About This Project


We are thrilled to announce the launch of Midwifery + The Black Birthing Family, a paid storytelling and archival project uplifting the voices of Black birthing families, birth workers, and intergenerational healers in Massachusetts.


Through digital and film photography, oral histories, and storytelling, this creative wellness project explores the historical and contemporary realities of Black birthing individuals and perinatal providers within the state of Massachusetts—particularly in the context of the recently passed Bill H.4999 (The Maternal Health Omnibus Bill, August 2024). Through portraiture, oral history, and community storytelling, we honor our past, present, and future.


We invite you to share widely and invite someone who might be interested in being apart of this community project. Let’s continue amplifying the voices of Black birthing families and birth workers together.

Open Call For Birthlooms Storytellers


This project is funded by the Mass Humanities Expand Massachusetts Stories Grant, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) 2024 Opportunity Fund + the Reparations Task Force Grassroots Public Storytelling Program

Open Call For Birthlooms Storytellers


This project is funded by the Mass Humanities Expand Massachusetts Stories Grant, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) 2024 Opportunity Fund + the Reparations Task Force Grassroots Public Storytelling Program

WE WELCOME BIRTHLOOM STORYTELLERS WHO ARE...

Black Birthing Individuals, Parents & Families


Whether you gave birth in a hospital, birth center, or at home, had a VBAC, cesarean, or unmedicated birth, or navigated loss (stillbirth, miscarriage, infant loss), we honor your experience.

  • Parents who gave birth in hospitals, birth centers, or at home
  • People who experienced VBAC, cesarean, unmedicated births
  • Black & Brown LGBTQ+ parents and non-binary birthing persons
  • Single parents, co-parents, and family support systems
  • Individuals who have experienced loss (stillbirth, miscarriage, infant loss)

Black Birth Workers & Perinatal Providers


Midwives, OB-GYNs, doulas, lactation consultants, perinatal mental health therapists, pelvic floor specialists, and more—your impact is invaluable.

  • Midwives (traditional & certified)
  • Doulas (Birth, Postpartum, Abortion, Full-Spectrum)
  • OB-GYNs, Perinatologists, Perinatal Nurses
  • Lactation Consultants (IBCLCS, CLCS)
  • Perinatal Mental Health Therapists
  • Physical Therapists (Perinatal Focus)
  • Pelvic Floor Specialists (Perinatal Focus)
  • Nutritionists (Perinatal Focus)

Black Intergenerational Community Elders & Healers


Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, herbalists, and traditional birth keepers preserving Black and African diaspora birth traditions, we value your wisdom.

  • Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, Maternal figures with birthing stories
  • Traditional Perinatal Healers, Herbalists, Birth Keepers practicing African & Diaspora birth traditions

Midwifery + The Black Birthing Family


Apply Here