WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.500 Hey y 'all, welcome to Questions You Didn't Ask. 00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:07.179 Did you know that this very spot could be showcasing 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:10.320 your business or event? Whether it's an audio 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:14.460 ad on our podcast, or a visual ad on our new 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:18.100 YouTube station, or even both, we've got the 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.620 space for you. Nyesha Frey Consulting is reaching 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:24.420 a growing audience of over a thousand leaders 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:27.839 who are passionate about health equity, social 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:32.070 justice, and civil rights activism. These are 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:35.329 professionals just like you working across higher 00:00:35.329 --> 00:00:40.409 education, research, healthcare, nonprofit, government, 00:00:40.590 --> 00:00:44.030 and even public health sectors. If you're ready 00:00:44.030 --> 00:00:46.630 to get your message in front of a dedicated and 00:00:46.630 --> 00:00:52.469 engaged audience, send me an email at naishafrayconsultingllc 00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:57.149 at gmail .com. Let's talk about how we can help 00:00:57.149 --> 00:00:59.710 you connect with the people who need to hear 00:00:59.710 --> 00:01:02.829 about your services and products that advance 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:06.969 health equity and wellness. Don't miss out. Get 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:09.250 in the mix and let's make an impact together. 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:26.180 Welcome back to Questions You Didn't Ask with 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:29.239 me, Nyesha Frey, and my guests, Melba Perry and 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:32.040 Jessica Burris, as we continue the series from 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:35.159 birth to beyond, unveiling challenges of maternal 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:38.000 and infant health. Let's get back into the discussion. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.680 So ladies, if you're thinking about having a 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.540 baby, if you are pregnant, if you just gave birth, 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:51.629 check in, check it out. Are there doulas? Are 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:55.189 there midwives? Are there, what do we call them? 00:01:55.310 --> 00:02:01.790 LB, IB. IBCLC. Is there a CLC, even if it's not 00:02:01.790 --> 00:02:04.969 an IBCLC? Are there lactation consultants that 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:08.030 you can talk to? There are people out here and 00:02:08.030 --> 00:02:11.770 organizations out here looking to help support 00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:14.270 your health and your well -being. And I think 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:16.129 that that's really important, but we also need 00:02:16.129 --> 00:02:18.870 to challenge our systems and our organizations. 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:22.360 to do better about communication and outreach. 00:02:22.500 --> 00:02:24.060 And that's one of the reasons why I have this 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:28.060 podcast. You all know that I have my company, 00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:31.900 Naisha Frey Consulting, LLC. And I'm not a... 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:35.060 lactation consultant. I do health equity research 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:38.919 and practice, right? So this is an arm of my 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.719 business, health communication, right? The podcast 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:44.580 is about health communication to address these 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.139 questions and these issues that a lot of people 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:49.680 don't even know that there are answers to or 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.939 that their resources are professionals. And the 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:55.419 great thing about it is... Sometimes you just 00:02:55.419 --> 00:02:57.919 need to start having conversations with the people 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:00.020 around you. Right. Because a lot of the people 00:03:00.020 --> 00:03:04.560 that I bring on my show, not only are they, you 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:07.719 know, you know, folks that have international 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:11.819 or national, you know, credibility and accolades 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:15.039 and degrees and all that cool stuff. But a lot 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.340 of it is just like this conversation we're having 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:20.139 now. These women are talented. They're smart. 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:23.430 They're educated. They're all these things. And 00:03:23.430 --> 00:03:25.830 then we get into a conversation about our real 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:29.610 lives, right? And then I find out there is this 00:03:29.610 --> 00:03:33.530 richness within my own village, right? I've just 00:03:33.530 --> 00:03:36.569 extended my village by having these conversations. 