GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Black History Month isn't just about looking to the past, it's also about highlighting those who make Black History every single day.
Kiara Baskin founded Bump to Birth Doula Services to help women of color have the birthing experience they desire and the support they need weeks after birth.
Baskin is also making history every day as the Program Manager of the Day One Doula Collective, the first doula training program focused on women of color in Grand Rapids.
"I always say I turned my pain into my purpose," Baskin said when reflecting on why she started Bump to Birth.
She is a mother of two, and her birth experiences were very different.
"I did everything right with my first pregnancy. I attended all the childbirth education classes, read all the books, exercised, I even had a support person."
Despite all her excellent preparation, Baskin ended up having an emergency C-section.
Before her second birth she dove into researching different types of birthing, midwifery and doula services and gathered her team.
"We went in with a game plan and executed it appropriately and I had the birth experience that I wanted," explained Baskin.
That's what she wants for all women of color, which is why she founded Bump to Birth Doula Services.
"We've come a really long way as it relates to the care we are providing for families and communities. But we also need to not forget that Black and Brown babies are dying, that women are dying during child birth. We also need to recognize that what we've historically done is not inclusive of our entire communities," said Baskin.
As a doula she offers everything from in-person support at appointments to hands on care and coaching during labor and well beyond.
"Once you get us you get us for a lifetime," she explained.
She is also the program manager of Day One Doula Collective, which trained and graduated nine women in its first cohort and includes leadership by Tiffany Townsend.
"We made history in GR, we have the only midwife of color in our area and she is working alongside our program and with me as a partner to address the racial disparities and figure out how we can engage more people of color in this process, more fathers, engage more with the birthing community as a whole."
This work is so important to bridging what she calls the clinical community care gap.
"I'm in the home with these families, I'm at these appointments. I'm able to say, 'These are the conditions in the home, this is what I'm seeing in this zip code. What can we do to change our systems and our communities for the better,'" Baskin said.
Baskin was recently honored with the 2021 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award recipient and it is clear she is so deserving.
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