Posts tagged Black Joy
104 | Choosing Joy - Dadriaunna Hayes
104 | Choosing Joy - Dadriaunna Hayes

Dae joined us to share her beautifully intertwined birth stories of loss and joy reclaimed. She experienced the unexpected loss of her first child during the early part of her third trimester. She began a healing journey that included therapy, where she started journaling. The process proved therapeutic and taught her how to make space for herself and rebuild her trust in God.

Dae worked through the waves of grief and discovered she was pregnant again; this time, it was during a pandemic. She gathered her team, created an active morning routine, and simply chose to enjoy the pregnancy. They planned for a birth at home and put in the work to make it happen by hiring a midwife and doula. After managing through over 20 hours of labor, they decided to transition to the hospital. She continued to labor without progressing and found herself at peace at how birth would unfold and welcomed her son via surgical birth.

Dae has adopted a belief of motherhood as a joyous experience. She has developed a community online that has centered the scripture referencing beauty for ashes. She is now holding space for women who have experienced some form of loss and want to exchange that grief for a new experience of joy and beauty.

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Home Birth, Hospital Birth, Loss, Postpartum, Cesarean BirthLaurel GourrierMotherhood After Loss, Rainbow Baby, Home Birth Transfer, Joy in Motherhood, Black Joy, HealingComment
98 | Shifting the Paradigm - Dr. Alicia Bonaparte
98 | Shifting the Paradigm - Dr. Alicia Bonaparte

Dr. Alicia Bonaparte is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College and trained as a medical sociologist specializing in reproductive health, health disparities, and female crime and deviance. Dr. Bonaparte is well known for her role as co-editor of Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy and Childbirth - a book that has ushered in a movement of Black Birth Workers across the diaspora. We had an opportunity to discuss Birthing Justice's origins and the far-reaching effects that have influenced policy, education, and birth narratives centering Black bodies.

In our conversation, we explore her work as a whole and ways in which history and community can serve as a powerful force in accessing our power to create change and birth liberation. We left feeling whole - it was full of lessons we will be taking into the continued celebration of Black Maternal Health Week 2021 and Black birth, Black life, and Black joy!

We share with you some of our favorite highlights;

  • There will be a second edition of Birthing Justice released in 2022!!!

  • "We cannot assume there is no historical precedent to the things we see today" examining our history allows us to "figure out necessary interventions to shift that paradigm so things can become better." ~ Dr. Alicia Bonaparte

  • The beauty of honoring our people (our community) when they are here with us earthside and giving them their flowers now. And not just in accolades and gratitude but showering them in their worth!

  • "Take really good care of yourself and focus on your joy and cultivating it." ~ Dr. Alicia Bonaparte

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Community HighlightsLaurel GourrierBMHW21, Black Families Matter, Black Joy, Birthing Justice, History, StorytellingComment