Nancy worked as a clinical instructor at Goshen College and an obstetrical nurse at Goshen General Hospital before pursuing her dream to become a nurse-midwife. At Georgetown University she completed a midwifery certificate program in 1979 and a Master’s degree in Nursing in 1988. After practicing midwifery for four years in Washington, D.C. Nancy and her husband, Jake, and their 2 young children went to Jamaica for 3 years under Mennonite Central Committee. At a ghetto clinic in Kingston she was able to develop a family planning program and prenatal program. Upon return to the U.S., the family moved to Rhode Island where Jake attended graduate school and Nancy worked as a nurse-midwife at Women’s and Infant’s Hospital in Providence. Wanting to return to her Indiana roots and be close to family, Nancy joined Fairhaven Physicians in 1991 and started Goshen’s first nurse-midwifery practice. Nancy is thrilled that the midwifery practice has grown steadily since that time, thanks to the support of our physicians and staff, our patients, the community and the dedication of the midwives.

For the past 2 years Nancy has been a nursing professor at Goshen College. She was able to utilize her knowledge of maternal-newborn care in new and challenging ways. She is returning to Fairhaven with great enthusiasm to be “with women through life” as they give birth, seek or maintain health and grow older.

Nancy and Jake are proud parents of a 7th grader, 2 young adults, and a son-in-law, whom they host regularly for lively meals. She enjoys jogging, reading, piano, traveling, seeing great movies and sharing food and conversations with friends.

Julia graduated from Goshen College and received her Master’s in Maternity Nursing from Indiana University/Purdue University in Indianapolis. She completed a post graduate course in Midwifery at the University of Illinois, in Chicago and she is Board Certified by the ACNM Certification Counsel as a Nurse-Midwife. Julia is also certified as an OBGYN Nurse Practitioner.

Julia enjoys the health promotion and disease prevention education that is an integral part of primary care. Her focus is enabling women to be participants in decisions about their health care and has had a particular interest in questions relating to menopause. In addition, she feels especially privileged to be with women and their families during pregnancy and childbirth. Julia has been with Fairhaven OBGYN for 26 years.

Julia is married to Larry and they have three grown children. In her free time she enjoys gardening and being an elected member of the Goshen Common Council.

Rachel began her career as a nurse in 1976 at Goshen General Hospital. She worked for 12 years as a labor and delivery nurse in Pennsylvania and Indiana. She returned to school after her two girls were in school. She had been yearning to be a midwife for many years. Rachel received her Master of Science in Nursing (nurse-midwifery) from The University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and began working as a CNM in an inner city clinic in Trenton, New Jersey. A clinic for uninsured women in Pennsylvania was her next place to be “with women.” In 1993 she moved to Ohio to begin a new midwifery practice, where she worked for seven years. She came to Fairhaven in April 2000 and loves being here in Goshen.

Birth is always special. Rachel considers it an honor to be present and to assist at the labor and birth of women/couples. Recently menopause issues have become more important to her. It is her goal to help women make good decisions for themselves from adolescence through menopause. When indicated, Rachel will suggest the use of bio-identical hormones, herbs, and some homeopathic remedies.

In her free time she likes to roller blade, hike, and play Scrabble™ with her husband. She has three grandchildren. It was a privilege to help her daughter give birth to her first child at Goshen General Hospital.

Beth has been a midwife for thirteen years. She finished her Master of Science in Nursing at Yale University in 1994, and she has worked as a midwife in Connecticut, North Carolina, and here in Goshen.

She began her career as a high school English teacher and became interested in midwifery after she had children of her own. She had twins the first time around that were born by cesarean section. When she was pregnant the second time, she learned more about pregnancy and birth in order to have a vaginal birth after having a cesarean (VBAC). She has been a La Leche League Leader, childbirth educator and doula. Finally, she decided to return to school for training in midwifery so that she would be better able to offer women personal support and a variety of choices for their pregnancies and births.

Over her years of midwifery practice, she has seen her role as, not only helping women give birth to their babies, but also gives birth to themselves as mothers. Beth has experience with group prenatal care and has an interest in group care for women encountering the changes of pre-menopause and menopause. She is also interested in the issue of weight management for women.

She has four grown children and two grandchildren. In her free time she enjoys baking bread and cooking with whole foods, doing cross stitch, reading and taking long walks.

Amy began her career as a labor and delivery nurse, before going back to school to complete her Masters in Science and Nurse Midwifery from Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. She joined the Fairhaven group as a Certified Nurse Midwife in 2005 and enjoys providing women’s health care for teens through menopause. Amy is board certified from the ACNM Certification Counsel and has been since 2005. In her spare time Amy enjoys running, gardening, crocheting and ballroom dancing.

We have had a nurse-midwifery practice at Fairhaven Obstetrics & Gynecology since 1993.  Our practice has grown to include five Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM).  It is the Nurse-Midwifery philosophy that the childbearing process is essentially a normal one.  We work toward empowering women in their own individual pregnancy and birth, expanding choices and promoting health and normalcy in the childbearing years.  We value the following:

• Continuity of care: One of the CNM’s providing your prenatal care will be present at your labor and birth.
• You are the primary decision maker
• Birth is a normal event
• Appropriate use of technology
• Time at visits to provide information, counseling and education

We also care for women in all stages of life. Sound decisions are integral to good healthcare, and we want you to take an active role in making the right choices for yourself.  As a provider of gynecological care from adolescence to midlife and beyond we will provide the information you need to make informed and educated decisions about your healthcare.

We are committed to providing quality healthcare from birth and beyond.