MEET YOUR MENTORS
sarita bennett
I am grateful to have come into midwifery in time to understand it as an ancient art as practiced by my elders before that era disappeared, dismantled by the state as licensing was implemented. I’m thankful to have been called to midwifery in time to have witnessed the rise and fall of a cycle of professionalism that, as always, led back to the real issues: birth sovereignty as a human right and the need for decriminalization of midwifery.
I grew up listening to the birth stories told by my elders and credit them for my understanding of birth, death and all the life in between. There were no traditional midwives in my community to learn from when I began my journey, so I turned to books as my preceptors. I joined with other midwives on the same path in my state and the stories we shared became an essential textbook that we carried in our heads - a textbook like those of the past. I added to that textbook when I met the last of the Grand Midwives in 1986 and had the privilege of sitting at the feet of Gladys Milton on more than one occasion.
There were still a few family practice doctors I could depend on when I started practicing, including DOs who had experience with home birth and could advocate and advise even though no longer attending births. There was one particular MD in the next county over, Sam Roberts, who had grown up attending home births with his father - a general practitioner in WV - and his mother, the nurse assistant and still was the most experienced birth attendant in active practice for miles around. He would, if the stars aligned, still attend an occasional home birth until insurance put a stop to that.
My journey was built on my own need for birth autonomy. I began teaching childbirth classes within a few months of giving birth to my first child, wanting to share what I knew and what I had learned. Those classes led to people asking me to attend their births, and one night, a family showed up on my doorstep to give birth on my living room floor 30 minutes later. I heard midwifery calling, loud and clear.
I studied a variety of books, always coming back to the ones that focused on physiology - physically, hormonally, and holistically. I attended EMT certification classes and any midwifery conference I could afford and access. I walked the fields and forests with handbooks and anyone who might know the name and/or use for the plants. I created my own, self-directed path, led always by learning to ask deeper and deeper questions.
I was introduced to the language and teachings of Dr. Michel Odent in the late 1980s. He described what I saw as normal, giving me words to explain birth from the viewpoint of the survival of the human species. I continued to follow his writings, appreciative of his ability to bridge a gap between science and innate wisdom.
Expanding my knowledge led me to the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine followed by a Family Medicine Residency, where I found myself grateful to be mentored by “old time family practice docs” who knew the art of diagnosis by using their hands, eyes, ears, noses, and minds. These physicians, “old Hess” as one of my favorites was called, knew the importance of community and understood humans “from womb to tomb”. Another - Dr. Arnett - brought me into the world of teaching reproductive physiology and often slept in a rocking chair during the hospital births we attended together, waking to welcome the baby, like the grandfather he was.
My main teachers, though, have been the families I have attended, both as a midwife and as a family physician, who have trusted me to be with them in their times of vulnerability. To them, I am most grateful.
I grew up in an Appalachian culture that was behind the rest of the nation in its march towards normalizing hospital birth, just enough for my mother to be able to tell me that home birth was better, having experienced both. And, that she breastfed me so that was also what I thought was normal. Those foundations, those definitions of what is normal, regardless of what is average, have resulted in my ability to never doubt that reproduction is optimal when we aren’t afraid of the wrong things.
My own childbearing experiences led me to understand the need for privacy and protection and that I give birth the way I live. That I’m not a different person on that day. And, my own experiences have led me to respect the autonomy and rights of others above all other priorities.
I am the same person when I mother, when I midwife and when I mentor. All of those roles have developed together, through teaching my own children, walking with families as they learn and prepare for their experiences, and working “in the field” as well as in classroom settings. My approach has always been in line with what I have learned is considered experiential education, learning by doing, guided by the questioning that comes naturally when humans are actively curious.
I want to help us remember the wisdom inherent in our reproductive processes and what we need to optimize our health. I want to help us reclaim the sovereignty of our heritage as humans in ownership of our bodies. I want to help all of us become more fully who we are.
rowan bailey
Elder Midwife
I am grateful to have run away from midwifery until true midwifery found me. I thought, as was evident by my surroundings, that true community midwifery was only to be found in stories of the past. I came across it often in my youth as I read historical fiction voraciously. Every time a story of a midwife, village healer, wise woman or ‘granny woman’ coming to attend a family was told, something stirred deep inside of me. I would experience grief because this wasn’t the way that birth was treated in modern times. The sacredness of women attending and tending to women and their community was lost.
After a few other experiences ‘proved’ to me that midwifery had been fully co-opted by the medical establishment, I unexpectedly stumbled upon true midwifery. There I was, staring at an ad for The Matrona. This was in 2002, back when ads were still in the local paper and The Matrona was still a brick and mortar school. That ‘something’ that used to stir in me was awakened and I called the number immediately. Thus began my journey into becoming a traditional community midwife.
