I have spent my career advancing maternal health equity, reproductive justice, and community-based birthwork. My work has centered underserved families, challenged harmful systems, and contributed to meaningful conversations about how care should be delivered.

Over the past five months, I have experienced significant professional disruption that has directly impacted my income and certification pathway.

After relocating myself, and my children, for a midwifery opportunity, the position was ended unexpectedly just weeks after my start date. The relocation required a substantial personal financial investment and was undertaken in good faith. This sudden loss has created immediate and ongoing financial instability.

At the same time, an administrative certification error temporarily affected my ability to practice. Although this situation is a matter of not my own fault, the outcome has paused my professional trajectory and income stream.

Within months, I absorbed:

• The financial impact of relocation

• Loss of employment

• A temporary disruption in certification

• Continued graduate tuition obligations

• Full household financial responsibility

And I have continued forward.

I am now months away from completing my Master’s degree in Maternal Child Health Systems at Bastyr University, a credential that strengthens my ability to advocate, lead, and influence systems-level change in birth work and maternal- child health.

This goal represents:

• Essential living expenses through June

• Remaining tuition balance

• Graduation travel

• Financial stabilization after unexpected professional disruption

• Space to complete this chapter with intact health, strength, and clarity

This is not a request rooted in crisis.

It is a request rooted in continuity.

⸻

To My Colleagues, Peers, and Fellow Birthworkers

We often talk about sustainability in this field. We talk about preventing burnout. We talk about protecting Black leadership in maternal health spaces.

This is what that protection looks like in practice.

If you have sat in rooms with me, built alongside me, collaborated with me, referred clients to me, learned from me, or stood in shared advocacy, I invite you to stand with me now.

Professional solidarity matters.

Community investment matters.

Ensuring that equity-driven leaders remain resourced matters.

If you are able, I ask you to:

• Contribute at a level that reflects our shared work

• Share this fundraiser within your professional networks

• Invite others who believe in birth equity to invest

Leadership in this field often comes with a personal cost. Today, I am allowing my community to help carry it.

Help me cross the finish line so I can continue the work that our communities deserve.

With gratitude and resolve,

Aaushi