After five years of training doulas in Long Beach, the Birthworkers of Color Collective is asking the community to help fund its first brick-and-mortar location in the city.
“We really saw that in Long Beach there were not a lot of spaces that are for pregnant people, for people trying to become pregnant, for their families or postpartum and so we really want to fill that gap,” said Stevie Merino, co-founder of the Birthworkers of Color Collective.
The collective currently rents out various spaces to train doulas, see clients and host community events. It has set a fundraising goal of $100,000 to pay for rent, upkeep and other fees related to opening a storefront.
As of Wednesday, Dec. 7 the online fundraiser has collected $765.
“We realized that we need to have a space like this as part of our natural evolution,” Merino said.
The Birthworkers of Color Collective helps pregnant people connect with doulas from their culture, who can provide traditional forms of care and overall support before, during and after birth. Over 200 doulas are part of the collective.
“This is a very intimate time in someone’s life and having people who understand cultural or religious or spiritual […] context can be really, really, helpful and beneficial,” Merino said. “Because when you’re in the midst of this, you don’t want to be explaining who you are […] to someone so that they can understand you, or understand certain traditions or practices or ways that you’re doing things or seeing things.”
Doulas play an important role in improving birth outcomes. According to multiple studies, expectant parents assisted by doulas are less likely to give birth to an underweight or preterm baby, and less likely to experience complications during birth.
Merino explained that in the modern age, many communities of color have become disconnected from their customs surrounding pregnancy. Knowledgeable doulas from their own communities can help expectant families reclaim and reconnect to these traditions.
“There’s diverse groups of people of color who are providing these services. It isn’t something that’s just for affluent populations.”
Stevie Merino, co-founder of the Birthworkers of Color Collective
In order to make their services affordable for as many people as possible, the Birthworkers of Color Collective charges clients on a sliding scale.
“These are traditional practices. Cultures have always had someone who supported them during this process,” Merino said. “It’s very important that we reclaim this medicine and that we reclaim this practice and that it’s accessible to so many of us.”
Besides connecting people to doulas, the Birthworkers of Color Collective also trains doulas of color and offers a variety of educational opportunities. Its newest virtual training series will begin in March 2023, and is open to doulas from around the world.
In the past, the collective has held classes on how to guide clients through abortions, organized a mentorship program and created other educational opportunities for doulas of color.
“There’s diverse groups of people of color who are providing these services. It isn’t something that’s just for affluent populations,” Merino said.
To make a donation towards the Birthworkers of Color Collective’s first storefront, visit https://givebutter.com/BWOCCBM.
