Our Philosophy:
As midwives, we believe the health of women is essential to the health of families and communities. We value the experience, knowledge, and beliefs of each woman who seeks our care, and we strive to be partners with the woman who chooses to actively participate in her own health care.
We believe pregnancy and birth to be normal, natural processes in a woman’s life. Our role as midwives is to promote optimal health by providing education, a watchful eye, assisting women to make informed decisions, and intervening only when necessary.
Maternity Services:
As the foundation of our midwifery practice, we provide prenatal care and attend births to women in the Anabaptist community at Mt. Eaton Care Center. Our office is located in the ground floor of the Care Center. Our clients can receive all their prenatal visits and lab work through our practice.
Well woman care:
In addition to maternity care, we also care for women throughout their lifespan. We provide well woman annual exams and screenings, and are qualified to treat minor illnesses.
Mary Ann Durbin, MSN, CNM
Mary Ann Durbin arrived in Holmes County in 2008 to provide maternity services at the former Doughty View Midwifery Center, and later exclusively at Pomerene Hospital. She was licensed as a certified nurse-midwife in 1993 and has provided birth care in the home, birth centers, and hospitals. Mary Ann graduated from the Frontier School of Midwifery & Family Nursing (now known as Frontier Nursing University).
Her husband Mike teaches part time at Wayne Community College in Orrville. They live in Millersburg, near Pomerene Hospital. Their five children are married and live as far away as California and as near as Wooster. Mary Ann states, “I also had the privilege of being present for the births of all five of my grandchildren so far, assisting the first four with their entrance into the world!”
“I think birth generally requires very little interference; yet it’s important to remain watchful throughout the pregnancy and the birth process because the unexpected can occur no matter how well one eats and prepares for the blessed event. That’s why every child is a miracle!”
In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and sailing on Lake Erie. She was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio.
Our Midwives:
Katie Stadler, CNM
I first felt the call to be "with women" during my first pregnancy and birth experience with the care of midwives at a freestanding birth center. It was during that time that I discovered the amazing care that midwives provided, care that ushered me into motherhood with confidence in my ability to birth and to parent.
I preceded my midwifery education with training and certification as a doula and a childbirth educator, roles that I practiced for several years while my 3 children were young. I went back to school and received my nursing degree in 2007 and worked as a registered nurse in maternal and child public health doing home visits, and as the project director and RN at a women's health clinic while I pursued my Masters degree and certification in midwifery. I am a graduate of Frontier Nursing University where I completed my full scope nurse midwifery clinical residency at Lake Health West Hospital.
When I'm not at the birth center, I live with my husband of 23 years in Lakewood (Cleveland), Ohio. We have three (two adult) children, Nicholas, Claudia, and Noah. The support of my family has been invaluable to my journey to midwifery (and my journey to Mt. Eaton to join Mary Ann!) and I am so grateful for that. For fun, I love singing in my church choir, gardening, and walking in nature!
I believe that women are powerful and that pregnancy and birth can be transformative events when supported by a close and respectful care provider, a relationship that honors women, families, and communities. Midwives do this by providing personalized, sensitive, evidence-based care that safeguards the normalcy of the pregnancy and birth process while always keeping a watchful eye for deviations from normal. I am truly humbled and honored to partner with the women and families of the Mt. Eaton Midwifery community in this way throughout their passage to parenthood and beyond!
