Judith Hagan

As the owner and operator of Babycatcher Midwifery in Rockaway, New Jersey, Judith Hagan works to ensure mothers safely enjoy the miracle of childbirth from the comfort of their own home. Certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives, Judith Hagan counsels expectant mothers on nutrition, educates them on prenatal tests, and provides homeopathic remedies to prepare them for giving birth at home.

As a midwife, Judith Hagan advocates for home births, which provide many advantages to both the mother and the newborn child. For the child, home births offer a decreased chance for the need of a Cesarean birth, which can increase breathing difficulties for the child; a lesser likelihood of infections; no time separated from the mother, and a greater ease in establishing a breastfeeding routine. For mothers, home births provide the opportunity to eat and drink what they want prior to childbirth, a decreased need for pain medication, the increased comfort of familiar surroundings, and continual care from the same attendant.

Judith Hagan’s passion for homebirths led her to write an article for Midwifery Today entitled “Homebirth Advocacy,” where she explained the roots of her belief in homebirths and why they should become more accepted as a method of childbirth. Ms. Hagan also discusses the practical realities of running a business as a midwife and what steps she must take to keep her practice successful.

Judith Hagan possesses the necessary experience in the field of nursing to provide her patients with the care they need to successfully deliver their child. Ms. Hagan has spent 26 years working as a nurse, 17 years as a certified Nurse Midwife, and 14 years performing homebirths. Only 10 percent of first-time mothers under Ms. Hagan’s care needed to be transferred to a hospital to complete their childbirth, and only .5 percent of women who have already given birth were transferred. In addition to delivering other women's children, Judith Hagan has given birth to four children of her own.