Hi, I’m jenn crawford.
I’m a Certified Professional Midwife in Dallas, TX. My journey to midwifery was fueled by passion and perseverance. A long almost 18 year journey.
It’s my goal to make your dream as an aspiring midwife more attainable. My first apprenticeship was in Tijuana, Mexico and I self studied. With 4 little ones at home while working as a hospital based Lactation Consultant I was unable to complete it 8 catches into my primary phase. It wasn’t the right time in my life but I will forever value the knowledge and culture I was taught.
I moved from Joshua Tree, CA to Dallas, TX in 2019 so I could become a licensed midwife allowing me to choose what path I desired to become a CPM. City living has been different after coming from a small rural town. I apprenticed at the same high volume birth center I’m still blessed to be apart of.
When I went back to school in 2018 I knew I needed something flexible as I was a busy working and homeschooling mom. I decided on Ancient Art Midwifery Institute as they offer a traditional self study program. What I lacked was students in the same program in my community. I felt very isolated at times. Student life isn’t always easy and surrounding yourself with peers who understand helps fill your cup. After I completed my apprenticeship phase 4 catches I attended an AAMI skills lab November 2020 in NC where I met students from a small local community birth school. Their instructor used the base model of AAMI with her own curriculum meeting weekly for class, offering study groups and workshops that were customized to their community. My long term goal has always been a community birth center and school (in St Thomas but my husband is team Texas!) so I’ve been thinking . So we are purchasing a larger home so I can have a brick and mortar community birth school!
Although I have always been a midwife at heart I have been a doula trainer, still owning two small doula agencies in Southern California with the help of an amazing partner. I’ve done patient advocacy and training new L&D staff, ran a birth related non-profit and held officer positions on multiple birth related non-profit boards. Previous NICU experience and focused on NICU graduates as a newborn care specialist providing overnight care my first year of studies to pay for my tuition and books. Why are books so darn expensive? Don’t worry I’ll have an extensive lending library!
I love teaching and when I was a student I knew I wanted to be able to offer more when I became a preceptor. Shortly after receiving my CPM I was able to send in my preceptor application due to the amount of primary births I had managed under supervision. I’ve attended more than 700 births as a birth worker and have let to stop learning.
I’m excited to offer a few different program options with the goal of incorporating our own community midwives and birth centers to help teach workshops. Building preceptor relationships for apprenticeship opportunities.
My Approach
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Dream it
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Build it
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.