Kindred Space LA reclaims traditional Black midwifery
By Ulku Simsek
The summer of 2020 was marked with protests against racial injustice and police violence that brought millions to the streets under the banner of Black Lives Matter. As the world, America, and individual communities continue to shine a light on the importance of Black Lives, Black Maternal Health has been prioritized by many activists because without Black Mothers and Black Birthing People, there is no Black Life.
In 2017, when Kimberly Durdin and Allegra Hill attended a conference on midwifery, they decided to take the initiative in hopes of finding solutions to the disparities in black and brown communities around birth.
“We kept hearing about these disparities being talked about over and over again… all they’re talking about is the problem, but no one is talking about solutions,” Durdin said about the conference. “We decided in that moment we have enough; we have enough knowledge within just the two of us to do something about that.”
Durdin found her purpose: opening a birth center and simultaneously training the next generation of BIPOC birthworkers. Following the conference in 2017, Durdin founded the non-profit Birthing People Foundation in Los Angeles with midwife and doula Hill to address the maternal and infant health disparities in communities of color and other marginalized communities. Durdin and Allegra are currently expanding Kindred Space LA as the only Black-owned and operated birth center in Los Angeles.
“We had thousands of Black midwives in the American South ‘catching babies’ as we call it. But when the white, male-dominated medical system came into the South and took over our community-led healthcare, those Black midwives, who would have been our teachers, were wiped out and prevented from practicing,” Durdin said.
“We lost a whole generation of Black midwives from the South,” Durdin explained, referring to the process of systematically disempowering the tradition of Black midwifery that grew out of enslavement and domestic work. “We had thousands of Black midwives in the American South ‘catching babies’ as we call it. But when the white, male-dominated medical system came into the South and took over our community-led healthcare, those Black midwives, who would have been our teachers, were wiped out and prevented from practicing.”
When Europeans brought African people to the United States and enslaved them in the early 1600s, there were among them African women who were trained and practiced as midwives, and who continued to do so and train others during their lives as slaves. During this time in the colonies, midwives were still the primary source of care in birth for all families. As slavery grew, African midwives served both other African women as well as white women in birth. In the mid to late 1700s, obstetrics was introduced into America and by the early 1800s, the male physician had largely replaced the role of the midwife, particularly among upper and middle-class white Americans. However, in rural America and particularly in Black communities, midwives continued to serve in birth.
When the place of birth was moved from home to hospital many midwives were replaced with male-dominated physician birth attendants, and many states created laws that prohibited lay midwives, uncertified or unlicensed midwives who often had an informal education. From that time to the mid-1900s, all lay midwives, including Black midwives, were systematically ousted until there were none left at all.
The lack of Black midwives and limited access to the hospital environment increased the Black mortality rate. According to the CDC, Black mothers in the U.S. die at three to four times the rate of white mothers, one of the widest of all racial disparities in women’s health, and the mortality rate of Black infants is higher than that of any other ethnic group in the U.S.
“Health disparities are not BECAUSE you are Black or Brown. If that’s what you think, I urge you to unpack that. If you are Black or Brown and have been living in a world that has systematically kept you away from vital services,” Durdin said.
“Health disparities are not BECAUSE you are Black or Brown. If that’s what you think, I urge you to unpack that. If you are Black or Brown and have been living in a world that has systematically kept you away from vital services, from places with healthy foods, health care, transportation, jobs, etc….are you more sick just because you’re Black or Brown or are you more sick because the system is set up to make sure that you are not going to be have access to the things that other communities are getting?” said Durdin.
Part of her vision is creating a non-profit educational program, designed to train people of color to become doulas, birth assistants, childbirth educators, breastfeeding peer educators and internationally board certified lactation consultants and midwives to support BIPOC communities and their pursuit in midwifery careers.
“We created a training program that was only for BIPOC and only taught by BIPOC folks. We also wanted to get out of the narrative that we have to go to white people to train us to do our work that has been in all of our ancestral line” Durdin said regarding the training programs for midwives.
