This blog was written by Laura Kelly Fanucci, mom of five boys, three of whom were born at The Mother Baby Center, a partnership between Allina Health and Children’s Minnesota. Laura shares more about her transformative experience with midwives throughout her health care journey, from the tragic loss of twins to birth to cancer treatment.
After I gave birth to my first two babies with an OB-GYN, I wanted a different experience for my next pregnancy.
When I switched my care to the Allina Health midwives and found Kathrine Simon, CNM, MS, Allina Health midwifery program manager, it was a game changer. The midwives listened to me, my hopes, fears and concerns. They supported my physical, emotional and mental health. They took enough time, during every appointment, to make sure I was informed throughout pregnancy. And they were amazing during birth, staying with me throughout labor. Kathrine helped me to have the natural birth I hoped for, and I became such a huge fan of midwifery care.
After that beautiful birth at The Mother Baby Center, I remember Kathrine sitting down next to my husband and laughing, “That was great! When are we doing this again?” I needed a little more time! But eventually we did decide to have another baby. Except — surprise! — this time it was twins. Because they were identical twins and it became a high risk-pregnancy, I did have to switch my care to maternal-fetal specialists — but Kathrine continued to support me throughout pregnancy. Any time I had questions or concerns, she was there for me.
The hardest part came when our twins developed complications in-utero. Our daughters ended up being born prematurely via C-section and they were very sick. They lived only one and two days. Even though I was not even Kathrine’s patient during that birth, she showed up in my hospital room, gathered me into her arms and let me weep on her shoulder. Every midwife in the practice who was on-call that week came in to visit us as we grieved. As parents, it was the worst, but the midwives were the best. I will never forget that.
So, when we decided to try again, after such a huge loss, I was understandably overwhelmed. I was hopeful but scared. Kathrine was amazing during that whole pregnancy. Thanks to her, I was able to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and bring our baby into the world safely. She was an advocate for everything I needed during that very tender time. It was a great example of trauma-informed care and its positive outcomes.
Midwives have also supported me as I’ve grown out of the “baby stage” of life. I still see Kathrine for my yearly physical, and two years ago, she was the first medical professional I came to and said, “I found this lump in my breast. Do you think it’s anything?”
I will never forget the way her face changed when she felt the lump. I knew her well enough by then to know that it was serious — and she knew me well enough to know what I needed. Every single day I am grateful that Kathrine was the first one to care for me, the one who made the calls to find a breast clinic that could get me in for a mammogram ASAP, and the one who called me as soon as I got the results — that it was indeed breast cancer.
She cried with me and told me she would be there for me through my treatment — and she was. Today I am cancer-free. Just recently, I saw Kathrine again for my annual exam, and we laughed and cried all over again. It is such a gift to be healthy. Midwifery care has been such a gift in my life. I cannot tell you what a difference it has made for my physical, emotional and mental health to be supported by midwives for the past decade of my life. I want this kind of holistic health care for all women.
In my professional work, I’m a writer and I often work with mothers, especially women of color, who are writing about motherhood. Over and over, I hear stories of women being ignored, mistreated or disrespected by medical professionals during pregnancy and birth. Their stories opened my eyes to the deep need we have for more midwives to care for women, throughout their life. More than once, I have encouraged a friend to spend the time to find care that fits them best, to look into midwifery care, to get the kind of support they are seeking. It has been incredible to see what happens when women are cared for holistically. This is the model of medical care all parents and communities deserve.
