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What the heck is a midwife?
One of the benefits of living near a vast Mennonite community is having access to midwife care. St. Jacob's Midwives was started in the early 90s to serve the Mennonite community, as well as the local Waterloo region. It's located in that booming tourist trap, St. Jacob's (go figure).
Our midwife is Ann Jose and she looks exactly like you'd expect a midwife to look—grandmotherly and calm. Ann is from England, where she was an obstretics nurse, and then a midwife. She's also practiced nursing at the maternity ward at the K-W Hospital.
Why did we choose a midwife?
I guess the number one reason was quality of care. I only have to see a midwife through my whole pregnancy, and she also takes care of the baby for the 6 weeks after the birth. Visits with the midwife are usually 1/2 an hour and she encourages lots of questions. Plus, they really listen! No rush, rush, rush!
As you can tell, I'm very much a convert to the midwife experience.
For lots more information about midwifery in Ontario, see St. Jacob's Midwives.