MIDWIFE
Hafdís Hanna Birgisdóttir, RN, RM
Hafdís Hanna graduated as a midwife in 2005 and has spent most of her career working in labour and birth care at the labour ward at Landspítali, the National University Hospital of Iceland. She also lived and worked in Sweden for 12 years, where she worked in maternity units in Halmstad, Malmö and Helsingborg.
For the past six years, Hafdís has worked at the Antenatal Clinic at Landspítali, caring for women with high-risk pregnancies. In recent years, she has also provided counselling for women with difficult birth experiences through Ljáðu mér eyra.
Hafdís has completed various courses related to pregnancy and birth, including training in acupuncture and instructor training in the Birth Without Fear method. She has used this approach to support parents in preparing for birth with a sense of safety and trust.
Hafdís is passionate about supporting and empowering expectant parents during pregnancy, helping women and their birth partners have a positive birth experience that can strengthen them as they enter parenthood.
“I had two children before I became a midwife, and that experience affected me deeply in many ways. Among other things, it sparked a strong interest in the birth process, and I knew that I did not want to work in any other field. I therefore began my midwifery studies soon after my maternity leave.
I was fortunate to receive continuity of care from midwives at that time through the MFS model, and I gave birth to my children at Hreiðrið, where the emphasis was on physiological birth in a warm and comfortable environment, supported by midwives who knew me, believed in me and in my inner ability to give birth.
That experience was deeply empowering for me, and I care strongly about doing my best to support families so that they can have a positive birth experience, regardless of how the birth unfolds. Births take many forms and are as different as the babies being born.
A positive birth experience is about having a sense of control, having your wishes respected, and feeling safe and supported throughout the process. In the almost 20 years that I have worked as a midwife, I have become increasingly convinced of the incredible power and strength that women carry when giving birth to their children, especially when we trust the body and the process.
The birth process deserves deep respect. It is an incredibly powerful physical and emotional journey that can affect us for years to come.”
– Hafdís Hanna
