Meet Our Staff
Photo Credit By :Tabia Lisenbee-Parker
Sarahn Henderson
"Mama Sarahn"
Midwife & Educator
Sarahn is married and the mother of five home born children and has four grandchildren. She is the founder of Birth in the Tradition Inc. and has served the Greater Atlanta area for over 40 years. She is also a founding member of the
Community Midwives National Alliance and the Georgia Midwifery Association. She is also an author, a public speaker and served as a member of “The Crew” namely the Midwife Consultant for the Emmy Nominated Awards Amazon Prime ten episode mini-series, The Underground Railroad directed by Barry Jenkins.
Apprenticeship
Robin 2021 – Present
Apprenticeship is a part of the pathway to becoming a Home Birth Midwife! Midwifery apprenticeship refers to learning midwifery from an experience Midwife who guides the student through clinical studies through supervised, direct participation in the preceptor's midwifery practice. Getting a Midwifery Apprenticeship is usually a matter of making and maintaining contacts in the field, asking the right people for recommendations, and knowing where to look for opportunities. Working as an apprentice is an important part of most midwives’ training and is required for licensing in some states. Some Midwife certification programs will put trainees into contact with potential mentors, known in the field as “preceptors”. Word of mouth is usually the best way to get a midwifery apprenticeship position, as most openings go unpublished. If you are attending a midwife certification program, your school likely maintains a list of midwives in the area who are willing to entertain the idea of an apprentice. Searching online or contacting local Birth Workers is also a good place to begin your search.
The most important part of finding a midwifery apprenticeship is locating a preceptor with whom you will be comfortable working for an extended period of time. Most apprenticeships last three - four years, if not longer, depending on the case load of the Preceptor. In either case, the experience is bound to be a lengthy and demanding one. Having a personal rapport with your teacher or teachers is essential to making the relationship work. It is important to realize that not all midwives have use of apprentices or are even willing to take them on. In places where midwifery is not legal or is tightly regulated, practitioners are likely to be much more reluctant to offer you training. The best thing to do is set up informational interviews with any and all midwives you can get a hold of. Ask about their careers and their training.
When you have found a midwife under whom you would like to work, ask about the possibility of partnering for a midwifery apprenticeship. Be prepared to demonstrate your dedication to the field as well as your interest in this midwife’s work specifically. An apprenticeship is a serious commitment of time and resources and should not be entered into lightly. It is also important to discuss payment and fees before you begin. Different midwives have different policies with respect to apprentices. Some will tutor you free of charge in exchange for the help you will provide. Others request a stipend or small tuition payment or expect that you will join their practices once your training is complete. Setting out all expectations at the front end can help you narrow down the sort of midwifery apprenticeship you want, as well as helping to set you up for success once you begin to practice on your own.
"I’ll never forget when I first started my training as a 19 year old, bright-eyed and bushy- tailed student, my midwifery teacher looked at me sternly and with a dismissive tone said “Joseph, you are not going to make it, you don’t have enough patience”! Forty years later, I’m still here, still loving it, still learning because so long as you remember who you are centering - mama/baby/family/community- you can never go wrong in midwifery.
-Jennie Joseph, LM, CPM