Penn Highlands DuBois Midwives’ Skills Impact Mothers and Babies in Pennsylvania and Throughout the World

Meri Orinko, CNM, remembers very vividly the twin boys she helped birth on May 30, 2025 – that’s because they share a birthday with her! Earlier this year, Meri, who is a certified nurse midwife with Penn Highlands Life’s Journey OB/GYN, attended birth for her 1,000th baby at the Maternal and Child Center at Penn Highlands DuBois. In the past seven years, Kristy Brownlee, CNM, who is also a certified nurse midwife, has attended birth for more than 1,000 babies at Penn Highlands DuBois too.

Not only have these two midwives attended births for more than 2,000 new lives, but they also along with the other midwives at the hospital are sharing their knowledge and skills with midwifery students from across the U.S. and other countries. To date, the midwives at the Maternal and Child Center at Penn Highlands DuBois have trained 16 midwifery students from eight states and two other countries. With each student requiring 800 hours of training, the midwives at Penn Highlands DuBois have provided more than 12,000 training hours.

“Once the students complete their training, they return to their states and countries and apply what they learned from our staff and ultimately share that knowledge with others,” explained Sharon Shattenberg, RN, BSN, Maternal Child Service Line Director.

She continued, “Our team of physicians, midwives and bedside nurses works together very effectively and they are an outstanding model to study. They create a safe, nurturing experience for our patients and their families, and we are honored to teach and orient nurses studying midwifery.”

The certified nurse midwives with Penn Highlands Life’s Journey OB/GYN are all registered nurses who have master’s degrees in Nursing with a midwifery focus. At Penn Highlands DuBois, the midwives are on site 24/7. They only attend births in the hospital.

The Maternal and Child Center at Penn Highlands DuBois includes a maternity unit and certified Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The Center offers:

• 24/7 labor coverage. Mothers will always have OB physicians onsite.
• Birthing suites that enable the mother to stay in the same room from the time they are admitted through labor and delivery until discharge.
• Specially equipped delivery rooms for cesarean deliveries.
• Advanced technology and state-of-the-art equipment.
• A Substance Use Disorder Care Coordinator Program for pregnant women with Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
• Perinatal consultants on staff who care for women with high-risk deliveries. The perinatologists are experts in medical, genetic and surgical complications of pregnancy and the effects on both the mother and the unborn baby.
• A 16-bed, Level III NICU which is the only NICU in the region – the nearest one is 100 miles away.

Sharon added, “It is important for mothers in the region to remember that at the Maternal and Child Center in Penn Highlands DuBois, the midwives are there to help them be as natural as they want to be, but if they need added support, we offer that too.”