00:03:36.650 --> 00:03:40.909 And I know not everyone is as verbose and talkative 00:03:40.909 --> 00:03:44.330 as I am. But if I can use that gift to create 00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:48.129 a platform to have these conversations in public. 00:03:48.669 --> 00:03:51.750 Right. Where other people can learn from these 00:03:51.750 --> 00:03:54.629 discussions and not only advocate for themselves 00:03:54.629 --> 00:03:58.770 and their family and their friends, but also 00:03:58.770 --> 00:04:02.030 put pressure on those people and organizations 00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:05.770 and systems and policies that we have that are 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:08.969 in the way of our health and our wellness and 00:04:08.969 --> 00:04:12.990 in the way of. allowing us to be able to live 00:04:12.990 --> 00:04:16.389 in an equitable society that supports and sustain 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:19.569 our health and well -being, especially in a country 00:04:19.569 --> 00:04:22.209 like the United States of America, where we have 00:04:22.209 --> 00:04:26.230 just about every resource you can think of. And 00:04:26.230 --> 00:04:29.269 we also have every disparity that you can think 00:04:29.269 --> 00:04:34.569 of. So one of the things that we talked about 00:04:34.569 --> 00:04:38.670 was we touched on mental health challenges. We 00:04:38.670 --> 00:04:43.060 touched on racism, right? And one of the things 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:47.879 that I was reading about was how people may or 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:52.019 may not understand that being a person of color, 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.399 and especially an African American woman, a woman 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:57.139 of African descent in this world, not just the 00:04:57.139 --> 00:05:01.899 United States, brings with it uninvited discrimination, 00:05:02.100 --> 00:05:06.959 prejudice, and racism, right? We oftentimes get 00:05:08.159 --> 00:05:11.759 People outside of our community sometimes criticize 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:14.939 the Black and African community and African diaspora. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.120 Why are you always talking about race? Look, 00:05:17.180 --> 00:05:19.019 if we didn't have to talk about it, we wouldn't. 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:25.160 If it didn't bother us. and get in our way, we 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:27.259 wouldn't be talking about it, right? We'd rather 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:29.639 move on and talk about something else. But until 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:33.860 that happens, where we truly live in an anti 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:36.220 -racist society, we have to talk about it because 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:39.319 one of the things that happens is that this racism 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:46.399 gets under our skin, down to our DNA. And not 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:49.779 only can it affect our physical health, but it 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:53.259 affects our mental health. So can you talk a 00:05:53.259 --> 00:05:57.800 little bit more about how you see these different 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.579 mental health issues and challenges that women 00:06:00.579 --> 00:06:05.139 are going through and how this, you know, racist, 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:08.720 systemic racist system feeds into things like 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.180 distrust, things feeds into things like hypervigilance 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:15.160 and feeds into things like, and what I mean by 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:21.540 hypervigilance is you're always. concerned about 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:25.920 having to be preemptive, having to think two 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.100 steps ahead, looking and making sure that you're 00:06:30.100 --> 00:06:33.100 safe and your surroundings are safe. You're thinking 00:06:33.100 --> 00:06:35.779 about the choice of words because you know that 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:39.420 the right, wrong, look on your face, a choice 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:41.660 of words out of that other person could mean 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:44.360 something. It could mean something that might 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:48.500 affect your life. So that's what hypervigilance 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:52.350 is. It means you're always on, right? And you 00:06:52.350 --> 00:06:55.910 don't get to turn that off until you get to a 00:06:55.910 --> 00:06:59.689 safe space, right? And that safe space is often 00:06:59.689 --> 00:07:03.889 not out in the world amongst the general pop, 00:07:04.089 --> 00:07:07.870 right? So as a Black person, we live with a certain 00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:10.370 level of stress just because of the skin that 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:15.230 we're in. And it's uninvited, okay? These are 00:07:15.230 --> 00:07:17.129 things, you know, there's certain levels of stress 00:07:17.129 --> 00:07:20.310 that we invite, right? You know, Jessica wants 00:07:20.310 --> 00:07:22.509 to invite some stress because she is interested 00:07:22.509 --> 00:07:24.709 in becoming a CLC and she knows that there's 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:27.329 a lot of classes that she needs to take. And 00:07:27.329 --> 00:07:28.870 that's going to bring a certain level of stress 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:31.410 because she wants to pass the test. Right. And 00:07:31.410 --> 00:07:33.850 receive the certificate. You know, there are 00:07:33.850 --> 00:07:35.990 certain levels of stress that we invite into 00:07:35.990 --> 00:07:39.089 our life. I want to buy a house. Right. That's 00:07:39.089 --> 00:07:41.269 that's going to bring some stress. But I'm excited 00:07:41.269 --> 00:07:43.490 about what the outcome of that is, the stability 00:07:43.490 --> 00:07:45.470 that that brings, the wealth that that builds. 