My Team
The Birthways Team Has Your Best Interest At Heart
You want the best for your healthcare – so do we. That’s why our team of experienced Midwives at Birthways Family Birth Center, located in Sarasota, Florida, is committed to providing you with professional Midwifery Care that is safe, compassionate, and tailored to your unique needs. Our Midwives are licensed by the State of Florida and hold National Certifications while the entirety of our staff is certified in CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP). At Birthways, we find joy in mothering new mothers, fathers, and families as they are born. We invite you to schedule an appointment for a visit or complimentary consultation!
Your Midwifery Care awaits you!
Meet Your Midwives
Christina Lavender Holmes
LM, CPM
Christina Lavender Holmes, LM, CPM is a Florida Licensed Midwife and Nationally Certified Professional Midwife since 2002 assisting over 1000 babies into the world. Having grown up in Sarasota, Christina is fully invested in the health of the families in our community. She has volunteered with the Newtown Health council, was a Board Member of the Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota, and has served many years on the FIMR committee helping to promote healthy pregnancies and babies in our community.
Christina has been active in Midwifery legislation and regulation at the State level as the former President of the Midwives Association and former Vice President & Secretary of the Florida Alliance of Birth Centers. With a love for educating families and birth professionals in order to create a world of safe, compassionate birth, she has taught Midwifery, Medical, EMS, Nursing, and Physician Assistant students over the years.
Christina enjoys cycling, yoga, & music. She is a mother and a grandmother and wishes for every parent, child, and family to be treated with kindness, love, and gentleness at the time of birth.
Cheryl Ross Hollifield
CNM, ARNP
Cheryl Ross Hollifield is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and Certified Nurse Midwife with more than 40 years of experience catching babies, listening to women, & caring for their health care needs. Not only can she assist you through pregnancy, but she is also here for your reproductive care throughout your lifetime. From the first menstruation cycle, birth control, through menopause.
Gardening, kayaking, swimming, and reading occupy some of her favorite moments of relaxation. Cheryl has two beautiful grown daughters and is excited to continue serving women in the Sarasota and surrounding communities as part of the Birthways Family!
Aliaja Allison
LM, CPM
Aliaja was inspired to become a Midwife following the beautiful birth of her son Liam in 2014. She felt supported and informed during her birth experience and knew this wasn’t the reality for many women, especially women of color. After realizing Midwifery was her calling, she enrolled into the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery to facilitate autonomy, informed decision making, and health care equity.
Aliaja joined Birthways in January 2021 as a student midwife finishing her internship with Christina and was welcomed as one of the Birthways Midwives in December 2021. Aliaja understands how impactful Midwifery care can be and believes that pregnancy, birth, and postpartum are transformative, significant life experiences.
In her free time Aliaja enjoys reading, graphic design, resting as an act of resistance, and spending time with her son.
Jennifer Carvallo
ARNP, CNM, LMT, IBCLC
Jennifer Carvallo ARNP, CNM, LMT, IBCLC discovered the world of birthing while living overseas in Africa over thirty years ago. Jennifer’s passions include helping everyone in and outside of pregnancy, achieve their own goals and visions for their health and that of their child(ren). This includes imparting the importance of shared decision making, creating a team approach with everyone, that leaves all feeling empowered in their health and healthcare decisions.
Jennifer specializes in a variety of topics including self-hypnosis for pain relief, contraceptive birth control including fertility awareness methods (Sympto-thermal), childbirth education, serves as a lactation consultant (IBCLC), licensed massage therapist, specializing in women’s health and fertility, pelvic health, infant massage, PCOS, gender-affirming care, gentle postpartum care, menopause and trained in providing trauma informed care. Jennifer is excited to be a part of Birthways in providing a wide range of services for women across the lifespan.
Support Staff
Rachael McGeorge, Office Manager
Linda Jones, Administrator
Linda has always been a supporter of Birthways Family Birth Center and joined our team in 2011. She is the mother of four grown children, including our Midwife Christina, she’s a grandmother and great-grandmother. Linda loves horses, babies, and country music! She handles many of the behind the scenes administrative details at Birthways.