From Undocumented to Nurse Midwife: Angela

Send us Fan MailAngela came to the United States from Venezuela as an undocumented teenager, speaking just enough English to interpret for her grandmother in an ER — and somehow found herself captivated by the people rushing around in scrubs. It took a perceptive teacher, a husband who said, "we'll make it work," and one pivotal moment at a midwifery orientation to unlock a calling she didn't know she had.In this episode, Katie sits down with Angela — one of the few practicing Latina midwives in Delaware — to talk about what it means to show up for patients in two languages, two worlds, and with lived knowledge no classroom can teach. They cover the staggering gap between the 25% of U.S. births to Hispanic women and the 5-6% of midwives who are Hispanic, the quiet weight of censoring yourself in a political climate that feels hostile, and why giving a Spanish-speaking patient your cell phone number is less a boundary issue and more an act of radical trust.They also get into the unglamourous but essential stuff: how Angela funded her entire nursing and midwifery education with almost no debt (yes, really), the loan repayment programs hiding in plain sight, and why the system that needs bilingual, bicultural providers the most is often the least equipped to support them.This episode is best paired with a Venezuelan favorite:  papelón con limón