About

The mission of Tree of Life Family Birth Center is to offer women with low-risk pregnancies a safe, natural, more personalized birth experience, in keeping with applicable standards of midwifery practice, under the care of Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs).

Our Staff

Our team consists of Certified Nurse Midwives, certified through the American College of Nurse Midwives. The midwives practice collaboratively with American College of Obstretics and Gynecology board certified physicians, to provide you with the highest quality of care during your pregnancy and birth of your child. Our philosophy guides us to help you achieve the birth that you envision for yourself. We are all members of the staff at WomanCare, Kentuckiana’s premiere OB/GYN practice, with one of the regions lowest cesarean section rates, and a longstanding commitment to providing extraordinary care before, during and after delivery, as well as providing well-woman care, preconception counseling, contraceptive management, and GYN problem visits.

Certified Nurse Midwives

Elizabeth Bary Quinkert
RN, CNM

Alison Reid
RN, CNM

Jennifer Hayes
APRN, CNM, CLC, SANE

Rebekah Shirrell APRN, CNM

Jamie Stefanski
APRN, MSN, CNM

Sarah Cubbage
APRN, CNM

Board-Certified Physicians

Christopher Grady MD

Ronald Wright
MD

Amanda Davenport MD

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Elizabeth Bary Quinkert, RN, CNM

Certified Nurse-Midwife

As the region’s most experienced Certified Nurse-Midwife, Elizabeth specializes in natural childbirth, deliveries and fertility counseling. She also provides care for well women, annual exams, preconceptual counseling, contraceptive services and prenatal care. Elizabeth received her RN and BSN degrees from Indiana University Southeast, and earned her MSN and CNM designations from the University of Kentucky. She is a Member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, a presenter at area high schools on topics such as birth control, pregnancy, breastfeeding and STD prevention. A native of Harrison County who served as an Army Nurse at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, she has four children and four grandchildren.

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Alison Reid, RN, CNM, CLC

Certified Nurse-Midwife, Certified Lactation Counselor

As a Certified Nurse-Midwife, Alison specializes in natural childbirth, deliveries and fertility counseling. She also provides care for well women, annual exams, preconceptual counseling, contraceptive services and prenatal care. Alison received her RN and BSN degrees from Indiana University Southeast, and earned her MSN and CNM designations from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing. Prior to earning her Certified Nurse Midwife designation, Alison worked for many years as an RN at Clark Memorial Hospital, where she provided prenatal, antepartum and intrapartal care to expectant mothers, and postnatal care to mothers and infants, and also served as Relief Charge Nurse. She is a Member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

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Jennifer Hayes, APRN, CNM, CLC, SANE

Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Certified Lactation Counselor, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

Jennifer specializes in caring for women and newborns, with a career lovingly built on providing compassionate care for both. She graduated with her bachelors degree in Nursing from Indiana University Southeast, and earned her Certified Nurse Midwife certification from the University of Indianapolis. As a Certified Lactation Counselor® she has demonstrated the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes to provide clinical breastfeeding counseling and management support to women who are thinking about breastfeeding or have questions or problems concerning breastfeeding/lactation. Prior to joining WomanCare she worked in the Family Birth Place at Clark Memorial Hospital in the labor and delivery and postpartum unit. She also worked for the University of Louisville Hospital caring for women who were victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. She is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

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Rebekah Shirrell, APRN, CNM

Certified Nurse-Midwife

As a Certified Nurse-Midwife, Rebekah specializes in natural childbirth, deliveries and fertility counseling. She also provides care for well women, annual exams, preconceptual counseling, contraceptive services and prenatal care. Rebekah earned her RN and BSN degrees from Bellarmine University in Louisville, and her MSN and CNM designations from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining WomanCare, Rebekah worked for many years in the Family Birth Place and Women’s Care Place at Clark Memorial Hospital, was a High-Risk OB Case Manager for Passport Health Plan; and a Clinical Instructor at Bellarmine University. She is a Member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

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Jamie Stefanski, APRN, MSN, CNM

Certified Nurse-Midwife

Jamie earned her Bachelors in Nursing and MSN in Midwifery from the University of Cincinnati. She worked for many years as an RN in both labor & delivery and critical care before returning to school to become a Midwife. Prior to joining WomanCare, Jamie worked for the TriHealth Nurse Midwives in Cincinnati. She is a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives. As a Certified Nurse Midwife and Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner, Jamie takes pride in providing high quality, evidenced-based care to women throughout their life span. She values diversity and inclusivity and strives to partner with patients and families to help them reach their goals.

