Acorn Community Birth & Wellness Center

Margo’s love for children brought her to midwifery. After graduating from nursing school in 1975, she worked in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, and there she began to notice that moms that reported a more positive birth experience seemed to have a closer relationship with their children. So she started working in Labor and Delivery in 1980 to help moms with that transition to motherhood. While there she discovered that the journey that brought families to that moment really began much sooner. At that point she went to midwifery school and became a Certified Nurse Midwife in 1993 so she could be present for the entire journey that families take. Since 1993 Margo has worked at four different LA hospitals; opened a home birth practice in 2001 and then a Birth Center in 2013.

Since becoming a midwife, she has delivered over 3000 babies. She believes that pregnancy and birth present a blessed opportunity for a woman and her family to realize their own strength, as they become a family. She finds such joy and honor in accompanying them on this amazing journey and she is confident that she has the skills to provide the safe space they need to realize their dreams. To ensure that midwifery care remains an option for birthing families and their future children she is dedicated to educating future providers in medicine and midwifery.

She is the proud mother of three wonderful sons and has also been blessed with four amazing grandsons. After retiring in 2023 she moved to Temecula to be closer to family. She loves morning walks and gardening but missed being with pregnant women and their families. Fortunately, Acorn Community Birth and Wellness Center had a space for her to practice what she loves, midwifery.

Hi, I’m Kathy Struck. I’m the Office Manager here at Acorn Community Birth & Wellness Center, but my connection to Acorn goes far deeper than my job title. I’m a mother of eight and have been married to my husband for 20 years. My own birth experiences are what led me to this work and why I care so deeply about the families we serve.

After having four cesareans, I went on to have three VBAC births, each one right here with Acorn. Those experiences were healing, empowering, and truly life changing for me. They are the reason I am such a passionate supporter of VBAC and informed birth choices. I know firsthand how transformative it can be to feel supported and believed in.

Working at Acorn feels like giving back to the place that gave so much to me. My goal is to make every family who walks through our doors feel welcomed, cared for, and empowered on their own journey. Acorn isn’t just where I work, it’s part of my story, and I’m honored to be part of yours.

Dara DeSoto has dedicated over 13 years to supporting families across Orange County and San Diego as a birth and postpartum doula. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of attending hundreds of births, honoring each family's unique journey across hospital, home, and birth center settings.

Driven by a lifelong dream to practice midwifery, Dara enrolled at Mercy In Action College of Midwifery in 2021 — coincidentally, the same year her daughter began her own university journey. Her path serves as a personal testament to her belief that it is never too late to pursue one’s heart’s desire. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Midwifery, Dara completed intensive training at a high-volume birth center and is now a Licensed Midwife in both California and Idaho.

Dara is deeply committed to the safety of community birth and the power of collaborative care. She approaches every family with compassion, clarity, and respect, rooted in a firm belief in the innate strength of birthing people. A longtime friend of Acorn Community Birth and Wellness Center, she finds immense joy in serving the families of its community.

Today, Dara balances her time as a Clinical Midwife at Acorn with her own private home birth practice. Outside of her midwifery work, she has been married to her husband for 30 years; together, they share the joy of four young adult children and one grandchild.