Ready To Win: Liz Donnelly, CNM

For Liz Donnelly, a midwife at Kaiser in Northern California, becoming a midwife was never just a job—it was a calling that brought together her passion for social justice with caring for people directly. “I wanted a career that combined social justice and direct service,” Liz says. “Midwifery means caring not only for each person, but also for their families, their community, and the systems that shape their lives.”

For Liz—and for all of us—midwifery means walking with people through some of the most important and vulnerable moments of their lives. “Whether supporting a parent through pregnancy and birth or helping someone navigate difficult reproductive decisions, midwives offer care that doesn’t just affect the individual—it has a wide-reaching impact. We help strengthen families and communities for years to come.”

Yet too often, management overlooks the real value of our work. Study after study confirms what midwives already know: midwife-led care leads to healthier outcomes—fewer C-sections, fewer preterm births, fewer NICU admissions, more breastfeeding success, and higher patient satisfaction. This isn’t just better for families; it saves the health care system money.

Instead of building on this success, Kaiser is taking a short-sighted approach to wages and respect that risks driving midwives away at a time when patients need them most. As Liz explains, “We’re sitting on a gold mine—midwives are an underused solution to the maternal health crisis.” Kaiser—notably one of the largest employers of midwives in California—has a real opportunity to lead by choosing to respect and invest in midwife-led care.