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Meet the Nurse Midwives

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A nurse midwife provides well-women care and maternity care including labor, delivery, and postpartum care. Midwives provide a broad range of health services for women of all ages. Outside of work, they enjoy their own hobbies.

1) What is your hobby and why do you enjoy it?

Alice May, CNM, ARNP, MSN: My hobby is gardening. I find it very rewarding to grow most of our own food. I also really enjoy cooking; food tastes the best when you grow it yourself and cook it right after it has been harvested. Although I have gardened my entire life, I just started growing flowers last year. It has been wonderful to be able to cut fresh flowers to bring into the house and to give away to friends.

Aubree Remsburg, CNM, ARNP, MSN: My hobbies include hiking and reading. I love both the physical and mental aspects of hiking. I feel at peace in nature and enjoy seeing the gorgeous views! I enjoy reading and my top genre is rom-com books.

Crystal Iddings, CNM, ARNP, MSN: I chose cooking as my hobby. Growing up in the south, we shared food as a sign of love and caring. My grandmother cooked the best food and every year for my birthday I could request what I wanted for dinner and she would bake my favorite cake. I learned many of the recipes I make for my children from her. I hope to one day pass her recipes down to my children so they too can have the memories I have with my grandmother, but with me.

Mattea Otten, CNM, ARNP, MSN: I really enjoy both running and rock climbing. Running is something I have always loved and recently started doing again. Rock climbing is a new hobby and it’s been really fun to learn something new. It’s enjoyable to challenge myself and work hard to get better.

Rachel Hayward, CNM, ARNP, MSN: Quilting has been a hobby for me since childhood. It was something that the women in my family did together, and I think I find it relaxing in part because it reminds me of good times with people that I love.

2) Why did you want to become a nurse midwife? 

Alice: I had a less-than-optimal first birth experience. That experience then set me on the path to desiring to help improve the birth experiences of other women. I had some friends who were involved with lay midwives, but I really wanted to practice in a collaborative medical system so chose to become an RN and work in hospital obstetrics. I did that for almost 15 years before going to graduate school for Nurse Midwifery.

Aubree: I’ve always been fascinated by pregnancy and knew I wanted to work with pregnant people. After being a labor and delivery nurse, I realized I wanted to be able to provide pregnant clients with more options for their care, so becoming a midwife was the right path for me.

Crystal: After being a labor and delivery nurse for 8 years, I wanted to be able to build a more deep, lasting relationship with the clients I get to serve. Also, because what could be more beautiful than helping bring new life into the world?

Mattea: I became a certified nurse midwife because I wanted to support people throughout their whole lives - from puberty and being a teenager, through pregnancy and childbirth, postpartum, and beyond.

Rachel: I became a midwife because I was fascinated by pregnancy, and I was interested in providing care that took into consideration all of the factors that contribute to health and wellbeing.

3) What do you find most rewarding about your career? 

Alice: I chose midwifery to 1) Help empower women in whatever phase of Life they're in, 2) Help them have the birth experience want to have, and 3) Help demystify some of the medicine by explaining and teaching.

Aubree: There are so many rewarding aspects to a career in midwifery! I think I make a difference in the client’s experiences by providing trauma-informed care. When someone has had an unpleasant gynecological experience in the past, they often get anxious to come back. I take pride in providing gentle exams and try to make an otherwise unpleasant experience as comfortable as possible.

Crystal: The most rewarding part of my career is that I get to take this journey with my clients. I am so passionate about the work I do. I provide education and recommendations and then get to help them decide what is best for them. I support them wholeheartedly in their decisions. And when my client feels empowered and happy, my heart is happy.

Mattea: The most rewarding part of being a midwife is building relationships with my patients and being a supportive healthcare partner. I love supporting them throughout the changes in their lives.

Rachel: I love seeing people over time, knowing someone's history and seeing their life evolve can be remarkable. I love that midwifery is a career that allows for follow-up over decades, through wonderful times, really hard times, and everything in between.

Tagged As: Providers Women's Health

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