Hosted by Jasmin Olvera-Dena of Oxomohco Birth & Body Work

Village Court Shopping Center at 4546 El Camino Real, Suite 246, Los Altos, CA 94022.

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Are you called to the path of birth work?

Do you feel a pull toward supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum with knowledge, heart, and ancestral wisdom? Unveiling the Journey is a two-day workshop created by and for BIPOC birth workers and parteras, designed to honor our lineages, stories, and ways of knowing. Rooted in community care and cultural reverence, this immersive gathering offers foundational guidance and inspiration for those answering the sacred call to birth work. Based on the much-loved 13-week mentorship circle, this weekend experience distills the heart of those teachings into an intimate and accessible format. Together, we will explore...

  • The calling of birth work as both a vocation and a journey of self-discovery

  • Midwifery through the lens of social justice, equity, and cultural reverence

  • The sacredness of holding space for birthing people and families

  • Rituals, storytelling, and traditional teachings that ground us in community care

  • This is not a mentorship program, but rather a weekend immersion for those curious about stepping onto this path or deepening their understanding of what it means to be in service to birth. You will walk away with a clearer sense of your own calling, practical insights for moving forward, and a supportive circle of peers who share your passion. Whether you are just beginning to explore midwifery and birth work or you are already on your path and seeking clarity, Unveiling the Journey Workshop offers a powerful space to learn, reflect, and connect.

What is Unveiling the Journey?

A Workshop for Birth-workers and aspiring Parteras

About six years ago, I sat beside our family temazcal in the backyard, I rolled tobacco in my hand and a prayer in my heart. I had been receiving dreams, messages an undeniable pull to create something for BIPOC aspiring midwives. And yet, I resisted. I didn’t want to replicate coaching programs or build another course. I was already holding so much. But in that moment of prayer, as I called on my ancestors, my guides, and the Creator, I received my instructions to put out the call, and the aspiring parter@s will hear it when it’s their time.” And so, Unveiling the Journey was born. This mentorship was created for my former self when I was a brand-new doula and a student midwife, full of questions and longing. I yearned to connect with birthwork on a deeper, soul and ancestral level. While I had incredible teachers and mentors along the way, many cultural and spiritual pieces were missing. I had to gather teachings from different places and patch them together, hoping to find a path that felt whole. In the end, what grounded me was fortifying my sense of self, deepening my prayer practice, and learning directly from the mothers, the birth givers, the babies and from birth itself. Now, over 100 members later, Unveiling the Journey has become a sacred container that has nourished not only those who’ve joined but me, too. Some came in simply exploring midwifery, and today they’re fully trained and practicing. Others are walking their unique paths of birthwork, healing, and cultural reclamation. This workshop is a compilation of the most-loved topics we've discovered over the last five years of the mentorship. If you feel that deep yearning for a soul-level connection to birthwork if you’re longing for a space that honors your spirit, your roots, and your sacred calling this may be the moment you’ve been waiting for.
Tema sitting at her office

Workshop Registration Payment Options

Non-Refundable Deposit: $99, due immediately. This deposit secures your seat and applies toward your total balance. Early Bird: $299 (available until Nov 30, 2025). Must be paid in full — payment plans are not available for this option. Regular Pricing: $349 (available Dec 1–Dec.31, 2026). Late Pricing: $400 (available Jan 1–Jan 10, 2026). Payment plans available with $99 deposit. Remaining balance due by Jan 10, 2026.

What do former cohort members have to say about UTJ ?

View our last recorded Interest List Call use passcode: 97t5H^C?

View Here

Before I began birth work I had a decade of spiritual and cultural teachings that I could rely on as resources for my Partera path. In truth, those ceremonial and spiritual practices were my first teachers. We can not sustain as Parteras without learning how to tend to our mind, body, spirit and heart .

  • Mind

    Become a part of a peer review to help you process difficult births, or challenging client scenarios. Peer review will be held during and will continue after the mentorship.

  • Cuerpo

    Discover and deepen your embodiment practices . Learn somatic awareness tools to identify and move trauma out of your body.

  • Spirit

    Reconnect with simple and basic spiritual practices to assist you in reactivating your ancestral memory and help you recover your original instructions.

  • Corazon

    A gentle container to help you have courageous heart centered discussions. Together we'll learn how to tend to our Corazon.

Meet your Mentor

Partera Tema Mercado

Tema Mercado is a Xicana Licensed Midwife in California and Partera Profesional Certificada in Mexico , mother to six children and a grandmother. She believes that birth work can change the world and has dedicated the last 11 years to birth and reproductive justice on the U.S Mexico Border serving families on both sides of the border. Tema was born and raised in San Jose, California and spent her adolescence in Mexicali, Baja California. Her midwifery practice and overall work in the community stems from a social justice and heart perspective. Tema is a traditional singer and story teller, these two gifts led her to share her voice as a speaker and facilitator. She believes that knowledge sharing is essential for the preservation of cultural healing arts. To find out more about Tema and her work, you can visit her website http://www.lamatrizbirth.com/ and her IG page @matrizmidwife.

