Training birth assistants creates financial stability and workforce development as an entry point into the profession. Before we adopted the national model, we designed and piloted an in-house birth assistant training pilot program. We led two cohorts through this training totaling 7 participants in 2020 and 2021. The Birth Assistant Agency program was created in response to needs from local midwives and requests from women in Cincinnati who want to become birth professionals. Local and national midwifery providers voiced a need for trained and qualified birth assistants.

The Birth Assistant Agency is structured with the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) and the Commission on the Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC) training program. The biggest barrier to entry to midwifery as a profession is cost.