Hi There, 
kRIS HERE.                          September 2023
GoodLabor:Intuitively
 
Photo Credits: This photograph of Mani, was taken by her mother, me, on September 15, 2023.
The images behind her are photographic works of the incredible Jamel Shabazz. Collection for the 
Brooklyn Museum, entitled, Faces and Places, 1980-2023. 
 
Over the course of this month, I have traveled - primarily with my family - to four different states. We've had rich cultural experiences, vibrant time with the dearest of loved ones, and marked success in work efforts.
 
Even still, the transition back-to-home is always a journey for us. We do well in flux, being here and there, so settling in again with the rhythm a home commands takes quite an effort. Dishes pile effortlessly in the sink, exhaustion lends way, people be running out of underwear and lots of things feel, well, all over the place. 
This particular stage of labor is intense. Two solo + entrepreneurs - three active businesses between us, each dedicated to Black folk. Raising and homeschooling our five children on our own, and learning as we go. 
 
What I know for sure - if labor has taught me anything - is that going with its flow is necessary, meditating on the beautiful is important, preparing as best as one can, praying that God's grace flood our days over and before and after everything we journey, is everything. This, is good labor: intuitively.
 
El Nacimiento de la Flor de Cardi, for the series Sono Qui, 2006- at the Brooklyn Museum
 
Kris' Diary Entry:
I was rapping with a mama of mine. She is nearing labor.I  think of her each night beforeI close my eyes, especially as we live 700 miles apart.
She said she was nauseous this day, and uncharacteristically, so was I. We are never far apart, the women who labor.
 
 
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Birth Equity: A Collaborative Effort
 With the guidance of Lugenia Grider, Perinatal Health Educator, DONA Certified Doula, Creator and Director of the NH Volunteer Doula Program - a colleague and I presented data and solutions at Novant Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 11, 2023. Our audience was comprised of doulas, clinicians, physicians; including directors and administrators of programs and hospital-wide initiatives. Every discussion + collaboration surrounding maternal health should center equity until access to good maternal health is equitable. Period.
 
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Wishing You Ease,
Kris
 
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