https://www.bhbi.org/home daily 1.0 2025-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/102e1050-785a-4176-9666-34de77d6efe7/Catch+1.jpg Home - Making change and improving outcomes in our community. The Black Home Birth Initiative is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is impacting racial health disparities through culturally safe midwifery care, community education, and working to increase the numbers of Black home birth midwives in our communities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/9ba75c50-84ba-4984-884e-811ccd7d7e42/JB4.jpg Home - Systemic racism in healthcare is a public health emergency for Black people in America. Black birthing people are dying during the childbearing year at rates 3-12 times the rate of white birthing people in the United States. Access to community midwifery with a Black midwife is vital for the health and wellbeing of Black birthers and their babies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/15ee7fa0-21cf-43d9-be57-c772a64c243a/KT2.jpg Home - Get Involved The fight to end racial health disparities belongs to all of us. Get involved by supporting the initiative and staying connected to our work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/d2ae9139-94b9-4a88-9d91-e8c735d3aeb8/KC1.jpg Home - Our Services Homebirth fund, consulting, and student midwife support. https://www.bhbi.org/donate daily 0.75 2022-05-13 https://www.bhbi.org/learn daily 0.75 2025-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/58ec0a51-9525-4185-b209-b0888a1e751e/KC6.jpg Learn - In the United States, Black birthing people are: 3-12 times more likely to die from pregnancy and/or birth related complications. More than 50% of these deaths are preventable. More likely to experience 22/25 major pregnancy complications than any other race. 1.5-2 times more likely to suffer a stillbirth 60% more likely to have a preterm baby Twice as likely to lose a baby within the first year of life Most likely to report experiencing obstetric violence, discrimination, obstetrical abuse, lack of treatment for reported symptoms, lack of access to care, and birth trauma. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/2833092e-4889-4d2a-9e8f-c0e21bea3556/KT8.jpg Learn - For the past few years, Black maternal health disparities have been extensively studied. Studies have found that Black birthing people are significantly less likely to suffer any of the above health disparities if they have a Black provider. Furthermore, the research we have on community midwifery as a solution has shown that outcomes completely defy the above statistics if the family births outside of the hospital and has a Black midwife. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/b29f679f-1255-40b2-9fd9-3f7fcd276ce1/granny+midwives+2.jpg Learn - Homebirth originated in the US during the time of the Granny or Grand Midwives, and globally with Indigenous midwives. Black enslaved women caught babies within their communities for both Black and white birthing families, and treated their communities as healers. Throughout the 1900’s, obstetrics and hospital birth became the standard and Granny Midwives were prosecuted, persecuted, and jailed for practicing, effectively eliminating homebirth midwifery until the 1970’s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/1652220068544-AF0Z0ULD8CDISNNFGR4U/KT11.jpg Learn https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/1652220257500-9GKPB5UTYM39W247O88M/RCB38.jpg Learn https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/1652277963345-JA4KUAO2LOAPLX47XF9U/RCB33.jpg Learn https://www.bhbi.org/team daily 0.75 2025-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/82175501-209b-415f-91d5-bbf17f160fde/unnamed.jpg Team - Marz Lovejoy She/her Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/5a4f3d79-19e1-4d67-88c5-3159dc941267/Headshot1.jpg Team - Britt Jackson, CPM, LM She/her Founder, BHBI Provider Britt Jackson, CPM, LM is a Certified Professional Midwife and Licensed Midwife serving families in the Twin Cities, MN. As a baby midwife opening a new practice in the Twin Cities, Britt was in the unique position of having experienced the plight of being a Black birthing person seeking safe, holistic care and experiencing the struggle of being a Black midwife trying to survive in a system that wasn’t built for us. The BHBI was her response - a grassroots organization that increased access to midwifery care for Black families while increasing sustainability for Black midwives. Since it’s founding, the BHBI has grown from a grassroots community fund to a multi-program 501c3 non-profit organization. Britt’s lens of community midwifery has always been rooted in activism, healing justice, and equity - to her, the two are synonymous. Britt believes that community midwifery is the birth right of Black birthing people, and believes that our collective healing and liberation resides in community and a reclaiming of our roots and healing traditions. Her vision for the BHBI is more Black home births, more Black midwives, and to care for families from a place of love, trust, empowerment, autonomy, whole-being wellness, community, and in celebration of Blackness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/457e0210-1e6e-480a-8a48-cc62f74e49f3/nadine.jpg Team - Nadine Ashby They/them Nadine is a