NATIONAL FEATURE HOLISTIC DOULA CIARA CLARK, 34, RECEIVES A KISS FROM HER MOTHER ELLE T PARKER, 53, WHILE SHE LABORS IN HER BIRTHING POOL AT HER HOME BIRTH IN TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY, U.S., SEPTEMBER 11, 2022. REUTERS/JOY MALONE BLACK MOTHERS IN THE U.S. SPEAK OF CHALLENGES AND RESILIENCE BY JOY MALONE AND CORINNE PERKINS CIARA CLARK, A BLACK DOULA, labored for more than nine hours at home before making a last-minute switch to go to the hospital to give birth. With her own Black doula and mother by her side, Clark had hoped to have her baby at home with no medical assistance at all. She wanted to have a “wild” pregnancy - one that is medically unassisted. “I wanted to go through this birth without having any medical intervention,” said Clark, age 34. After four cesarean sections with her previous pregnancies, Clark said she feared that her birth plan would not be supported by the medical staff. But after a long labor, Clark said she became anxious and decided to go to the hospital, where she gave birth to a healthy son. Clark is not alone in her distrust of medical intervention in the birthing process. Nine Black pregnant women and new mothers voiced similar comments. All of the women spoke of feeling unseen and unheard at times through their pregnancy and postpartum period. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) April data shows that Black women in the United States are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white HOLISTIC DOULA CIARA CLARK, 34, LOOKS LOVINGLY AT EVAN, HER SLEEPING NEWBORN, IN TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY, U.S., SEPTEMBER 18, 2022. REUTERS/JOY MALONE 10 DENVER VOICE June 2023
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