We asked a few of our Certified Nurse-Midwives what drew them to the career and what they love about helping women through major milestones such as pregnancy and menopause.<\/p>\n
Lizzi Brink, CNM, ARNP, is a Certified Nurse-Midwife at MultiCare Women\u2019s Center in Tacoma.<\/p>\n
Brink is new to midwifery, having graduated from midwifery school last summer. She\u2019s been a registered nurse for seven years and previously worked as a labor and delivery nurse at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital.<\/p>\n
Brink\u2019s experience during a nursing internship in the Philippines in nursing school inspired her to become a midwife. There, she caught a baby for the first time and marveled at the unmedicated births that are commonplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a powerful experience to see how strong women are,\u201d she says. \u201cThese women were so confident and brave in spite of the circumstances. It was inspiring to form a connection and find a way to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
But midwifery is about more than catching babies, she says, which is another reason she loves it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about education and empowerment of patients and giving women options and informed choices,\u201d Brink says. \u201cIt truly is the best job the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are sad moments, too, such as when a patient loses a pregnancy \u2014 but it\u2019s an enriching experience overall, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs midwives we really value the relationships we create with women,\u201d says Brink. \u201cIt\u2019s such an incredibly humbling experience that women trust me with their care and want me to walk beside them in this health journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s interesting that 10 years ago I didn\u2019t know what a midwife was and now I am one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bree Herndon, DNP, CNM, ARNP, a Certified Nurse-Midwife at the MultiCare Women\u2019s Center in Auburn, says midwifery is something you have to have a calling for.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabies come when they want to come,\u201d she says, pointing out the long hours and challenging nature of the job. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0really rewarding and I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before becoming a midwife, Herndon initially became interested in\u00a0midwifery while working toward her bachelor\u2019s degree in cultural anthropology. Next, she worked in administration for the\u00a0Department of OBGYN\u00a0at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital in Boston.<\/p>\n
There, she got to know a lot of midwives and other providers, which led her down the path to becoming a midwife herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI chose midwifery particularly because I wanted to focus on low-risk, normal physiological birth and reproductive care,\u00a0supporting women\u00a0through their life transitions from first period through first pregnancy through menopause,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMidwifery seemed like a place where I could meet women where they are. I really love getting to know my patients, being part of really awesome moments, and able to support them through terrible moments too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We asked a few of our Certified Nurse-Midwives what drew them to the career.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":327,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-profiles-stories","category-womens-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n