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:49.009 But this is uninvited stress. Because in the 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:52.490 process of having a baby, which is exciting, 00:07:52.589 --> 00:07:54.870 and we know it's going to be stressful, there's 00:07:54.870 --> 00:07:58.110 all these other factors too. So I'm going to 00:07:58.110 --> 00:08:03.370 be quiet for a moment and open it back up. Melba, 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:05.810 would you like to share a little bit about that? 00:08:05.889 --> 00:08:09.430 Or Jessica, is this kind of touching on some 00:08:09.430 --> 00:08:11.750 things for you in terms of mental health and 00:08:11.750 --> 00:08:17.420 of women and mothers birthing people? I think 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:19.259 this is direction that you're going. So when 00:08:19.259 --> 00:08:22.579 I was pregnant with my daughter, I was, I had 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:24.699 just went back to work after a year and a half 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:29.600 after having my son. And as soon as I started 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.360 back to work, right after my mom passed away, 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:34.139 I found out I was pregnant with her. So I let 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:38.440 my job know, I let my job also know I'm going 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:40.320 to take three months off from maternity leave. 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:42.360 I knew that you ain't going to pay me anyway. 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:46.700 I'm taking three months and I haven't, eight 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:50.720 months to, you know, make myself irreplaceable. 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:54.419 I mean, I know I could do that, but she, you 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:57.299 know, my boss was accepting of that. And so when 00:08:57.299 --> 00:08:59.980 I found out about prenatally that my child was 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:04.980 going to have some disabilities and that, that 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:06.980 made it even more like, yes, I'm definitely going 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:10.259 to take three months at least. But, but I mean, 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:12.440 I didn't go in it with like a rude way or anything. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:16.360 It was just, but. I had a great relationship. 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:19.179 No care and advocacy is good. Yeah, because that's 00:09:19.179 --> 00:09:23.940 another thing. I know my rights and I know my 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:26.799 rights as far as like, you can't fire me because 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.100 this, you know, or whatever. And that's another 00:09:29.100 --> 00:09:32.940 thing. Women need to be more educated on their 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:35.320 rights, especially their rights during pregnancy 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.379 or postpartum, you know, breastfeeding rights 00:09:38.379 --> 00:09:42.500 and all that. Anyway, so whenever I came back 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:46.759 to work, I was. And I knew my rights for breastfeeding 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.740 and, but it stressed me out because I'm just 00:09:50.740 --> 00:09:54.100 not like that type of employee. Well, I felt 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:56.899 like, well, see, that's another thing. What type 00:09:56.899 --> 00:09:59.700 of employee are you talking about? I, that's, 00:09:59.700 --> 00:10:01.360 that's what I was going to say. Like the fact, 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:03.720 the fact that I even felt that way, like, Oh, 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.419 that's not the type of employee I am. I had to 00:10:06.419 --> 00:10:09.139 check myself. It's like, why are you even thinking 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.269 that? Because. You don't you feel like you're 00:10:12.269 --> 00:10:16.370 not a good employee if you are asking. So I knew 00:10:16.370 --> 00:10:19.129 my rights in North Carolina as far as how many 00:10:19.129 --> 00:10:21.750 breaks I should get in the type of space I could 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:26.950 get just to pump through work. And I really hated 00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:29.049 myself for like thinking that way at first. And 00:10:29.049 --> 00:10:31.669 it took a minute for me to not feel that way 00:10:31.669 --> 00:10:34.230 and to feel confident about it. But I was either 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:36.210 going to. breastfeeding was more important to 00:10:36.210 --> 00:10:37.909 me like if you're not going to give me the space 00:10:37.909 --> 00:10:40.490 and threat my job like i don't need to be here 00:10:40.490 --> 00:10:43.750 you literally are not paying me enough to even 00:10:43.750 --> 00:10:46.570 do this i just wanted to work and i like being 00:10:46.570 --> 00:10:51.450 here but she my boss she