BIRTH DOULA JOY

NATIONAL BLACK DOULA DAY.

TO ALL MY FELLOW DOULAS...THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO. I HAVE SOME PRETTY DOPE DOULAS ON MY TL. I SEE YOU, IF NO ONE ELSE DOES...I SEE YOU. I MAY NOT BE IN FULL SWING AT THE MOMENT, BUT REMEMBER TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES. THIS WORK CAN BE A LOT. ❤️🫶🏾

Be mindful of who you invite into your pregnancy/birth space. This includes your provider.

🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

To kick off Black History Month, we at LER honor Dr. Kimarie Bugg — the first African American IBCLC in the United States.

✨Dr. Bugg is Co-Founder and long-time senior leader of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE), a national nonprofit advancing breastfeeding equity.

✨She also serves as Community Engagement Director for Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices (CHAMPS), a program supporting hospitals nationwide to achieve Baby-Friendly designation — an evidence-based framework shown to strengthen facility-based breastfeeding support and reduce racial inequities in care.

Thank you, Dr. Bugg, for your unwavering dedication to ensuring all babies have access to the very best start in life — and for paving the way for current and future Black lactation consultants to fulfill their goal of supporting breastfeeding families!

Do you know a Black lactation consultant making a difference for families and their community? Tag them in the comments to show your thanks! ⬇️

Black women who are pregnant:

Get the education
Get the doula
Create the care team you deserve
Ask questions (AS MANY AS YOU NEED TO MAKE EDUCATED DECISIONS)
Know your birthing rights
Always advocate for yourself or have someone with you willing to.

WE DESERVE BETTER

❤️❤️

Morning Thoughts: Listen! I am in pain, I am hurt, I am grief-stricken, I am traumatized. The collective horror and re-traumatization that is happening accross this country due to the viral video that a soon-to-be grandmother posted of her laboring daughter being ignored and disregarded in a #Texas hospital, cannot go unacknowledged. This horrific scene, in this case only available to us because of both women’s courage in sharing it, is being played out daily accross this nation and is the ROOT CAUSE of the unconscionable racial disparities that persist in Maternal Child Health. Because it is RACISM that is killing our mothers, and our babies and it is STRUCTURAL RACISM that condones and supports a lack of will or real interest in changing anything at all. But even more egregious and INHUMAN is the fact that in the United States we continue to disregard the truth of #ObstetricViolence, and the fact that it harms every single one of us, every single time, and our loved ones, and for generations. After decades of work, I declared a State of Emergency nearly two years ago - I created a call to action to support Black birthing folk and their families, our families. We have so many ‘champions’ for the cause saying and doing the same thing, on the ground, creating the ‘innovations’, researching the ‘problem’, growing the movement - and to what avail??? How long should we wait? How many more wretched videos do we need? How many more stories shall we collect so we might “understand better” how to address this so-called crisis? How many caring providers and grassroots orgs shall we leave unsupported, ostracized and burning out while lone-wolfing their way through this manufactured state of affairs, these human rights violations in plain sight? This could be solved tomorrow morning if we could all just LISTEN to Black women.

Remember.. this is a way to induce. ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO MAKE EDUCATED DECISIONS.

This is called a Foley Bulb induction. Have you had this done before? Did it work? Was it uncomfortable?

A Foley bulb is a catheter with a small balloon at the end.

It’s inserted through the cervix and inflated with saline to apply pressure.

This pressure helps the cervix soften and dilate, often to 3–5 cm.

It’s commonly used when the cervix is closed, thick, or not yet ready for labor.

❤️❤️

You need both. Not one or they other. AND they are not they same. They have specifically different jobs. Now get out there and hire a midwife AND a doula!

This was a great article.

Dr. Farrington- co-founder & executive director of the BLACK COALITION FOR SAFE MOTHERHOOD teaches Black women to use the acronym ACCT.

A= ask questions until the answers are understood
C= Claim their physical & mental space
T= trust their bodies
T= Tell your story (during care, birth, after birth, and during any healthcare encounter).

Remember, you deserve to feel safe & heard under care.

(link to full article in the comments)

Black Doula Day🫶🏾.

I realized that this birth was #11 for me. While that number may not be high, I do not take any of my clients lightly. It is with a grateful heart that I thank ALL my clients. Also, to the many women who have reached out to me for support or advice, I am glad that I could be a safe space for you.

My journey has been full of different experiences, which is molding me into a better doula after every birth. Being a doula during covid taught me that . I had no other choice but to educate my clients and then virtually watch them use what they were taught. GET THE EDUCATION IF NOTHING ELSE. **IT MATTERS**

As my journey continues, I just want to thank everyone for all the love and support during this journey.

NEW LIFE....🤰🏾

Birth/pregnancy is literally one of the most intimate moments one can have. I am always honored when someone asks me to be apart of their journey.

35 hrs of labor to bring in this bundle of joy. My heart is full & God is good❤️🙏🏽. Mom definitely had a room full of support🫶🏾💪🏾.

Thank you to❤️

🌸 Tag a Doula, Thank a Doula 🌸

Doulas are the unsung heroes in birth rooms across our communities. Today, we honor their labor of love, their calming presence, and their fierce advocacy.

💜 Know a doula who’s changed lives? Tag them and say THANK YOU.

Commissioner Donna Miller proudly celebrates the doulas of Cook County and beyond. Your work is life-giving and life-saving.