Healthcare Heroes: Isabel Faringer-Perez

"I have a diverse background – my mom is from Sweden, and my dad is from Puerto Rico. I feel my background allows me to bring a different perspective to the work that I do as a midwife. I value culture, and birth is a very cultural event. People bring their own cultural knowledge and traditions that are oftentimes passed down through generations, and I try to value that and make sure my patients are seen and heard and that their culture is brought into their birthing experience.

I’ve always been fascinated by labor and birth from a young age. I remember always being very excited when my mother told us our birth stories. She came to the states as an adult and always knew she wanted a midwife to attend her birth as that is the norm in Sweden. I first became interested in the field of nursing when my father became very sick while I was in middle/high school. I saw what nurses did for him and how they advocated for him, and I wanted to be able to do that for others. I wanted to combine my love of pregnancy/birth/reproductive health with my passion for advocacy and caring. So, I worked towards nursing first, and a few years after began my midwifery education. I actually went to undergrad at Stony Brook University. So, to be able to be back here doing what I love means a lot."

-Isabel Faringer-Perez, CNM, MSN (Certified Nurse Midwife, Stony Brook Medicine)