OUR VISION

Academy’s purpose is to elevate and honour midwifery. This profession is more than a trade, it’s a calling. Midwifery is a sacrament, an oath, a commitment and it’s how we honour all who developed and nurtured the art of birth before us and all who practice it now.

Traditional midwives have accompanied humanity throughout the ages since ancient times. The midwifery tradition has been kept alive passing down the knowledge from generation to generation for thousands of years, and in some parts of the world this line has never been broken and is sustained until this day. Little by little the tradition of midwifery is slowly being revived in places where it had disappeared.

We have founded the International Academy of the Art of Midwifery in order to assemble and spread the experience and knowledge of both the newest scientific research and traditional midwifery.

PROGRAM

Information is being prepared

TEACHERS

Angelina Martinez Miranda

The renowned traditional midwife living and practicing in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. She is the inheritor of three generations of midwifery knowledge; her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were all traditional midwives, practicing for around 40 years each.

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She started attending births since she was 7 years old together with her grandmother and mother. At age of 13 she started attending births on her own. Angelina and her husband has 5 sons and many grandchildren.
Throughout her life she attended around 15000 births. Angelina owns a birth centre, located next to her house, where, for years, she and her apprentices have attended an average of 23 births per month, with excellent outcomes. She is highly respected in her community. She is a long-time member of Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) Mexico and a founding member of a new state organization created by the traditional midwives of Morelos. An accomplished speaker, she has given talks and workshops at international conferences all over the world. She is a strong source of inspiration for the many traditional midwives in Mexico who are working to preserve and revitalize their profession for the future.

Angelina combines traditional Mexican wisdom with the many courses she has taken in midwifery and related subjects to keep up-to-date with evidence-based obstetrics.

Jurga Švedienė

Jurga/Jurgita’s teaching experience in childbirth education, traditional midwifery, pre/perinatal aquatic concepts, and infant swimming methods have made her a seen figure in Lithuania.

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Her Master’s degree in Biochemistry, combined with her roles as a
traditional midwife, physiotherapist, and Yoga instructor have created a
soft force for changes in mothering field.
In 1989, Jurga brought the idea of water births to Lithuania, hoping
that this would create a gentler entry into the world for babies. This
sparked a revival of home births and a renewed appreciation for
Lithuanian birth traditions.
Her work has encouraged families to come together, hold community
gatherings, create family summer camps for more than 25 years.
Her dedication to preserving the wisdom of ancestors and gathering
birthing women traditions around the world has created a legacy that
will last for generations to come.
Through her efforts, Lithuanian birth practices have evolved to include
Prausynos or Birth ceremony, preparation of unique birth shirts,
Vytulavimas, and rites for the placenta. Wonderful celebration of
Pribuveja’s (Midwife) Day is passed to the new generation of Pribuvėjas.
As the founder of Family Center GIMTIS and the Lithuanian Association
WATSU LT, she has created several aquatic bodywork styles that have
helped pregnant mothers, families, and babies.
The famous Home Births criminal case lasted 7 years. The inspiration and
activities of her and her companions helped to bring a new approach to
the birth journey and prompted hospitals birthing units to change. Since
2019 the Home birth is the part of maternity care in Lithuania, but the law was still not working properly untill 2025!
Jurga’s contributions to the field of traditional midwifery and aquatic
integration are a testament to her passion and commitment. She loves
what she do and her work continues to inspire others in the field.

Claire Eccleston

Claire is a mother of three beautiful children, an experienced registered midwife, a Spinning Babies® approved trainer a biodynamic craniosacral therapist and a STREAM (scar tissue remediation, education and management)
Claire has been supporting women’s transitions since 2000.

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Attending births, offering childbirth education, pregnancy yoga and providing bodywork sessions.
Claire is a dynamic facilitator offering national, international and online workshops and speaking at conferences and events around the globe.
Claire is passionate about the ancient and sacred arts of birth work, bodywork and where they meet. Claire has a deep reverence for our bodies, the rhythms of our physical nature and our earthy intelligence. She honours this womb work with deep reverence, respect and gentleness. Claire is also a wild dancer.

Ingula Rinkevičienė

Ingula Rinkevičienė is a traditional midwife and healer from Lithuania. She was shaped by the teachings of traditional midwives from Lithuania and Mexico, where birth is honored as a sacred passage and the body as a living source of wisdom. Her work weaves together ritual, traditional midwifery, herbal knowledge, music and a deep listening to the language of the body and the rhythms of nature.

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Ingula walks alongside women and families, tending spaces where the body can soften, where breath can deepen, and where the ancient knowing of birth can be remembered. Could you please wave into it that i am a founder of the academy of the art of midwifery and a spider of other midwives to connect to each other. And a lineadge of great-grandmother who was a midwife and a healer
 
Here is a refined version that gently weaves in the elements you mentioned while keeping the poetic tone and flow:
 
Ingula Rinkevičienė is a traditional midwife and healer from Lithuania.
 
She was shaped by the teachings of traditional midwives from Lithuania and Mexico, where birth is honored as a sacred passage and the body as a living source of wisdom.
 
Her work weaves together ritual, traditional midwifery, herbal knowledge, music, and deep listening to the language of the body and the rhythms of nature.
 
Ingula is the founder of the Academy of the Art of Midwifery, a living learning space devoted to preserving and sharing traditional birth wisdom. Like a spider weaving threads of connection, she gathers and links midwives across places and traditions, nurturing a web of relationship, support, and shared remembering.
 
Her path is also rooted in lineage. Ingula carries the memory of her great-grandmother, who was a midwife and healer, and whose quiet presence continues to echo through her work.
 
Ingula walks alongside women and families, tending spaces where the body can soften, breath can deepen, and the ancient knowing of birth can be remembered.