When it comes to health care, finding someone who can offer treatment that meets your exact needs is important.
And it's especially vital for women who are preparing to bring a new life into this world.
Tonight in our Family First segment, we introduce you to midwifery and show you why it may be the best option for your medical needs.
In about five weeks, Priscilla McKinney will give birth to her third child.
And after having a midwife deliver her second child, Priscilla says she can't imagine having it any other way.
"For me it has to do with a particular type of relationship and a way in which i want to be able to communicate with someone about the most important experience of my lifetime."
And being part of that life changing experience is one reason Kristen Stovern became a certified nurse midwife.
"I was drawn to the profession because of that emotional connection you get with women when they're in labor and you're bringing a life into the world and being more a part of that not being pulled away by surgeries and by major illnesses."
The term midwifery may be foreign to some, but the practice has been around for centuries. And today there are several different types of midwives.
"Lay midwives have no official training and deliver babies in homes and then there are certified nurse midwives who have a nursing background, bachelors, masters and then residency experience."
As a certified nurse midwife, Kristen can do everything an ob-gyn physician can do except for perform any type of surgery such as a cesarean.
So as a rule, Kristen only works alone with low-risk patients. But the patients she does help usually have a special reason for choosing her to care for them.
"I think the main thing that draws women to my care, a midwifery form of care, is we do a lot of education, spend time with patients, make sure their questions are answered or they feel comfortable with what's going on and not make them feel rushed."
"Kristen got to know me and what particular concerns I had."
And during their visits, the two have built such a special bond that even Priscilla's husband could appreciate.
"My husband wrote her a note and my husband doesn't write letters to anyone....he felt she was taking such good care of me and just being attentive to my particular needs in this pregnancy which were different than every other pregnancy."
Kristen says she is most often asked if she delivers babies at home and although she could, she choses not to.
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