A midwife is a trained maternity-care provider who supports you through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period — with a focus on relationship, education, and treating birth as the natural, healthy event it usually is.
What a midwife does
- Provides prenatal care and monitors the health of you and your baby
- Spends real time educating you so you can make informed choices
- Attends your birth — at home, in a birth center, or (for some midwives) in a hospital
- Provides postpartum care and newborn checks after birth
- Offers well-woman care, annual exams, and family planning beyond pregnancy
What is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)?
A Certified Nurse Midwife is a registered nurse who has completed graduate (master's-level) education in midwifery and passed national board certification. CNMs are trained to provide full-scope care, including prescribing medication and ordering tests. Happy Stork's Jana Schenkel is a CNM and a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C), which means she can care for your whole family's health, not just your pregnancy.
A midwife during pregnancy, labor, and after birth
During pregnancy, your midwife sees you for unhurried prenatal visits, tracks your baby's growth, and helps you build a plan that fits your wishes. During labor and birth, she stays with you, monitors you and your baby, and supports a calm, low-intervention birth — stepping in or arranging transfer if anything changes. After birth, she continues to care for you and your newborn through the tender early weeks.
Who is midwifery care for?
Midwifery care is an excellent fit for low-risk pregnancies and for families who want a personal relationship with one provider, more time at each visit, and a say in how their birth unfolds.