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DELIVERING COMFORT A NEW MIDWIFERY PRACTICE AT COMMUNITY NORTH FOCUSES ON A NATURAL, WOMAN-CENTERED APPROACH By Dawn Olsen
After shadowing a midwife in northern Indiana’s Amish community, Jill Kocher knew what she wanted to do – become a midwife herself. The opportunity to witness natural childbirths and interact, not just with a mother, but with an entire family, taught her how to approach childbirth holistically. “I was looking at it from a complete perspective,” Kocher said. “Emotionally, spiritually, everything.” Today, Kocher has a master’s degree in midwifery from the University of Indianapolis and 10 years of experience. She’s also one of four certified nurse midwives at Community Hospital North, the highestdelivering facility in the state. (In 2019, there were 5,000 deliveries!) Because of the high number of births, and because of the need to offer mothers more birthing options, Community North opened a new midwifery practice in November. When asked about the practice, C’Aira Hermesch, manager of operations for maternal fetal medicine, midwifery care, and multi-specialty care, described midwifery as “the healthcare of the future”.
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