The statistics for black and brown birthing people are terrible. In Tennessee black people are 69% more likely to die than white people. It’s heartbreaking and maddening and dire. I asked Kaila, “Why? What can we do?”

When Taja Iglesias, a young BIPOC girl with a Spanish last name, gave birth in southern Florida over a decade ago, she had no idea that her experience would inspire her to create a doula agency that would support families in the U.S. and beyond.

I experienced a very traumatic birth with my first child that caused physical injuries to both of us, as well as postpartum depression and the inability to breastfeed. My family doctor, who had been at my first birth and knew what I wanted to avoid, suggested a doula.

Doulas support all kinds of people and all kinds of births, without judgement. If every mother felt heard and supported in her birth, just imagine the potential impact on maternal physical and mental health worldwide.