Selah: Our Birth Story

SelahMind.Body.Spirit (est. 2018) is a culmination of years of schooling, continuing education, training, fear, anxiety, tears, doubt, curiosity, hope, trial and error, waiting, and more waiting, expectation and finally acceptance. It wasn’t until I was pregnant and expecting my first born child that everything came together.

While I had what some might call an “easy” pregnancy (excited to conceive, no morning sickness, “low weight gain”, etc.), the birthing process was extremely difficult. I was in labor for two days and ended up with a fever. My plan to have a natural birth went out the window when the midwife informed me that the level of distress I was in was not normal and I was given an epidural as they suspected I might need a cesarian, which turned out to be true. Due to the level of stress that my baby experienced in labor, she had her first bowel movement in the womb (meconium) and had to be in the NICU for the first day and a half of her life.

Through this entire process, I had my sister (doula), my husband, and my parents. They all stayed and sat with me as well as prayed. We had additional support form the chaplain at the hospital and our own pastor and his wife who came out to check on me during the process. Needless to say, it was one of the most difficult experiences of my life and the reality that childbirth experiences can result in death was a reality—even if for a brief moment.

What was more profound for me, was my thoughts of other women (and girls) who did not have the support that I had. I feared for them and their ability to speak to the doctors through their fear and pain. When I couldn’t speak, I had my sister to speak. When I was feeling anxious and my breathing was out of control, I knew what it was and they gave me oxygen to help calm me down. What about the other mamas who look like me (without family or GOOD healthcare)?

The reality: a Black mama like me in the U.S. is 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy or child-birth related complications than a White mama. Pregnancy-related mortality ratios are about 70 deaths for Black women per 100,00 live births. There is a present movement for reducing the disparities in Black maternal health and we are here for it! That is why SelahMind.Body.Spirit was created. To educate, encourage, support, and help other mamas win! My childbirth trauma led me to be triumphant and through it Selah Mind.Body.Spirit was ‘birthed.’

As were moving out of the COVID-19 Pandemic, came the inception of Melanated Women’s Therapy, LLC, for a time such as this.