Christi’s Story

Sometimes it’s fate.

Like when you’ve got an appointment scheduled and you arrive only to find out that you weren’t supposed to be there at all. 

“I showed up in Neenah, but I guess I was supposed to be in Appleton,” Christi said. “Turned out they had a midwife that was able to see me right then and there.”

That’s how Christi found Kay Weina, who was able to deliver on a preference of Christi’s that was both simple and profound.

“I was looking for someone who was willing to get to know me,” Christi said.

Initial appointments with previous providers seemed quick, mechanical, uninspiring. In describing visits with Kay, Christi used words like “safe” and “comfortable.” The pace of appointments slowed. There was time for thoughtful discussion. And when the first-time mom wasn’t sure what questions she should ask, Kay stepped in and asked questions of Christi.

With Kay’s assistance, Christi experienced a healthy pregnancy and delivery with her first, Miles. It was the same with her second child, Emmie, although the experience was slightly different: Christi gave birth at the height of the Covid pandemic. But the patient-provider relationship was forged.

“What developed was a very special connection, like family,” said Christi. “But where it becomes even more special to me was with our third, Maggie.”

Here is Christi’s story:

After confidently carrying and delivering two healthy children, it was in my head that something was going to go wrong with my third pregnancy.  

I was just waiting for it. And it was always there.

Late in the pregnancy, there was a really hot day in late July when I had taken the kids to the beach, and I felt like I was finally able to just relax, just enjoy watching them swim. Giving my full attention to Miles and Emmie. And that turned out to be the last day of just our family of four.

That evening I laid with Emmie, put her to bed, and thought I felt a contraction, but wasn't really sure. I went to bed and woke up very shortly after. I texted Kay (she gives you her phone number, which is so comforting) around 10:00pm, to give her a heads up that I might be having contractions. And just like with Miles and Emmie as well, she texted back right away and told me to get in the shower, which was either going to slow things down or speed things up. After the shower, I texted her it sped things up.

Kay texted, “See you there.”

I think it was around 11:00pm when we got to the hospital. But there it was back in my head again, the fear. I had the feeling I was going to be in labor for days, just because my first two pregnancies went quickly, two natural deliveries. It also didn’t help that there was a bit of a delay getting checked in. Kay ended that quickly (“She’s in labor. She’s going to have this baby.”), so I didn’t have to advocate for myself.

They got me into the room, and Kay was going through my checklist of things that were important to me, like getting the tub started, putting the lavender in, letting the nurses know I’d prefer not to have an IV unless necessary, just preparing the room for me.

Despite all this, there’s me, simply feeling not ready. Scared about the whole thing. Telling Kay I didn’t think I could go through it again. Thinking about an epidural, and that from someone who always had a preference for holistic, natural births.

And so, in that moment of desperation, panic and nervousness, Kay somehow got me to shake it off. It was, ‘You've got this. You are not weak; you are super strong. You're gonna get through this, and you're gonna be holding your baby soon.’

Exactly what I needed to hear.

Kay was able to get my brain back to that place where you could revisit what you know about yourself, that you are strong and capable, that you've done this before. I was in the bath maybe 10 minutes. The contractions got stronger and my water broke, and before I could even get up the baby was coming out. Kay’s presence gave me confidence: she understands that our bodies know what to do and trusts that we can be strong.

There was a huge sense of relief after the baby was born, and Kay let me just kind of sit with Maggie on my chest. Nothing felt rushed. She let me do skin to skin for quite a long time afterwards and had me all cleaned up before they even took Maggie off of my chest.

I must say, there's an extra superhuman power I always feel after delivering. We sometimes don't give ourselves enough credit, to be able to really trust ourselves and trust our bodies. Women really are incredible human beings. I don't want to hold a lot over my husband's head, but having three babies naturally, I think, gives me a bit of street cred.

Thinking back on it all, I’m so grateful for Kay, how she guided me in such a gentle manner and had everything ready just how I wanted it, which allowed me to be in control of delivering the way I knew my body could, to reconnect me with the confidence that was always there.

And the fact that Kay got to know me, and to understand the effect that stress and anxiety can have on me, she was able to bring that sense of calm, making the uncertainty of this third pregnancy feel so much better. She always told me there was nothing in my first two pregnancies that indicated anything was going to go wrong in my third.

And she was right. Everything was perfectly fine.

There’s a five-year gap between our second and third. Everything with Maggie, who is now seven months, felt so new again. I’ll never forget when we got home with Maggie. We were literally driving up the driveway and my husband said, ‘This is just how our family was meant to be.’ And it really feels that way.

