Meet Our Student

Your midwifery team at Freedom and the Seed believes in and supports the apprenticeship model for the training of future midwives. We believe that midwifery is an ancient art and “calling,” not just another professional career choice. Classroom learning with intermittent clinical experience would not equip a student properly for relating to clients with individual and unique needs. Apprenticeship is the absolute best model for teaching future midwives continuity of care for clients. Students see clients from the beginning of their pregnancies through birth and postpartum care. They learn to care about the individual, recognizing first-hand that what might be the “right” answer for one woman may not be for another.

We are very careful and selective about the students we choose to participate in our apprenticeship program. It is vital to us that our students share our values and are compatible with our personalities. For this reason, we hope that if you have hired us, you also will like our apprentices. Even though we are careful, we recognize that not every client always will be completely comfortable with every student, which is why we want you to know that you always come first. We encourage you to fill out occasional student evaluation forms which help both the student and our midwifery team know how they are doing and if there are aspects of their skills and/or training that need improvement.

Students always are supervised and they only are allowed to perform midwifery skills that they have been taught. We also only allow the students to interact with clients who are comfortable with them. If at any time you do not feel comfortable with our students, please let us know. It is very important that your needs are met first, and that you feel at ease with our entire staff.

Haley Simmonds, Apprentice

Hi! My name is Haley. I have had passion and admiration for the world of birth since I was a young child. As soon as I learned to use the TV remote, I was searching for shows like Birth Day and One Born Every Minute. There is no better description for my feelings about birth at that time than awestruck. Even today, the power and beauty of pregnancy and birth leaves me nothing short of amazed. In highschool, I took a college prep class that prompted me to research my intended career path. My passion for midwifery was reignigted and I discovered my calling to be a Certified Professional Midwife and Licensed Midwife. My education in midwifery began in 2019 in the Direct Entry Midwife program at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. After a year and a half of academic work, my clinical experience began in my home state of Minnesota in the summer of 2020. My partner and I moved to Phoenix in the Winter of 2020 and we have called it home since! I am so excited and grateful to be a part of the Freedom and the Seed team, and to have the privilege to share in the wonderful journey of birth with many of you. When I am not in clinic and attending births, my partner and I adore being parents to our baby son, Oakley. Though I was born in Minnesota, I spent 10 spectacular years in Dubai which inspired my heart for travel and appreciation for culture. Even with family in every corner of the earth, I am very glad that much of my immediate family is here in AZ to help support me in making my dream of midwifery come true!

Ariella Chung , Apprentice

Hey, Hey! My name is Ariella Chung first generation of my family proudly wearing the Guyana flag. My cultural and family traditions run deep in my passion for birth work. Coming from a background in early childhood education specializing in infants through 4 years of age, with special needs, I discovered the options for obstetric care. Coming from a family who grew our food in our backyard, and a mother who raised me on alternative medicine, the mentioning of a midwife and out of hospital births at age 14 really started the snowball effect. By year 18, my start in birth work as a doula flourished. I made it my role to ensure voices were heard, empowered, and physically supported. My profession in birth work was not only a passion, but framework, and a vital part of my lineage starting with my great grandmother, and grandmother in island midwifery work. I have been intentional, with walking towards my calling into birth work, and continue to love serving right along side families committed for the whole ride. I’m a homemaker of all things vegan, sweet, and nourishing, while also enjoying a healthy amount of dirt out with horses and gardening! 

Cherron Sutten, Apprentice

Hello, I am Cherron! I’m from Georgia and Alabama. I moved to Arizona in 2018 to pursue becoming a midwife and naturopathic doctor. My journey of birth work began in 2010 when a friend who was 18 at the time became pregnant and terrified! We laugh together about it now. We were both young, working at a movie theater when she approached me and asked if I could be there for support during her birth. I soon found out she needed much more support than I was equipped to give. She desired a natural birth in a hospital in the state of Alabama. Her mother and the rest of the birth team however were not acquainted with the process of natural birth and did not agree with her decisions. I took classes and became a doula before her delivery date so that I could not only be an advocate for her during her delivery, but also ensure the both of us would be well-informed to make decisions throughout her labor. Adversity, negligence, and misinformation were the types of births I continued to encounter throughout my years as a doula. But I always feel so blessed to witness the increased confidence and empowerment of mothers after a healthy delivery. I am excited to now study and learn with equally passionate women at Freedom and the Seed. My education at SCNM alongside these midwives further support my intentions as a future midwife and ND, which is to support the mother in preparing her mind and body for labor and delivery while providing care for a healthy home birth.