Welcome to Commonsense Childbirth
Creator of The JJ Way®We believe that all people deserve a healthy pregnancy, birth and baby so no one is ever turned away – regardless of ability to pay! We focus on safety, quality and workforce development in support of our vision for equitable maternity care.
Commonsense Childbirth Inc. (CSC) 501(c) 3 non-profit organization was founded in 1998 by Jennie Joseph who has dedicated her life to helping women and families have better birth experiences.
Over the years Jennie’s work has grown beyond the birth room. She speaks nationally and internationally sharing her positive outcomes on low birth weight, prematurity, infant mortality, and maternal mortality rates that remain particularly high in minority and disenfranchised populations in the United States.
Our Mission
Our mission is to inspire change in maternal child health care systems; to re-empower the birthing mother, father, family and community by supporting the providers, practitioners and agencies that are charged with their care.
To improve birth outcomes and save lives by offering training and certification programs for healthcare professionals, para-professionals, maternity care systems and medical institutions interested in creating perinatal safety for at-risk populations.
Our Vision
We believe that all people deserve a healthy pregnancy, birth and baby so no one is ever turned away – regardless of ability to pay! We focus on safety, quality and workforce development in support of our vision for equitable maternity care.
“When the front desk operates as an ‘open-door triage’ there is no barrier to prenatal care. You are eligible for all services simply because you are pregnant and you have expressed a need. NO ONE IS TURNED AWAY regardless of ability to pay” ~ Jennie Joseph, Founder & President
A NEW approach to maternal health and wellness for ALL people
Our mission is to inspire change in maternal child health care systems; to re-empower the birthing mother, father, family and community by supporting the providers, practitioners and agencies that are charged with their care.
Access To Safety
To improve birth outcomes and save lives by offering training and certification programs for healthcare professionals, para-professionals, maternity care systems and medical institutions interested in creating perinatal safety for at-risk populations.
Access To Quality Clinical and Behavioral Care
Deploy professional and paraprofessional perinatal teams to urban and rural areas of critical maternal health care shortage to establish maternity care homes/clinics, level one birthing facilities, and interdisciplinary telemedicine /telehealth support services.
Workforce Development
Align investment in human resources for a healthcare workforce keeping the current and future needs of the population and healthcare systems in mind. Support programs to diversify, strengthen and build a pipeline to perinatal health service careers (Perinatal training and development).
The Commonsense Childbirth Branches
There are several key divisions that operate under the Commonsense Childbirth umbrella. Find our more about these below.
Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery
Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery was designed to enable students to gain the knowledge and skills needed to become highly competent midwives. We place an emphasis on teaching the art of out-of-hospital birth, differentiating between low-risk and high-risk pregnancies and preparing students to organize and operate as a professional midwife.
National Perinatal Task Force
The National Perinatal Task Force (NPTF) is a community of people who have a heart for women and babies and are concerned about the persistent and worsening maternal child health outcomes in the USA.
We believe all people have the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we care for with equitable resources to thrive in community.
Commonsense Childbirth Institute
At Commonsense Childbirth Institute (CCI), we aim to deliver innovative and certified training courses following the philosophy of The JJ Way®. Through our courses and programs, we offer various certifications, as well as opportunities to brush up on midwifery skills, learn how to implement The JJ Way® into your practice, and be equipped for advocacy and outreach.
The Birth Place
The Birth Place offers a choice of midwifery prenatal care with birth center delivery, or midwifery prenatal care with physician delivery at the hospital. Our midwives follow the best evidenced-based protocols and collaborate fully with our extensive network of obstetricians, pediatricians and hospital community partners.
Easy Access Clinic
The goal of the Easy Acces Clinic is to calm your concerns, get you started with prenatal care and set up for your hospital delivery as soon as possible – we will not turn anyone away, that’s why we are called the “Easy Access” Clinic! The clinic offers natural birthing services and water birth with midwives in our community birthing center ‘The Birth Place’ in Winter Garden, Florida.
The JJ Way
The goal of The JJ Way® is to eliminate racial and class disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes for all by providing access to community-based maternity centers, owned/operated and embedded in communities of highest need.
Key objectives of The JJ Way® are:
- for pregnancies to reach a gestation of 37 weeks or greater
- for newborns to have a birth weight of 5 lbs 8 oz or greater
- for women (and their families) to bond well to their babies and to start and succeed at breastfeeding.
The JJ Way’s® innovative model builds on the strengths of the Midwives Model of Care to reach a population that does not typically seek midwifery services. Additionally, providers create safe, accessible and profesional enviroments to ensure all patients are treated with mutual respect and dignity.
Birthing Center Model
Our birth centers are created to provide an environment for healthy pregnant women to deliver with freedom of movement and be an active participant in their care. This family-centered, holistic model is the future of birth in the USA. Our birthing center in Winter Garden, Florida has been supporting women and families since 2003.
Easy Access Prenatal Care Clinics
NO ONE IS EVER TURNED AWAY! Created to provide accessible and affordable health care for pregnant and postpartum women who are uninsured, underinsured, low-income or indigent and are at-risk for poor health outcomes due to having no maternity medical home. Perinatal support, in both prenatal and postpartum care is critical for the health and wellbeing of mom and baby. In a time where costs are rising and maternity insurance is hard to acquire, our Easy Access Clinic program is a proven solution and guarentees an access point no matter what. We also provide help with applying for Medicaid, social support and health navigation services for pregnant women, as access to comprehensive care is extremely difficult in the current healthcare climate. Our Easy Access Clinics are located in Orlando, Florida.
Community-based Maternity Centers – An idea whose time has come. To learn more and to read the 2017 evaluation report of our centers please click here
Donate To Our Charity Fund
We are operating perinatal safe spots in Central Florida for women who are at risk of having a low birth weight or premature infant, or developing high-risk conditions in their pregnancy. Your donations will help us to support the women attending our Easy Access Clinic for their maternity care needs.
Thank you so much! Your generosity supports access to healthy pregnancies and babies for ALL people, and is tax-deductible.
Commonsense Childbirth, Inc. Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 59-3479821