Meet the (Student) Midwife: Tiffany Lim

Growing up in Jamaica, I saw my first birth when I was 9 years old. It was this experience that embedded the importance of community and the sacredness of birth. From pregnancy to post-birth, the community was tight-knit, supportive, and the epitome of “it takes a village.” It set the standard for pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond. 

I knew I wanted to become a midwife since I was a child. Until moving to the US, I don’t have a memory of anyone going to the hospital to have their babies. Being exposed to the medical-industrial complex and the concept of childbirth being treated as a disease contradicted what I knew to be normal.

The Beginning of Birth Work

My own birth experience reaffirmed my love for birth and all things related to it. Having had to doula myself throughout the different stages of pregnancy, I unofficially began doula work shortly after giving birth to my daughter in 2011. I became the support person for other pregnant people navigating the hospital experience in a military establishment. 

After serving in the US military, I moved back to Florida to be closer to my immediate family and to re-establish the community I dreamt of for myself and my daughter. After honoring a period of rest a year postpartum, I began working in operations. For seven years, I researched nursing schools and looked into certified nurse midwife training. I would tell my colleagues (and my friends), “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m quitting and I’m going to nursing school.” Working a taxing 12+ hour day, 6 days a week, I earned my bachelor’s in business, minoring in project management, occasionally using my PTO/sick days to do birth work.

At the height of COVID in 2020, with the encouragement of one of my dearest friends, I decided to ditch corporate life to pursue doula work full-time. I did several doula training (as no one doula training will prepare you for birth work in any capacity) while still searching for the right path to midwifery.

The Journey to Becoming a Midwife

I attended nursing school (twice) in hopes of becoming a certified nurse midwife, and I hated it. I dropped out (twice) because I disliked the diseased aspect of birth and of nursing in general. I did not want to be a nurse. I wanted to err on the side of normal, and doula work ushered me into direct-entry midwifery. 

In 2020, I found the direct-entry program at the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery (FSTM) and began researching the program and looking into the LM and CPM credentials. In the fall of 2021, I began midwifery school at FSTM’s south campus.

Since June 2022, I’ve been doing my clinical training at Magnolia. From a student perspective, Magnolia is a great place to get hands-on experience and build confidence as a care provider. Being able to translate my academic knowledge into hands-on experiences while navigating all aspects of midwifery care has been very rewarding. I’m happy to be nurturing my skills at Magnolia.

As a Black midwife, providing culturally competent, trustworthy care is important to me. This includes having raw conversations about care while there’s still a notion that Black people don’t feel pain. It’s a problem when hospital staff say, “You’re overreacting. You’ll be fine.” I wish I could be the person for all the people of color to have their babies with — just to provide adequate care. We receive better care when we’re caring for each other.

My Future as a Community Provider

When I think about my future as a midwife, in addition to providing culturally competent care, I hope that I’ll be able to encourage expectant parents to embrace support and deprogram hyper-independence and isolation by partnering with other supportive organizations.

In addition to opening a birth center, I plan to build a short-term transitional facility for pregnant women who are experiencing houseless-ness. The goal is to provide them with adequate care throughout the different stages of pregnancy and align them with other community resources so that they can work toward a better outcome long term (housing, healthcare, food resources, mental health support, etc).

Midwifery is not a linear thing, nor is it a transactional experience. It takes looking at the whole person in order to work toward the best possible outcome. I pray to build relationships that are a conduit for change.

At Magnolia, we want to help you achieve your out-of-hospital birth while keeping you and your baby safe. To learn more about prenatal care and birth services at Magnolia, fill out our form to set up a free consultation!