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Expectant mothers grateful for midwifery care

Tuesdays are busy days for nurse midwife Aisha Faye. Her work on Tuesdays differs from her usual job as a nurse working with the Hollings Cancer Center’s Mobile Health Unit.
 
It is early Tuesday as she makes the drive from her home to the rural surroundings of John’s Island and a cozy facility known as the Wellness House, a part of the Our Lady of Mercy Outreach Facility. 
 
Inside, Faye joins nurse/coordinator Annette Maranville and receptionist/interpreter Leticia Nava for some chit-chat and a cool drink before meeting with her first patient.

Today, Faye will see somewhere between 14 to 18 expectant mothers (many of them Hispanic and with no primary care provider) for their prenatal check-ups. Although there are no students present today, the Wellness House has been a rotation site for nurse-midwifery students interested in the cultural aspects of care.
 
One of the women to be seen, Josefina Gonsalez, is a pregnant 31-year old woman with short brown hair and lively green eyes. Gonsalez, who lives in North Charleston, has just completed her 20th prenatal visit to the Wellness House and will soon give birth to her second child. The program is supported by funds from Bon Secours St. Francis and a collaborative Duke Endowment Grant with the College of Nursing/Department of Family Medicine. Like many women, she first heard about the house through friends. She arrived for each of her appointments by cab. 
 
“It’s worth it,” she said to Nava in her native tongue. “I had heard of the very good care provided here.”

 Gonsalez and other women are thankful to be able to access good prenatal care and gain other support from community services offered by various facilities.
 
“When you take care of a woman and her baby, you’re not just providing a service here and now, you’re taking care of the future also,” said Faye, who has practiced more than 25 years in nurse-midwifery. “Caring for all babies is important in our society.”

Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.