Former Cohort Member Reflections..

I am deeply grateful to have been a part of this sacred space

D.O.

It was a very beautiful virtual space to connect with birthkeepers and birthworkers sharing, storytelling, healing, learning and dialogue for the reclamation and restoration of original and community midwifery, birth work as an embodied practice, decolonizing midwifery practices and apprenticeships, this work as an “act of resistance” to the current western framework.

“Personally, this mentorship helped reawaken my DNA and ancestral memories"

Megan

"This mentorship is a must for BIPOC aspiring parterx and parterx that want to connect with like-minded individuals, but also want to learn more about themselves and get clarity on how to continue moving forward on the Parterx path. This is a transformative mentorship, if you are ready for the next step, take this mentorship.”

“This mentorship bridges the gap between institutional midwifery/birth work education and the sacred spiritual art of midwifery/birth work.’

Sonia L.

“The teachings definitely helped me with personal growth.At the beginning of the mentorship, I had a lot of doubts about my next steps. I was constantly questioning myself, should I do this? How? What if? etc. Fortunately, each session helped me get more clarity.”

Confidence and Intentional

A.B

“I am more confident about my birth work practice and my midwifery/Parterx journey. I am more intentional with what I do. I have been enforcing my boundaries.”

“The mentorship cohort was everything I didn't know I needed"

Miriam

"I came in looking to find community, and although I did, I was led to find myself through the reflections and openness of those that became friends and allies. This cohort was a synchronicity of all involved. Different journeys, different cultures, different people but an aligned path, to say the least.”

Truly transformative

K. Cruz

The mentorship program I participated in was truly transformative in every aspect of my being. It allowed me to delve into different areas of birthwork and gain new perspectives, ultimately giving me the courage to explore my interests further.

Nourished my spirit

Fatima Chavez

I am constantly unfolding and saying yes. This could not come to fruition without community support. The mentorship nourished my spirit and lifted my confidence. Since then I feel rooted to keep expanding my skills and sharing with folks my aspirations of midwifery.

The cohort experience was very wholesome, powerful and uplifting.

Elena M.

We discussed themes that I had never had the opportunity to talk with amongst other women, and just hold space for each other to process and heal deeper wounds whether they were mother wounds, trauma, birth, trauma, personal trauma. It was a very Ancestral way of holding space. The cohort mentorship was created to guide future midwives in becoming a midwife. The mentorship values midwifery as a very sacred responsibility that holds high regard and the mentorship honored that responsibility and we had different opportunities to reflect on what it meant to do the work, and not only think about ourselves or the parents but the children as well. It was a very generational connection that we were making.

Terms & Conditions

Please click on the link bellow to view full terms and condtitions.
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FAQ

  • Who is the workshop for>

    Created by and for BIPOC birth workers and parteras, this space is an offering for those who feel called to birthwork and wish to reconnect with the cultural, spiritual, emotional, and ancestral roots of this sacred path. Grounded in collective healing and cultural reclamation, it honors the wisdom carried in our lineages and communities. This gathering is ideal for BIPOC participants who are seeking to deepen their practice, explore whether to join a future mentorship cohort, or return as former cohort members to renew connection with the teachings, the circle, and one another.

  • Do I have to be a birth-worker to join?

    While it will best serve those who have already begun their journey as a Partera or birth worker, it is suitable for birth attendants, doulas, student midwives, new midwives, postpartum practitioners, perinatal educators, perinatal herbalists, and perinatal bodyworkers.

  • Do you offer scholarships?

    We work year-round to raise scholarship funds. We offer partial scholarships on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no separate scholarship application. There's one application that provides the option to request a scholarship. For this workshop, the host, Jasmin Olvera-Dena [email protected], will award partial scholarships.

  • When will you offer a new mentorship course?

    Fall 2026, Applications will open Spring 2026.

  • Why is this only for BIPOC ?

    This mentorship centers BIPOC birth workers because BIPOC birth givers deserve providers who understand their lived experiences. By nurturing BIPOC birth supporters, we help address and reduce the birth disparities that disproportionately affect our communities. There are many programs for those in the dominant culture, this one exists to strengthen ours.

  • What is your refund policy?

    Refund Policy The $99 deposit is non-refundable. To receive a refund of any remaining balance, you must email [email protected] no later than 24 hours before the start of the workshop. Requests made after this time will forfeit the full registration fee. Refunds are issued to the original payment method, minus any processing fees. Your refund request must include your name, email, date of purchase, and the Program name (“Unveiling the Journey Workshop”). Please review the terms and conditions linked above.