one day i went to the 00:10:51.450 --> 00:10:55.129 uh printer and i we talked about this so if she 00:10:55.129 --> 00:10:57.210 ever heard this i mean she's not gonna you know 00:10:57.210 --> 00:11:00.309 but she actually was looking it up and she had 00:11:00.309 --> 00:11:02.980 printed off like the And I think it was for our 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:05.220 corporate office so that they would know, but 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:09.019 they were so cool about it and everything. But 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:13.039 I just think back to how I initially felt like 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.700 I know my rights, but I felt stressed out and 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:19.519 felt like I was going to be judged and not, you 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:21.899 know, just for asking for what I know is right. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.559 So it really, it really did stress me. And that 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.539 was about a month into, until I have to have 00:11:28.539 --> 00:11:30.100 my baby and I knew I was going to go back to 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:33.519 work in a couple of months. But I figured it 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:37.679 out. I got my confidence up and everything. And 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:42.480 now after that, all I want to do is just educate 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:45.360 other moms on their rights. Like, I don't care 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:49.120 if you work at a convenience store or if you 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:54.620 work at wherever, you have rights for breastfeeding. 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:59.000 i wish i just want moms to know that more because 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.840 that is a big hindrance on breastfeeding i'm 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:06.820 really big about increasing the amount of maternity 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:09.480 leave that is just so important to me at least 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.620 to like 12 weeks maybe you know what is that 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:16.039 three yeah three months it just sounds like the 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:18.399 perfect amount of time six week is six weeks 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.519 is not enough and i think a lot of moms probably 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:25.159 They get stressed when they know they have to 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.440 go back to work after six weeks. Just like you 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:29.259 said, how you looked at your baby and you couldn't 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:32.080 imagine going back to work at six weeks when 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.600 you looked at her. Imagine the moms who have 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:39.259 no choice. That stress that they take on. I mean, 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:42.179 it's sad. And I mean, and they have to do it. 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:44.720 You know, they have to or it's their livelihood. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.340 And it just shouldn't be that way, especially 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:51.919 when you're in when you're in a country that. 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:54.580 you know, has a certain political system that 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:59.019 is taking away rights from women and just promoting, 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:02.159 oh, family have babies, this and that, you know, 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:04.840 stay at home, don't work moms, you know, let 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:08.340 the dads do it. That's well, okay. You can already 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:11.519 tell like politically where our government puts 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:14.620 its focus, what group of people it puts its focus 00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:18.860 on. And it's not the everyday woman, the majority 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:23.429 of women. I just, I'm all about just women power 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:26.169 and especially when it comes to their bodies 00:13:26.169 --> 00:13:30.789 and pregnancy, postpartum and childcare, because 00:13:30.789 --> 00:13:33.610 I'm not going to get started on childcare costs 00:13:33.610 --> 00:13:35.990 and all that. That is literally a whole nother 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:38.610 conversation. Well, it does affect your mental 00:13:38.610 --> 00:13:41.669 health. And I think that affects your mental 00:13:41.669 --> 00:13:45.610 health too, for sure. Because you're concerned 00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:48.029 or you're worried about how this past summer, 00:13:48.149 --> 00:13:51.159 I thought I was going to go crazy. just because 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:53.320 of there's no, I didn't have any childcare. My 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.580 job was flexible and they were cool about it. 00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:58.779 And I could take my daughter to work, but I mean, 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:01.899 can you imagine Melba? Can you imagine your daughter 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:03.740 sitting in an office for over an hour, like a 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:05.779 little office? It's just not going to happen. 