DoulaChronicles

28/09/2022

Reposted from The Black Women's Blueprint team is surrounded by midwives, birth, community care, love, honor and tradition today here in Johannesburg. Holding the loving hands of those that catch Spirit, light, and the newly born. Standing under a sun that holds the great wisdom of possibility, witnessing what village care truly looks like. Today we are blown away by the incredible Midwife Xoli who we met today at the Genesis Maternity Clinic. We talked about the art and tradition of midwifery that she looks to preserve in radical integrative practice and care alongside her midwifery team and other practitioners. I am still gathering the words to describe her brilliance. As she was showing us the birthing rooms, named (Thyme, Sage, Lavender, Rosemary, Neroli, Jasmine, etc), she shared with us her understandings of how things we are dealing with in the US, like preeclampsia, that gets managed by midwives through creative strategies. She was very honest with us about the ways in which midwives are still not honored and held in regard and the need to preserve the craft is more than ever. We are only just beginning this journey. Tomorrow we will go to the village to meet the midwives and join them in learning indigenous knowledge of midwifery. The work of midwives is sacred, it is everywhere, it is global. . So grateful to be on this journey with the Efe Osaren, founder of .

28/09/2022

Reposted from Part I: We sat at the feet of Mmatshilo Motsei today in Warden, Johannesburg, South Africa today in the home of an Indigenous midwife who has been recently initiated. There is a way in indigenous midwifery in which “there is no fuss to be made about birth,” as she shared. What she means is that within the larger context that even midwives in the United States who are trained by Western medicine overcomplicate the process of birth and operate in a way that makes birth something to be managed by human versus by facilitated by Spirit or as our elder shared with us today, by veneration, with requires communications and offering paired together for the ancestors. This is not simply a matter of belief system, this is a matter of protocol. This facilitation also requires celestial bodies - the galaxies, moon and stare, whom we also regard as ancestors. Ancestors are present at birth. In indigenous midwifery, yes plant and herbal medicine is used, and what is required first is that
we speak to the medicine to give it the power it was created to give for our healing purposes. The plants, the planets, and the ancestors all convene in the favor of the birthing person to create the prosperity and make the way for safety and ease in birth. There is no fuss to be made about birth. There is no intervention to be made about birth. Only when birth is fear-based. When intervention is needed, it is because of a course of action that was not taken before, for prevention - we are going to need interventions as long as we are in need of healing collectively as a people. This includes collective traumas, individual trauma, enslavement, colonialism, community violence, r**e, obstetric violence, the rupture between a land and its people. and Efe Osaren of on a sojourn through South Africa.

14/09/2022

2 spots left!

Birthworker Mentorship Thursday, October 13, 2022 8:00 PM 20:00 Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:00 PM 21:00 Google Calendar ICS Worklife and Pleasure BalanceThe 3 C’s: Communicating, Consults, and ConfidenceSustainability and GrowthNavigating Hospital Settings and ChartingPayments via Zelle eosaren@...

01/09/2022

This fall I'm offering mentorship for birthworkers. For newly trained and seasoned doulas who would like to expand their knowledge. Join me for 5 weeks of learning how to manage work and pleasure while on call, how to navigate hospital births or have better outcomes with clients. This series will only be offered once this year for a max of 10 people.

13/04/2022

Reposted from Language is powerful and liberatory. Let’s shift our language away from blaming Black womxn to discussing how these disparities are perpetuated within maternal healthcare.

12/04/2022

It's year 5 of Black Maternal Health Week and many of us are feeling tired of the regurgitated statistics and problems. I want to give a big shout out to the team at and for being the pioneers of the National supported week of call to action.

Here's where we come in! The U.S. Department of Health & Human services has committed to ending disparities and it's up to us to make sure our local departments are following through with Black led orgs and Birthworkers. Report to your community and get to action!

In the words of
"Maternal health legislation is great but not without accountability mechanisms set in place that address implementation and outcomes."

06/04/2022

I'm offering postpartum (non babycare) wellness services this summer and early fall in NYC and surrounding metro area. If you will be giving birth this summer or early fall or want to gift your friend with postpartum help, check out the offerings . This postpartum wellness package is designed for those having hospital births and want more birthing parent-centered care. 🤰🏿💜

06/04/2022

I'm offering postpartum (non babycare) wellness services this summer and early fall in NYC and surrounding metro area. If you will be giving birth this summer or early fall or want to gift your friend with postpartum help, check out the offerings . This postpartum wellness package is designed for those having hospital births and want more birthing parent-centered care. 🤰🏿💜

01/09/2021

Bx (Re)birth: Cultural and Community Responsiveness in Birth Work with

31/08/2021

Reimagining Birthwork: Preservation of Trinidadian Postnatal care traditions with

31/08/2021

Liberating U.S. Midwifery: Divestment from Harm