At the Bolivar County Library in Cleveland, expecting parents gathered in early December for a hands-on workshop to prepare for labor and delivery.

The event, led by certified doula Brittany Isler, aimed to equip families with tools and confidence for a safe birth experience.

Among the attendees was Lakiyah Green, 17, who is six months pregnant and expecting her first baby, a boy, in March. Isler will be Green’s doula later this year and receive free services to guide her through the birthing process.

“I wanted to learn everything about birth,” Green said. “I saw this online, and my stepmother encouraged me to come. The positions and movement techniques we learned today were so helpful.”

Green shared her excitement for the journey ahead.

“I’m excited and have confidence in the process,” she said. “Coming here gave me even more confidence.” When asked what she was most excited about, her answer came with a smile: “Just meeting my baby.”

Isler, who has worked as a doula for three years, is passionate about empowering families with knowledge and support.

“Lactation is my first love, but I became a doula after hearing clients’ birth stories and realizing they needed more support,” she said. “I’ve experienced traumatic births myself, and I know how important it is to advocate for moms and teach them they have a voice.”

The workshop emphasized evidence-based practices, including six simple steps for achieving a safe and healthy birth.

“Many moms in this area don’t know their options or feel they have the right to ask questions,” Isler explained. “Classes like these help break down stigmas and empower parents with knowledge.”

In Mississippi, where maternal health outcomes are among the poorest in the nation, free workshops and services like these provide critical resources to families who might not otherwise afford doula support.

“Education helps improve outcomes because knowledge is power,” Isler added. “Now, these parents know they have choices, and they’re not alone.”

The session created a warm and welcoming environment, with parents sharing their thoughts and learning about building a supportive birth team. Events like this offer hope and reassurance to families preparing for childbirth in a state where maternal health education is critically needed.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Dec. 31, 1970 

Between 1916 and 1970, more than 6 million Black Americans moved from the South to the North, the West and the Midwest, changing the landscape of the nation. Before “The Great Migration,” more than 90% of Black Americans lived in the South and only 20% lived in urban areas. By 1970, more than 80% of Black Americans lived in cities.

In her Pulitzer Prize winning book, “The Warmth of Other Suns,” Isabel Wilkerson detailed how Black Americans left “the terror of Jim Crow” for “an uncertain existence in the North and Midwest.” 

In his book, “The Promised Land,” Nicholas Lehmann called this migration “one of the largest and most rapid mass internal movements in history.” 

The migration contributed to an explosion in creative arts, including the Harlem Renaissance and blues music in Chicago. In his book, “Diversity Explosion,” William Frey wrote that a reversal has since taken place, which “began as a trickle in the 1970s, increased in the 1990s, and turned into a virtual evacuation from many northern areas in the first decade of the 2000s.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

View 2024 through the images of Mississippi Today community health photojournalist Eric J. Shelton.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.