Birth HERstory

View original blogpost: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/birthworker-baes

"Every other culture has no problem or shame in unifying and promoting their people. I feel like it's my duty and responsibility to uplift my people, my culture. | That goes to the larger conversation... whether we ask for it or not, people are used to saving Black people. People don't look at us having authority and saving ourselves." ~ Birthworker Baes

View original blogpost: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/our-mothers-light

"Every baby that is born comes in with its own blessings and its own bag that's going to help them accomplish their destiny in this life.  | We've accepted so much of what modern society has to offer us, all the glitz... At least if you're going to strive for those things, don't leave your other stuff behind, take it with you because you're gonna need it. ~ Our Mothers' Light

View original blog post: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/christina-jemine

"It's like rhythm, it's very rhythmic for me... like someone's playing the piano for me. If I'm in the birth room it's almost like I can hear music and I just feel like something is leading me to certain areas. It's hard to articulate. Everybody's born with their measure of gifts and that just happens to be mine." ~ Christina Jemine, LM, CPM

View original post at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/christa-fatoumata-sylla

"The awareness of my body definitely had a lot to do with my experience with homebirth. [My midwife] would always bring me back to ME... bringing me back to, 'You will know." It confirmed this power that [women] hold... We're always being told, when it comes to our bodies, that we don't know... And women carry that [belief  within] themselves, that they don't know." ~ Christa "Fatoumata" Sylla

View the original blogpost at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/yael-b-yisrael

"Our mores and cultural norms are not just nice or cute. Our ancestral science and indigenous customs were encoded with life saving science, rituals and information... Our ancestors' wisdom and science, whether any European ever confirmed it or not,.. [it] is real... it existed for a reason."

~ Yael B. Yisrael

View original post: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/brittany-tru-kellman

"You're piecing [the call to birthwork] together... How do you piece together the whiteness that you are seeing with the Blackness that's in you and make it make sense, because that's what you're forced to do... Even thinking about how to incorporate soul work and spirit work into it." ~ Brittany 'Tru' Kellman, CPM, CD, CLC

View original post: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/samantha-olivia-griffin

"I want us to get to a place where we are no longer working from lack in ourselves or assuming lack in each other, that's what I want and that is critical to me as a Black business owner... I believe we have martyred ourselves long enough." ~ Samantha Olivia Griffin

View original post at http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/candace-smith

"[My midwife] didn't touch me unless it was welcomed. I loved the hands off thing... [I asked],  'What are your thoughts on just leaving me alone... being there but not being too much, too over bearing, too all in my face? I just want everybody to be there quietly, that's it. I'm not high maintenance. As long as you're there, but I don't need anyone touching me.'"  ~ Candace Smith

View the original post at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/coming-home-to-get-back-to-the-healing-work-of-birth-for-black-families

"Why do we have to live in states of deficiency...? We can live abundantly, but the way our systems are set up there's always someone at the bottom... someone being exploited... I don't want US or OUR BODIES  to be exploited. If that's what makes me radical, then I'm here for that. [These systems are] so much a part of the dominant culture..." ~ Isis Rose, MA

View the original post at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/reigniting-a-path-to-connection-for-wise-african-women-throughout-the-diaspora

"The medical system has changed women. We feel like we can control everything and we cannot... I felt connected to
'other protectors' outside of myself and outside the medical system. I felt like I was protected. I was ready. Anything that would go wrong, it would go wrong at home." ~Moji Yaï

Wise African Woman Birth Education Retreat:
https://littlebylittlebirth.com/waw/

Home Clinic Renovation for Midwife Lina in Benin:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/home-clinic-renovation-for-midwife-lina-in-benin

View the original post at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/advocating-for-vbac-moms-and-helping-pregnant-moms-experience-pregnancy-without-fear

"There's so much that we've lost and we are now regaining. There's so much we've gained, but we don't understand... Women want to enjoy their  pregnancies, but a lot of times it's fear, worry, concern , anxiety... Why? It's because women  don't know  how to say, 'Ahhh...  I'm at peace...' Even for five minutes, 'I'm at peace...'"

~ Delia Muhammad

See the original blogpost at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst... 

