Posts tagged Black Mamas Matter
140 | Reclamation - Jennifer Walton
140 | Reclamation - Jennifer Walton

“It’s not the baby. It’s you.” These are the words that Jennifer Walton would hear from her medical provider as he determined with a quick cervical check that she would need to deliver her baby via surgical birth. In fact, he later told her that she would never be able to deliver vaginally because a baby couldn’t fit through her pelvis. Jennifer didn’t want a c-section and made that clear to her provider. But the cascade of interventions and the lack of informed consent would send them into a spiral that left little room to catch up mentally to what was about to happen to Jennifer physically. There had been no complications or concerns, but a lull in labor would drastically alter Jennifer and her husband, Sean’s plans. Their first baby would be born healthy and strong, but the surgical birth trauma would linger into their postpartum world.

The Walton’s welcomed their second pregnancy with a young toddler to care for. Jennifer was determined that this birth would be different. The first pregnancy had been easy, and they had the rug pulled from under them in the twilight hours of labor. Jennifer was different; she had been fire tested and was prepared to put in the work to change the narrative that had been created about her body. The weight of her previous provider’s words was pressed into her psyche. She knew that she wanted a VBAC and stacked the deck to support her goal. Jennifer selected a new OB/GYN; she was a Black woman and made her feel supported and heard. Her friend introduced her to the term doula, and where she could find one, She connected with her perinatal support doula, Jessica Roach, at Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT). ROOTT is a collective of concerned Black families, community members, advocates & interdisciplinary professionals dedicated to decreasing Black maternal & infant mortality in Ohio. The heart of their work is the commitment and rigorous training of their perinatal support doulas. Jessica educated her about her rights as a patient, guided her family through a healthy pregnancy, and helped strengthen their resolve for Jennifer to deliver their baby vaginally.

The fear of a uterine rupture would still linger in her mind, but with the support of her birth team, she moved forward with planning her VBAC. Jennifer recalled Jessica’s words in the midst of laboring at home, “Stop fighting your body and let this thing happen.” She did stop fighting her body. She let go of the defeating messages from her first pregnancy, surrendered to the process, and found her voice and strength. She gave birth to another healthy and strong daughter, accomplishing her VBAC.

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Hospital Birth, PostpartumLaurel GourrierROOTT Doulas, Black Doulas, Black Families Matter, Black Mamas Matter, VBAC, Postpartum Mental Health, Village Support, Birth Preparation, Birth TraumaComment
130 | Birth Rooted Overseas - Rokhaya Ndiaye
130 | Birth Rooted Overseas - Rokhaya Ndiaye

With a history of irregular menstrual cycles, Rokhaya decided to download an app to help her track them better. In early December, she was surprised to get a notification that her cycle was three days late. Ignoring it for a little bit, but with time passing and no change, Rokhaya and her husband found out they would be expecting on Christmas day. Restrictions from the pandemic would require a 14-day quarantine and needed to get the COVID vaccine if they decided to travel back to Canada. Wanting to wait out her options, Rokhaya paused on that decision. With her first trimester having some challenges, her doctors recommended she should not travel if possible. Moving into her second trimester, she focused on preparing for her birth, but by the time things began reopening, she was past the point of travel being safe, and Jamaica became the place their birth story would occur.

Five days past her estimated due date, Rokhaya began having light contractions about 7-9 minutes apart. With things progressing quickly, Rokhaya and her husband decided to head to the hospital. Upon being admitted, Rokhaya was 6cm, and her water broke shortly after. Reflecting on her birth, Rokhaya thought her son would have come earlier than he did. She had done so much work on focusing on coping with the pain; she couldn't listen to her body that her baby was ready to come earthside. It wasn't until the nurse told her her baby's head was out that she focused, and within three pushes, "prince" Ali was born.

In the immediate postpartum, Rokhaya felt comforted by the community of women she was surrounded by - as, in Jamaica, there aren't separate quarters, and the women all stay together. Ali was born unresponsive, and after having a couple of seizures, the doctors wanted to keep him for monitoring. For Rokhaya, she could not have her golden hour and was discharged without him for ten days. The first 6-7 weeks were hard for her, navigating her healing, Ali's recovery, and breastfeeding. She and her husband found that when they were able to listen to Ali, the better they did, being able to communicate and figure out what he needed allowing them to find their footing in parenthood.

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COVID-19, Hospital Birth, PostpartumLaurel GourrierBlack Families Matter, Black Mamas Matter, Birthing During COVID, HypnobirthComment
BMHW21 - An Offering of Meditation
BMHW21 - An Offering of Meditation

Kristen Hanna is a BSiC Storyteller that encourages mindful motherhood in her work and daily life. Kristen and her partner have started an apparel line, Be Free Apparel, as an opportunity to not only clothe the body but inspire and encourage others to break generational patterns and heal to live and love as freely as God intended. She has graciously gifted our listeners with an offering of meditation.

The intention of this meditation is for reframing and centering as you prepare for and navigate your birth. The hope that this pause allows you to tap within yourself. And the affirmations curated from snippets of BSiC community storyteller’s own experiences cover you in support. Pause. Tap in. Listen.

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Community HighlightsLaurel GourrierBMHW21, Black Mamas Matter, Black Maternal Health, Birth Affirmations, Birth Meditation, Community SupportComment
63 | Conquering the Fear of Birth - Jessica Johnson
63 | Conquering the Fear of Birth - Jessica Johnson

Jessica shared her empowering VBAC birth experience after having a surgical twin birth. She and her husband decided to enlist the support of a doula for the third pregnancy. They reached out to a local organization, ROOTT, to hire a Black Perinatal Support Doula - who would be knowledgeable about the unique needs of Black women and families in birthing spaces and help her navigate her desire to have a VBAC. Their doula helped them go back and better understand how things shifted and how they could make this birth different. She also supported her in understanding her nutritional needs better to reduce preterm birth, decrease the chances of hemorrhaging, and later naturally induce her labor once she was term.

The third delivery was different in that Jessica was informed of all of her options and could choose what felt right for her at the time. Her doula met her at home as her labor progressed and helped her with positional changes to help the baby come down. After laboring through her typical day as long as she could, she finally arrived at the hospital and was 7cm (active labor). The doctor arrived when her baby was crowning and requested that she turn around to deliver her baby. She refused and continued to push her baby out in an upright position on her bed; he adjusted to her desire. Jessica had accomplished her VBAC without an epidural with the support of her birth team! After all of her birthing experiences, Jessica deemed herself a "Birthing Expert," and we whole-heartedly agree.

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Hospital Birth, VBACLaurel GourrierROOTT Doulas, Black Birth Matters, Black Mamas Matter, Black Fathers Matter, VBAC, Birth Without Fear, Black DoulasComment