Family Tree Maternity Center
Supporting you as your family tree grows
with modern holistic care for the
Jillian Bennett, CPM - Primary Midwife
I am a Certified Professional Midwife, professional doula, and breastfeeding specialist. My background and training includes completion of a 42 month apprenticeship with Laurie Zoyiopoulos CPM of Marion, Mi, and the North American Registry of Midwives portfolio evaluation process, which verifies the acquisition of knowledge and skills mastery for over 735 essential midwifery topics, as well as successfully completing a midwifery skills and written examination through the same organization. I have also completed training in neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (NRP)(current since 2012), adult, infant and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)(current since 2002), Birth Emergency Skills Training (BEST)(2014), Certified Breastfeeding Specialist training (CBS)(2012), and am a graduate of the Paramedic program at Mid-Michigan Community College facilitated by Mobile Medical Response (EMT-P)(2003) I hold a staff teaching position at Agape Health Care Schools of Cadillac and Traverse CIty and am a member of the Michigan Midwives Association, currently serving on their board of directors.
I began my clinical apprenticeship training in 2012, and accepting my own midwifery clients after its completion in 2015. I enjoyed the opportunity to study under several experienced midwives during that time. My apprenticeship training involved hands on experience under the supervision of a Certified Professional Midwife with prenatal, labor, birth and postpartum care as well as didactic learning and the opportunity to attend additional classes, conferences, seminars and other trainings. I attended over 3,000 hours of clinical midwifery training, and 114 births during my apprenticeship. As a practising midwife I follow a set of Practice Guidelines and MANA Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice documents, both are available to my clients upon their request.
For more information on my education and training as a midwife please visit: http://narm.org/certification/
I am mother to 6 beautiful babies of my own, ages 12, 10, 9, 6, 4 and almost 3, and I have been working with mothers and babies in a professional setting since 2003. My prior education, and experience relevant to midwifery includes; Over 100 hours of lactation specific education, and more than 1500 clinical hours in the breastfeeding support field, through which I qualify to sit for the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant exam. Additionally I have eighteen months experience working for the WIC program as a breastfeeding counselor and several years working on the labor and delivery floor at a local medical center. I have completed a Doula training workshop through the Naturopathic Institute of Therapies in Mt. Pleasant, as well as many other trainings and self-studies on the topics of pregnancy, labor, birth, breastfeeding, parenting and natural healthcare for infants and young children.
Stephanie Dawson Sell, CPM - Primary Midwife
As a midwife, I'm passionate about the experience of motherhood and supporting other women on their motherhood journeys. I am currently training to become a Certified Professional Midwife through the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). My training is apprenticeship based and will result in a certification through NARM’s portfolio evaluation process and a state license (once licensure is in effect in Michigan). I've been privileged to have Laurie Zoyiopoulos of Faithful Guardians Midwifery as my preceptor throughout my apprenticeship. I have also been attending births as an assistant with Jillian Bennett of Family Tree Maternity Services since 2016. Very recently I have begun apprenticing with Jillian as well. I am in the final step of my apprenticeship and attending births as a primary midwife under supervision. As a primary midwife under supervision, I am functioning as the team decision maker while being supervised by a more experienced midwife. I function as primary under supervision in both Laurie and Jillian’s practices.
Additional current training/memberships
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Adult and Infant CPR
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American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Provider
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Michigan Midwives Association
I started training to be a midwife in spring of 2015, but my journey to becoming a midwife has been an adventure that's now spanned two decades. During that time I became a nurse. I graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree. I also graduated from Marquette School of Massage in 2008. I lived in the mountains of Colorado for a few years and worked as a massage therapist at a cross country ski resort. I moved to Midland, MI with the love of my life in 2010. I ran a little massage business for a while and also began volunteering at Shelterhouse in Midland. I still work for Shelterhouse as a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner). I’ve trained to be a birth doula through Doulas of North America and have attended both home and hospital births as a doula. In the middle of all this fun, I gave birth to an amazing little boy with the help of a midwife. It so happens that little boy was trying to enter the world backwards, though. So he was born in the hospital with some additional help from a supportive medical team.
