Nasrah Smith (aka) Mama Nasrah and Mama Osuntola
Sunrise: April 17, 1949
Sunset: June 8, 2022
Nasrah invited me into Midwifery on March 8th, 1980, the night she gave birth to the second of her four sons. I served as a birth companion and offered her comfort. Her birth was a magical birth, one that I will never ever forget, for it was that night that changed my life forever.
Mama Nasrah taught me the spiritual side to midwifery, a tool every midwife should hone. For four years she had me under her wings as an Apprentice traveling to families’ homes for prenatal visits, births and postpartum visits.
Our friendship and partnership expanded for over forty years. We always said to one another, “in our final hours, I want you to be by my side. The Creator called on her first and so once again, during the hours of one of Life’s transitional and pivotal moments, there I was, by her side.
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It was an honor to be Nasrah’s very first apprentice. I miss her and will always call her name. Mama Linda, Sauda, Nasrah, Osuntola Smith.
Apprenticeship Opportunities
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Apprenticeship is a part of the pathway to becoming a Home Birth Midwife.
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Midwifery apprenticeship means learning midwifery from an experienced Midwife, called a “preceptor”, through supervised clinical studies and direct participation in the preceptor's midwifery practice.
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You can find a preceptor through recommendations, networking, online searches for local birth workers, and through some midwife certification programs.
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Working as an apprentice is an important part of most midwives’ training and is required for licensing in some states.
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Find a midwife/preceptor that you are comfortable working with for an extended period of time. Most apprenticeships last 3-4 years.
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Not all midwives want to take on an apprentice, but if they do, apprentice work is lengthy and demanding.
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Ask about their careers and training before picking your midwife preceptors
"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