Birth work and public health are inherently social justice work– and until the sources of the disparities in maternal and infant health are eradicated, I will do my part to solve the problem. This requires creating a more equitable maternity care system where all women–regardless of their skin color, language spoken, and economic status–are cared for with respect and dignity.”

 

Over more than 35 years,  I have supported families from diverse backgrounds at hundreds of births in homes, hospitals, and birth centers. Over three decades, I have developed a broad career in maternity care, working as a health educator, midwife, doula, birth activist, and maternal-child health advocate. I have strived to make a significant positive impact on perinatal health in my community and beyond, particularly among Black, Indigenous and Other Persons of Color (BIPOC)  who too often face health disparities and inequities. By training and certifying doulas of color and leading courses for health and human services professionals, I empower them with the knowledge and tools to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Read about my professional career on my LinkedIn profile.

 

Some people look at me and question how a woman of European descent became involved in Birth Justice work focusing on mothers of color. As a mother, midwife, doula, and public health practitioner, I cannot look away and focus elsewhere while so many of my  brown and black sisters and their babies are dying needlessly. Birth work and public health are inherently social justice work– and until the sources of the disparities in maternal and infant health are eradicated, I will do my part to solve the problem. This requires creating a more equitable maternity care system where all women–regardless of their skin color, language spoken, and economic status–are cared for with respect and dignity.

 

My dedication to caring for mothers and babies and my commitment to empowering pregnant women to have safe, respectful, and joyful birth experiences are my life’s work. Focusing on eliminating perinatal health disparities and inequities in communities of color while working to improve maternal care quality through systemic change is my vital mission. My 35+ years of dedication to this cause highlight my deep commitment and passion for addressing this vital human rights issue. Teaching and mentoring aspiring maternal-child health workers is my way to pass on my knowledge and values, ensuring that the work I’ve started continues to make a positive impact on future generations. This work is essential, and I remain committed to making a difference in maternal and child health and to advocating for the human rights of all pregnant women and their babies. Soon, I will be adding the title of Health Psychologist to my resume. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Psychology at Walden University, with a focus on topics such as refugee and immigrant health, maternal and infant mental health, cross-cultural birthing and parenting practices, maternal-infant attachment, health disparities, trauma, and resilience. My research perspective is rooted in a transformative worldview, emphasizing that research inquiry should be intertwined with political agendas to effectively challenge social oppression at all levels. My work reflects a strong commitment to social justice and transformative research.

 

My Certifications and Training

 

I am a  Certified Health Education Specialist  accredited by the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing, am equipped with skills in Assessment, Planning, Evaluation, Administration, Communication, Advocacy, and more.

 

I am a Certified Childbirth Educator with International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA), a Certified Birth Assistant accredited by The Association for Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators (ALACE), a Certified Lactation Educator, accredited by Childbirth and Postpartum Provider Association (CAPPA), and a Family Planning/Reproductive Health & Sexuality Educator through California Family Health Council. 

 

My Education

 

I earned a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Health Education and Promotion/Maternal-Child Health from Loma Linda University. I love working in public health because it seeks to address social inequalities and the social determinants of health through a holistic, multidisciplinary approach.

 

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, Dance, and Vocal Music from Indiana University, Bloomington. I have performed as an actress, singer, and dancer in community theatre, and worked in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles.

 

I have developed several training programs for aspiring doulas and midwives and health and human service professionals working with perinatal populations. Many of my former students have gone on to become public health professionals, midwives, nurses, lactation consultants, doulas, and family support providers. They are playing essential roles in improving families’ overall well-being during the perinatal period. Their work can help bridge gaps in health care and provide culturally sensitive care to individuals and communities with unique needs and challenges. Graduates of my courses have contributed to increased awareness, access, and support for perinatal health services, which is crucial for promoting healthy pregnancies and better outcomes for both mothers and infants.

 

Professional Experience

 

I have always been interested in the empowerment of  disadvantaged women and girls. In the 1980s, I worked for The Breakthrough Foundation’s Youth-At-Risk Program, implementing a transformational “Outward Bound”-type transformational wilderness therapy project for gang-affiliated Black and Latinx youth in South Central Los Angeles, Bridgeport, Conn., Oakland, Calif., and Boston, Mass. Here, I mentored adolescent females with educational and job-training goals, support for addiction recovery, and support for interpersonal relationships.

 

I have sought to build a significant, impactful career in perinatal health, focusing on addressing disparities and inequities within the African American/Black community. For ten years, I worked for The Black Infant Health Program at Pasadena Public Health Department in Pasadena, California where we established the first Community-Based Doula Program in Los Angeles County, an achievement I am very proud of. My collaboration with Geraldine (“Mama Gerri”) Perry-Williams, MSN, PHN, former Maternal Child and Adolescent Health and Black Infant Health Director, who had a long and dedicated career in maternal and child health, is a testament to the importance of mentorship and building a network of professionals in this field. Sadly, Mama Gerri passed away in 2018. My role while working for the  Black Infant Health Program included training Community Health Outreach Workers (CHOWs) and developing a childbirth education curriculum for Medi-Cal recipients  demonstrates my commitment to improving maternal and infant health outcomes in underserved communities and to filling a crucial need for evidence-based, culturally relevant support in childbirth preparation for marginalized communities. My ten-year collaboration with Ms. Perry-Williams had a positive impact on many families’ lives and contributed to ongoing efforts to improve birth outcomes among African-American families in Pasadena, California.

