Moji Yaï has a trailblazing spirit. She has literally created a path for women of the African Diaspora to find their way back home, while utilizing ancestral knowledge for our nutritional and womb health.

I was surprised that I had not heard of he "Wise African Women" Birth Education Retreats, but then I realized I had. I had seen photos of a sister who attended and I remembered how attracted I was to the authenticity of the experiences that I had seen her have in Benin. It was everything that I believe that a daughter of the African Diaspora should have when she seeks to reconnect with African healing origins in the land of our ancestors.

​She is also hosting a fundraiser for Lina, a midwife who shares traditional birth practices with the participants of the WAW Birth Education Retreats. You can contribute at the link below.

Topics discussed:

• Nutrition, ancestral knowledge, and the womb
• Seeing the connection to Africa
• Learning to connect with Black Americans
• Falling in love with birthwork
• Traditional midwives as protectors
• Acknowledging our "other protectors" in childbirth
• Preserving traditional practices throughout the diaspora and at home on the continent
• Negative connotations of traditional practices in Africa
• Safety for Black women in hospitals
• Single storytelling about birth culture
• The culture of birth among Black Americans 
• Creating "family" that can surround you in homebirth
• Accepting non-universal concepts on the continent
• Divisiveness and non-gendered contexts
• Considering what "poverty" is and how it affects birth on the continent
• The importance of ownership
• Reconnecting with "your people"
• Considering Diasporic and Continental African conflict
• Finding a connection to the continent and "being invited"​

​​I have so much admiration for the work that Moji Yai is doing. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Learn more about the work Moji is doing and find out more about the Wise African Woman Birth Education Retreat:

Website: https://littlebylittlebirth.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlebylittlebirth/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disskoolin_doula/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littlebylittlebirth/

Wise African Woman Birth Education Retreat:
​https://littlebylittlebirth.com/waw/

Home Clinic Renovation for Midwife Lina in Benin:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/home-clinic-renovation-for-midwife-lina-in-benin

I recently heard media mogul Byron Allen say this: "You can't live in fear because fear is another form of slavery..." I have mentioned before that Black women have been inundated with messages about their increasing maternal and infant mortality rates. When that message is not presented in an empowered manner it becomes counterproductive and produces FEAR in the hearts of Black women about their ability to birth their babies. It is not uncommon for Black women to desire a doula because they fear that without one they will die.

I have always appreciated speaking to women who recognized the sacredness of birth, no matter where they birthed. Still, because of my southern roots and being of the first generation born in a hospital, I recognize that those who chose to birth at home must have certain conviction about the ability of healthy bodies to birth without medical intervention. Talise has that conviction.

Talise Homebirth Queen Xavier uses her five homebirth experiences  to help renormalize birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum practices. We had some technical difficulties before we were able to talk about breastfeeding and postpartum, but I believe our conversation will be encouragement to those contemplating homebirth. ​We also talked about the personal responsibility that every person needs to take for their birthing choices, whether birthing in the hospital, a birthing center or at home.​

Topics Discussed:

• Making the decision to birth at home
• Managing the “risks” surrounding birth
• Making a birth plan to manage risks
• Unpredictable and predictable reasons for being in the hospital
• PTSD of hospital experiences vs hospital births
• The business of birth in hospitals
• “White Coat Syndrome” in hospital births
• Trusting yourself in birth
• Indoctrination of birth in society
• Using hypnobirthing to manage childbirth
• The importance of babies’ introduction to the world
• “Spoiling” new babies
• Birthing twins at home​
• Birthing in a safe place
• Doing what's best for you

Here are some ways you can get in touch with the Homebirth Queen:

​Email: talisemotherofsix@gmail.com
Phone: (913) 251-5386
Facebook: Talise Homebirth Queen
Instagram: Talise Homebirth Queen
Twitter: Talise Xavier
LinkedIn: Talise Xavier

​Purchase your copy of Home is Where the Birth Is!:
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Where-Birth-Stories-Homebirth/dp/1733681124

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:
​

• 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