Midwife joins Franklin Health Women’s Care

FARMINGTON – Franklin Health Women’s Care and Franklin Memorial Hospital are now offering a more holistic option for childbirth with the addition of nurse midwife JennieLea Hanna, MSN, CNM to the team.

This is not the first time FMH has offered midwifery services, though the hospital hasn’t had the option available for the last five years. Vice President of Practice Operations Mavis Dubord said Hanna’s arrival will bring a welcome addition of skillsets to the facility.

“We’ve had a lot of patients request midwifery services. Some of them just don’t quite want a home delivery but can get that home-like atmosphere here with the protection and security of the hospital,” Dubord said.

Although the primary reason for bringing Hanna on board is to offer a more diverse level of care to mothers, Dubord said they also wanted to be able to offer the service closer to home.

“We knew there were a lot of patients leaving here to go somewhere else for a midwife. If someone wants that type of care, we want to be able to provide it close to home so patients don’t have to travel,” she said.

Hanna, who is trained as a labor/delivery nurse and later got her masters in nursing with a special focus on midwifery, brings more than 20 years of experience to the practice.

“After the birth of my daughter, I just knew I wanted to be a midwife and I knew I wanted to be a great one,” she said.

Hanna says the specialized care offers a more holistic approach to labor and delivery, one that looks at the bigger picture rather than just individual pieces. She describes it as a little less medical and a little more family oriented.

“It’s so personalized and I really get to know the people. In such a small, rural community I feel really blessed to be able to work with women and families in this way,” she said.

Although the approach is generalized as being “less medical,” Hanna still has access to the state-of-the-art equipment that FMH offers, and full support of the staff if an alternative route needs to be taken.

“We want to support whatever decision the mother makes. We’re trying to be supportive of whatever birth they want,” Dubord said.

Hanna joins the obstetrician/gynecologist team of Tara Aumand, MD; Susan Kearing, DO; and Jennifer Zeliger, MD. As a CNM, Hanna is an advanced practice provider who offers health care services for women from puberty to beyond menopause, as well as patient education about reproductive health, contraception, and pregnancy planning.

For more information or to schedule an appointment with JennieLea Hanna or another Franklin Health Women’s Care provider call 778-6394.

The practice is located in the Franklin Health Medical Arts Center in Farmington. Obstetrical services are also provided at the Androscoggin Valley Medical Arts Center in Livermore Falls.