I feel that my lineage is of the soul rather than blood. It was that stirring I felt even in my youth, a calling to something I didn’t fully understand intellectually; I just felt it. My passion for this work stems from so much more than just birth and babies. Actually, it has rarely been about that for me. It was born out of my commitment to bodily autonomy and freedom of choice in all matters of fertility and reproductive health. I do believe my soul, that inhabits this particular bag of bones, has been called to serve many times over. I also know that there is deep-seated karma, trauma, and pain from the persecutions in those other timelines as well as the legal and public persecution I experienced in this one. This is what keeps me committed to autonomy for all families and the deep conviction to sovereignty in all ways, for all people.
My midwifery schooling and training truly followed the traditional path. I feel very blessed to have studied back when we sat in an actual circle with other women all in the same room. I began my studies with a doula training led by Whapio at The Matrona in 2002. I then went on to attend her Midwifery Immersion in 2006. We learned through a carefully curated curriculum that wove together study, hands-on training, and traditional storytelling. Whapio is truly brilliant at bringing that book learning to life through story in such a dynamic way. It was Whapio who told me I had to become a midwife during that first day in my doula training. I was still trying to run from it for multiple reasons. The main reason I believed I ‘couldn’t’ be a midwife is that I had purposely chosen not to have children. When I said this to her she asked, “Have you ever been altered?” I said, “Yes, of course.” She answered with, “Then you know where women go to get their babies and bring them through the veil.” And so it was.
For my training I apprenticed for many years with Claudie Cameron, DEM. Claudie was an elder midwife who had practiced in California for many years until the licensure of midwifery forced her to move. I was her last apprentice, and everything I learned from her was invaluable. Claudie and I were very different in our practice styles which was important for me. I learned skills I would have never had the opportunity to develop otherwise. She constantly pushed me slightly beyond my comfort zone, and I would like to believe I did the same for her. I was hired by my very first client during an interview with her. At the time I was practicing as her senior apprentice. This lovely couple told us how they wanted to be served; fetoscope only/no doppler, no vaginal exams, oh and “I go really post dates.” Claudie looked at them and said, “I am so not your midwife, but this one is” while gesturing toward me.
Claudie was humble and hilarious which are two of my favorite traits! I would go to her ranch and muck horse stalls and work the garden just to listen to her stories. Wherever my teachers were, I wanted to be there. One thing I appreciated about Claudie and Whapio as my foundational teachers was how completely different they were! While I studied with many others over the years, and still consider myself to be a student, these two were my mentors and really invited me to grow into the midwife and leader they knew I could be.
My heart for midwifery is rooted deeply in my conviction for sovereignty in the childbearing year. It didn’t begin there though; it began with the insistence of a young woman who had been treated poorly by the system. She swore from her birth bed that she would not be having any more babies until I was a midwife. That, however, is a story for another time. For now, I will stick with this sovereignty in childbearing thread.
The more I studied and became involved in birth work, the more stories I heard that began with ‘they wouldn’t let me ____’ or ‘I was high risk because ____’ and that solidified the midwife I was to become. The infantilization of women within obstetrics and modern day midwifery is systemic, damaging, and down right patriarchal. I didn’t take my call to be the one to say yes to those that the system failed lightly. I knew that they were smart, capable women who just wanted someone to walk with them. I figured if I was going to answer this call, I was going to do it with integrity. I was going to understand, to the best of my ability, all of the potential complications that could arise and learn the emergency skills I may need to serve as responsibly as possible. Most importantly, I vowed to never pretend for a moment I owned anyone else’s power or dominion over their own body or birth.
The calling to teach midwifery has happened simultaneously to that of being a midwife. I believe we teach as we learn and we learn as we teach. On the day I began my apprenticeship, Claudie said that she expected to learn as much from me as I did from her. In my experience, that inherent ability and desire to share and guide was always welcomed. I believe there is a critical need for the old ways and wisdom to be preserved. I can think of no better way to do that than to sit in a circle with a group of women who also know some things and share with each other. Consider yourself warned that if you find yourself sitting in one of our intensives you will be called upon to teach us what you know at some point.
My mission is to be a mirror and a reminder that when we break out of captivity and become our most powerful selves we can make the movement move. I want us all to find our feet and our breath and be fully who we are meant to be: wild, raw, messy, and beautifully ungovernable.
our joint mission
We balance the foundational framework for each course we create with a carefully curated curriculum that is flexible to meet each host and their community’s needs and resources. Our core value of building a strong community through relationships is paramount. This is woven into each aspect of our workshops. Without building strong villages between birth workers and in turn, the families they serve, the art of midwifery cannot be the strong intuitive community tool it was always meant to be. As we bring our workshops all over the nation, our overall goal is to build a community through mentorship with those who attend our workshops and desire further connection and wisdom.