The Birth Revolution

Reimagining doula care to dismantle systemic harm

When Nadine Ashby began their journey into professional birth work, they quickly noticed something missing. The spaces they trained in were often framed by traditional, exclusive norms that didn’t reflect their identity or the lived experiences of many birthing people they knew. There was little racial diversity, even less queer representation, and virtually no room for ancestral wisdom.

“I saw a gap where there were families looking for support but couldn’t find it,” said Ashby, a Black, queer, nonbinary full-spectrum birth worker. “People would say, ‘I didn’t think I’d be able to find a queer doula, especially a queer doula of color.’ That lit a fire under me.”

That fire sparked The Birth Revolution, a Black-, trans-, and queer-led doula training and consulting organization based in Minneapolis. Founded by Ashby, the collective is rooted in a radical reimagining of care that centers Black, Indigenous, queer, and trans birthing people not as an afterthought, but as the core of its mission.

“We strive to educate students about the injustices facing birthing people, while keeping Black, Indigenous, queer and trans radical joy at the center,” Ashby said.

Building what didn’t exist

Ashby, who supports people through pregnancy, postpartum, abortion and loss, didn’t always have the support they now offer others.

“When I was pregnant, I struggled to find a doula, and to afford one,” they said. “When I finally went into labor, I called the person I’d met with and she said, ‘Who is this?’ That was my sign I was on my own.”

Their care team, they added, wasn’t equipped to hold their full identity or provide affirming, culturally responsive care. “All the advocacy was on me,” Ashby said. “And that was exhausting.”

That experience, of being unseen in one of life’s most vulnerable moments, helped shape the framework behind The Birth Revolution. The organization offers a wide range of personalized trainings and consulting services for birth workers, health professionals, and organizations seeking to dismantle systemic harm in reproductive care.

Topics include:

• Trauma-informed care
• Supporting Black vitality and joy
• Racism as a public health crisis
• Inclusive lactation education
• Supporting queer and trans clients
• Navigating fatphobia in birth
• Advocacy in health care spaces
• Cultural foods and decolonized nutrition
• Dismantling the white savior complex

The goal, Ashby said, is to create brave, affirming spaces that honor both evidence-based practice and ancestral knowledge — while helping birth workers become more attuned to the cultural and energetic dynamics at play in each client’s experience.

Expanding the definition of safety

Ashby continues to attend births in hospitals, homes, and birthing centers. Each setting, they said, brings its own challenges, particularly for Black clients.

“In hospitals, Black people often hire a doula to shield themselves from racism,” Ashby said. “There’s this feeling of, ‘Let me have someone who can help me survive the system.’ But birth work doesn’t work like that… doulas can’t erase the system’s harm.”

Still, they believe Black people can have beautiful hospital births. It just takes more intention, planning and support. In contrast, home births often provide more time with providers, deeper connections, and a reduced power dynamic.

“In your own home, no one’s going to tell you that you can’t eat,” Ashby said. “You do what you need to do to get your baby out, on your own terms.”

Dreaming beyond survival

Ashby hopes The Birth Revolution not only trains new doulas and challenges harmful systems, but also reclaims joy and abundance in birth spaces, particularly for communities too often focused only on survival.

“When I ask Black birthing people what they want from their birth, a lot of times the answer is, ‘I just want to survive,’” they said. “And I’m like — that’s it? Let’s dream bigger. Let’s live in abundance up in here.”

To learn more or inquire about trainings, visit thebirthrevolution.org.

Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses at jmcbride@spokesman-reocrder.com.