About Denise,
Denise Fryzelka is a Certified Nurse-Midwife, Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner, and educator with more than two decades of experience providing, teaching, and advancing midwifery care in diverse settings across the United States and abroad. Fluent in French and Spanish, and with intermediate Haitian Creole, Denise has dedicated her career to expanding access to safe, collaborative maternity care across cultures and communities
Denise has practiced full-scope midwifery at UW Hospitals and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin since 2009, caring for a wide range of moderate- to high-risk clients. She also serves as a Clinical Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where she teaches and mentors medical students, nurse-midwives, and nursing students
Her global work includes serving as Director of the Maison de Naissance Birth Center in Haiti, where she led a team of midwives and community health workers to improve maternal health and neonatal survival. She has also provided care and training in Guatemala, Hungary, China, Switzerland, and Haiti, shaping midwifery practice in both resource-rich and resource-limited contexts
Throughout her career, Denise has been a passionate educator. She has held teaching positions at Marquette University, the University of Kansas School of Nursing, and Webster University, and has served as a preceptor for nursing, midwifery, and medical students since the late 1990s
Her scholarship and service are equally distinguished. Denise earned her PhD in Nursing from Marquette University in 2019, with a dissertation on provider influence on health behavior in gestational diabetes. She has co-authored peer-reviewed articles, including award-winning research on depression screening in pregnancy, and has presented nationally and internationally on waterbirth, maternal health, and collaborative midwifery models.
Recognized with the ACNM Excellence in Teaching Award and the Leadership Development Award, Denise has also served on multiple boards and committees, including ACNM, the Maison de Naissance Foundation, and hospital diversity and inclusion initiatives. She brings both clinical excellence and leadership vision to her work.
Today, Denise continues her dual role as a practitioner and consultant, drawing on her broad clinical, academic, and global background to improve midwifery practice and maternal outcomes. Her career reflects a deep commitment to advancing equity, education, and safe, woman-centered care.
See Denise Fryzelka’s CV
