Meant to be a midwife

Corrina Morris has had a long and winding path from working as a stage manager in the world of theater to finding her calling with midwifery.

To her surprise, she found a lot of overlap between the arts and healthcare.

"I got to learn how to delegate and prioritize and not crumble under pressure, and I got to learn all of those things in an atmosphere where no one's life was on the line,” says Morris.

Her mother, a labor and delivery nurse for over 30 years, was a huge influence on her journey. Morris jumped straight into perinatal nursing after completing nursing school, working the same weekend night shift her mother once did.

“When you're on that shift, you get really good at your job very quickly, because you are limited in terms of your resources and support,” Morris recalls.

She also loved working with residents and medical students, guiding and supporting them throughout their educational journey.

Those experiences played a large role in Morris deciding to become a midwife.

“People in Indiana need really good providers, and I'm really glad I felt that drive and call to become one, because stepping into the provider role has been life-changing and life-affirming in so many big ways,” says Morris.

Transitioning into the midwife role has been very rewarding for Morris. She has particularly enjoyed getting to spend more time with her patients and being able to support them throughout the entirety of their pregnancies, rather than just in the delivery room.

She sees herself as a supporter and an encourager for her patients, and her biggest goal at the end of the day is to ensure her patients feel empowered and safe.

“To have someone say, ‘You make me feel safe. You make me feel heard. I want you here for one of the biggest moments of my life.’—That is humbling. It really is the most incredible feedback I could ever get,” says Morris.

“I feel very lucky I realized I was supposed to be a midwife, and then ultimately very lucky IU Bloomington has such an amazing midwifery practice,” says Morris. “I've always been treated with kindness and with grace, and I've been very lucky to be in a place where I feel so much support.”

Morris is thrilled to have found a career that “fires her up” and sparks her passion. She also values the midwifery program’s commitment to excellence through collaboration and evidence-based practice.

“We are all running off that baseline of mutual respect and acknowledging we bring different things to the table for the patient's benefit,” says Morris.