Nia Healing Center for Birth and Family Life

Imagine a mother who believes she belongs in the world.A mother who celebrates her own life.Who is glad to be alive. Imagine a mother who celebrates the birth of her daughters. A mother who believes in the goodness of her daughters. Who nurtures their wisdom. Who cultivates their power. Imagine a mother who celebrates the birth of her sons.... https://doulasamsarah.wordpress.com//happy-mothers-day-20/

This is what the pay to play science of our times is pushing: There is no medical benefit to carrying a child beyond 39 weeks. Induction is a process that every pregnant pair benefits from. Pregnancy is a disease cured by the birth of the child. A birth center is not a safe choice for child birth. Nutrition plays no role in birth outcomes .... https://doulasamsarah.wordpress.com//white-coat-in-gas-li/

*Urgent Action Alert* Take Action on International Day of the Midwife: Demand a CA independent Licensed Midwifery board.... ACOG is lobbying to limit Licensed Midwifery's scope of care as a condition of LM independence, including restricting VBAC access. Community midwives deserve to have an independent board of peers and consumers overseeing their own profession without paternalistic restrictions by ACOG. Birthing families won't stand for ACOG's continued threats to birth autonomy nor for unnecessary physician oversight over our midwives. Please call in during public comment for the Assembly B&P committee hearing tomorrow morning, 5/5/2021, to keep ACOG and its millions in special interest lobbying money from derailing the Medical Board’s recommendation for the creation of an independent Licensed Midwifery board. Simply state: I am calling in to support adding language for a Licensed Midwife Board to be included in the Medical Board of California Sunset Review bill. Sign up here for email prompt when public comment opens: https://calmidwives.org/midwife4metoo2021/. Help get our midwives out from under ACOG control, and prevent further erosion of community birth and VBAC!

Call tomorrow!!!!!! #camidwives #midwives #vbac

Hello friends, I will soon be posting a fundraiser for a woman in our community who you may have seem me request support for before . She is a brilliant and beautiful human being - struggling to raise her family while being tortured by homelessness. I've been blessed to know her since she was a teenager, and personally know her heart and her repeated attempts to rise above this ridiculous system we live in. I will be fundraising to help this momma become a doula, and set up a... practice. She will need training fees, books, and perhaps a laptop. I will provide mentorship, study help, and support to her free of charge. When you see the go fund me please donate what you can - please help me and Oakland Better Birth Foundation give this woman, our sister -citizen, a hand out of the cycle of poverty. She's very excited to begin this journey - I thank you in advance. Stay tuner for more information! See more

The vital importance of attachment. https://www.theatlantic.com//can-an-unloved-child/612253/

#oaklandsdoulas #hokdyourbabyclose #doulas #training #childbirtheducation #blackdoulas @bilingualdoulas 510-827-9160

"The hormones you release when you nurse help you relax... and they make you sleepy. It's another hormonal synchrony between the two of you that encourages rest... and relaxation. Those who advise "Don't let the baby fall asleep at your breast" are fighting nature at both ends--your baby's and yours--with no research at all to support them." -Sweet Sleep: Nighttime And Naptime Strategies For The Breastfeeding Family See more

I want to extend my thanks to our community hospitals Highland Hospital and Sf General Hospital for not abandoning birthing mothers / people during this pandemi...c ! Thank you for your dedication to lowering the mortality rate for Black women , for all birthing people . Thank you for your wisdom in knowing that women / birthing people need their birth support (doulas) during this crisis more than ever ! Thank you! Samsarah Morgan Executive Director Oakland Better Birth Foundation Shiphrah's Circle Community Doula Program, A OBBF Program See more

https://youtu.be/JDx1feUVxPM

Breaking the cycle of abuse .

Midwifery isn't compatible with telehealth !Midwifery requires hearts, hands, ears and a soul paying exquisite attention to the mother / pregnant person and their child.I'm watching mothers falling through the cracks in a way that should be considered medical malpractice!But no- this is considered the new normal . Reject this people, our pregnant citizens deserve so much better! They and their children deserve to live!The virus should not be used as an excuse to let the next generation down! https://doulasamsarah.wordpress.com/2020/12/06/hands-on/

Look who’s here ! #vp #kamalaharris2020 #blackgirlmagic

Let’s grow! Let’s thrive!