 

 

 

In the 1990s, I worked with the California Association of Midwives (CAM) to ratify the law establishing the licensure pathway for direct-entry midwives in California: the Licensed Midwifery Practice Act of 1994. This helped to increase access to midwifery care for childbearing families and increased birthing options for all Californians.

 

In addition, I am a direct-entry midwife who trained through apprenticeship with Licensed Midwives/Certified Professional Midwives in Los Angeles County and worked in birth centers and in private homes providing maternity services to expectant mothers.  

 

In 2010, I founded the Association for Wholistic Maternal and Newborn Health (AWMNH).  AWMNH’s co-sponsorship of the Human Rights in Childbirth US Summit and the Birthing Justice Forum in 2016 and 2017 demonstrated our organization’s dedication to advancing justice in maternity care and to creating a platform for grassroots maternal health advocates to come together and advocate for positive change.

 

I led AWMNH’s subsequent transformation into the Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance (HMHBA), an organization dedicated to addressing critical issues related to maternal health and infant well-being.The change in name to  Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance in 2020, along with the corresponding slogan “Happy Mamas Growing Healthy Babies,” indicates an evolving focus on not just physical health but also the mental and emotional well-being of both mothers and infants, recognizing the profound impact that trauma can have in various forms on maternal and infant health.

 

From 2013-2017, I developed a curriculum and conducted a Perinatal Support Specialist Course for Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, providing Community Health Promoters (“Promatores de Salud”) with information and skills in childbirth education, lactation counseling, doula support and postpartum care, enabling them to work with pregnant women in South Los Angeles, a neighborhood with some of the worst perinatal outcomes in Los Angeles County.

 

My Upbringing and Family

 

I am proud to be the granddaughter of a woman who gave birth to three babies at home with a midwife (including my father) and a great-granddaughter of a woman who gave birth with midwives  to ten children at home (including my grandfather). My grandmothers’ legacy and support inspired me to choose home birth and to become a midwife and doula.

 

The focus of my life’s work on social equity has its roots in my upbringing and early life experiences, and in the example of my progressive, politically active family, who shaped my worldview and personal philosophy. My work on health justice reflects my Judeo-Christian faith and commitment to the Jewish principle of Tikkun Olam, which involves the healing and repair of the world.    

 

My maternal great-grandparents were refugees from The Pogroms in Riga, Latvia at the end of the 19th Century. Under Russian imperialist armies, their village was destroyed and Jewish men were forcibly conscripted to fight in the Czar’s army, which my great-grandfather, who considered himself a Proletariat, refused to do, fleeing to America with his wife who would have ten children, including my grandfather. My grandfather got to hear Socialist/Anarchist Emma Goldman speak at a meeting when he was a boy. He grew up to be a labor union organizer in the 1930s, and met my grandmother, an illegal immigrant from Finland, at a Socialist Party meeting in Seattle in 1935. My mother was born in 1941 in San Francisco and came of age during the Beatnik scene in North Beach, at UC Berkeley in the late 1950s and New York’s Greenwich Village where she and my father lived in the early 1960s.

 

My young, idealistic parents were folk musicians and anti-Vietnam war and civil rights activists. As founders and leaders of Students  for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Indiana University in

In the 1960s, they were principal representatives of the New Left. I attended the anti-Vietnam war protest in 1968 in Washington, DC, pushed in a stroller by my mother, a musician, community organizer and progressive political activist. The demonstration was organized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Committee and The Poor People’s Campaign, who sought to end the war by peaceful resistance and to eliminate racism and poverty. When I was a young child, my father, who had a strong social conscience and empathized with the suffering caused by man’s inhumanity to man, taught me about the struggles of oppressed peoples. He specifically educated me about the historical injustices that black and indigenous people in America have faced. With this as my formative environment, my work on health justice reflects my philosophical worldview which focuses on the needs of groups and individuals in our society that may be marginalized or disenfranchised.

 

Most importantly, however, I am a mother of a daughter and son who were home-born, family-bedded, exclusively breastfed and attachment-parented, who are now bright and capable young adults. In addition, I am a proud “nana” to three beautiful grandchildren: two girls and one boy. I have a stepson who lives in Liberia, West Africa.

 

My husband is from Ghana, West Africa and together we enjoy an international lifestyle spanning two continents: North America and The Motherland: Africa.

 

When not doing birth work, I enjoy international travel, hiking with my dog, swimming, and making music, a family favorite pastime.