I was first interested in interviewing Tayo Mbande to talk about her recent home birth, but I could not ignore the work I have seen her doing through Chicago Birthworks Collective (CBC), an organization she co-founded with her mother, Toni. Most recently, CBC hosted the 1st Annual Black Breastfeeding Cookout, the very first gathering of its kind and it was well received among Black families. Before that, members participated in the 90th Annual Bud Biliken Parade, the largest Black parade in the nation. Black women breastfeeding was promoted, celebrated and showcased to the Black community in Chicago by some of its own daughters. Additionally, Tayo has taken opportunities to speak on various radio platforms as an advocate for Black women in childbirth.

I have so much appreciation for Tayo's youth and also her ability to mobilize other young Black women toward birthwork. More impressive than her work is listening to her speak about her relationship with her mother and how it has been shaped through motherhood. Their relationship triumphs are encouragement for other Black women seeking to heal generational challenges to reclaim sacred birth traditions.

Topics discussed:
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• Entering birthwork with your mom
• ​Having a “community mom” and 'pimpin’ out your mom???
• Dealing with the realities of birthwork
• Historical context between Black mothers and daughters
• Black and white vaginas vs. womb histories
• Talking to your daughters about “coming out of your vagina”
• The responsibility to “tend to your connections” with your “mothers”
• “Lotus Birth” analogy
• Being aware of the “work” you are supposed to do
• Healing so your daughters don’t have to
• Understanding Black concerns
• Family making the difference in the birth space
• Birth experiences in the hospital
• Deciding to birth at home
• Allowing the community to care for you
• Taking personal responsibility for your birth choices
• Challenges during pregnancy and postpartum
• Gathering your “Birth Village” and learning together
• Having a “Family Birth” and assigning roles to your birth village 
• Black men “tending” to birth
• Experiencing spontaneous labor for the first time with your 3rd child
• “Calling labor forth...”
• Having irregular labor patterns during a home birth
• Actualization and disappointments during homebirth
• Tending to pain and being authentic in childbirth
• Managing “Instagram expectations” of homebirth
• “The Black Girl’s Labor Guide”
• Prioritizing the needs of your children within your work

In this interview, Tayo discusses her unassisted homebirth experience and, for those who appreciate small rays of sunshine like me will also enjoying seeing her little ones toward the end of the interview. Tayo shares these words of graitude:

"My gratitude goes first to my mother, who was my first home and continues to nurture me through my own motherhood and through my journey as a birth worker. My gratitude then goes to all of my grandmothers through who's wombs I've passed! They continue to reveal to me the practices that have and will save our lives and our children's lives. I am thankful to the women of Chicago Birthworks Collective and the Black birthworker community in Chicago for continuously investing in me with their time, and wisdom of Black womanhood, and motherhood. Shafia Monroe for lighting the way of return to traditional Black woman centered care and being present to support in this work. "

​Learn more about the work Brandi is doing and connect with her to take advantage of the opportunities she is making available:

Website: www.ChicagoBirthworks.com
Office: 872-903-3813
Email: Tayo@chicagobirthworks.com
Instagram: @ChicagoBirthworksCo​
FB Page: Chicago Birthworks Collective

Brandi Jordan is the owner of The Cradle Company, the founder of the National Association For Birth Workers Of Color, and the developer of the Newborn Care Specialist Training. This time last month, Brandi was concluding a private Business Mastermind Retreat for a group of birth workers of color that she hosted in Morocco. Next, year she will host another group in the South of France. In October, she will host a Highly Paid Birthworker™️ VIP Day in Nice, France. And in 2020, she will be hosting the 1st Annual Traditional and Holistic Birth/Postpartum Professionals Conference in Los Angeles, California. 

While her accomplishments alone are enough reason to admire her, it is the journey of how a Black girl from Alief in Houston, Texas became a world renown birth worker that is the most rewarding aspect of speaking with her. My conversation with Brandi Jordan was more than a discussion about how she has navigated birth culture. It was an opportunity to hear how she has navigated life.  It is a glance inside the thought processes of a true Mastermind. 

Brandi is not content to enjoy opportunities to expand her sphere of influence alone. Throughout the year, she hosts opportunities for birth workers to upskill and retool themselves in different international locations. In this way, she encourages others to consider broader possibilities for their global influence by making it part of her mission to "take everybody with [her] that wants to go."

When asked who she offered gratitude and appreciation for having helped inform her knowledge of birth and postpartum practices, Brandi responded: 

​“My ancestors. Period.”

​Topics discussed:

• Getting started in birth work
• Making the connection between your history and your work
• Working any job, any time
• Being young and pursuing your goals
• Making your own table on your own terms
• Low income & urban --> Black
• Adopting other's stories
• Focusing on the bigger vision 
• Being a Change Maker
• Giving to one's own detriment
• Putting the collective of Black women together
• Upleveling your vision
• Having a seat at the table or creating your own
• Being READY when opportunity comes
• Changing course to pursue your dreams
• Envisioning yourself in different spaces
• "Your ancestors already certified you..."
• The power of intentions
• Dealing with the stories you tell yourself
• Helping people turn their passion into something profitable
• Postpartum Care Specialist

​Learn more about the work Brandi is doing and connect with her to take advantage of the opportunities she is making available:

Website: https://TheCradleCompany.com/
Office: 323-662-0100
Email: Brandi@thecradlecompany.com
Instagram: @themomintheknow
Facebook: Brandi Jordan
FB Page: National Association For Birth Workers Of Color
FB Page: The Cradle Company
LinkedIn:​ Brandi Jordan