03/18/2026
🌿A message for our Mamas of Color
Many people in our community have never heard the word doula… but the role itself is not new.
Before doctors. Before medical systems.
Black women were the midwives, the birth workers, the steady hands in the room.
We have always supported one another through labor with prayer, wisdom, and advocacy. The modern word “doula” simply gives structure and training to something our grandmothers already understood.
Before hospitals… before policies… before we were told to be quiet in rooms where we were giving life…
Black women were the healers.
The midwives.
The protectors of birth.
In the Black diaspora, birth was sacred. Guided through intuition, prayer, and traditions like Rootwork, our women didn’t just deliver babies… they protected mothers. They advocated. They spoke up.
Because they understood something we are still fighting to be heard on today:
A woman in labor is at her most vulnerable and her voice must be protected.
When hospitals became the standard, Black women were pushed out of the very spaces we once led. Our knowledge was dismissed. Our voices were silenced.
And today, we are still seeing the effects of that.
Black women are:
• 3–4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes
• More likely to experience unnecessary interventions
• More likely to have their pain dismissed or ignored
This is not just history.
This is happening right now.
Which is why advocacy is not optional.
It is necessary.
It is why having someone in the room who will:
• Remind you of your rights
• Help you ask questions
• Ensure you are heard
• Stand beside you without fear
…can quite literally change outcomes.
This is not a trend.
This is a return.
A return to being supported.
A return to being protected.
A return to using our voices the way our ancestors did.
Because Black women have always known how to birth.
We just deserve to be heard while doing it. 🤍
