This week, we’re revisiting a Season 3 episode of the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast with Aubre Tompkins, CNM and author of Midwifery for Expectant Parents. At the time of recording, Aubre was Director of Midwifery at Seasons Midwifery and Birth Centre and President of the American Association of Birth Centers where she now continues to serve on the Executive Committee.

Augustine and Aubre unpack the dangers of pregnancy in the U.S.—especially for BIPOC communities—revealing how poor outcomes stem from the hospital-based, physician-led system rather than midwifery care. Yet, the for-profit model of healthcare continues to suppress the most obvious solutions. This conversation, as urgent today as ever, is also a call to action—for midwives and consumers alike—to raise their voices and demand meaningful change in U.S. healthcare.

Keep the conversation going on skool.com/midwiferywisdom

In this week’s episode of the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast, host Shiphrah Israel sits down with Zaire Sabb—Clinical Herbalist, Traditional Midwife, Registered Nurse, and founder of Mystic Momma Herbals.

Zaire shares her remarkable journey from pediatric cardiac transplant nursing to apprenticing with grand midwives in Georgia and herbal masters in Nigeria, weaving together clinical knowledge, traditional midwifery, and holistic herbalism. She discusses the vital difference between community herbalists and clinical herbalists, how unresolved emotions can manifest physically in the body, and why reclaiming herbal wisdom is essential for reproductive health and sovereignty.

We also dive into her new book, Herbal Harmony: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Herbs to Help with Reproductive Health, which empowers readers to better understand their bodies, advocate for themselves in medical spaces, and pass on generational wisdom to their families.

✨ Topics we cover:

• The path from allopathic nursing to traditional midwifery
• What sets a clinical herbalist apart from community herbalism
• The role of emotions, trauma, and lifestyle in reproductive health
• Everyday herbs growing in your own backyard
• Practical steps to begin your herbal journey
• How Herbal Harmony helps bridge the gap between patients and providers

📖 You can find Herbal Harmony on Amazon and at https://www.mysticmommaherbals.com/

Join Midwifery Wisdom Skool—your all-in-one membership for courses, community, and NARM prep for $69/month. Unlock 12+ classrooms inside as you level up: https://www.skool.com/midwiferywisdom
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In this episode host Shiphrah sits down with Jessica Arnold—better known as The Combat Midwife. From growing up with a calling to catch babies, to serving as a firefighter, paramedic, and military Combat Medic instructor, Jessica has forged a one-of-a-kind path in birth work.

She shares her journey from witnessing her mother’s VBAC and traumatic hemorrhage as a child, to teaching life-saving skills in the army, to blending EMS training with midwifery wisdom in both civilian and disaster settings. Jessica opens up about why VBACs hold a special place in her heart, how resourcefulness and quick thinking translate across emergencies, and why every family—not just midwives—can benefit from basic birth and survival knowledge.

We also dive into her Combat Midwife workshops and OB kit, created to prepare families and communities for emergencies, and discuss how midwifery and EMS share surprising historical roots. Whether you’re a birth worker, parent, or simply curious about resilience in the face of the unexpected, this episode is full of insight, grit, and inspiration.

👉 Resources, free downloads, and kits are available at combatmidwife.com (use code WISDOM for a discount).
👉 Listeners also receive 15% off CEU courses at Midwifery Wisdom with code MWCPOD15.

In this episode of the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast, host Shiphrah Israel sits down with Satori Shakoor - a master storyteller, story director, and coach whose gift for weaving words was born from generations of Black women in the Jim Crow South. Raised listening to her Alabama and Mississippi elders transform everyday events into epic tales, Satori learned to speak the language of storytelling with the power to teach, warn, entertain, and inspire.

Satori brings that same storytelling magic to a topic too often shrouded in silence: menopause. From her acclaimed film Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale to her advocacy with the Michigan Women’s Commission, she shares her deeply personal journey through perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause—illuminating the emotional, physical, and societal challenges along the way.