Black, queer, trans, neurodivergent, full spectrum birthworker, Community Perinatal Educator, and body worker. They were raised attending births with their mom, who was a trusted non-medical community member to many. Nadine has earned a degree in Biology, studied anatomy and physiology, nutrition, and is a student of African American spiritual traditions. They are also a lactation educator, ACTT Advocacy Facilitator and mother of two. Nadine joined the Black Home Birth Initiative board because they believe we all deserve to learn and grow without having to fight for respect, support, and loving spaces. In addition to their role as a BHBI board member, they are the Founder of The Birth Revolution, a Black-led, Trans-led birth worker training and consulting organization that centers Black, Indigenous, and Trans folx. They are also a Community Educator and Program Director with Seeds Worth Sowing, a local Black led nonprofit in the Twin Cities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/8af0a223-e50b-4642-8196-f043a77a0370/Sasha.jfif Team - Sasha Bariffe, CPM, LM, IBCLC She/they Sasha is a dedicated midwife and lactation consultant with an unwavering commitment to providing culturally affirming and compassionate care to individuals during their childbearing years. Fueled by her passion to improve birth outcomes in America for Black and Indigenous people, Sasha's "why" has always been to ensure everyone, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, or body size, has access to affirming care. She recognizes that racism and unchecked biases contribute to the worst birth outcomes in the nation for these groups, and her work is committed to changing this. Sasha's work with the BHBI is grounded in her belief that all people, regardless of their background, deserve to feel valued and heard when it comes to their healthcare needs. Her mission is to continue to provide compassionate, personalized care to individuals and families throughout their childbearing years. During Sasha’s free time she can be found tending to her indoor and outdoor gardens, creating digital art or spending time with her two dimple cheeked children, loving partner and jumbo-sized dog. https://www.bhbi.org/theinitiative daily 0.75 2022-05-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/a3b30926-15b1-4c66-97b9-658580131ac8/KT10.jpg The Initiative - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/2708cfa1-d442-4fb4-a33a-34e1f2a16e98/TP3.jpg The Initiative - Core Beliefs Black birthing people deserve to feel seen and heard by their care providers. Black birthing people deserve to be safe in their chosen birthing location. Community midwifery care should be financially accessible to all families. Black midwives are a central solution to racial health disparities for Black birthers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/c8153278-9278-407d-9ecc-7a185e95ca64/KT5.jpg The Initiative - Mission Our mission is to bridge the racial health disparity gap through culturally safe, community based reproductive care. We are achieving our mission by: positively impacting outcomes for Black birthing people through culturally matched midwifery care. raising awareness about racial health disparities in our communities. reclaiming the ancient traditional wisdom taken from our ancestors and returning it to our communities. supporting the growth of Black midwifery in our communities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/af9e1b90-b01d-44ee-b82c-2f93df3687df/Headshot2.jpg The Initiative - The Black Home Birth Initiative was founded in 2020 by Midwife Britt Jackson, CPM, LM in response to the stark access disparities she discovered upon completion of credentialing and licensing. “My first thought upon reflecting on my training in the homebirth setting and first couple of months in solo practice was - we (midwives) simply aren’t serving Black families at home.” Since then, the initiative has grown to include a board of leaders who are all deeply invested in dismantling the current oppressive system of modern day home birth midwifery as well as eliminating racial health disparities for Black birthers and babies. https://www.bhbi.org/services daily 0.75 2025-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/1ef37cbb-b1b6-4642-bfe0-2acab9200d68/JF+Birth+4.jpg Services - Homebirth Fund The Black Home Birth Initiative provides funding to cover the cost of a homebirth for Black families seeking care with a Black midwife. Grant amounts are based on family need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/35fca5dd-8624-4683-8cc6-c677e92f7679/KC7.jpg Services - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/7b58cf26-97d2-40fa-b464-3759eb68e316/Headshot4.jpg Services - Consult with Britt Jackson, CPM, LM We offer consulting services for birth professionals, independent midwives, hospital systems, and allied healthcare providers. Our consulting service includes cultural competency consulting, policy review, cultural competency audits, and more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6273ffe9f2e63a5e66edcb58/55eed921-95c2-46f7-b7aa-89864da392f1/IMG_5542.jpeg Services - Uplifting Black Student Midwives In order to completely address health disparities, we need more Black midwives. Our student support program offers consulting, advocacy, and mentorship for current and aspiring Black CPM candidates.