A good birth has to mean more than just a mother and child who didn’t die . The mother and child can absolutely be quite alive and damaged for 2 lifetimes . The goal can be transcendence - the goal can be ecstasy. A good birth should move the heavens and enrich all who are honored to be present, especially the momma and babe. #mamisistable #reproductivejustice #doulawords #naturalbirths #fuinduction #consciousbirthing

It’s criminal how hard it is for a pregnant woman / person to think that their doctor actually isn’t acting in their best interest. This client didn’t want her membranes stripped. She told her doctor this when she submitted to a 39 week check of her cervix . The check was very painful - so much that she wanted to push him away - but she didn’t . [ 275 more words ] https://doulasamsarah.wordpress.com/2020/11/07/354/

"Can you see that bulge on her lower back? That is the rhombus of Michaelis. During the second stage of labour, a combination of bones including your sacrum ac...tually move backwards and in doing so, increases the diameter of your pelvis. This is what is known as the opening of the back. This is completely normal and is, in fact, an integral part of a physiological birth as it allows your baby the maximum amount of space to turn as they navigate their way out into the world. In order to facilitate the opening of your back, you should use active birth positions where you are upright and leaning forwards. So cool right! And while your pelvis is expanding, your baby's head is moulding - changing shape to fit through those pelvic bones! Your body was made to do this! And your body and your baby work together! Birth is not something to be feared...it is something to be understood! Image via North Dallas Doula Associates See more

Happy Halloween everyone! #halloween #samhain #allsoulsday

Birthday Brunch to celebrate my twin sons! Love you Bob and Dave! #proudmom #happybirthday #twins

I don't know about you, but this has been a tough parenting season for us. The fear is real, the hard conversations are in full swing, and it seems like the sma...llest things require significant cost/benefit analyses. I thought it might be a good time to dig back into The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting research. It's been helping us (huge thanks to all of the research participants). This first learning is a reminder of the core finding from this research: Some of the best strategies rely on modeling the behaviors we want to see. Turns out that we need to be the adult that we want our kids to grow up to be. Dammit. There is immeasurable power in our children watching us practice self-kindness vs. berating ourselves or putting ourselves down when we stumble, fail, or make mistakes. And, no matter how we encourage them to talk to themselves, they are definitely watching to see what really matters. And, letting them in on our process is equally as powerful: "I really dropped the ball today and I'm struggling to be kind to myself about it and talk to myself the way I'd talk to someone I love." Modeling, normalizing that it isn't easy, and connecting. Y'all have a great weekend! Awkward, brave and kind, folks.

The National Association to Advance Black Birth, Elephant Circle, and National Black Midwives Alliance are conducting this survey with the underlying goal of strengthening and developing the workforce of birthworkers of color to address inequalities in perinatal health care system. Your feedback is much appreciated: [bit.ly/birthworkerssurvey](http://bit.ly/birthworkerssurvey)

I was honored to be asked to speak at a Yes on Prop 16 rally when I spoke on Black women’s health and maternal heath disparities in the US. Black women are 3x/4xs more likely to have a pregnancy-related death, higher rates of complications, and also preeclampsia more than white women and this is regardless of income and education. #VoteYesOn16 https://doulasamsarah.wordpress.com//doulas-for-reproduct/

Disbelieving The Importance Of Mothering: Part 4 Of 4 of What Happened To Mothering Series How did mothers forget how important they are? During the early 20th century, medical and psychological fields wanted to be seen as scientific. Science had evolved to emphasize objectivity and detachment (note: it is now understood that it is impossible to take a view from nowhere; everyone interprets events with filters they have developed from experience).... To advance a scientific approach, these professions moved to a detached manner toward patients and people, including children. Since the germ scare of the late 19th century, medical personnel became concerned with strict hygiene. Nurses were trained not to touch babies too much because it might spread germs and because it might spoil them (Ribble, 1943). But after babies died in these impersonal but hygienic settings, studies were done comparing babies in the best quality institutions with those from poor families. Despite various disadvantages, babies in poor households were more likely to survive and thrive (Ribble, 1943). https://www.kindredmedia.org//disbelieving-the-importance/