Meet Judy Ribner, DNP, CNM
As a doctorally prepared midwife, I have devoted my professional life to supporting physiologic birth in out-of-hospital, community-based settings. Working with low-risk women, I have focused on preserving the integrity of normal birth and providing evidence-based care.
To become a midwife and earn my doctorate, I spent extensive time within the NYC hospital system, providing direct care to patients and gaining a detailed understanding of institutional maternity care. In parallel, I immersed myself in clinical research focused on quality improvement and examining the NYS Department of Health’s data, which offered critical insight into statewide and local outcomes. I also analyzed how the U.S. maternity care system compares with those of other industrialized nations. My work included international travel, where I spent time in hospitals abroad, observing other maternity care models firsthand.
As I integrated these clinical and research experiences, it became clear that a way to improve maternity care in New York was by increasing access to the midwifery model. When I advocated for such reform as the focus of my doctoral work, it earned me the honor of being named the NYU valedictorian. That has set a standard that I continue to uphold.
My commitment to out-of-hospital, community birth is also rooted in my personal experience. I come from a multigenerational lineage that embraced birth as a mother-led, intuitive life cycle event. My grandmother and mother both birthed with Lamaze, shaping my early understanding of physiologic birth. Most of my children were born out-of-hospital in a community setting. My experiences revealed both the vulnerability and the profound strength of childbirth. That connection deepened my resolve to help other women access such care.
In the past few years, we’ve witnessed a tremendous surge in the demand for out-of-hospital community birth. Although our team has grown alongside this need, we have reached the point where we can no longer meet the volume of families seeking our care. We have been continually approached about expanding to birth centers. The request reflects the shifting birth landscape and the strong, sustained interest in out-of-hospital, community birth options.
Several years ago, I partnered with Joshua U. Klein, MD, FACOG, a renowned expert in reproductive health. I first heard Dr. Klein speak at a professional event in 2016 and was struck not only by his depth of knowledge and his cutting-edge mindset, but also his humility. So, when Dr. Klein reached out to me a few years ago, the decision to collaborate was obvious. Dr. Klein holds himself to an exceptionally high standard. I was impressed by his nuanced understanding of the broader system and his openness to new ideas, especially innovative care models that expand birth choice and support quality improvement. Dr. Klein is bringing the same future-oriented thinking he is known for in his own field to the birth center. Together, we have strengthened our shared vision. We feel driven by a purpose greater than ourselves.
