On September 1, 2017, superstar tennis athlete Serena Williams gave birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. According to a 2018 Vogue interview detailing her journey to motherhood, Williams had a relatively easy pregnancy. However, Olympia was born by emergency C-section due to her heart rate dropping to a dangerously low level during contractions.…
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Uterine fibroids are a condition that many Black women face in their lifetime. Many of our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and cousins have been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, and there is a statistically higher chance that we might also. What Are Uterine Fibroids? Uterine fibroids are a form of noncancerous growth on the uterus that often…
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My husband and I prepared for our first child very differently. Of course, I was having the child and he wasn’t, so there were practical differences in how we both got ready for the baby to arrive. But we differed in many ways other than physical changes too. Culturally, our community is vast, unique, and…
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My 5-year-old daughter loves to tell people that girls are superheroes “because we can make people in our bellies.” She is right. We are pretty magical. Our bodies know how to do amazing things when it comes to reproduction and pregnancy. And once we give birth, those superpowers become even more clear. But that magic…
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When I found out one of my closest friends was also pregnant at the same time, my imagination went wild with images of prenatal yoga followed by (decaf) iced coffee dates and side-by-side stroller speed walks. Together, we would take on nursing, sleep training, and homemade baby food and complain about lack of sleep and…
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The U.S. has a problem with pregnancy-related death, especially for women of color. Given the number of advancements made across nearly every aspect of health care in the last quarter-century, women in the U.S. are still more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death today than they were 20 years ago. A report from the CDC…
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Creating a registry is a lot of pressure. How are we supposed to know what and how much we need when we haven’t done this before? As a mom of three, I can assure you that so many of the things we are told we need, we don’t. Sometimes those things even make life more…
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Finding joy in pregnancy can feel a little like finding a needle in a haystack. Pregnancy has so many fear inducing moments, it can be downright overwhelming. But it is possible to find joyful moments during this miraculous 10 month journey. We as Black women have the honor of continuing the circle of life. We…
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Walking out of the hospital after my first child was born was a scary moment. I think I actually said out loud: “they’re letting us leave with him?! I’m not ready.” We said goodbye with my son, a new car seat, and a ton of nerves…but that’s about it. Leaving the hospital after my third…
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What is labor induction? The final weeks of pregnancy can feel like they will never end. Your belly is large. Sleeping is tough. You have to pee every 15 minutes. And your baby’s adorable kicks now feel like karate chops to your ribcage! Once you get close to your due date, or breeze past it,…
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