“The way the United States works is you can only go to a couple white organizations [for training] and we were like, those organizations don’t speak for us. They’re not dealing with our needs, they’re not addressing mortality rates. They claim that they’re not advocates because it’s against their beliefs for them to be advocates for the birthing person. And we strongly believe that in our crisis mode that we’re in this country black BIPOC folks are dying and we need to train birth workers that are willing to be advocates for their clients because we feel that advocacy is a very important piece.”
Durdin’s main purpose is to create a safe space for mothers and their children of all backgrounds but specifically for Black and BIPOC communities.
“We are not exclusive in terms of who we care for, but there’s times when you need the safe space as a BIPOC person to process, to learn, to share, to heal without the white gaze. And that’s what we created,” Durdin said.
Before the pandemic, Kindred Space LA offered in-person group classes about prenatal breastfeeding, birth education, natural births, and many other group activities that allowed individuals to connect and create a community amongst each other to feel safe and comfortable. Due to Covid-19, many classes have been put on hold but there are many other virtual options such as Donuts with Dads, a program where fathers get together to educate themselves about child education and how to be more supportive of their partners during pregnancy.
Another virtual program is Motherhood Unplugged, hosted by Durdin’s daughter who is also a mother of four kids, focuses on creating a community of mothers where they can express their emotions, ask their questions and support one another.
Regardless of how much the pandemic has affected the business, babies are still being born and Durdin says that they want to make themselves available especially during these tough times. Midwifery is a medical profession and midwives follow the universal precautions to protect themselves at all times. “It’s not so far-fetched for us birth workers to wear things like this,” said Durdin about the increased mask and glove usage among people.
During the pandemic, hospitals enforce a one-person-only rule in prenatal care. Mothers are not allowed to bring anyone with them for their prenatal visits, and midwives are not considered as essential workers.
“Folks go in for their prenatal visits, and no one can come with them, and it’s so sad because a lot of times they’re nervous about their pregnancy. Usually, you want your partner there, your mom there. But it can’t happen now in the system, they’re not allowing that. And then when it’s time for labor many hospitals are still only allowing one support person,” Durdin said.
Durdin says that they are still able to stay in touch with their client via phone and video calls during labor and whenever they are in need of support. As of October 2019, they were able to open their new place’s doors for their birth clients to be able to come in for their prenatal and postpartum appointments. Durdin also mentions that they are expecting their first couple of babies to be born in the next few months in their brand new space. Unlike many hospitals, Kindred Space LA will allow people to come alongside the patient as long as they are following the safety rules and regulations.
The cost of creating a new and better space was challenging according to Durdin. She mentions that all of their expenses are paid through crowdfunding and donations.
“Opening a birth center as a person of color, is just like opening any business as a person of color,” said Durdin.
“Opening a birth center as a person of color, is just like opening any business as a person of color,” said Durdin as she mentioned the struggles of finding good funds. Many banks and loan providers were reluctant to give credit to Durdin and Hill because of their racial prejudices. But there was a silver lining for them in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Many people who saw their GoFundMe page started sharing with others in hopes of helping a Black-owned and operated business. Their social media accounts such as their Instagram page grew by 4000 people in two weeks and they have raised approximately $20,000 in a month. Durdin says the movement gave them a spotlight and made them more visible to larger audiences. The GoFundMe page is still active and accepts donations for anyone interested in contributing.
When asked about what kind of advice she would give to young mothers who are struggling to balance school and motherhood, Durdin says the key is to find a community where you feel comfortable and safe.
“Many times I think parenting, in general, can be very isolating,” said Durdin.
Through virtual gatherings, many parents are able to ease off the stress of being a mom and a student during covid times. She encourages people who are interested in partaking in these group activities to reach out to her.
The next step for Kindred Space LA and Birthing People Foundation according to Durdin is to expand the business in a more sustainable way and reach greater audiences.
“We are also planning to work with several different research projects to study the impact of our efforts, as well as examine existing barriers to culturally congruent and respectful maternity care,” says Durdin.
Durdin’s work is the quiet kind that takes place in homes, birthing centers, and hospital rooms, but its impact extends beyond the infant and maternal health. It’s about taking back a narrative and shared history and using that to fortify her community as a mother and health worker. For Durdin, the safe spaces are just as necessary as the front lines of battle.
“We need a safe space without the white gaze. Period. That’s where the healing and transformation come in.”
