Hey Cöllective! I'm dedicating this issue to Black doulas and midwives of the past, present, and future. I'm currently waist deep in full spectrum training, and I'm learning so much, it's all so challenging to process. For me in doing trauma informed care training, I'm motivated to identify and heal through my own triggers and harms. It's also influenced me to learn more about those that came before me, that had to work with ⅓ of the resources I have. Through practicing genealogy and ancestral veneration, I've learned so much about my lineage and the female elders in my life. I discovered one of my Grandmother's had a midwife for all of her births, but didn't have any great experiences that she cared to share. I also learned one midwife in my hometown of Mobile, helped deliver over 3,500 babies in Alabama between 1949-1984. I'm sure she delivered some of my great aunts or uncles.
Did y'all know that by the late 1980s, the government banned midwifery fueled by the expansion of public health care and maternity clinics? First we have to understand that up until the 70s, most hospitals did NOT admit Black patients. Especially in the antebellum south. Therefore pregnant Black women needed midwives, who sometimes were also their family members, rootworkers, nurses, and/or community members. Fast forward to 2024, we're experiencing a spike of maternal deaths in the U.S. We need nurse midwives again, and doulas more than now ever before. Hospitals are not safe for everyone due to medical racism. And, unfortunately the numbers don't lie. So as I doula and descendant of my ancestors, I feel that I must use my platform to share this history. I know too many of us aren't even aware of the impact of Black midwives. Please learn about these angels that once walked the earth, bringing in new life when no one else would.