Maggie was everything we didn't know we needed.

Kay, Maggie, Emmie & Miles

Shannon's Story

We moved to the Fox Valley area in late 2023 and I took a chance establishing care with a new OB provider, Dr. Swift. She immediately made an impression at my initial visit.

Unfortunately, it took a little over a year and a chemical miscarriage to ultimately have success in conception of our second daughter Sophia in Fall 2025. What stands out in my journey with Dr. Swift was her support in a pregnancy after loss, the delivery of my daughter, and the reassurance and extra care she provided when I had some initial postpartum complications.

But what stands out to me even more was my 6-week postpartum appointment with her. I had to bring my newborn along with me as we live here in the area with no family in very close proximity. The baby was fussy and hungry and despite trying to get her comfortable until after the appointment I had to feed her during our wait.

Dr. Swift walked into the room to me — without pants to prep for my IUD insertion, with a baby feeding on my chest, and I’m sure a general appearance of a mom just trying to keep it together. She gave me extended time and a whole lot of grace.

During the appointment I apologized for having to bring the fussy baby and explained that we didn’t have a “village” just down the road. As the appointment was ending the baby again began to fuss, and Dr. Swift immediately swept in, picked the baby up and walked her around the clinic to visit with the nurses to allow me a few minutes to gather myself.

That simple moment meant more than I can say, and I am so grateful to have Dr. Swift in our “village.”

Jerica's Story

It was Jerica’s lunch hour, perhaps the only break in her day.

Nonetheless, she picked up the phone.

“I’m in this little park by where I work. The sunshine feels fantastic. If I close my eyes, it kind of feels like vacation.”

“You’re working and also have a 12-week-old?” I asked. “That’s amazing! And you don’t sound the least bit tired!”

“I’m exhausted, but I’m ready to speak with you,” she said. “I will never pass down an opportunity to talk about Kay. That's how much I love her.”

It was instantly clear that Jerica was a force of nature, so I did exactly what my parents taught me to do when encountering such a presence: I listened, learned, and got out of the way.

Here are some of the highlights from our 30-minute conversation:

• I’m Puerto Rican, and my abuela still goes out to the garden, picks some herbs and crushes them into a tea to cure an upset stomach. I love the way our families and elders have, how do I say, a more natural path. But I get that modern medicine is also important. Blending those together, the traditional and the modern, that’s what works for me. I think that’s why I decided to go with a midwife. And I chose Kay.
• When I first met Kay I was instantly hooked: her attitude, her demeanor, how she treats you. It was almost like sitting down and talking with a family member, like an aunt that I'm close with. It was easy to be honest with her.
• Being a mother is the one thing I’ve always wanted. So when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, a thyroid disease that can make conceiving more difficult, that was devastating news for me.
• Following the diagnosis, it was suggested I try to take a more natural approach in my diet, to find a healthy balance. Sure, I love salads, but I’m not going to turn down a cheeseburger. I decided to eat what made me happy. And I was pregnant two months later.
• I had HG (hyperemesis gravidarum) with my first. Sick my entire pregnancy. Lost a lot of weight. I was at Women’s Care all the time, getting IV’s because I was so dehydrated. The nurses were all fantastic! (Shout out to Diane, who was like my best friend through all of it!)
• I had HG with my second pregnancy. And again with my third, delivered last November.
• Because of the constant nausea, I would be freaking out all the time. ‘Is this baby going to be okay?’ Kay was always like, ‘Your baby's so happy in there, just dancing around!” We had extra ultrasounds to make sure, not just because I was sick but also because I was over the age of 35, and you’re considered “geriatric.”
• Yeah, geriatric. We gotta change that name.
• I would have loved to have a midwife at home, but I guess there’s always a worry about complications. Again, it's the blending of two worlds, so I was getting that personal midwife feel but in the hospital setting.
• When I was laboring, Kay was walking the floor with me. When I’d have contractions, she'd be standing in front of me, counting them out with me. My first daughter was born on Christmas, so we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning together!
• For all three, Kay always asked what my goals were with the pregnancy, what my birth plans were. First off, my birth plan was no plan at all, because if I plan something out and it doesn’t go accordingly, that's just going to stress me out. My goals were to go as natural as possible. I didn't want laughing gas. I didn't want an epidural. I wasn’t opposed to their use if needed, but I wanted to be encouraged to go natural. And Kay's like, ‘Sounds great!’ And I wanted to avoid a C-section. ‘Okay, cool!’ But if she was to say to me, ‘Jerica, you need to get a C-section,’ then we’d get a C-section. I wanted a safe delivery, a healthy baby, and a healthy me, but Kay’s the expert and I needed her to tell me when we were at that line, because I don't know.
• I was just talking to my husband about this interview. I think he wanted to be in on it, because he loves Kay too. And he’s been so great. He's so supportive. He’s always like, “Hey, you’re the one giving birth. Just tell me what you need from me. More specifically, what you don’t want me to do. And I’ll make sure I don’t do that.’ He went with me to every single appointment and got to see Kay every time.
• On my Facebook mom groups, when people are looking for a provider, I tell them this: GO TO KAY! GO TO KAY!
• Are we done having kids? Yes, we are done. Done.

