Community + Educational Resources
Links & Resources
Oklahoma Breastfeeding Hotline
Foundation for Liberating Minds (FLM) in Oklahoma City, OK, was founded by Alham ‘Ali’ Carter, aurelius francisco, and Tevin McDaniel whose radical dream is to open The Liberation School with the mission to disrupt the root causes of oppression and marginalization through transformative education.
Innovations Family Wellness (IFW) in Tulsa, OK, was founded by Monika Starks to strengthen local communities by ushering in a generation of healthy families regardless of socioeconomic status. She has opened the first black-owned birthing center in Oklahoma.
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A midwife primarily focuses on the clinical side of pregnancy, ensuring mom and baby are physically healthy. For a low-risk pregnancy, a midwife can be used in the place of an obstetrician.
A doula primarily focuses on the mental, emotional, and social aspects of pregnancy. I like to call doulas your pregnancy “bestie”. A knowledgeable and informed bestie on all things pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum. Although these are two separate roles, every excellent midwife must have the qualities of a doula. It’s essential to holistic healthcare.
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Midwifery provides high-quality and high-value care to childbearing people. In general, midwifery is a high-touch, low-tech approach to maternity care. The midwifery model is based on the core understanding that childbearing for most birthing people is a healthy process that requires protecting, supporting, and promoting innate physiologic processes and monitoring to idenify when higher levels of care are needed. It centers the childbearing person and family while emphasizing a trusted relationship, health-promoting practices, and providing informtion that birthing people need to make their own care decisions. Care is personalized and tailored to individual needs and preferences.
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Oklahoma ranks low in many categories out of 50 state. Oklahoma is ranked #46 in Infant Mortality, #46 in Teen Birth Rates, #46 in Obesity, #43 in Preterm births, #41 in Diabetes, #45 in Overall Health Rating, and #47 in Quality of Healthcare.
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Balanced Black Girl by Lestraundra Alfred
Down to Birth by Cynthia Overgard + Trisha Ludwig
Evidence Based Birth by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN
Grounded in Wellness with Innovations Family Wellness
Statistics in the U.S.
Maternal Mortality Rates (2021):
Black Women: 49.4
White Women: 23.4
Totals from 2018 to 2020, Oklahoma had maternal mortality rate of 25.2 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
Maternal Mortality Rates (2021):
Black Women: 69.9
White Women: 26.6
Totals: 32.6
(per 100,000 live births)
Oklahoma
The rates for both Non-Hispanic Black women and Non-Hispanic American Indian women were approximately two times higher than the rate for Non-Hispanic White women, at 49.4 and 44.4 respectively.
Infant Mortality Rates (2021):
United States in 2021, with an infant mortality rate of 543.6 infant deaths per 100,000 live births.
In communities of color, the crisis is far greater. Compared to white non-Hispanic women, Black women are more than three times as likely and Native women are more than twice as likely to experience pregnancy-related deaths.
