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Leigh Ann Joel, BSN, CNM, IBCLC

2018 Winner: Best Nurse Midwife in Durham County

Leigh Ann joined Chapel Hill Ob-Gyn 2012 and describes her career as a calling. She knew when she was nine years old that when she grew up, she wanted to deliver babies.  

After completing her BSN at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1991, Leigh Ann worked in Boston for two years in surgical oncology and gynecology. Happily, she landed a position in labor and delivery, postpartum, and newborn nursery in 1993. In addition, she worked as a childbirth educator and birth assistant at the North Shore Birth Center, a free-standing birth center. She graduated from Baystate Medical Center’s Midwifery Education program in Springfield, MA in 1999. With the midwifery model of care, she could prioritize keeping her patients safe and healthy with judicious use of interventions, while providing presence and support. 

Leigh Ann then worked in Clearwater, Florida before moving to NC in 2008 where she joined the staff at Women’s Birth and Wellness Center in Chapel Hill. Women’s Birth and Wellness Center was a freestanding birth center caring for low-risk women who desired out-of-hospital birth. Leigh Ann has learned many tricks and alternatives for pregnancy discomforts and uses many different positions to help babies to come out. She also has extensive experience with breastfeeding support and earned her IBCLC in 2022.  

Leigh Ann joined Chapel Hill Ob-Gyn because she appreciates the MD/CNM collaborative practice model within a community hospital setting and loves working with such a great staff. She also values the small, personal size of Duke Regional Hospital and looks forward to seeing the families she supports around town. She believes the experience of a person’s birth is extremely important and enjoys providing personalized care and empowering birthing folks to make their own informed choices in childbirth. 

Leigh Ann enjoys baking, hiking, dance, coffee, musicals, and cats. 

She and her husband, Gregg, live in Durham and have two adult children. 

BE CARED FOR BY A PROVIDER

See why women in all phases of life have entrusted us with their care for more than 50 years.

HOURS

Monday – Friday
8:00am – 5:00pm

CONTACT

Chapel Hill: (919) 942-8571
Durham: (919) 942-8571

EMERGENCY

Dial 911 for ANY medical emergency.

After hours questions? Call Duke Regional at: 919-470-4000

If our providers are in surgery or a delivery, return calls may be delayed. For urgent matters, please call again to ensure your message is received. Reserve these calls for urgent medical conditions.

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Disclaimer: Reviews are lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

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