Posts tagged Representation Matters
101 | Wolomi - Layo George

Layo's childhood planted the seed for Wolomi. Growing up in Nigeria and DC, the joy of community support during one's expansion of family was a part of her everyday life, as her mother supported friends and family as a midwife. Taking the lessons of these experiences with her into her career as a nurse in America, a reality set in that what she had seen with reproductive care was not the standard everywhere.

And as she navigated her pregnancy, she knew that she didn't want to allow pregnancy and birth to happen to her - or enable the healthcare system to do whatever they wanted. As she had seen growing up, she needed to be the center of her experience, supported by those who could uplift her in that positioning. That return to the beginning would also birth Wolomi. The goal and mission of Wolomi is to provide resources and guidance that support black birthing people to own their perinatal journey, alongside others that look like them, and share in their experience.

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69 | A Spectrum of Risks, A Spectrum of Love - Natasha Nelson

Tash joined us on the podcast to share the birth of her first daughter Paris. At 26 weeks, she began having Braxton hicks and, at 36 weeks, started having prodromal labor. As time continued to past, Tash consulted with their doula, and she and her husband focused on helping their baby girl earthside. She suggested positional changes, long walks, lunges, movement, and all the twerking. Labor began progressing, arriving at the hospital, Tash stayed in alignment with her birth vision. With a good twerk playlist, hip squeezes, counter pressure from her husband, and the support of her birth team, Paris was born.

Motherhood for Tash has required her to work through postpartum depression, discover a new Tash, and adjust to the highs and lows of supporting children diagnosed with Autism and also a potential diagnosis for herself. Tash is adamant that she is always true about her motherhood journey. Especially as a mother of two neurodiverse black girls, she wants to ensure that other mothers, especially those with a similar story, have an honest representation of what their journey may look like.

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