{"id":895793,"date":"2026-04-20T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/?post_type=sponsored&p=895793"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:04:29","slug":"the-midwifery-team-built-to-reflect-every-family-it-serves","status":"publish","type":"sponsored","link":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/sponsored-content\/the-midwifery-team-built-to-reflect-every-family-it-serves\/","title":{"rendered":"The midwifery team built to reflect every family it serves"},"content":{"rendered":"

For birthing families in the Pacific Northwest, culturally congruent care is closer than you think<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Birth outcomes improve when patients see themselves in the people caring for them. It’s a finding that shapes how the midwifery team at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett is built \u2013 and how they show up for every family they serve.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The word ‘midwife’ means ‘to be with women’ and we hold that knowledge not just as etymology but as a practicing philosophy in how we care for our patients,” says Melinda Eng, a certified nurse-midwife with Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.<\/span><\/p>\n

Certified nurse-midwives<\/span><\/a> are trained medical professionals who hold a master’s or doctoral degree, specializing in low- to moderate-risk pregnancies \u2013 providing personalized care through every stage of the prenatal journey, delivery and into the fourth trimester.<\/span><\/p>\n

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With a cesarean rate of 7-8 percent of births, year after year, Providence midwifery care offers the lowest cesarean rate nationally for a program of its size. <\/span>Pictured from left to right: Melinda Eng, Ashley Skluzacek, Dana Hansen, Gaby Quiroz<\/p><\/div>\n

Melinda has been practicing for two years and comes from a Cantonese-speaking family. She has witnessed the gap that opens when a patient can’t fully communicate with the individuals caring for them during one of the most vulnerable moments of their life.<\/span><\/p>\n

That gap is something the Providence midwifery team is actively working to close.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 19-member team includes midwives who come from diverse backgrounds \u2013 a deliberate reflection of the communities they serve across Snohomish and Island Counties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Several team members speak Spanish, Cantonese and Ukrainian; an added layer of connection for families navigating care in their second language.<\/span><\/p>\n

Providence midwife Ellen French, came to midwifery through a path rooted in social justice. Her undergraduate studies focused on Native American cultural studies and she began her career as a doula before pursuing midwifery.<\/span><\/p>\n

“One of the reasons I was drawn into midwifery is birth outcomes for First Nations families,” Ellen says. “Care that is congruent with a patient’s background results in less bias and better outcomes.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Ellen points to the intergenerational medical trauma many Indigenous patients carry \u2013 a long history of harm in clinical settings that continues to shape how families experience care today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culturally congruent care, she says, is one of the most effective tools for rebuilding that trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

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An innovative partnership with out-of-hospital midwives ensures a safe transition to the hospital from home or external birth centers as needed, promoting safety and continuity of care. Pictured from left to right: Gaby Quiroz, Ashley Skluzacek, Melinda Eng, Dana Hansen.<\/p><\/div>\n

“Every <\/span>family’s birth plan<\/span><\/a> looks different,” Melinda says. “Some people come in knowing they want a midwife. Others want an OB-GYN. Many end up working with both, plus a doula. Our job is to help families figure out what that team looks like for them.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pavilion for Women and Children at Providence Everett also offers <\/span>CenteringPregnancy<\/span><\/a>, a prenatal-care model that brings together groups of eight to 10 families with similar due dates, fostering community alongside clinical support.<\/span><\/p>\n

To book a midwifery appointment, call 425-258-7550 or visit <\/span>providence.org<\/span><\/a>. The office is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 900 Pacific Ave., Suite 501, in Everett.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find Providence Regional Medical Center Everett on Facebook <\/span>@ProvidenceSwedishNorth<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":895798,"template":"","sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-895793","sponsored","type-sponsored","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsored\/895793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsored"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sponsored"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsors?post=895793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}