Mentorship Overview

Our first mentorship call will be Tuesday, June 24th, 2025, from 4–6 PM PST. We will meet a total of 13 times, every Tuesday from 4–6 PM PST, with our final group call on September 16th, 2025. Individual one-on-one sessions with Tema will be scheduled separately between July and September. The mentorship cohort is designed to take on a life of its own. Group sessions will be individualized, with hand-tailored topics chosen by the cohort. We will also be joined by guest Parteras and Elders for knowledge shares that inspire and build community. After our 13 calls, you’ll gain access to monthly connection calls with Tema and all former Unveiling the Journey cohort members.

  • 13 group mentoring sessions

  • 6 Guest Partera / Elder Knowledge Shares

  • Monthly Connections Calls

  • 2 one-on-one calls with Partera Tema

  • Bi-yearly Gathering for all Cohorts

  • Future Scholarship Priority

  • Partera Initiation Ceremony

What is Unveiling the Journey?

Mentorship for Birth-workers and aspiring Parteras

Four years ago, I sat beside our family temazcal in the backyard, a 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: “Do not create a curriculum. Pray before each session, and you will know what to say. 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 level. While I had incredible teachers and mentors along the way, there were many cultural and spiritual pieces 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, nearly 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. Together, they’ve built friendships, supported one another at births, and shown up as community. This will be our fifth cohort, and the call is going out again. 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. I will show up as your mentor but your cohort will become the medicine. I can’t wait to meet you. Con todo mi amor, Partera Tema

Group Interest Call Recording

Are you curious about Unveiling the Journey a heart-centered mentorship for aspiring Parteras and birth workers? Join us for a live info session where Tema will share a 20-minute overview of the program, including its intentions, structure, and who it’s for. Then, you'll hear directly from at least three former participants as they reflect on their experiences and the impact the mentorship had on their personal and professional paths. We'll close with time for your questions, so come with an open heart and anything you're wondering about!

Register for the Interest Call

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.

UTJ Annual Reunion and Retreat

Save the date June 20 -22, 2024

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.
  • What is a Parterx?

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.

Mentorship Pricing

You must first apply before enrolling. Click on the teal "Apply Now" button at the top of the page.

FAQ

  • Who is the mentorship for ?

    This mentorship is for those who aspire to and identify with the role of Partera from a cultural and spiritual perspective. It is BIPOC-led and was originally created with BIPOC Parteras in mind. This year, the mentorship is open to anyone who feels called to birthwork and wishes to reconnect with the spiritual, emotional, cultural, and ancestral aspects of this sacred path. Whether you are just beginning or deepening your journey, this space is for those seeking to honor the roots of birthwork as a calling and community practice.

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

    This year, the mentorship is open to anyone with an interest in birth work. 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 very hard year round to raise scholarship funds. We offer partial scholarships on a first come first serve basis. There is no separate scholarship application. There's one application with the option of requesting a scholarship.

  • When will you offer a new mentorship course?

    Sometime in 2026!

  • Why is this only for BIPOC ?

    All of my former courses and workshops have been open to everyone. However, this particular mentorship is specifically for BIPOC aspiring birth workers for several important reasons. The biggest reason is to create a space where we can share our common lived experiences as BIPOC birth workers, which can vary greatly from the experience of someone who belongs to the dominant culture. Fortunately, there are several birth work mentorship programs by and for those belonging to the dominant culture.