Jennie Joseph
Jennie Joseph is a midwife active in the field of maternal health, particularly regarding social and ethnic birthing disparities.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Joseph studied midwifery in the United Kingdom, her home country.[1] In 1989, she moved to Orlando, Florida, following her partner.[2] Once in the United States, she realized that she had fewer career prospects, due to a lack of knowledge about what midwives do in the country and regulations in the field. Joseph advocated for regulations preventing certified professional midwives (CPM) from practicing. In 1995, she opened a midwifery school.[1]
In 2009, she created the Common-sense Childbirth School of Midwifery, hoping to support women without access to Ob-gyns, who go to the emergency room when in labor.[1][2] Commonsense Childbirth Inc. operates health clinics and a birthing center, as well as the school. Joseph formulated the maternity-care model The JJ Way, an evidence-based model aimed at reducing birthing disparities. The model aims to help Black women and other marginalized people be safe and empowered within the maternity health systems.[3][4] Joseph created the term "materno-toxic" to describe the ways the life-threatening impact birthing disparities have on marginalized mothers.[5] Her methods have seen success, with almost all of her patients– most of whom are in groups that face birthing disparities– giving birth to healthy, full-term babies.[4] An evaluation by the West Orange Health Care District found that her patients had significantly lower rates of pre-term birth and low-infant birth weights. It also found that her patients of African descent were almost 40 percent less likely than their national equivalent to have pre-term labor or low-infant birth weights.[4]
In 2020, the Common-sense Childbirth School of Midwifery was accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, making her the first Black woman in the United States to privately own a nationally accredited midwifery school.[1]
Joseph also founded the National Perinatal Task Force, a grassroots organization working to eliminate racial disparities in American maternal-child health. She also founded The Council of Midwifery Elders. She is on the Advisory Council for the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus and a Fellow of the Aspen Institute.[3]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Joseph is an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority; she was inducted on July 27, 2024 at the sorority's Boulé in Indianapolis, Indiana.[6]
Awards
[edit | edit source]- 2022: Time (magazine) Woman of the Year[1]
- Zeta Phi Beta Honorary Member[7]
References
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- ^ Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Announces Newest Class of Honorary Members
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