Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeannine Tate.
Jeannine, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
After having my son in 1998 in a hospital setting, I went back to school to become a nurse. While attending TWU nursing school, I met my best friend Adrienne Jones.
We were taught by Certified Nurse- midwives women’s Health. I remember hearing the evidence being taught about birth and the midwifery philosophy of supporting women. Midwives believe that birth is normal and women do well when they are active participants in their own health, Pregnancy and birth isn’t something to be feared, but something that is normal, healthy and life changing!
I remember sitting in that classroom listening to the Midwife talk and getting goosebumps. What if birth wasn’t just about “healthy mom, healthy baby?” what if pregnancy and birth were about being empowered and strong. I then became an L&D nurse. While working in the hospital on the L&D floor for years- I loved being a part of birth, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that women deserved more. I went on to have two more children out of the hospital setting with Certified nurse midwife’s providing my care. It was life-changing AWESOME.
I was an L&D nurse for almost 10 years before becoming a Certified Nurse-Midwife. My best friend Adrienne called me up one day (after she too had her two children in the out of hospital setting with a certified nurse midwife as her provider) and told me she had picked out the perfect graduate school for us to become midwives. So we did! We went back to school together at Frontier Nursing University and became Certified Nurse Midwives. I worked at Allen Birthing Center for years as a birth assistant and my midwife, preceptor Amy Giles (the owner of Allen Birthing Center) was whom I trained under when in graduate school. I always planned to work in the birthing center setting.
When I graduated in 2015 there wasn’t a job available at the Allen birthing center. Which got me to thinking… What if I opened up my own birth center? I have lived in Plano for over 40 years and there wasn’t a birth center in Plano. So- the dream began. When one door closes, another one opens! Fortunately, my dad was a builder in the nineties and had built a building that my mom runs her successful psychology private practice in-she is still in Suite 101. He believed in my dream and immediately we gutted half of the suite and began construction on what would become Plano Birthplace.
Finally in July of 2017 construction was done and Plano Birthplace had its grand opening. First birth was scheduled for late September. We have had 10 successful birth so far. It has been an amazing journey and a dream come true to be a part of women and families’ pregnancy and birth journey. I am so honored to be a provider that provides respectful supportive care that recognizes the mother is the decision maker and deserves to birth strong and empowered. When women birth without fear, they birth empowered and strong.
Has it been a smooth road?
Not so smooth- construction took 4 months longer than we anticipated, and we were way over budget- fortunately, I have parents that believed 100% in my dream and knew that my passion would translate to women coming to birth at the birth center once the doors opened.
Sometimes the medical community is less than supportive- refusing to look at the evidence and acting as if birthing in a birthing center or out of the hospital is dangerous or irresponsible. It is a shame- because it is fear mongering and not based on the truth. If you look at the evidence (the real documented evidence) birth can be quite safe and birth centers have very good outcomes for moms and babies. to birth out of the hospital, it is important that the mother is low risk- healthy woman. Birth is normal. birth is natural and shouldn’t be feared.
My biggest struggle and challenge to this day is the negative neigh sayers that refuse to look at the evidence. The evidence doesn’t lie. It is all worth it for me when I witness a mother birth safe, supported and strong without unnecessary medical interventions. At my birth center- she owns her birth. She is empowered and supported. We educate and provide supportive care that is based on not letting unwarranted fear into her birth space.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Plano Birthplace – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We provide personalized, supportive, relationship-based, family-centered midwifery care in a safe space that honors all women, and respects the sacredness of pregnancy and birth. We believe every person has the right to safe, respectful, evidence-based health care that protects the individual’s values and promotes self-efficacy. As Certified Nurse-Midwives, we believe the woman holds the ultimate power of responsibility in promoting and maintaining her own health.
For a healthy woman, birth is a safe natural process that should be trusted with little to no interruptions or interventions. A normal pregnancy should not be viewed as an illness but as a natural physiologic process. Birth is a powerful event that a woman will remember for the rest of her life. Plano Birthplace believes in a woman’s inherent right to birth where and with whom she chooses. At Plano Birthplace our midwives provide a supportive environment that facilitates the woman’s growth, empowerment, and autonomy.
I am most proud that I am helping women write a birth story that they will be proud to tell for the rest of their lives.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love our city! I love the diversity and how women are leaders and have voices in their own lives, churches and their communities. I love that there are many options for women when it comes to health care and providers, schools, and jobs.
I least like the traffic and how crowded it can feel.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5172 Village Creek Drive Suite #101
Plano, Texas 75093 - Website: planobirthplace.com
- Phone: (469) 912-0727
- Email: midwives@planobirthplace.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planobirthplace/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlanoBirthPlace/
Image Credit:
KEDocumentary.com, Kathryn J Birth Stories, Lawren Rose Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
