Life and Work with Jetta Anderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jetta Anderson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jetta. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My husband and I started dating when we were 15 years old. We could hardly wait to get married and start a family. We married at 19 and a few years later decided to start “trying” for a baby. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the plan for us. We struggled for years with unexplained infertility and I suffered loss after loss after loss. Ten miscarriages in all.

In 2001, we began fertility treatment and after only a couple rounds of IUI (intrauterine insemination), we were finally, successfully pregnant with the first baby that we would get to raise.

I started my prenatal care as most women do, seeing an OB but I always knew that when it came time to have my baby, I would not want any pain meds. About halfway into my pregnancy, my best friend recommended a midwife who delivered babies at a freestanding birth center as well as at peoples homes. I had no idea this was an option! My husband was skeptical, but after sitting with her and asking her his list of 75 questions, he felt satisfied that she could take care of us.

The experience I had with her was intimate, personal, compassionate, educated and safe. I was always excited for my prenatal appointments because it was an hour spent with someone who truly loved me.
On September 14, 2002 – our first son was born and the experience was more than I ever could have dreamed.

In the weeks that followed, I couldnt stop thinking about my birth. The whole process fascinated and excited me.

After my care with my midwife was over, I still found myself infatuated with everything birth. I finally decided to reach out to her and see how I could be apart of serving women in this capacity. Over lunch, she told me about the apprenticeship route to becoming a midwife and shortly after, I became her student; assisting at births at the birth center and at homes.

I did birth work in Washington State from 2002 until we relocated to Arizona in 2012. After taking a year off, I decided to pursue midwifery in Arizona. In 2016, I became a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) and an LM (licensed Midwife) and now have been serving women and families by loving on them for almost 17 years.

Has it been a smooth road?
Anyone who works in the birth world will probably tell you that childcare is the biggest obstacle. Finding someone to be on call 24 hours a day to watch your kid(s) is next to impossible.

Early in my time as a student, my mother-in-law who was my childcare had a reoccurrence of her stage 4 Colon Cancer. That changed everything for me. Not only was it devastating for our family, but it made attending birth next to impossible.

Then, in 2007, when the economy crashed, my husband’s employer had to cut all benefits to save money and business was way down. I had to get a full-time job in Corporate America so that we could pay our bills and have medical insurance. Fortunately, I worked for an amazing company that allowed me to also attend births, but I could really only do a few here and there. It was devastating and I spent several years believing that my dream of doing midwifery as my career (instead of what felt like a hobby) was gone. I was thankful to be able to provide for my family, but so much of me really couldnt believe that this was all this life had for me.

My number one advises for any woman trying to follow any dream; midwifery or anything else is: Find your people. Find your biggest fans and surround yourself with them. Allow them to love you and to speak into your world. They will sustain you and will remind you what you are working for. They will be your joy, and you will need them. And be GRATEFUL. For who they are and how they support you. They deserve it.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My field of specialty is pregnancy and childbirth. I am trained to care for low risk, healthy women throughout their pregnancy and then to supervise and manage their labor and postpartum care.
My specialty as a human is a heart to authentically love and serve. That is my ultimate goal in this life.
Professionally speaking, I am proud of my low transfer rate. That’s a number that matters in my job, but what I am most proud of is the relationships that I have been able to develop with other people in a professional and personal capacity. Relationships make me better at everything I do. I don’t think people value them enough.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
I think the biggest opportunity that we are positioned for is change. We are raising a generation of humans that are, generally speaking, more open-minded and accepting. Women from previous generations need to be bold and gracious, patient and determined because I do believe our time is coming. It’s not a question of if we will change the world, the question is when.

We also need to take this opportunity to invest in each other. I was recently invited to help spearhead a woman-centered facility that will focus on pregnancy and wellness but will also offer resources to the community, classes and events and retail space stocked with products from businesses owned by women. All of this designed to celebrate motherhood and womanhood in a community setting. The motherhood co will be opening in May and I couldn’t be more excited!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.familyfirstmidwifery.com
• Phone: 602-717-3731
• Email: jettaanderson@msn.com
• Instagram: Family_first_midwifery
• Facebook: Facebook.com/midwifejetta/

Image Credit:
Dianne Hamre

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix 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.