Mothering the Mother: A Legacy of Black Birth Work

This Women’s History Month we aren't just looking at the past. We are honoring the healing that saves our lives right now. In a world that often tries to skip over our survival we stand with the luminaries like Shafia Monroe. She is a visionary midwife and a cultural historian who has spent four decades reshaping how we breathe through birth and postpartum.

Ms. Monroe has dedicated her life to reviving the African American traditions that the mainstream tried to dismiss as old wives' tales. We know better. We know those traditions are the science of our ancestors. Her work is a reclamation of the care that was once the heartbeat of our communities.

In January 2026 Monroe released her book Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions Recipes and Healing. This is more than a book. It is an alchemical guide and a love letter to the woman in the bed. It covers the deep roots of our nutrition and the sacred rituals of belly binding and lying-in. It is about nurturing the woman while she nurtures the new soul she just brought through the portal.

With a foreword by Erykah Badu this work arrives at a time when our maternal mortality rates are a literal state of emergency. In their recent insta live conversation Ms. Monroe and Ms. Badu spoke about what it means to actually care for a mother beyond a hospital checklist. Erykah Badu, a doula herself, calls it a postpartum bible. She reminds us that healing care must center love and cultural memory.

Their exchange was a ritual of shared purpose, and I'm grateful to have been able to watch it happening live on insta. They are bringing ancestral wisdom into the modern conversation and kicking open the doors for community care. The message is clear. Black women deserve support that is rich and restorative. It is work like Monroe’s that reminds us why we rebuild these systems and exactly how we get it done. Birthworkers, add this book to your bag and/or your digital library, IMEEJITLY! 😉

BDDNM 🌵 ✨