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Jenny Goss takes pride in her new role as a certified midwife and embraces opportunities to build relationships with mothers and their newborns at Andalusia Family Healthcare.

“After working in labor and delivery for 11 years, I decided the women I was caring for deserved better care and included in more education about pregnancy and delivery. I wanted to empower them in their choices for health care during pregnancy. I am providing well-women care from adolescents through menopause. I provide education on birth control and many other concerns women may have as well as prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care,” Goss said.

She moved in April 2022 to start the women’s health program at Andalusia Health.

“Due to some licensing restrictions in Alabama, it took a while to get up and running. In the meantime, I have been working in labor and delivery and have made some wonderful friends there. We have a very experienced staff, and it will be a pleasure to work with them.”

Goss is proud to serve women in the local community as both a nurse and midwife.

“I have been a nurse for many years and am grateful God gave me the opportunity to expand my skills to midwifery. I have been blessed with a husband and family that have always supported me and are my biggest cheerleaders,” she said.

Working with women is one of her strong suits, which allows her to perform the responsibilities of her new position.

“I have had a love for mothers and their babies for many years. I am a calm and reassuring person and able to bond with patients quickly and bring a reassurance and calm to what is often a chaotic situation. I am always overjoyed to be able to hand a newborn to their parents and watch the sense of awe that comes over them. Tearful daddies are my favorite,” Goss said.

She added that she tries to be with her patients for the majority of their labor if possible.

“I do a lot of bedside labor support and have taken classes and studied techniques to make labor more comfortable and hopefully faster. I am the one spooning ice chips, rubbing backs, and helping moms find a more comfortable position. I find it is important to educate families on their options, advise them of the pros and cons of those choices, and then be an advocate for them.”

She shared some common misconceptions the general public may have about midwives.

“Many hear midwife and automatically assume I will be delivering in the home. While some nurse midwives do, I am hospital-based and will do all of my deliveries there. Some think that if you have a midwife, you have to have an unmedicated birth, which is also untrue. I can provide pain medication and order epidurals if the patient desires one.”

According to Goss, midwives must have certain qualities in order to be successful.

“A midwife needs to be passionate, respectful of many cultures and lifestyles, and a patient advocate. She should also be a good communicator with strong personal skills to work with many different personalities and able to work well under stressful situations,” she said.

She was born and raised in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and graduated high school from Takoma Park, Maryland. She has lived in California, Alaska, Delaware, and Wisconsin over the past 30 years. Most recently, she lived in Dalton, Georgia, for five years and worked in an OB-GYN office. She is married to her husband, Mike Goss.