Meet the Midwife

Tanya Smith-Johnson is a mother of 6, homeschooler, Navy veteran, and military spouse, who
always dreamed of helping women and babies have the best birth outcomes and experience
possible. Becoming a mother and birthing naturally and on her terms was empowering. After
briefly attending medical school, it opened her eyes and changed the way she believed birthing
people could best be supported in their birthing options and choices. Mothering and birthing with
the aid of midwives, the last 3 of which were home births, transformed her even more. Tanya is
more dedicated than ever in the quest to ensure that birthing people are able to have the
birthing experience of their choosing.
Tanya has expertise in and can speak to a variety of areas including medical education, health
policy, consumer advocacy, maternity care in the military system, varied experiences of a Black
woman in the system across providers and birth settings, as well as significant roles in 2 state
consumer and midwifery associations. Tanya has over 27 years of medical experience working in
military medicine as well as various birth centers and community birth settings providing
medical and midwifery care.
Tanya holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a Masters of Science in Medical Science from
Hampton University. She currently resides in Mississippi with her husband of 21 years and 6
children. Tanya is the newly appointed President of the National College of Midwifery, a direct
entry midwifery school for midwives who practice traditional midwifery and are out of hospital
birth.