Birth Stories in Color

*Episode Contains Explicit Language/Content* For many of our guests, sharing their story on this platform is the first time they have processed out their experience. Sharing the parts of their story that they may have kept tucked away or didn't even realize had an impact on them. As we listen to Dr. Stephanie Mitchell CNM, MSN, DNP, reflect on her inaugural birth, we see how her birth set the tone...

When Natalya and her husband began the process of expanding their family, they imagined it would be the same story of many of their friends. After a year of trying to conceive, they went to a doctor hoping to get answers as to why it was taking so long. After numerous tests and scans, Natalya and her husband were left with the diagnosis of "unexplained infertility." That diagnosis led them down a...

HunterDae describes themselves as a black, queer, non-binary, fat proud parent. This is who they are, and these identities are important to their existence and interactions with the world around them. The history of their relationship with their identities made it essential for HunterDae to be very informed with their body so that they could support the transitions to come. They were very intentio...

Chinelle Rojas, a birth photographer/videographer, explained that her job is not about the crotch shot. Instead, the focus is on documenting the little moments that her clients may not remember after the birth of their child. She knew from the birth of her three children that she wanted something to look back at. To be able to reflect on her birth experiences and also be able to share with her chi...

Olivyah Bowens two pregnancies and births were very different. With her first child, her circumstances didn't allow for her to prepare or truly connect to her pregnancy. Understanding the impact that it had on her birth, as she found out she was pregnant with her second child Olivyah became a sponge, soaking up all the information she could find. She expressed that the gathering of information was...

In honor of Black Maternal Health Week we had the opportunity to interview CEO and co-founder Jessica Roach, MPH about the mission and work of Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT). For Jessica this work began from the experiences she had birthing her children. Through them discovering her internal power but also that of the black community. The work of ROOTT is to remind families of wh...

Abide was born from a simple idea, a birth center in the hood. South Dallas has the highest infant mortality, maternal mortality, low birth weight, and preterm birth statistics. While they are centered in the South Dallas community, Abide serves women from all over Dallas with doula support, midwifery care, childbirth education, and material resources. Their focus being women and families of color...

When Lauren found herself pregnant and began sharing the news, one of her art teachers asked her "Do you know about birth?" That question sparked Lauren and her husband to ask themselves what did they know and feel about birth. From there they began the quest of understanding what birth could be like for them. Taking into consideration their new knowledge and their hopes for their family they deci...

Being a parent requires us to exam the best and worst part of ourselves. Our children are reflections of us and are consistently watching us as we navigate our parenthood journeys. On that journey we have an opportunity to evolve, allowing our children to see our growth. As you listen to Barbara's story, you connect with her growth and understand how powerful it indeed can be! Becoming pregnant wi...

There are many emotions that pregnancy and birth can elicit from us. For Alyestal an emotion that covered her pregnancy was fear, fear of dying during childbirth. To help her process this fear and prepare for birth she relied on three components. The first being prayers and affirmations, to help her get in the mindset that her body and baby were going to be able to work together. Second, being fle...

This is a story about loss - In memory of Tatia Oden French & Baby Zorah Tatia's story began like many, she had a healthy pregnancy, she and her family were excited to be growing, and when they went in for her induction, they were expecting to walk away with a healthy baby. However, things did not go as planned and sadly both Tatia and her baby Zorah died in the operating room. We had the honor of...

Last month we were invited by the Birthmark Doula Collective to bring our podcast on the road and attend their first Black Birth Matters conference. It indeed was a day of empowerment and healing. Black women's voices were centered, and the conference allowed everyone there to tap into community growth. As Birthmark Doula Jamilla Webb eloquently stated in her opening speech, "Are you okay, sis? I...

Erica was 19 when she had her daughter and while she wasn't necessarily sure how to prep she knew that no matter what she had to be in good space and mindset. Her daughter was born five weeks early. Labor lasted for 5 hours and included three pushes. Erica indicates that her daughter arrived in true Taurus form, like a bull ready to take on the world. Once her daughter made her arrival, Erica foun...

If you are a birthing person at the age of 35 or older, you have probably heard the term advanced maternal age. In this episode, we meet Derrin Moore, 42-year-old mama, who didn't let this term or categorization determine how she created her family. Studies show that first time birthing individuals over the age of 35 can have increased risk for potential complications. These include excessive blee...

Two things we learned from Kimberly, there is power in your intuition and normalizing birth for older siblings! To prepare for the birth of her children Kimberly and her husband took the Bradley Method childbirth education classes along with the Hypnobabies series. Kimberly explains these as being very beneficial. They provided her with the tools to help alleviate the fear of birth and allowed her...

Lara describes her pregnancy and birth as a true partnership with her husband, Alfredo. Together they did research, watched birthing videos, interviewed care providers and sought out friends and family for advice. Their strong connection was evident that when in their birthing space full of people Lara expresses that even though she couldn't always see Alfredo, his voice and presence was the only...

Parenthood as a whole has this way of requiring you to surrender. Surrendering to the unknown, knowing though, that it's going to be a beautiful journey. When Laurel was finally able to yield she describes her son's birth as transformative for her relationship with herself mentally and physically. Many people claim birth to be a rebirth for the birthing person; her story is a reflection of that. W...

When Simone and her husband began planning to add to their family, they knew they wanted to have a home birth. Choosing this choice as Simone wanted full body autonomy and wanted to make sure she surrounded herself with a team to support her in that. As you listen to Simone's story, you realize that even when we prepare to the fullest extent, pregnancy and birth can still cause anxiety. As a doula...

Isabella and her husband found out just a few days before they were to get married that they were pregnant with their son. They would find that with his birth he would surprise them again. When considering her birth options, Isabella had always pictured herself having a homebirth. As she had a healthy and smooth pregnancy, she worked through making that possible with the help of her cousin who was...

The Educated Birth provides educational materials for birth workers to help in preparing the families they support. They represent the diverse families within our community while being both inclusive and informative. Cheyenne began The Educated Birth initially out of necessity for her clients. She soon discovered that many other birth workers were craving the need for what she was offering, and wi...

All five of Amy's children were born unassisted in her home. A deliberate decision made by her and her partner as they wanted to ensure the sacred moment of the birth of their children was led and governed by their decisions. For those unfamiliar with unassisted birth, families who choose to create this birth space usually birth without the support of doctors or midwives. Through her births, Amy w...

Birth plans/preferences can be a key component of birth prep, and while they keep us on track to make sure our birth stories represent our choices, they often change following the lead of labor. Chae and her husband didn't let these changes shift their focus or silence their voices. They made sure that when their birth plan changed, they still felt in charge and empowered in their decisions. The P...

While the primary focus of Birth Stories in Color is birth storytelling, we also want to highlight organizations and resources that are supporting our communities and families on their pregnancy, birth and postpartum journeys. In this episode, we hear from India Robertson COO for Birthing Beautiful Communities (BBC). An organization that is working with and for the community to combat infant morta...

In this episode, we meet Yolanda Owens who shares with us a story of perseverance, strength, trust and leaning on a community. While her pregnancy was pretty easy, labor and delivery for Yolanda were long and at times very tough. Throughout much of her story, she expresses how vital a role her husband played in being her birth helper and advocate. During their early visits with their care provider...

Nicole Braddy is sharing her family's story of faith and promises kept through the birth of her first child. Nicole and her husband, Bryan, were married in January and soon learned they were expecting their first child together. They already had two daughters, NeVaeh and BryAna, who Nicole lovingly refers to as her bonus daughters. They were excited to be on their new journey together. Her pregnan...