Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Johnston.
Jana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
See this video where I tell my story of how I got started…. https://youtu.be/bpuj_WDfJ1U.
After the story from the video above, I moved back to Kansas City in Fall 2019 and finished my midwifery studies with Mercy in Action College of Midwifery Distance Program and completed my apprenticeship requirements with Amber Walla of Sacred Song Homebirth. I passed and received my midwife credential in 2020 and started my own midwifery practice in October of 2020 called the Blessing Mothers Clinic or Clínica Materna La Bendición.
My heart’s desire has been to become a midwife so that I can serve under-resourced families in Latin America. However, I realized that while I am in Kansas City, I should start serving those that I have been called to serve here until God makes the way for me to move to Mexico or Latin America long-term. That is why I decided to direct my midwifery practice toward the Spanish-speaking and immigrants in Kansas City (though I will serve anyone). I want to give easy and affordable access to quality prenatal care and alternative birth care options for those who typically don’t know that midwifery prenatal care or home birth options are available or are unable to afford them.
For that reason, I provide free prenatal care visits and pregnancy and fertility consultations in Spanish and English to those who are seeking care from a midwifery model of care in their language. I also provide low-cost cash-pay labs and ultrasounds. My hope is to be able to provide prenatal care for those who may otherwise skip it altogether and also provide awesome resources, referrals, and education regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn so mothers and fathers feel loved, respected, and well-cared for as they start or build their families.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road AT ALL. It has been a long and winding road, hahaha.
Here is a list of my struggles along the way…
1. Figuring out how to become a home birth midwife (Certified Professional Midwife) and where/how/with whom to study! Since it is a non-traditional job, it also has a non-traditional pathway to credential and practice which is not so easy to find or understand.
2. After I finally found a school to study within 2015, called The Birth Institute, I started with them and went to Guatemala on one of their study foreign exchange opportunities to work with midwives at a couple of birth centers there. However, after experiencing several “red flags” in relation to the school/program during my trip, I decided I could not continue with this school upon my return to the USA. About 6-months after I lamentably left the program, the school closed….which I was thankful in at least to be affirmed in my earlier decision to leave.
3. I had to start over with a new school, no money, and no preceptor as the two midwives I pursued to work with rejected me… I had a brief existential crisis as I felt my dream was impossible and that my life would not be purposeful if I couldn’t be a midwife! Thankfully I found grounding and peace in my relationship with God and decided to take a year to focus on training up a few other doulas and figure out next steps for midwifery apprenticeship and school studies.
4. I finally found a God-given midwife mentor to work with in 2017!! But she lived in Battleground WA, 2 hours away from where I was in Tacoma, WA. So on very very little money, I drove weekly to her clinic for prenatal days and other days for births and literally couched-surfed (yes, I used the app) with an amazing lady name Jerilyn. It was hard but so worth it.
5. My midwife mentor was so amazingly old-school that she did not have a credential (because out-of-hospital midwife credentials did not exist until the 1990s) to qualify her to sign my apprenticeship paperwork…. hahaha, so I had to find other midwives to work with also to sign my paperwork… By the end of it all, I worked with eight midwives over the course of five years in five different locations (Guatemala, Washington, Pennsylvania, California, and Kanas City) to finish my midwifery training.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I have two businesses…
Clinica Materna La Bendicion (www.labendicionkc.org) is my solo-practice midwifery clinic where I provide bilingual Spanish-English midwifery-model prenatal and postpartum care for women seeking to birth in the hospital of their choice or at home with me.
What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for?
I specialize in quality midwifery care for Spanish-speaking and immigrant families and in home birth for those who want it.
What sets you apart from others?
1 hour appointments, speak Spanish, natural health mindset and recommendations, holistic, affordable “direct care” (no insurance needed),
What are you most proud brand wise?
Providing an accessible culturally relevant alternative pregnancy and birth health option for Spanish-speakers in Kansas City area,
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
We offer free prenatal care and consults and affordable cash-pay lab and ultrasound options, doula care for hospital birth, and the option of birthing at home.
Global Education of the Midwife (www.gemmidwife.com) is my doula and midwife education business where I provide workshops and courses to train up many doulas and aspiring midwives. I also have an online midwifery academy and coaching program to help women on their journey to become certified professional midwives to provide out-of-hospital midwifery care.
What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for?
2-day hands-on doula workshops, 7-week Intro to Midwifery courses, 2-year online midwifery academy and coaching program
What sets you apart from others?
Flexible, Affordable, Achievable, and Christian Faith-based program
What are you most proud brand wise?
Providing an accessible education option to women in USA and Mexico, and hopefully other countries in the future, to become God-fearing midwives who will impact the world!
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
We provide entry-level education for women interested in supporting women and their families through childbirth. We provide an affordable self-paced midwifery education program online to guide women through the process of becoming an out-of-hospital midwife.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
My life is valuable even if I never become a midwife just because I am a daughter of God. To be a midwife is simply a gift to bless the world with, and when that is done, I will bless the world another way because I am blessed to be a blessing to others no matter what I do.
Pricing:
- Prenatal Care – Free
- Home Birth – $4000 (discount available)
- 2-day Doula Workshop – $250
- 7-week Intro to Midwife Course – $500
- 2-year Midwifery Academy – $100/mo membership
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.labendicionkc.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/parterajuanita/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/parterajuanita
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCe2_Lrz_5yzxGeoLEcKyqiA
- Other: www.gemmidwife.com
