NBMA 2025 Conference - BMD 2025 Awardees

NBMA 2025 Conference

Mama Sarahn Henderson

Sarahn Henderson fondly known as “Mama Sarahn” is a Black and Indigenous Direct Entry Perinatal Health Care Provider (historically known as Midwife). She was born in Riverside, California and was raised most of her life growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father made a career and retired in the Air Force and her mother was an elementary school teacher. Life in Hawaii was living in a melting pot of East and Pacific islanders (and others), flowers and fruit all year long and a wholesome place to be raised, indeed. She matriculated as a sophomore student to Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she earned a B.S. in Early Childhood Education and where her family roots thrive and ancestors lie. She married, and shortly thereafter, she and her husband gave birth to the first of their five home-born babies. After giving birth to her first child, Sarahn answered the Calling (by way of her midwife’s invitation) to midwifery. Her purpose is to create and maintain safe spaces for mothers who choose to birth in out of Institution settings and to uplift, preserve, and teach the traditional practices of Midwifery and Mothering to her community, thus the name of her service, Birth in the Tradition.

Her desire is to inspire and increase the number of Black and Brown birth workers by supporting those who aspire to become midwives, labor and postpartum doulas, childbirth educators, lactation specialists, prenatal fitness and nutritionists, etc.

Sarahn is the Principal Midwife for Birth in the Tradition providing midwifery and doula services expanding over four decades and two generations. She has assisted in over one thousand births since she began in 1980. Sarahn is a weaver. She has founded and lead several organizations and alliances over the years. She is the Co-Founder of Dua Afe, Whole Woman Inc., Black Midwives Over Georgia, and a Founding Member of the Southern Alliance of Midwives, Georgia Midwifery Association, Childbirth Providers of African Descent, and Community Midwives National Alliance. She served as the Conference Coordinator for the Black Midwives and Healers Conferences hosted by The International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC) and under the director of Midwife Shafia Monroe. These conferences were held in Atlanta, Georgia, Phoenix, Arizona, and New York, NY. Sarahn was responsible for selecting Breakout Session Presenters, Keynote Speakers, overseeing CEUs, and locating and selecting Award Recipients among other responsibilities.

Sarahn was also the Midwife Consultant for Barry Jenkins' 2021 Amazon Prime television series The Underground Railroad. In this assignment she was a coach for actors, props, costuming, and makeup and assistant to the Director and Co-Directors. Sarahn’s name is credited after the 10th Chapter (Episode).

Sarahn is literally a Trail Blazer. She and her youngest daughter run a "Hiking as You Learn" program for pregnant and postpartum women and their families. Known as Maternal Wellness Hikers, it’s a trend that gets mamas up and out of bed to get their steps in, fresh air, and a little bit of education. On an ordinary day, Sarahn is a wife of over 45 years, the mother of five grown children and the grandmother of four. She homesteads on acreage with her family to live a more self-sustaining lifestyle, raising vegetables and chickens, and to be an inspiration to others. A third generation Clark Atlanta University graduate, she assists her daughter in home schooling the grands. Both she and her daughter come from a lineage of educators. She is also a Co-founder of Giwayen Mata, an All Sistah Dance, Percussion and Vocal Ensemble. Sarahn is, a Community Leader and Dances to the Drum of her Own Beat!

Toni Hill

Toni Hill is a baby Grand Midwife who serves Northern Mississippi and Southern Tennessee as a traditional midwife. She is steeped in the knowledge of the plants in her region, utilizing their medicine, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, and cranial sacral care for the folks she serves. Toni's great aunts on both her maternal and paternal sides were also midwives, one of which served on the land of the Chickasaw and Yuchi where she resides. The other used the Ethiopian traditions her mother taught her.

Toni is the founder of Da Roots Traditional Midwifery School and serves as the president of the Association of Mississippi Midwives, founding director of the Mississippi Center for Birth and Breastfeeding Equity, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Midwifery School. She also holds the CPM credential so that she can support the next generation of midwives.

According to her clients and colleagues, Toni is the baddest midwife in the state of Mississippi and a trailblazer for the next generation of birth workers. She uses her 20+ years of knowledge and experience to support the entire family as they embrace natural birth, healing, and herbalism.

Toni brings her compassion, patience, and light to every birth. Passionate about her community, she is an advocate for those who are often overlooked or uninformed. She is fiercely grounded in issues that advance and uplift maternal health and equity for all. She is an intuitive visionary for creating services and opportunities for the marginalized that make an impact.

As a mentor, Toni sees the value in openly sharing knowledge to encourage and empower more like-minded birth workers to safely support families in their own communities with best practices. Both a teacher and a student, she strives to seek and speak truth. She is approachable and an empathetic listener. In combination with her endearing sense of humor, she is loved and appreciated by many far and wide.

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