It was a Saturday afternoon when I walked into the sacred space of RA MA East located in the West Adams area of Los Angeles. I was there to meet and do a piece on Kimberly Durdin, who is a Los Angeles based IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), Doula, Childbirth Educator and Student Midwife. She was in the midst of leading a training program for her Birthing People Foundation.
The purpose of the training was/is to bring more birth workers back to the black and marginalized communities. As I sat there listening and observing I knew instantly that I was privy to something more than just women learning how to help mothers give birth, or as Kim says “catching babies”
I witnessed a dynamic woman living in her destiny, a soul doing what she was put on earth to do. She has taken the art of being a doula one step further. She has become an activist for better care of black and brown women giving birth in today’s world. Kimberly was instructing these women in the program to become birth workers in order that they may take this knowledge into the community for the betterment of its people. She was giving them the foundation needed to fill the spaces where women lack the knowledge and the nurturing to have healthy births and postpartum experiences.
I learned something about myself that evening, I learned that I would have benefited from having a doula present during my pregnancy and thereafter. The moment brought an unexpected flood of emotion catching me off guard. After I pulled myself together I retreated from the circle to prepare for my interview with Kimberly. She further opened my eyes with her plethora of information regarding her craft and the importance of her work.
There is much to be done in regards to bettering ourselves and our legacy. Women nurturing women is a necessary component to uplifting people and our society at large. There is love to spread and ideas to be fed. Kimberly Durdin is inspirational and extremely knowledgeable in her arena. I am very proud to present a small bit of information in regards to the large scope of the work Kimberly and her partner Allegra Hill-Doot (Certified Midwife) are doing. For more information, and to contact Kimberly Durdin, check out her website HERE
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