Cultural Accountability for Midwives: Reconciling Birth Culture with Equity and Justice
People have asked me if I have a Black or Indigenous co-teacher or partner in offering Cultural Accountability for Midwives (CAM). What I notice is that the only people who ask me that are white.
The short answer is that yes, I have consulted with and sought feedback from several Black and Indigenous birth workers. They think it’s great.
They want us, as white midwives, to do OUR WORK! What I hear from them, especially Black women, is that they don’t want to teach us anymore. They want us to step up and take responsibility for our own process of understanding and change. That’s why I call the course Cultural Accountability for Midwives.
I understand the impulse to want to check in with voices of color and legitimize the message by getting their stamp of approval. When I started building this course, I went through that thought process as well. Ultimately, this perspective shows a blind spot to the fact that racism is not a Black and Brown problem.
White people created and still perpetuate white supremacy and institutional racism. It is our job to excavate and deconstruct them. To continue to expect Black and Brown people to lead us in doing this is literally perpetuating the problem. So, if you find yourself asking if I have a co-teacher or partner who’s Black or Indigenous, you are exactly the person who should take CAM!
In fact, Cultural Accountability for Midwives is a platform which amplifies Black and Indigenous voices. Much of the course content includes the work of writers and teachers on the topic of social justice, work which they have created and put out into the world of their own agency and volition.
We are not asking Black and Brown people to give us more of their time and energy under parameters defined by us, echoing the racial dynamics of our history of slavery. They have already said it. Now it is time for us to listen.
Cultural Accountability for Midwives, Reconciling Birth Culture with Equity and Justice, is not about Black and Indigenous folks telling us what the problem is. It is about white folks practicing the listening part. We really have to hear what they’ve already said, take accountability, and then use our significant power as white-privileged people to do something about it.
That being said, I would like nothing more than to collaborate with any Black and Indigenous people who genuinely want to get engaged in this process. Therefore, I offer this class free to BIPOC, and welcome their feedback and voices if they choose to share them. If not, that is also supported.
So, if you’re a BIPOC birth worker, activist or teacher and are interested in teaching, speaking, interviewing or taking part, please contact me. I’m here for it.
If you are a white midwife who cares about increasing safety in childbirth for people of color and are ready to get to work making it happen, this class is for you!
Cultural Accountability for Midwives, Reconciling Birth Culture with Equity and Justice begins February 10th!
Be amongst the first to take up the call and do this courageous work by signing up now!
In 2020, I was inspired to take part in the wave of activism and advocacy that was ignited for Black lives. I wanted to contribute meaningfully, not demonstratively, but truly helpful.
At this time in my life, I know where I have valuable skills and information to offer, which is in the realms of childbirth. Finding the intersection of those two factors led me to make a personal commitment to increasing safety in childbirth for Black and Indigenous mothers and babies.This class, which was born from the belief that the only way to truly reconcile disparities in infant and maternal health is to dismantle white supremacy, institutional racism and implicit bias within our systems of care, took five years to create. As much as we would like to believe that the home birth community embody nothing but loving sisterhood, if we listen to voices of color, we have to acknowledge that this is simply not the case.
In our times, great work is being done to heal from the history of our nation and to rebuild culture. As midwives, we have the opportunity to build a new birth culture, engendered with equity and justice. The first step is to take accountability for healing the racialized trauma within our own bodies and psyches. White midwives like myself have a heightened responsibility to do this, which is why they are the target audience.
When I reflect on how hard it is for me to take up the topic of race with white people, as a white bodied person, it makes me realize how much more difficult and threatening it is for Black and Brown bodied people. This is how I know it’s time to make this my business.
Ninety-five percent of Certified Professional Midwives are white women. We are a group of white folks who can play such an important role in making birth safer for Black mamas and babies!
While I’m no more culturally competent than the next midwife out there, this is the passion of my heart. And because of that, I have spent my whole life seeking and devouring resources on the topic of racism in America. In this course, I humbly offer a compilation of these resources so that we can have a conversation about what it means to be white and what we want it to mean instead. The intention is to create a space where we can:
Study history to understand the nuanced birth culture we exist within.
Utilize a process of self-reflection to heal racialized trauma within ourselves.
Collaborate to forge a new birth culture for the future.
While Cultural Accountability for Midwives is intended for white midwives, it is certainly not only for white midwives. Ultimately, healing racialized trauma and rebuilding culture takes all of us. I am honored if people of color choose to join the class and absolutely welcome you to do so, free of charge.
With your $299 investment, you receive a 5-week self-guided course including:
Twelve hours of curated content amplifying voices of wisdom in the field of social justice. Various forms of content accommodate a spectrum of learning styles, including podcasts, videos and articles.
Two hours of videos from me, integrating social justice elements into birth work practices.
Reflection questions to springboard your personal healing and visionary practice.
Three synchronous online Zoom classes in the first, third, and fifth weeks. (All classes take place on Monday evenings at 1 or 2pm hst/4pm pst/5pm mst/6pm cst/ 7pm est).
Access to Google classroom for one year.
Private online discussion space.
18 hours CE for Certified Professional Midwives (pending MEAC approval)
The first session begins on February 10th! It’s time to take up the call and do this courageous work! Sign up now!