Support Isis's Final Year of Midwifery School

Dear Friends,

As you may know, I have been a student midwife for a few years now. I am excited to announce that I am entering my final year of clinical midwifery training. I am currently a 3rd year student at Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery. I am honored to have an opportunity to train with midwife Jennie Joseph and others who are on the front lines advocating for an improved maternity healthcare system. I am humbly asking for financial support in my educational pursuits as I strive to become the first Black certified professional midwife and licensed midwife in East Central Illinois. I created this GoFundMe to ask that you please consider making a donation. Sharing my fundraiser is also a huge help. Together we can make homebirth midwifery care more accessible for Illinois families. Thank you so much for your support!

Please give what you can. If you can't give, please share! If you would like to purchase a book from my book or something from my supplies list, you can find the list here: My Midwifery Bag Supplies Registry

About Me:

In no particular order: I am a Spelman College and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alumna (masters), sociocultural anthropologist, daughter, sister, podcaster, doula, certified lactation counselor, certified childbirth educator, amateur photographer, writer, dreamer, healer, lover, homebirth mama, and student midwife. Everything I am and everything I do is for my own healing as well as the healing of the generations beyond and before me. In this birth work, I hope to continue to inspire maternal healing as well as the radical notion that birth is a normal life event and that we (especially as Black people) deserve to have pleasurable and peaceful, prenatal and birth experiences wherever we choose to give birth--even at home!

I became inspired to pursue midwifery after giving birth to my first child at home in the midst of researching Black maternal health and alternative birthing models as a graduate student.

I initially began my journey as a student midwife in July 2020. In January 2022, I joined Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery--a MEAC accredited midwifery school. Since then, I have completed most of my coursework, attended 40 births as a doula, birth assistant, and primary birth attendant, completed 1 year of clinical training at the Birth Center of Bloomington Normal, supported homebirth families, and completed several in-person skills trainings in Winter Garden, Florida and beyond.

I am now attending births as a primary midwife under supervision. This means, while still a student, I am providing direct care to families. Therefore, I need to have the essential medical equipment to support the families I serve.

I currently live in East Central Illinois where there are NO Black midwives that specialize in homebirth midwifery. Together we can change this. I am on the path to becoming a midwife that will be trained in the way of our ancestors. Midwives like us are in need of a tremendous amount of support. We rely on communities that will advocate for us as this ancient field of midwifery continues to grow and challenge the status quo in birth. I am so ready to serve you!

I am asking for help covering the cost of the following:

-Gas, food, and personal expenses to cover my final year

-Medical supplies for my midwife bag

-Travel and Lodging Expenses for Mandatory On-site Labs

Being on-call makes it difficult to earn other forms of income so any support is appreciated!

Please give what you can. If you can't give, please share! If you would like to purchase a book from my book or something from my supplies list, you can find the list here: My Midwifery Bag Supplies Registry