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:12.039 He was very cool about me working part -time 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.559 from home and all that, but that goes back to 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:17.870 me putting stress on myself. Maybe unnecessarily 00:14:17.870 --> 00:14:22.470 because he was OK with it. But in my head. You 00:14:22.470 --> 00:14:25.110 know, it was going to be a catastrophe. I just 00:14:25.110 --> 00:14:28.370 didn't want to be that employee. And mainly because 00:14:28.370 --> 00:14:30.710 I'm a woman, because I'm the black woman in the 00:14:30.710 --> 00:14:34.149 office. So I just didn't want to. It's just like 00:14:34.149 --> 00:14:39.090 a trickle down effect of just, you know. So I 00:14:39.090 --> 00:14:42.330 think the more we come together and people know 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:44.960 their rights, women know their rights. and just 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:49.679 get more confidence overall when it comes to 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.759 you know your your rights with postpartum care 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:56.860 maternity care especially when it comes to the 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:59.019 workplace after you have the baby or even before 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:03.080 you have the baby it'll just make women better 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:06.600 overall if you're enjoying the show as much as 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.799 we love creating it consider showing your support 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:14.440 by buying us a cup of coffee visit buymeacoffee 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:20.899 .com slash Nyesha Frey O. That's buymeacoffee 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:27.820 .com forward slash Nyesha Frey O. All one word. 00:15:27.899 --> 00:15:32.600 Each cup is just $5 and every single one helps 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:35.740 us continue to produce, develop, and sustain 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:38.940 the high quality content you've come to expect 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:42.279 from questions you didn't ask. Thank you. for 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:44.860 your continued support and let's keep the conversation 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:51.799 going. Yeah. And I, I mean, I have, I have some 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.279 thoughts about being that employee as a black 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.700 woman in the office, but before I get on my soapbox, 00:15:56.779 --> 00:15:59.139 I wanted to hear what Melba has to say. What 00:15:59.139 --> 00:16:00.960 are your thoughts about, you know, our society, 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:05.039 racism, stress, you know, and all that kind of 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:07.679 stuff for, for birthing people and, and, and 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:11.139 black women and you know, that whole thing. I 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:14.039 totally agree with Jessica, especially with the 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:17.220 maternity leave. We have to look at other countries 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:22.200 and what their statistics are when it comes to 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:25.600 maternal health. A lot of countries, you can 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.960 be out of work for up to a year for maternity 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:33.360 leave. So just to know, oh my God, I don't have 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.889 to rush back to work. I can figure these things 00:16:36.889 --> 00:16:40.830 out. I can have more bonding time with my baby. 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:45.470 That's huge when it comes to the mental health. 00:16:45.690 --> 00:16:51.230 I think what is great that now some jobs are 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:56.629 starting to allow dads to have a certain amount 00:16:56.629 --> 00:17:00.100 of weeks of maternity leave, which is... great. 00:17:00.139 --> 00:17:05.599 Like we never heard of that ever. And I think 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:09.920 that's awesome and helps the mom out a lot. So 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.420 like, you know, they're ready to go back to work 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:14.900 for instance. And dad be like, okay, if you're 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:16.960 ready to go back to work, you can go back. I 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:21.119 will take my leave now. So you won't be too stressed 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.599 out about where the baby at. Is my baby okay? 