"​Ultimately, if we are going to be reclaiming the systems that our people have created, there is no equivalent role called “doula.” That role is wrapped up in mother, grandmother, auntie, sister, cousin, best friend... That is just what was done. There is no word for it because it wasn’t a separate role. It was encapsulated in FAMILY." ~ Aisha Ralph

See the original blogpost: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst... 

"Find other women who have given birth [at home]...  Women around the world have been doing it for years... giving birth without a hospital. They’re doing it right now. You have to do what’s best for you. If you want to do a home birth, prepare and educate yourself."  ~ Talise "Homebirth Queen" Xavier

Order your copy of "HOME IS WHERE THE BIRTH IS" at: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Where-Bir... 

To see the original post on the Birth HERstory Blog, visit: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst...

"[I want to] bring the wisdom of the grandmothers [abuelas] into modern birth... It's not about being 'the leader'. For me, it's about legacy, not fame. I want to see people rise... The legacy is far more important to me than the fame. And I meet so many people where the fame is more important than the legacy. " ~ Mars Lord

See the original blogpost at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst...

If you are looking for opportunities to learn more how you can become involved in changing the narrative for Black women, visit www.DrDoula.com

View the the Birth HERstory blogpost about Brandi Jordan here: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst...

"Show up as YOU. Take that foundation [and] run with it, but show  up to every client as yourself because that's the thing that's going to propel you.  What is the YOU part that you are going to add to this? I can't teach you  how to be YOU. Tell me  what YOU is and I'll tell you how to capitalize on that."   ~ Brandi Jordan, MSW, IBCLC

View the blogpost here: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst...

"You can never, ever, ever be excellent and comfortable. Excellence and comfort do not equate. If you think [that by] being comfortable, excellence is  gonna come... Honey, I'm telling you, you'll never be great."  ~ Rebecca Jackson-Artis, MFA

View the original post at this link: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst... 

"I could not go back to accepting everything [they told] me, because I broke out of that paradigm and I saw another way... When you don't know another way, you think that's the only way and the best way. Homebirth, to me, is the best way..." ~ DeLynn Yvonne Hudson, MBA

See the original blog post with Nikia's information at http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/building-bridges-between-black-women-making-a-choice-and-those-answering-a-call-to-birth-work

See the full post at: http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/a-car-a-birthing-mom-a-doula-dad-and-a-baby-that-wouldnt-wait

View the original blogpost at http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herstory-traditions/a-candid-conversation-with-a-historian-and-herbalist-of-southern-black-midwife-traditions

"What we throw away, somebody picks up, repackages it, and sells it to you and then you want to buy it... Your assimilation and throwing away of  your culture does not help you and you end up being lost." ~ Divine Bailey-Nicholas  

This extensive interview with Divine Bailey-Nicholas is divided into two parts. In the first part, Divine provides historical context for southern Black culture, which is important to fully embrace the historical context of Diasporic Africans in the U.S. In the second part, she shares about herbs and how you can develop a healing relationship with plants around you.  

TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- The connection between northern and southern traditions in Black communities
-
Considering "the branches" of your family
- Our history and Black culture in plain sight
- The similarities in the diversity of Black American Culture
- Valuing others cultures more the we value others cultures
- The intermingling of religion and culture
- The value of the south to the African American’s story and honoring Southern traditions
- The herbalist as a healer - Focusing on BEING in your community and NOT BEING a Savior
- RE-MEMBERING who you are
- The creation and development of Black culture
- The danger of revisioning YOUR OWN history
- Considering how Black Birth workers are viewed in their communities
- How to SURVIVE and THRIVE as a Black birth worker in Black Communities
- The need for cultural competency in OUR communities
 

View the original blogpost at  http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst...

"Having a baby is the only 'well' thing that happens at a hospital, so why should I have my baby at this place where sickness is going on?" ~ Tanita Fadyeyola

View the original blogpost at  http://www.drdoula.com/aa-birth-herst...

“You do what’s best for your family. Always follow your heart to the degree it is respectful for the people who are a part of your life. And don’t let anyone discourage you. Whatever your passion is, you go for it." ~ Tunisia Macklin