Chelsea's Gender Reveal Story

It started with a Facebook comment, submitted last month for our Packer contest:

Shout out to our sonographer (I believe initials are KF on our ultrasound pics) who unknowingly had us convinced our baby was a girl and gave us the surprise of a lifetime when we opened her envelope and unfolded the sticky note that was folded a million times and read "Boy!" Thanks for being part of our super fun and emotional gender reveal!

 And a picture:

Then we just wanted more details.

And a generous mom gave us just that.

This is Chelsea’s Story:

Let me set the stage for Zayn’s gender reveal by starting with our first, Kenzie, who will be five in April. We were going to find out the gender at a little party, not at the anatomy scan. Therefore, the sonographer had me and my husband close our eyes when she was checking the genital area. Later, she asked us to close our eyes a second time, and she checked again. So when we found out that we were having a girl at our gender reveal, the double check experience was in our minds.

Fast forward to the anatomy scan for our second, and again we didn’t want to know the gender at this time. The same sonographer did the double check thing again, exactly like when we had our daughter. A tip off.

They wrote it on a sticky note and folded it up, but we knew. It was going to be a girl.

Soon after, a friend convinced us our suspicions were correct.

‘I’ve got three boys,’ she said, ‘and I never had to have a double check for any of them. You’re having a girl.’

And now a little backstory. We struggled with infertility, or, as Dr. Reed calls it, subfertility. So there was a lot of extra stress and effort and emotions that went into creating our family. While we were going to be happy with either a girl or a boy, we were kind of hoping for a boy, because if we had two girls, we were probably going to try for a boy. It was just going to take some of the pressure off of us with our third child.

Anyway, the gender reveal party was only a few days removed from this whole discussion, a party we wanted to be as unique as our daughter’s was (fireworks on NYE!), something that went beyond a blue or pink cake.

My Packer-loving husband liked the idea of having a Packer theme. Why not have it on a game day? And since the draft was coming to Green Bay the following spring, why not do the reveal like a draft pick?

So we filled up a private room at a local establishment with family and friends, and when the time was just right, and we were on the clock, we silenced the crowd with the sound of the ESPN NFL Draft chime. Just to make it official.

‘With the first pick in the 2025 draft,’ my husband said, ‘the Cook family selects . . .’

We opened the envelope and immediately burst into tears.

‘BOY!’ we read.

We could not believe it. We were hysterically happy.

And that struggle with creating our family I mentioned before, well, that all came flooding back. How in 2019 we found out it wasn’t working to create a family on our own. Started with fertility meds, got pregnant, and miscarried right as Covid was starting to shut the world down. Then six months later we got pregnant with our daughter. And because that worked for us, we figured it would work again. For a year or more we were back on the same meds and it wasn’t happening.

So we did more.

IUI was the next step. We took it as a sign when my husband’s company changed health insurance to include fertility coverage. This was going to be our year! Starting in January of 2024, we did four rounds of IUI and they all failed. IVF was going to be next. And we were all in for that.

After the fourth failed IUI, we didn’t do medications for the next month. You wait for your period to start again, and then the first step is birth control. So we’re doing all this IVF stuff, labs and prep work, just waiting for my period, and guess what? It doesn’t come. I take a pregnancy test. And I’m pregnant. Just as I was about to start an IVF cycle. That definitely added to the emotions of gratitude and gratefulness.

We’re Christian and give all the glory to God. We believe that he creates these little miracles, and he had this story written for us. He wanted to challenge us.

And He sure did.

