A Profound Calling to Become a Doula
For holistic health practitioner Lauren B. Solomon, the path to becoming a doula was paved by a profound personal experience. In 2018, prior to embarking on her journey as a birth worker, she faced the heartbreaking loss of a loved one due to complications arising from an emergency c-section.
This tragic event became the driving force behind her commitment to guiding Black women and families toward decolonizing and reclaiming their birth experiences.
“This profound event became the driving force behind my commitment to becoming a birth worker,” Solomon explains. “As a result, I have remained dedicated to guiding Black women and families toward decolonizing and reclaiming their birth experiences.”
The Timeless Wisdom of Childbirth
Solomon emphasizes the importance of remembering that throughout history, women have received support from other women and their communities to not only survive but thrive in the sacred ritual and ceremony of childbirth.
“The human body is profoundly wise and intelligent, capable of creating, carrying, birthing and nourishing our babies,” she says. “Reconnecting with this innate understanding liberates us from the fear and uncertainty surrounding childbirth, fostering trust in the journey’s mystery.”
Acknowledging the consequences of the modern practice of hospital births, Solomon poses a crucial question: “Who benefits by our forgetting this timeless wisdom?”
This query underscores the urgent need to challenge the entrenched norms of Black maternal care within the medical industrial complex, which perpetuates unacceptable outcomes for the Black community.
Empowering Black Women to Advocate for Themselves
As a doula, Solomon’s role is not to speak for the families she supports, but to empower them to advocate for themselves.
“There’s often a misconception that it’s primarily the doula’s duty to advocate for the mother, but as a birth worker, my role is not to speak for the families I support; rather, I empower them to advocate for themselves,” she explains.
Solomon has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of this approach. “When Black women are equipped with the necessary tools and information to make informed decisions for themselves, their bodies, and their babies, and are encouraged to use their voices to challenge the status quo, the potential for life-saving and elevated outcomes becomes attainable,” she says, highlighting the success story of a client who was able to experience a successful vaginal birth after two previous c-sections.
The Urgency of Addressing the Black Maternal Health Crisis
The stark reality of the Black maternal health crisis, as evidenced by the disproportionately high maternal mortality rates for Black women, reveals the vital importance of Solomon’s work.
“In New York City, where I practice, Black women are 12 times more likely than White women to die during childbirth or from childbirth-related causes. Nationally, a Black woman is four times more likely than a White woman to face this fate,” she reveals.
For Solomon, this is not just a matter of statistics, but a deeply personal and human issue. “Behind these numbers are human beings and families torn apart, and the losses reverberate throughout our communities in ways that cannot be fully encapsulated or merely quantified,” she says.
It is this unwavering commitment to the well-being of Black mothers and families that drives her work as a doula, a sacred duty she takes on with profound reverence and unwavering dedication.
