Jennie Joseph is a British-trained midwife and has been an Orlando resident since 1989. She always jokes about not doing her research before she left London, just arriving in Florida, assuming that she would step off the plane and start ‘catching babies’. Not so – you see unbeknown to Joseph, when she arrived in the late eighties midwifery had all but disappeared and the move was on to encourage hospital births, epidurals and surgical deliveries. Unaccustomed to being the one to rock the boat she quietly went about developing a small home birth practice serving the few families who preferred a natural birth.
By the time 1998 arrived that small practice had grown to encompass five counties in the Central Florida area. The fulfillment of delivering babies for so many families was rewarding but Joseph began to be concerned about the high infant mortality rates which disproportionally impacted women of color in Florida and nationally. Never having to deal with low birth weight, premature or sickly infants was a benefit of working with healthy and empowered women. Midwifery care allowed the time to listen, educate and support a woman such that impending problems and concerns could be addressed early, handled and dissipated. Invariably the few minor complaints that the women had were nipped in the bud and a healthy outcome followed in due time. Realizing that her practice served women and families who had the opportunity to educate themselves about natural birth, research their options and choose their practitioner Joseph began to wonder what impact midwifery might have on the poor pregnancy outcomes and infant deaths for low income, uninsured and disenfranchised women. And so Commonsense Childbirth Incorporated, a non-profit 501 (C) 3 company, was born.
Since then Jennie’s center, The Birth Place, has served hundreds of indigent women who would not have considered that a midwife would be an answer to their maternity needs. Early on, as the program was developing, it was clear that not everyone considered a natural birth the way to go. Joseph forged relationships with local hospitals and OB physicians and opened up the opportunity for women to receive their prenatal and postpartum care with her but deliver in the hospital with a doctor. "It's all about choice, some women feel they need the support of pain relief, some feel more comfortable in the hospital environment. For others the opportunity of being home or at the birth center is the absolute Cadillac of birthing", she smiles.
African American women have two to three times the risk of having a baby that is born too soon, too small or which does not reach its first birth day. With those awful facts in mind she developed her own health care delivery system called The JJ (Jennie Joseph) Way. The model involved an even more focused approach, especially where gaps in the healthcare system were causing barriers for women. One of the biggest concerns related to getting on insurance or Medicaid in a timely fashion; we decided early on that we would turn no-one away if they came in for care. "The JJ Way® operates from the fundamental premise that 'every woman wants a healthy baby and every woman deserves one'. When a woman sees that you firmly believe that she too is motivated to do the best she can for herself and her baby" states Joseph.
In 2007 a research study proved what Jennie had been saying for years. Funded by Winter Park Health Foundation (www.WPHF.org) and evaluated by The Health Council of East Central Florida (www.HCECF.org) 100 Birth Place patients were enrolled prospectively, early in their pregnancy. The outcomes were phenomenal. The average birth weight was 7lbs 7ozs and the average gestation was 39 weeks. Especially pleasing was the fact that NO African American or Hispanic women had a low birth weight or preterm baby during the study period. "The JJ Way® is making a difference for Central Florida women and families", beams Joseph, "I guess it doesn’t hurt to rock the boat once in a while!"
Visit the websites for more details about Commonsense Chidlbirth or The Birth Place birthing center.
