Black Lives Matter

We’re committed to the work of anti-racism for the long term.

As white birth workers, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and work to dismantle the oppressive systems that benefit us and harm others every day.

Racial inequities in the care and treatment of pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people cause trauma at best, and injury and death of parents and newborns at worst.

Black folks in the US are at higher risk of:

• disrespect (PDF download), infantilization, mistreatment and abuse, lack of autonomy, coercion, and more (all of which are aspects of obstetric violence)

• miscarriage

• uterine fibroids

• preterm labor

• inadequate pain management

• cesarean births

• babies born with low birth weights

• perinatal cardiac complications

• SIDS

• low rates of nursing

That’s quite a list. We see the effects of white supremacy and institutional racism on our Black clients and clients of color all the time.

The ugly truth is that rates of mistreatment and bad outcomes in reproductive healthcare are much worse for Black folks. Black pregnant and birthing people in the US are over twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as those who are white. It’s even worse in PA. Between 2011-2015, Black parents were three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes in Pennsylvania.

It’s important to call out that the problem here isn’t race - it’s racism.

Black, indigenous, and people of color are harmed by institutionalized racism every single day.

As birth workers, promoting reproductive justice and equity is a central tenet of our practice.

Learning with humility

We’re following the work of Black, indigenous, and people of color, reading books and articles, attending workshops, listening to educational podcasts, and continuing to tune into the ways white supremacy shows up in our life and work. We take the responsibility to examine our own socialization, beliefs, and biases seriously. We recognize harm we have caused in the past, and are working to reduce the harm we may cause in the future.

Recognizing the impact of trauma on reproductive experiences

With an intersectional lens, we recognize that many of our clients - especially those with marginalized identities - have experienced and are experiencing trauma in some form or another (or many forms simultaneously). We strive to maintain a trauma-informed practice. We are always growing in our understanding of what that truly means, and we are learning ways we can be better equipped to be safer for our clients to work with.

Advocating for better perinatal experiences for our clients with marginalized identities

We are always conscientious about bias and oppression within the medical industrial complex, but even moreso when working with marginalized folks. Using our privilege to access more personalized and thorough treatment for our clients is so important to us.

Having hard conversations

We discuss with our friends, family, and other birth workers the ways our racist systems and institutions in the US benefit white people and disenfranchise, imprison, and kill Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.

Finding resources

We’ve gathered a collection of resources for Black birthing families. This list continues to grow - if you know of something we should add, please let us know!

Referring with care

Racial inequities in birth outcomes are real and present in the Pittsburgh area. As often as possible, we refer our clients to other professionals and providers who offer safe, appropriate, and inclusive care for everyone, and who are also committed to dismantling systems of oppression. We also recognize when we are not the right people to support a potential client, and offer them a referral for someone else who would be a more appropriate fit for their needs.

Supporting with money

On an ongoing basis, we financially support Black individuals and Black-led organizations that promote reproductive justice.

Supporting with time

We volunteer support for Black parents and parents of color who are in need as often as we can through free and reduced cost childbirth education, postpartum support, lactation consultations, as well as birth rights education and advocacy as doulas.