I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

I sometimes get asked why I chose to become an OB/GYN. Most women aren’t super excited about going to their annual exams or they feel like dealing with pregnant ladies might be a lot. It does seem like a weird job to many. I chose to go into OB/GYN for lots of different reasons, but one of the biggest ones is to be able to take care of women. I have seen a lot of different women in my life and career, and women never cease to amaze me with their strength, their resilience, and their heart.

I have seen women who have lost their husbands who go on to raise successful children while continuing their education and working their tails off to be a good mom and a successful woman.

I have seen women who have gotten out of hard, abusive relationships that work to raise their children and show them how to be outstanding men who are better than their fathers.

I have seen women take amazing care of their kids, being home day after day with the thankless job of being a stay-at-home mom while doing the very best to give their children the support and love that they need.

I have seen women who are so sick with chemo they can’t eat, are in pain, and can barely move who get up to help their daughters get ready for their school pictures.

I have seen women who are teachers who on the fly have had to figure out how to teach remotely/in a mask/a combination of in-school and online with little resources or direction while trying to still be able to reach each and every child with the support and love that they need.

I have seen women who start new jobs that they didn’t even realize how much time and effort was involved who learn and grow and crush their new position.

I have seen women who have to take care of sick kids who continue to do everything they can to help their work-family in times of need while being mom/nurse/support at home.

I have seen women who have babies in a tough situation, only to rise up and tackle the challenge of parenting even when they themselves are struggling.

I have seen women who give up their free time to go help others in a time of need without being asked.
I have seen women work together to save people’s lives, who work as a unit in an emergency that requires composure, knowledge, and skill.

I have seen women who have experienced pregnancy loss who are heartbroken go on to find the strength to grieve and go on to support others who are going through the same thing.

I have seen women whose anxiety is so severe they can hardly leave the house who have the strength to ask for help.
I have seen women who parent very challenging kids who time and time again work to do their very best to support their kids and be the advocate they need, trying to find hope in all situations.

I have seen women who make the choice to carry a baby for someone who can’t have one on their own, giving of their time and their body to make someone else’s dreams come true.

I have seen women who struggle with fertility who are their best advocates and do whatever they can even when the outcome might not be what they are hoping for.

I have seen women who have overcome an extremely heartbreaking and demoralizing upbringing who have worked and worked and worked to overcome addiction and try to be the best mom in order to break the cycle and have their children have a better life than they did.

I have seen women who give up their free time to go help others in a time of need without being asked.

I have seen women who become caretakers of their parents/spouses/children who give of themselves constantly while mourning the loss of what that person used to be.

I have seen women who at the end of their life who still worry about their kids/families/friends because they have spent their whole lives putting other people before them.

I have seen women who have medical issues that affect their lives who continue to do what needs to be done to make the world keep going around.

I have seen women who are young and scared that maybe something is wrong but are brave enough to tell someone so they can get the help they need.

I have seen women who think they can’t do anymore, push any longer, give anything else who then muster up the strength to continue and prove even themselves wrong about how strong they really are.

I have seen women scared of surgery but are willing to do anything to keep their unborn child safe in a dangerous situation.

I have seen women who have been hurt and abused and discounted their whole lives who still have the fight to try and try and continue to try even when no one else believes they can.  

I have seen women who have been told they can’t do something turn around and work their tails off to make that very thing happen, proving wrong all the doubters that they met along the way.

I have seen women who have been told who they can and can’t love who have the strength to love completely and freely and be an example of what love could be like.  

There are countless more examples of a woman’s ability to love, care, and fight that I see on a daily basis.  I think of the holidays as a time when women work to make the season a season of love, fun, and happy memories, regardless of the time and effort that is involved in making it happy.  I see women who love their people without judgment but then are quick to judge themselves, striving for perfection which is unattainable.  Women compare themselves to someone else who may look different, act different, or be able to do something they cannot. 

We all have our stories and I don’t know a single person who isn’t trying to do the best that they can.  I feel grateful to be able to support the supporters, to love the lovers, and fight for the fighters that I see day in and day out where I work.  My hope for you this season is to look at yourself from the outside to see how others see you and see all the amazing accomplishments you have done in your life. 

Keep fighting the good fight!

“She needed a hero, so that’s what she became” – Anonymous

Dr. Jenna Huff joined the Kalispell OB/GYN practice and Kalispell Regional Medical Center staff in 2017. She attended medical school at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and did her residency at Akron General Medical Center in Ak-ron, Ohio and practiced obstetrics and gynecology in Loveland, Colorado.
Dr. Huff is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology.  She specializes in normal and high-risk obstetrics, contraception management, abnormal bleeding and minimally invasive surgery, including robotics. She enjoys caring for women throughout their life, from puberty through childbearing years and then through menopause, and strives to develop a sup-portive relationship with her patients.  She believes in educating women and helping them make the best possible decisions to improve their quality of life.
Dr. Huff is a Montana native and she, her husband and three young children enjoy everything that the Flathead Valley has to offer.