By Cori Lucas,
This team of professional Black women are providing a service that Black women everywhere are suffering without: proper care and support during and after pregnancy. A 2021 medical research study estimated that Black women are 43% more likely to experience a miscarriage than white women. A separate study found that Black women are more than twice as likely to experience postpartum depression. These statistics are attributed, in part, to the scarce or inadequate pre-and postnatal resources available in Black communities. The Bloom Collective is an educated team of Black reproductive health practitioners and advisors who came together in 2018 to guide Black women through holistic and Indigenous wellness practices that support a healthy and meaningful pregnancy and birth. Their methods focus on “the whole person” by not only treating the body but tailoring a person’s care to also address their wants, needs, anxieties and goals!
“Through our work, we aspire to simply be what we needed during our own pregnancy and postpartum journeys.”
Stéphanie Etienne, CNM, MPH; Amber Gillian, MSW, LCPC, CBS; Tanay Lynn Harris, CBS, CPE, PD; and Desirèe Israel, LCSW-C, CBS, are all mothers themselves who know intimately the physical, mental and hormonal stresses the body experiences in the process of creating life. When offered a physical location in which to operate in 2018, the ladies of the Bloom Collective saw it as an opportunity to make a difference in Baltimore City by opening their doors to all Black women or pregnant people, regardless of income. Determined to never deny an aspiring or soon-to-be parent, they offer their services on a pay-as-you-can basis. “Through our work, we aspire to simply be what we needed during our own pregnancy and postpartum journeys.”
The Bloom Collective’s vision of a fully-funded future focuses on procuring a large house with enough rooms to support several women and families over the course of their sacred journey. They would work together to create “a hub spot where folks will be able to come and be loved and be nourished on“, and find that village to be their and their baby’s support structure.
Aspiring or pregnant parents who visit the Bloom Collective’s health center are welcome to a wide array of services. They offer a number of different consultations including lactation, preconception and fertility, herbalism, pregnancy, and postnatal. They host Holistic Childbirth Education classes for the full run-down from preparation for pregnancy to postnatal care for pregnant persons and their families. They also offer the Purple Couch—their one-on-one therapy sessions with a mental health specialist. To take advantage of these invaluable services or contribute to more healthy Black pregnancies, visit their page @ cllctivly.org/listing/the-bloom-collective or follow their social media @bloominbaltimore.
All February, we’re honoring a few of the many Black leaders in our community making history every day with #28DaysofBlackFutures.
This is a crowdfunding and narrative power campaign that amplifies and mobilizes resources for Black-led organizations serving Greater Baltimore.
Throughout the month, we will highlight 28 dedicated Black leaders and organizations on the ground creating programs and initiatives that drive health, wealth, safety, and culture in #Baltimore.
Let’s CELEBRATE these changemakers and SUPPORT their work! Our goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of this campaign.
Head over to 28DaysofBlackfutures.org to donate today! ❤️🖤💚
