In this episode of the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast, host Augustine sits down with Heather Whitley, CPM, a midwife and birth center owner in Salt Lake City, Utah. Across a wide-ranging conversation drawn from Heather’s 20-year career and nearly 1,000 attended births, the two dismantle the martyrdom culture of birth work, the logistical failures of modern academic midwifery pipelines (MEAC vs. PEP), and the statistical distortions that occur in low-volume home birth practices.

A central highlight of the episode is an unfiltered critique of the documentary Allowed to Birth (featuring Kristine Lauria). Using a controversial footling breech case portrayed in the film, Heather and Augustine unpack the dangerous friction between midwives supporting radical individual autonomy and systemic professional ethics. They explore how romanticizing rule-breaking and villainizing legally bound providers breeds horizontal violence, distorts informed consent, and leaves licensed community midwives vulnerable to legal and criminal ruin.

Timestamps & Chapters:

• 00:00 – Introduction: Meet Heather Whitley & Resurrecting Sago Birth Suite
• 01:40 – "Expansion for Freedom": Overcoming Burnout as a Single Parent
• 02:40 – Why Midwifery Education Is Broken: MEAC vs. PEP Pathways
• 05:00 – From Wall Street Finance to Home Birth Calling
• 07:30 – The Utah Paradox: Optional Licensure and the "Wild West" of Out-of-Hospital Birth
• 10:00 – Case Study: A 42+3 Post-Dates Tragedy, State Investigations, and Peer Review
• 14:00 – The 30,000-Foot View vs. Hyper-Localized Care
• 17:00 – The Dirty Secret of Solo Midwifery & Deconstructing Birth Worker Codependency
• 22:00 – Critiquing Allowed to Birth: The Cheyenne FaceTime Footling Breech
• 27:00 – "Stop Peeing in the Pool": Why Midwives Must Honor Statutory Rules
• 30:30 – The "Birth Tree" Model: How to Safely Deviate from Standard of Care
• 34:30 – Volume Bias: Why Low-Volume Practice Distorts Reality
• 36:00 – The Ivory Tower Problem: Low-Volume Teachers in Midwifery Academia
• 40:00 – Matriarchy vs. Patriarchal Hierarchies in Maternal Health Governance
• 43:00 – Facing Pushback, Speaking Out, and How to Connect with Heather
• 44:00 – Post-Show Debrief: Conference Invitation & Developing High-Yield Clinical CEUs

Connect with Heather Whitley:

• Website: Sego Midwifery & Sego Birth Suite
• Instagram: @segomidwife

Resources Mentioned:

• Book: Professional Ethics in Midwifery Practice
• Documentary: Allowed to Birth
• Course: Boundaries for Birth Workers by Midwifery Wisdom

Sarah Hamid, a student midwife in the Los Angeles area, joins Augustine to talk about what the direct entry midwifery education crisis has meant for students this summer. Sarah is a student at the National College of Midwifery (NCM), which lost its MEAC accreditation, and she walks through the timeline as she has documented it, from MEAC’s decision to step away from federal recognition to the withdrawal of NCM’s accreditation. She also explains how the acronyms fit together (MEAC, NARM, PEP, CPM) and what her own options look like in California.

The conversation goes beyond the timeline to the reasons students feel left behind: the financial pressure on a student population that is largely working-class, parenting, and rural, and the lack of communication and accountability from the institutions involved. Sarah and Augustine also talk about holding compassion for institutional leaders while still naming harm, why midwifery education should be midwife-led, and what preceptors and senior midwives can do today.

What We Cover
-Sarah’s path to midwifery and her experience as an NCM student near the end of her education
-A plain-language breakdown of MEAC, NARM, PEP, CPM, and how direct entry education connects to licensure
-The timeline of this summer’s events: the Department of Education report, MEAC’s statement, and NCM’s suspension and withdrawal
-What the federal report alleges, as Sarah describes it from publicly available documents
Sarah’s options in California, including PEP, the bridge program, and the California-specific exam
-Who student midwives are right now, and what the cost of becoming a midwife looks like
-Holding frustration and compassion together, and why the lack of accountability is the central issue
-The case for midwife-led education programs and midwifery-specific business training
-Support for student midwives who are parents
-Why this connects to the devaluing of feminized labor, with a book recommendation
-A direct ask to preceptors and senior midwives

Resources Mentioned
Sarah’s Substack, with the full chronological timeline: sarahmichalhamid.substack.com
Sarah’s social media: www.instagram.com/talesofadai
The Farmer and the Obstetrician: https://a.co/d/07rcWj7x
Start a Midwifery Business Right: https://www.midwiferywisdomcollective.com/ceu-courses-midwifery/starting-a-birth-business-right
Student Midwife’s Keepsake Journal: https://www.midwiferywisdomcollective.com/student-midwife-journal

Navigating a midwife license suspension is every practitioner's nightmare. Salli Gonzalez shares the reality of her experience.

Salli joins us to discuss the sudden news of her license suspension following a baby's death. This conversation addresses the vulnerability of midwives in the current climate, specifically regarding potential repercussions for comments made in online spaces. We look at how quickly professional standing can be challenged and the anxiety that surrounds public discourse for providers.

Beyond the legal and professional, protecting your midwifery practice requires both emotional resilience and a clear understanding of the risks involved in today's digital landscape, especially when maintaining online professional boundaries.

Subscribe for weekly midwifery wisdom breakdowns, and let us know in the comments: what steps are you taking to maintain your professional boundaries? 💬

0:00 The Sudden License Suspension
2:04 A Career Built on Intimate Care
4:25 The Day Everything Changed
8:54 The Accidental Midwife Attorney
24:29 The Weight of Unexpected Outcomes
30:26 Treating Regulatory Boards as Prosecutors
36:04 Screening for Success and Safety

Resources & Links:

💰 Support Salli's legal defense: gofund.me/a54e40705
🌐 Octavia LaVon Martinez, Esq: https://www.octaviamartinezlaw.com/
🐦 Follow Octavia on X: @OctaviaLaVon
📚 Take Augustine's Defensive Charting Courses: https://www.midwiferywisdomcollective.com/ceu-courses-midwifery
🏡 Join our private community: skool.com/midwiferywisdom