Kendra’s Story

“I really felt in my spirit after having such a good midwife experience with my first child, which was a difficult pregnancy, that I wanted that same experience with my second pregnancy.”

Here’s how Kendra found Jenny Taubel. And as they say, the rest is history:

I originally started with a midwife at Women's Care who is no longer there. And then I started with another who changed roles and was no longer delivering babies. Because of recommendations I had from friends, I actually scheduled an appointment with an OB, but I really felt in my spirit after having such a good midwife experience with my first child—which was a difficult pregnancy—that I wanted that same experience with my second pregnancy.

There were two choices for midwives, and simply put I went with the one that was closer to me. That was Jenny, and I cannot explain how grateful I am to her.

I have a really cool story that speaks to Jenny’s care. I had a very difficult pregnancy. I had to go to the ER seven times in two weeks. Oh, my God, it was awful. Every time it was late in the night or early in the morning, so my husband would stay home with our four-year-old. I’d drag myself out of bed and call a friend, and be crying the whole way there. If you want to share this next part, I don’t mind: I had urinary retention. I had to have a catheter bag, and then the catheter got infected, so I had to get it taken out.

This was on a Friday, and I know Jenny doesn’t work on Fridays. She sent me a message that said, “I’m thinking about you, and I want to tell you how brave you are.” Sending this little note to me, just when I needed it, solidified my choice even though my pregnancy could be considered high risk.

Jenny went above and beyond in other ways, too. She’s very hands-on, and as soon as we talked about urinary retention, she was helping me find solutions. Wrote me a referral right away for physical therapy. Got me set up with the urology group, and even called there to see if I could get in sooner.

I just feel Jenny went the extra mile that perhaps not every provider would. I can’t say enough about her. She supports you, she loves and encourages you, she builds you up. She’s your biggest champion. When I was going through a dark season in my pregnancy and was very sick, every week Jenny continued to encourage me. “I'm proud of you,” she’d say each time. I felt so cared for.

I was induced when I was three weeks early (preeclampsia), so Jenny wasn’t able to deliver the baby. My baby went straight into the NICU, which was hard. Jenny came to visit me in the hospital, and she sat and talked to me about all my concerns, how I was doing, the NICU experience. And then she said to me, “Make sure when you come see me that you bring your baby. I can’t wait to meet her.”

That was really precious to me. When I went for my six-week appointment, I brought Mira, and it really felt like it came full circle.