Education & Training

I believe we’re never done learning, no matter what our profession is. As a midwife it’s important to stay up to date on current research & expand our knowledge to best serve the diverse and ever changing needs of our clients & community.

  • Birthwise Midwifery School – 2017-2019

  • Senior student BirthHaven Midwifery – 2018-2019

  • Assist/ primary student with WomanWise Midwifery – 2016-2018

  • Primary student midwife at Luna Tierra Birth Center – 2018

  • Primary student midwife at Shiphrah Birthing Home – 2018

  • B.E.S.T (Birth Emergency Skills Training)- 2020

  • BLS for Healthcare Providers – 2022

  • NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) – 2022

  • Childbirth Educator Training – 2013

  • Birth & Postpartum Doula Training – 2012


Hi I’m Samm! (Owner, Midwife)

I’d like to think that I did not choose to become a midwife, but it chose me. When I say that an internal light bulb turned on during my doula training in 2012 it sounds cliché, but that’s exactly what happened. From that day forward I became obsessed with birth and everything related to it. By 2013 I was running my own doula/ birth photography business and was attending anywhere from 4-6 births per month. After attending my first home birth I immediately fell in love and was determined to become a home birth midwife.

I had my first baby at home in 2015, read my first birth story here. His birth shaped me in so many ways, a 9lb baby boy & an intense shoulder dystocia. The way my midwife calmly handled his birth and assured me that everything was okay made me feel empowered instead of traumatized.

I know that if I had I given birth in a hospital setting, my perception & birth experience would be a completely different story. I wanted to be able to provide others with the same level of care I received throughout my pregnancy, birth + postpartum.

One year after my son was born I started apprenticing with my own midwife, Karen Webster of WomanWise Midwifery. I attended births with her as a student all over Pennsylvania, Delaware & Maryland for 2.5 years. In 2017 I began the academic portion of my midwifery training at Birthwise Midwifery School to supplement the hands on clinical training I had been receiving while apprenticing with Karen.

In the fall of 2018 me, my partner, our 3 year old & our dog packed our bags & drove down to El Paso, Texas in order for me to finish my clinical requirements to become a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). As a woman of color, it was important for me to train with midwives of color, so I choose to apprentice at Luna Tierra & then flew around the world 20 weeks pregnant & spent an intense 5 weeks at Shiphrah, a high volume birth center in the Philippines. In early 2019 I came home to New Jersey & worked with home birth midwife Rebekah Panagos & Karen to complete my clinical requirements to graduate.

I started Magpi Midwifery in the summer 2019 shortly after the birth of my daughter & had the honor of wearing her on my back to births. I originally intended on having a low volume solo midwifery practice when I first started out, but that quickly changed in March 2020 due to Covid when I became a moderate- high volume practice what felt like overnight, I am now trying to scale back to 4-5 births a month.

As a homebirth midwife who is essentially on call 24/7 I have learned the importance/ art of implementing boundaries & self care. I receive body work regularly, debrief/ peer review with other midwives in the area, love going out to new restaurants, doing reformer pilates and regularly schedule time off to travel the world with my family. I have 3 children, who are homebirthed and homeschooled. Balancing motherhood & midwifery is no easy task, but I strive to be as present as possible for both.

In the last decade I’d say I have come full circle. I’ve attended close to 200 homebirths as the primary midwife in addition to over 200 births I attended prior to starting my practice, in various settings (as student midwife/ doula). I have had the privilege of learning from several midwives (both CPM & CNM). While I have a deep passion & trust for home birth, I also respect & admire the incredible hospital based providers I’ve developed relationships with for when transfers are needed.

When I think about the windy road it took me to get here, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Working first as a doula allowed me to gain experience in running my own business, seeing birth in all settings, become part of the birth community, build connections with other health professionals (chiropractors, acupuncturists, pelvic floor therapists, psychologists, lactation consultants, massage therapists, etc.) and work with and develop relationships with hospital-based providers.

I am thrilled to be able to serve the Philadelphia area as a traditional home birth midwife! I strive to cultivate a community of like minded families to grow together & create a better future for all, one birth at a time. I enjoy getting my clients together for potlucks, playdates, skills sharing, etc. Many of my clients are like family to me, and as your midwife, my door will always be open for you!

Check out what my clients have to say about me here. (If you’ve worked with me please leave a review! Always much appreciated.)