Mom’s Note #1: Back to the Packers. While we had already picked the name Zayn, my husband’s head was stuck on Jayden. Yes, the very name of one of his favorites on the Packers, Jayden Reed. I wasn’t so sure. When our son was born we just couldn't decide right away, so he went three hours without a name.

My husband left it up to me. Jayden’s a good name, but it just wasn't our boy.

Mom’s Note #2: KF is Kathy Feldkamp, our ultrasound sonographer. Thank you so much, Kathy, for being part of our special gender reveal!

This and top image by Sara Jean Photography

BOY!!

Courtney's Story

Doctors often don’t receive the recognition they deserve. My experience with Dr. Johnson was truly life-changing and has significantly improved my quality of life.

In October of 2023, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was fortunate that it was caught early and treated surgically. As with any surgery, there are risks and potential complications—you just never expect to be the one it happens to. During surgery, my bladder suffered nerve damage. I lost the sensation to know when I needed to urinate and had difficulty initiating voiding leading to urinary retention.

I tried pelvic floor therapy with little improvement. I saw other urology specialists, underwent testing, and was eventually told I had a neurogenic bladder—and that there was nothing that could be done. I was told catheterization would eventually be my reality. I was led to believe that was simply the path I was given.

For about a year, I stepped away from appointments and tried to live my life. But by mid-2025, it was becoming increasingly difficult to urinate and, without sensation, I often forgot to even remind myself to go. Then, by what truly feels like divine intervention, I was scrolling Facebook and came across Women’s Care and Dr. Johnson’s bio. I had never considered a urogynecologist as someone who could help me—but I took a leap of faith and scheduled an appointment the next day.

That first appointment left me hopeful. Dr. Johnson was incredibly knowledgeable about everything I had been through. The visit wasn’t rushed. I felt truly heard and respected. He made vulnerable, personal topics feel like any other normal conversation. And most importantly—he had a potential treatment option. Something I had been told did not exist.

He introduced me to InterStim, a surgical implant essentially functioning as a pacemaker for the bladder. He explained everything thoroughly, and I left without unanswered questions. In November, I underwent the trial and permanent placement surgeries. To my surprise and relief, the InterStim worked. The surgeries were uncomplicated and straightforward, and the device restored significant bladder function. It has reduced urinary retention, helped preserve my kidney health, and—most meaningfully—allowed me to live without alarms dictating when I need to use the bathroom.

Because of Dr. Johnson, this is the most normal my body has felt in the last two years. This experience has not only helped heal my physical body, but has also helped me process and move through some of the trauma of the past. I am incredibly grateful for Dr. Johnson and the care he provided. His expertise, compassion, and willingness to listen made all the difference in my healing journey.

Remi’s Story

There are stories that change the shape of your life. And then there are stories that become the shape of your life. This is one of those.

Our daughter was stillborn. Those words still feel impossible to write, even a year later. Her birth, in some ways, was everything we imagined. And in so many ways, unimaginable. The story of Remi’s birth began like so many others. I began laboring at home, and after a few hours we headed to the hospital, diaper bag and car seat in tow. When we arrived, the unimaginable happened.

The nurse couldn’t find her heartbeat. It felt like a fever dream. Like our doctor would walk in and say, “Just kidding, let’s have this baby.” But that was anything but true. The moments that followed are ones Andy and I both wish we could forget and never lose at the same time. That has been the theme of this past year: living in duality.

Our doctor was called, and somehow, defying all odds (like she would so many more times), arrived from home in what felt like two minutes. She stepped into action with a kind of care I had never witnessed before. She made sure we were kept away from the sounds of newborn cries and new parents. She ushered us to a quiet room, far from the joys of new parenthood we would be missing.

From there, we were given the time and space to feel exactly what we needed to feel, with support from Dr. Swift and her team to help us make decisions that felt too big to hold. She guided us through grief with kindness, knowledge, and a calm sureness that made us trust every single decision she made. When everything felt out of control, her steadiness mattered more than I can explain.

When it was time, Remi’s birth was quiet and devastating. The room held a kind of silence that wasn’t empty, but heavy with meaning. Time moved strangely. Everything went slowly and too fast at once. What could have been chaos was instead held by an extraordinary care team.

Nurses who moved gently.

A doctor who treated her not as a loss, but as a person.

As our daughter.

As someone who mattered.

They honored her life, even in death. They honored us as parents. They gave dignity to a moment that could have been clinical and cold, and instead made it human, sacred, and compassionate. That kind of care changes you. It stays with you. It becomes part of your healing.