This conversation explores the gaps in medical training that leave women unsupported, and the transformative self-discovery that can emerge in this life stage. With humor, heart, and unflinching honesty, Satori reframes menopause not as an ending, but as an opening to deeper self-awareness and freedom.

🎧 Listen now to discover:

• Why most doctors get only one hour of menopause training—and what that means for women’s health
• The emotional and physical realities of perimenopause and menopause
• How storytelling can break stigma and build community
• The urgent need for advocacy, awareness, and accessible care

Resources & Links:

• Watch Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, or Google Play
• Learn more about Satori on her website www.satorishakoor.com

This week on the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast, we welcome the founder of Flower Girl, a radical period underwear brand born from one woman’s frustration with toxic menstrual products—and her deep desire to care for the bleeding body differently.

As a former e-commerce strategist turned slow fashion entrepreneur, she brings both science and soul to this powerful conversation about conscious menstruation, cycle care, and body literacy. Together, we explore:

• Why midwives and birthworkers should care about what clients use post-birth and beyond
• How period underwear is reshaping not just menstruation, but postpartum recovery
• What it means to create a product that actually honors the female body

🔗 Learn more: flowergirl.co
📲 Follow on Instagram: @flowergirl.co_

💬 Share with a postpartum doula or cycle educator or anyone in your life who needs to hear this!

In this week’s episode, Augustine connects with fellow midwife and world traveler, Allison, for a deep and expansive conversation about what it really means to live at the edge of reality—whether supporting births or crossing oceans. From an unexpected career shift out of accounting to midwifery school in New Zealand, and from practicing in Canada to captaining a sailboat across the Pacific, Alison shares how curiosity, courage, and midwifery magic have shaped her wild and winding path.

This conversation is part of a larger theme we’ve been exploring this month in our ongoing webinar series Midwifery on the Move where we explore what it really means to live a mobile midwifery lifestyle. We’ve been talking about the beauty, the complexity, the ethics, and the practical steps to working around the world.

✨ If this episode sparks something in you, know that it’s not too late to join the webinar and explore what traveling midwife life might look for you. Sign up today on our website www.midwiferywisdom.com

Longtime midwife turned somatic trauma healing coach, Christie Davis talks about what it really takes to stay whole in the world of birth work. After over 20 years of attending births and running a private midwifery practice, Christie now supports midwives and birth professionals through the emotional aftermath of traumatic births, burnout, and the heavy expectations of the profession.

Together, we unpack the somatic foundations of trauma, how nervous systems get "stuck," and what real healing can look like. We also talk boundaries (the kind that keep you and your clients safe), deconstruct the martyrdom baked into midwifery culture, and explore how to build more sustainable careers in birth work—without abandoning your heart.

Whether you're a seasoned provider or a student midwife just entering the field, this is an honest, compassionate conversation you need to hear.

🔗 Show Notes:
Learn more about Christie Davis and her somatic healing work for birth professionals at https://www.perinataltraumacenter.com/about
Check out our Boundaries for Birthworkers course on our website www.midwiferywisdom.com

In this special episode, we’re stepping beyond borders — and beyond our usual programming — to bring you a snippet from our Midwifery on the Move webinar series.

Host Augustine Colebrook is joined by two extraordinary traveling midwives: Katrina, a licensed midwife and educator who began her international work in India, and Jata, a neurodivergent advocate and researcher who has practiced in Tanzania, the UK, Australia, and more.

This series explores what it really means to bring midwifery across cultures:

• The beauty and challenge of practicing globally
• Cultural humility vs. cultural competence
• How travel shapes us personally and professionally
• Navigating ethics, expectations, and impact

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking your midwifery work on the road — or you’re just curious about what’s possible — this conversation will inspire, challenge, and expand your view.

Want more? This episode is just a taste of our four-part Midwifery on the Move (8 CEU) webinar. Sign up now to get the full recordings, handouts, and join us live on August 6 and 11, 2025 for the final sessions.

Links:
🎧 Learn more & register for the webinar → https://midwiferyonthemovewebinar.eventbrite.com
📌 Follow us on Instagram → www.instagram.com/midwiferywisdom