Rooted & Resilient: A Black-led Perinatal Program
We support Black birthing people to have the best birthing and early parenting experience possible through education and empowerment and ensuring folks can get culturally-sensitive care and support. We are rooted in culture to help support resilient birthing people and provide better outcomes.
Who do we serve? Priority to Black-identifying pregnant people, however as availability allows we will serve other people of colour.
Black birthing individuals are more at risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
Doula care provides birthing individuals with informational, emotional and physical support allowing pregnant persons and their families to confidently make informed choices and advocate for their needs with healthcare practitioners during the perinatal period. Through our Community Doula Fund, we aim to provide pay-what-you can doula services to members of our community.
Meet your Program Lead.
Jessica Johnson (she/her) is a full-spectrum doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding specialist who has been practicing since 2018 in Ottawa, ON on the unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory. She is the co-founder and lead doula of the Rooted & Resilient: Black-led Doula and Breastfeeding program. In 2019, Jessica started her role as a perinatal outreach worker working in collaboration with the urban Inuit community and midwives providing care to individuals experiencing substance use, mental illness, homelessness, violence, and/or involvement with the child welfare system. Jessica is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Community Doula Access. Jessica is currently completing the certification requirements to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
What is a doula?
A doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical and informational support to new and expectant individuals before, during and after birth, and in the early postpartum period. A doula helps families have a safe, healthy and positive labour experience. Having a constant presence of support and an emotional anchor is especially important for Black birthing individuals.
My wife and I received great insights with Jessica in preparation for the birth of our second child. After going through a not so great birthing experience with our first child we decided seek professional help. Jessica was the perfect mix of a professional, educational, and supportive doula. As the birthing partner, she gave me the confidence to communicate our needs to the medical staff effectively. We had an amazing birthing experience this time around and can not thank her enough!
— JD, supported January 2021
Donate to the Community Doula Fund
No one should have to give birth alone. When you make a donation, you are contributing directly to doula care for clients who otherwise would not be able to afford it. Your donation goes towards improving birth outcomes in our community, directly addressing inequities caused by racism, sexism, income inequality and lack of access to resources.
Share Your Birth Story
Whether you had a positive or negative experience you want to heal from, we want to hear from you. Share with us your story, and we will use your stories to build community knowledge, inform future programs and/or classes and help us understand the community we are serving. We will never disclose any identifying information.
Experiences Untold: Black Birth in Canada
In Canada, we have very limited data on what the childbirth experience is like for Black pregnant and birthing individuals. We sought out stories from our community in the summer of 2021 to help us build a knowledge base, to bolster community knowledge, inform future programs and/or classes and to help us understand more about the community we are serving. Check out our preliminary report!
Photo Release and Liability
Link