Most of us, when asked why we chose this path, will say something like, “I feel called to midwifery.” But what does that really mean?
A calling isn’t just a career choice. It’s not something we chose from a list of professions. When we say we feel called, what we often mean is that we’ve felt an invitation—holy and deep—from God Himself. A whisper, a fire in our bones, an ache that won’t go away. It’s a pull so rooted within us that we can’t quite imagine doing anything else.
Perhaps this is because, as women, birth is our inheritance.
And inheritance is never random. It is something valuable—handed down from one generation to the next. It’s legacy. It’s identity. It's gift. And with every gift, there is a responsibility.
This is why your reason for pursuing midwifery must run deeper than the work itself. It must stretch beyond certifications, beyond being “good with babies,” beyond loving the idea of birth. Midwifery is more than a job. It’s soul work. It’s Kingdom work. And soul work will cost you.
You will bleed and break open with women. You will stay up through the night, face trauma, loss, injustice. You will fight for time, for presence, for rest. You will carry other people’s pain in your bones. And if you are not grounded in your why—if midwifery is only a job—it will be far too easy to quit when the battle begins.
Someone recently said, “This is a holy war.”
Yes. It is.
Midwifery is spiritual territory. It is the front line of a sacred fight—where wombs open, legacies are born, and destinies are anointed. It is where lies are broken and truth is restored. It is where you remind women who they are and who they were always meant to be. Where you witness the answer to prayers women prayed as little girls, now heard in the groaning of labor. Where you lay hands on babies and bless them into life from the birth stool.
This is not just what you do. It’s who you are.
If you are called, then that calling is a part of your identity. And if that’s true, you cannot abandon the call when things are hard—because you cannot abandon yourself.
So how do you stay rooted when it gets hard?
You come back to your why.
Why do you do this work? Why did you say yes?
Why did your heart burn for this in the beginning?
Perhaps now is the time to write your mission statement.
Let it be honest. Let it be specific. Let it come from the deepest place of your spirit.
Write it now—then revisit it often. Read it again in the middle of the night when sleep won’t come. Read it again when you feel like quitting. Let it anchor you.
And then, build the scaffolding that sustains your calling:
- Create community. Surround yourself with others who are walking this road. You weren’t meant to carry this alone.
- Allow for pause. Your worth is not in how much you do. You cannot pour from an empty vessel.
- Establish rhythms. Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. Find your flow and guard it.
- Remember the Sabbath. Not just as rest, but as resistance. A holy act that says, God, this is Yours. Not mine.
You were born for this.
Not because it’s easy. But because it’s holy.
Midwifery is the work of setting things right.
It’s about calling forth life—both in the women you serve and in yourself.
So remember your why.
Return to the vision.
And keep walking forward—because this is what you were made to do.