Fund a Community Midwife
I've been on the journey towards becoming a community midwife since 2010, and this winter, I am enrolling in the National College of Midwifery! I'm fundraising $5,000 to cover the initial tuition fee and I need your support.
The mothers, babies and families in our community are in need of midwives of color. Currently, there are only a handful of midwives of color serving the LA area, and this is not enough. The United States has one of the highest cesarean rates in the world, especially as it relates to women of color. According to Amnesty International, the risk of maternal death in high-poverty areas is 2x that in low poverty areas. We need more midwives of color in Los Angeles.
Midwives provide wholistic, empathic continuity of care, addressing the body, mind and Spirit level. We are trained medical professionals, providing quality prenatal and postpartum care, and assessing medical, socioeconomic and psychosocial risk factors. We help to strengthen the mother-infant dyad through prioritizing mother-infant bonding, helping mothers tune into her bodies and their babies, providing breast-feeding and nutritional support as well as continuity of care during the post-partum period.
Here are some of the trainings I've taken since deciding to become a midwife in 2010:
1. DONA Birth Doula Training
2. Traditional, Full-Spectrum Post-partum Assistant Training
3. Midwifery Intensive with Naoli Vinaver in Xalapa, Veracruz, MX
4. Placenta Encapsulation Specialist Training
5. UC San Diego Lactation Educator and Counselor Certification Program
6. Traditional MesoAmerican Birthing Practices and Rebozo Technique (through several traditional, community healers)
7. ECHOS Center for Nonviolent-Communication and Parenting Trainings (2)
8. "When Survivors Give Birth" Training with Phyllis Klaus
Through my current job as a Parent Coach with Maternal and Child Health Access, I have received over 30 trainings preparing me to work with families from various socioeconomic statuses, especially low-income, immigrant, Spanish-speaking mothers. I have worked with over 100 women and babies providing psychosocial support, breastfeeding support and helping to strengthen mother-infant connection and bonding. I have learned how to perform Perinatal Depression Screenings, Developmental Screenings, and provide linkage to social service agencies, utilizing a reflective, strength-based approach. I work in integrative settings, connecting mothers with midwives, doctors, nurses, and mental health specialists.
I am physically, mentally and spiritually prepared to become a community midwife. And all I need now is your support to help fund my tuition.
Every dollar counts. Please donate what you can and share this link widely. Support the amazing work that midwives of color are doing and will do in the community. Together we can create gentle and nurturing birth options for our community and incoming generations.
In honor of our ancestors and generations to come,
Maria Teresa Rivera
Support midwives of color:
http://youtu.be/euagoBCsZBM
http://www.birthcentersofcolor.org/
http://lacommunitybirth.com/
http://midwivesofcolor.wordpress.com/
http://www.midwivesofcolor.com/
http://www.mana.org/
http://narm.org/
All proceeds from my services will also help to pay for school.
For more information about my Doula/healing services go to:
nanyotl.com