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Sarah Cubbage, APRN, CNM

Certified Nurse-Midwife

Whether coaching women to achieve their birth goals, providing holistic evidenced based care, or watching the miracle of families being born, Sarah is a passionate woman’s care advocate. She is available for OB/GYN appointments, annual exams, pre-conceptual and fertility counseling, contraceptive services, gestational diabetes education, prenatal care, natural childbirth and deliveries. Sarah received her Bachelors in Nursing from Ohio University and earned her Master’s in Certified Nurse Midwife from Frontier Nursing University. Prior to joining Woman Care, she worked for many years as a labor and delivery nurse at Clark Memorial Hospital and at the Tree of Life Family Birth Center. Sarah was also a clinical instructor for Bellarmine University and is a Member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

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Christopher S. Grady, MD

Attending Physician, OB/GYN

A native of the Louisville area, Dr. Grady received his undergraduate degree from Translyvania University, then graduated from the University of Louisville Medical School, followed by an OB/GYN residency at the Medical College of Georgia. He provides care for women of all ages, including general and high-risk obstetrics and a wide range of gynecological care. He has three boys and is a member of the Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Northside Christian Church.

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Ronald L. Wright, MD

Attending Physician, OB/GYN

Originally from Muskegon, Michigan, Dr. Wright received his BA from Tulane University, then went on to graduate from the University of Louisville Medical School. From there, Dr. Wright completed his OB/GYN residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. From general and high-risk obstetrics to incontinence and infertility including laparoscopy, Dr. Wright provides complete care to women of all ages. He and his wife Jennifer have two children. Dr. Wright volunteers at Woman’s Choice Resource Center and is a member of Southeast Christian Church.

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Amanda Davenport, MD

Attending Physician, OB/GYN

Dr. Davenport completed her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University, then went on to earn her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from the University of Louisville Medical School. She completed her OB/GYN Residency at Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth Medical Center where she received the Award for Excellence in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery from the American Urogynecology Society for her research and surgical skills. From general and high-risk obstetrics to incontinence and infertility including laparoscopy, Dr. Davenport provides complete care to women of all ages. Her scope of practice includes vaginal deliveries, VBACs, and cesarean sections. Dr. Davenport is originally from Kentucky and is proud to be back home to serve the women of Kentuckiana.

Our Center

Tree of Life Family Birth Center features home-like birthing suites with queen-size beds, tubs for hydrotherapy as well as for birth, a family waiting area with a kitchenette, all designed to create a comfortable atmosphere for your baby’s birth.

Take a peek inside the beautiful new Tree of Life Birth Center — the one only of its kind within 100 miles.

Certified Nurse-Midwives

Our Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) practice full-scope midwifery at WomanCare, LLC in Jeffersonville. The WomanCare midwifery group has been in practice since 1997, and has been a leader in promoting natural birth alternatives to the women of southern Indiana and the Louisville Metro area since their inception.

While there are many educational routes for midwives, CNMs are registered nurses with a graduate degree from an American College of Nurse-Midwives accredited program, and pass a national certification exam. CNMs are educated in both nursing and midwifery and can practice anywhere in the U.S.

Nurse-Midwives are advanced practice nurses with extensive education in obstetrics. They provide the family with information about pregnancy and birth, encourage prenatal education classes, assist with breastfeeding education and consult with breastfeeding specialists if necessary, and collaborate with physician providers if the pregnancy becomes high-risk. They work together with the family to make decisions about their care considering the options available to the family and together will create the birth plan that reflects the family’s ideal birth experience. In the event that the birth becomes high-risk, or the plan changes, the CNMs will work collaboratively with the WomanCare physicians to continue to provide the safest possible birth.

Certified Nurse-Midwives are licensed to prescribe medications and to perform medical procedures, but they also recognize the effectiveness of alternate modalities of care and frequently recommend the use of herbs, essential oils, massage therapy, chiropractic care, meditation, and other natural forms of healing.

Natural Birth

Families would be admitted to the Tree of Life Family Birth Center once active labor has begun. Medications for the induction or augmentation of labor will not be allowed. Women will be allowed to eat in labor if they desire. The Tree of Life Family Birth Center promotes natural childbirth, birth without the use of pain medications or epidural analgesia. For comfort in labor, women will be encouraged to use ambulation, tubs and showers, relaxation methods, meditation, aroma therapy, and music therapy, along with the support of their family and doula. Nitrous Oxide will be available as well during the later part of the labor if needed.

For women who choose the more personalized birth experience of using a nurse-midwife, the Tree of Life Family Birth Center offers the expertise of four Certified Nurse-Midwives — including the region’s most experienced — providing:

Collaborative care with experienced, supportive OB/GYNs.

  • Personalized birth plans.
  • Comprehensive OB care.
  • Natural deliveries.
  • Fertility counseling.
  • Hydrotherapy (water labor).
  • Well-woman care across the lifespan.
  • Lowest Cesarean section rate in the region.
  • Delivery at the Tree of Life Family Birth Center.

Normal, Healthy Birth.

Normal, healthy birth is supported by physical and psychological factors that promote effective labor.

  • Labor begins and progresses on its own.
  • Move around freely in labor.
  • Give birth in whatever position you feel comfortable.
  • Receive support from people you choose.
  • Labor results in a vaginal birth with normal blood loss.
  • Mother and baby stay together after birth, skin-to-skin.
  • Breastfeeding begins right away.