave when it was over. She now works with the midwives at Bella Vie, and whether you find her charting their ultrasound reports or helping with a baby’s birth, you are sure to appreciate her presence.

“It is exciting to be blending my love of herbs with my love for mothers and babies. This is a perfect next step for me. Midwife means “with women;” I love lending support and being with women during this amazing time in their lives,” she says. “I am so privileged to serve women as they move through birth, and excited to work with, and be influenced by, the strong and knowledgable midwives at Bella Vie”.

Claudia is a certified medical billing and coding specialist. She has lived in McMinnille, where she raised her family, for almost 40 years. She has worked in a wide variety of medical offices as receptionist, bookkeeper, and in medical billing. She says, “It is a pleasure to be at Bella Vie and see women have choices for birthing that my generation of women really didn’t have. The women of Bella Vie are kind, compassionate and lovely to be around.”

She has a grown son and daughter who both also live in McMinnville, as well as a granddaughter, with whom she finds great joy. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, walking, water color painting, and looking for cool stuff at thrift shops. She is an active member of First Baptist Church, enjoys spending quality time with friends, and is a part of a book study club to round out her busy life.

Brett is a friend of the Bella Vie community and is working on an assignment to negotiate insurance contracts.

He grew up in south Seattle and is a Pacific Lutheran University alumnus, with a degree in Finance. Brett played baseball all four years of college and had most of his away games at Linfield, George Fox, Willamette, and other local Universities. As a business student, he was taken aback by the amount of small business thriving in the Willamette Valley and agreed to use his Enterprise Sales background to increase families’ access to care at Bella Vie. When Brett is not working, he can be found outdoors with his black lab, Wilson, or managing his productivity in Excel.

Emily has been working in the medical field in Reception and Billing for the past 5 years. She is driven, with a passion for helping clients to have a positive, warm experience.

In Emily’s free time she is a coast enthusiast, creating many fond memories with her family, taking trips to the beach. She is an avid Oregon Duck fan and enjoys her ritual hot cup of coffee every morning before the clinic opens. She is a certified Billing & Coding Specialist, working with insurance claims and welcoming clients before their appointments.