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Olufunmilayo Kai-Alabi’s recent advocacy highlights a truth long known in Black communities
Some posts do more than inform. They spark recognition, reminding us of what communities have always known and what healthcare systems too often forget.
Olufunmilayo Kai-Alabi recently published one such message, a compelling call to uplift doulas and midwives as critical partners in Black maternal health.
Her article, “Why Doulas and Midwives Matter, Especially for Black Women,” reframes the narrative with courage and clarity.
You can read her original post here:
👉 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/olufunmilayo-kai-alabi-659240384_why-doulas-and-midwives-matter-especially-activity-7403796688177627136-69LB
Case Clinic News builds upon that foundation—expanding the lens, connecting the evidence, and exploring why this movement matters not only in the United States, but across Africa and the diaspora.
1. The Maternal Crisis Black Women Cannot Ignore
Whether in Chicago or Kampala, Lagos or London, the pattern persists:
Black women face higher risks of complications, dismissals, and preventable maternal death.
Not because their bodies fail.
Because systems fail them.
This is what Olufunmilayo’s advocacy echoes: the disproportionate trauma that Black birthing parents endure when entering clinical spaces that may minimize their concerns, misread their symptoms, or rush decisions without consent.
Doulas and midwives disrupt that cycle by adding:
Continuous emotional grounding
Culturally conscious advocacy
Accurate, accessible education
Support through medical decision-making
Their role is not decorative. It is protective.
2. Evidence That Cannot Be Dismissed
Research referenced in Olufunmilayo’s discussion highlights the profound benefits of doula- and midwife-supported births:
Lower preterm birth rates
Reduced cesarean sections
Increased breastfeeding initiation
Better postpartum recovery
Less anxiety and trauma
Stronger communication between mothers and clinicians
These outcomes stem from a simple truth:
When birthing women feel safe, supported, and heard, their bodies respond differently.
3. A Global Perspective: Africa’s Parallel Struggle
While her post addresses the U.S. context, the African landscape mirrors the same needs—sometimes even more urgently.
In Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, many mothers navigate:
Overcrowded maternity wards
Limited provider-to-patient ratios
Inconsistent postpartum follow-up
Fear of being dismissed
Barriers to autonomy during labor
Here, doula-style support becomes a powerful equalizer.
Trained community birth companions can:
Identify danger signs early
Reduce birth-related fear
Encourage healthy birth positions
Translate medical information
Support breastfeeding and maternal rest
Help families advocate for timely intervention
This is maternal justice in action.
4. Honoring the Lineage of Black Birth Workers
The work of doulas and midwives is not a modern innovation.
It is a return to ancestral wisdom.
Black birth workers have carried the lineage of safe, gentle, culturally aligned birthing practices for centuries, before medicalized systems pushed them aside.
What Olufunmilayo champions is not only clinical improvement, but cultural restoration.
It is an invitation to:
reclaim traditions of community care
center Black voices in birth
rebuild trust in maternity systems
ensure mothers are never left alone in their most vulnerable moments
5. A Call to Action for Those Who Can Change the Future
Olufunmilayo’s advocacy is a blueprint.
It invites collective responsibility:
For mothers:
Seek a doula, midwife, or community birth support system early.
For policymakers:
Fund doula programs, reimburse midwifery care, and mandate respectful maternity practices.
For healthcare leaders:
Train clinicians in implicit bias and trauma-informed maternity care.
For community members:
Share resources, uplift birth workers, support pregnant women compassionately.
For Africa’s health systems:
Integrate doula-style support into antenatal clinics and community health frameworks.
Birth outcomes do not change with awareness alone, they change with structure.
CONCLUSION: Carrying the Message Forward
Olufunmilayo Kai-Alabi’s post is more than commentary, it is a catalyst.
Her voice amplifies a movement that aligns with Case Clinic News’ mission:
maternal dignity, maternal justice, maternal safety.
When doulas and midwives stand beside Black women, outcomes improve, trauma decreases, and birth becomes what it should be:
a moment of power, not peril.
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