Marsha E. Jackson, CNM, MSN, FACNM. Director of BirthCare & Women’s Health
Marsha Jackson, wife of Clyde Jackson, Jr., mother of 5, and grandmother of 7, was born in Newark, NJ and received a baccalaureate degree in nursing from Howard University in 1974. She received her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery from Georgetown University in 1981. From 1981 to 1987, she operated a solo home birth practice in Washington, DC and also worked with Cities-in-Schools, an adolescent pregnancy program also in Washington, DC. Marsha is a member of St. Paul Baptist Church and serves as a deacon there. She is also active in the music and health resource ministries. Marsha has the distinction of being the first nurse-midwife to have delivery privileges at Georgetown University Hospital.
In 1987, Marsha co-founded BirthCare & Women’s Health, a full scope midwifery practice providing home birth services throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. BirthCare expanded its services in 1992, opening the first accredited birth center in Alexandria, Virginia.
Marsha has given numerous presentations locally and nationally. She has received many awards and honors including recognition as a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.She is a past chair of the ACNM Home Birth Committee, past chair of the ACNM Nominating Committee, co-editor of the ACNM Handbook: Home Birth Practice, former board member of the ACNM Foundation and has published several articles related to home birth.Marsha has co-authored a chapter for the most recent edition of Varney’s Midwifery. She is also a contributing author in the midwifery anthology, Into These Hands – Wisdom From Midwives.Her most recent literary project is a co-authored chapter in a resource book for in-hospital practitioners. The book entitled, Supporting a Physiologic Approach to Pregnancy and Birth:A Practical Guide, is published and available here.
Last but not least, the most exciting aspect in Marsha’s midwifery journey has been her connection with granny midwives. After becoming a midwife, Marsha’s grandfather was very proud of her and would say that she took after her grandmother Uzella who served as a community midwife in North Carolina. Even more exciting was the Smithsonian Museum exhibition on view from November 2005 through August 2006 that highlighted the many important contributions of granny midwives. This exhibit entitled, “Reclaiming Midwives: Pillars of Community Support”, profiled Marsha as a modern day home birth midwife. Marsha believes that the granny midwives paved the way for midwives today, and the spirit of the granny midwives give her the strength to continue on her journey.