There is no language that fully captures what it feels like to give birth and not hear a cry. To hold your baby and know the world will never meet her the way you imagined. There is nothing that can prepare you for coming home to a quiet house when you planned for the exact opposite. The crib meant for little toes, empty. The halls meant for midnight cries, silent. The onesies neatly folded, never worn.

Your body feels the effects of having a baby, but your arms are empty. Nights are sleepless for a different reason. Hugs are for consolation instead of congratulations. And through all of it, we were not alone. Our family. Our friends. Our support system. People who showed up without needing words, who honored Remi and grieved with us without trying to fix either. That kind of love is rare. We will never be able to thank our army enough.

Today, on January 27th, we celebrate her first birthday.

In the last year, it hasn’t gotten easier. It hasn’t healed everything. Our grief hasn’t disappeared. We still miss Remi every day. But we celebrate her because she is the baby who made us parents. She matters. She changed us. No matter the length of a life, it can still leave an imprint that lasts forever. She is our first child. She is Otto’s sister. She is part of our family story forever. We do not move on from her. We move forward with her.

Happy first birthday, sweet girl. You are known. You are loved. You are remembered. You are part of everything we are becoming.

Educational Note on Stillbirth and Umbilical Cord Length: Stillbirth affects about 1 in 175 pregnancies in the United States. It is a loss that often arrives without warning and without a clear explanation, even when parents have done everything “right.” In Remi’s case, we later learned that her umbilical cord was nearly three times the average length. While the typical umbilical cord is around 20–24 inches, hers was significantly longer. This can increase the risk of cord entanglement or compression, which can disrupt oxygen and blood flow to the baby. What makes this especially painful is that umbilical cord length and related risks cannot be reliably seen or predicted on ultrasound. There was nothing we could have done to prevent this, and nothing that could have been detected ahead of time. Stillbirth is not caused by stress, diet, movement, or a parent’s choices. Sometimes, tragically, it is the result of circumstances beyond anyone’s control. We share this not to explain away Remi, but to honor her story with truth, and to remind other parents that this kind of loss is not a personal failure.

For Remi: Remi, you changed us forever. You made us parents. You made us softer, braver, and more aware of how fragile and miraculous love is. We carry you in the way we love Otto, in the way we notice small things, in the way we hold joy and grief side by side. We miss you every single day, in quiet moments and loud ones, in ordinary Tuesdays and in the milestones that ache. Your birthday will always be sacred to us. You are part of our family, part of our story, part of who we are becoming. We love you beyond language, beyond time, beyond what we can see. Happy first birthday, sweet girl. You are here, with us, always.

If you are reading this and carrying a loss of your own, I want you to know that your baby matters. Your grief is real. Your love is real. And the relationship you have with your child does not end because their life was brief. We are learning that grief does not disappear, but it changes shape. Remi is part of us. She is part of our family. She is part of who we are becoming.

And so are the babies who changed you.

Megan's Story

Megan was in Menasha, heading to Oshkosh.

I looked out my window in Appleton. Swirling snow, gusting winds.

“Are you sure you want to give a testimonial while you're driving?” I asked.

She laughed and said, “We’re good at multi-tasking, right?”

I think she meant moms, but in case she was including older adult males without children, I agreed.

And so Megan began:

I didn’t choose Kay Weina; somehow, I think it was just meant to be. My original OB was unavailable when I went into labor with my first. I was going to be induced and ended up going in a little bit early. Kay happened to be the provider that was on call. And she was just amazing. I ended up delivering a baby that was two pounds heavier than we predicted. Ten pounds. But no tearing or any issues, which is unheard of with a baby that size.

Anyway, Kay was absolutely wonderful. She and my husband really hit it off too, so it was like, ‘Alright, we’re going to keep you!’ We got lucky and Kay was able to deliver my second. She’s so amazing. She listens. She’s personable. She brings the calm.

Which is good, because you’re anxious when you’re in labor. I remember when my first got stuck, I got to swearing. Kay was like, ‘It’s okay, breathe. Just breathe.’ Then I’d swear some more, apologize, and she’d just laugh!

Kay recently delivered our third, after a five-year gap. We really weren’t sure if we were going to have another, but we were lucky and got pregnant. And it was perfect, again. So, we’ve got a seven-year-old, a six-year-old and a four-month-old.

Our four-month-old, Ellie, slept four hours straight last night, so maybe that’s why I offered a testimonial while driving this morning. I wanted to give Kay a good shout out today.

Yesterday this conversation might not have happened.