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:27.819 So I think that is great. And I, you know, for 00:17:27.819 --> 00:17:33.920 me, when i had my daughter i was stressed out 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:37.759 because i found out during my um pregnancy that 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:42.019 lena had down syndrome and i'm like oh what am 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:46.819 i gonna do now i didn't know you know where she 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:50.900 would be at like as far as health wise how healthy 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:53.200 was she gonna be am i gonna have to take off 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:58.470 a lot of time and do stuff with her and i Do 00:17:58.470 --> 00:18:03.630 not remember, you know, anyone talking to me 00:18:03.630 --> 00:18:09.470 about mentally, how are you feeling now that 00:18:09.470 --> 00:18:11.769 you got all this news? Like, where are you at 00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:15.170 mentally? What are your thoughts? Someone there 00:18:15.170 --> 00:18:18.890 to help me process everything that I've been 00:18:18.890 --> 00:18:23.170 told. Like I got told this over a phone call. 00:18:23.369 --> 00:18:25.490 Hi, we're calling to let you know about your 00:18:25.490 --> 00:18:27.950 lab results. It showed that you can possibly, 00:18:28.289 --> 00:18:32.349 your daughter may have trisomy 21. We want to 00:18:32.349 --> 00:18:35.029 bring you in for additional testing. I'm like, 00:18:35.210 --> 00:18:38.690 huh? And I'm on my lunch break getting this news. 00:18:38.890 --> 00:18:45.970 So it's a lot to take in, you know? So it's like, 00:18:46.049 --> 00:18:49.759 oh, y 'all just going to call and tell me. this 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.000 i feel like you should have called and say hey 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.000 we want to bring you in for your lab results 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.559 and go over it then so i'm hanging up off a five 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.779 minute phone call and i'm at work like what the 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:06.640 hell did they just say you know it's like that's 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:13.039 a lot mentally on you and for me luckily i met 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:16.619 you guys i didn't have any support as an african 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:19.700 -american mom who has a child with Down syndrome. 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:22.440 You know, there's a lot of support groups out 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:26.059 there, but it was not catered to my community 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:28.700 in which I'm going to be raising my child in. 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:35.839 You know, so that's huge. Like, I love the fact 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:40.700 Down syndrome has a huge network, whether it's 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.089 Black. I ain't going to say that. They have a 00:19:43.089 --> 00:19:46.430 huge network, period. Oh, tell the truth. They 00:19:46.430 --> 00:19:51.049 have a huge network overall, but it's not a network 00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:56.690 in regards to my community, like the place where 00:19:56.690 --> 00:19:59.970 I'm going to raise my child at. How do I educate 00:19:59.970 --> 00:20:02.670 the people that's around, going to be around 00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:06.210 my daughter, the school system and stuff like 00:20:06.210 --> 00:20:11.420 that. So that was a huge barrier. for me mentally. 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:15.180 I don't know if I answered the question. You 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:17.920 did. You answered it. You answered it. You answered 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.539 it because you talked about, I mean, both of 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.279 you talked about, talked about it from your own 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.559 experience, from your heart, right? So there's 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:27.960 nothing wrong with that. That's exactly why I 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:29.279 asked you to come because I knew that you were 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:32.019 going to bring that, right? And one of the things 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:37.180 that I want to talk about is the perception of 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:41.250 Black women. and how we're constantly, again, 00:20:41.349 --> 00:20:43.930 hypervigilant and having to fight against these 00:20:43.930 --> 00:20:48.630 negative perceptions, having to anticipate other 00:20:48.630 --> 00:20:52.549 people's perceptions of us that might result 00:20:52.549 --> 00:20:56.250 in us losing our job, losing our pay, losing 00:20:56.250 --> 00:21:00.430 benefits, losing, losing, losing. Because I might 00:21:00.430 --> 00:21:02.210 be putting words in your mouth, Jessica, and 00:21:02.210 --> 00:21:06.190 you're free to correct me. But I think what's 00:21:06.190 --> 00:21:09.859 at the root of that question of, you not wanting 00:21:09.859 --> 00:21:13.799 to be that quote unquote employee as a Black 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:16.180 woman and being the only Black woman in the office 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:23.680 is the reality that it's the conundrum of our 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:29.160 culture and our society that Europeans made a 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:35.599 dastardly, evil, terroristic decision to enslave 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:41.839 mostly West African people, and bring them to 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:45.819 the United States to force them to work for free, 00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:51.440 bought and sold their children and each other, 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:56.420 their people. In order to allow other European 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:59.240 people, and now that I've recently learned Native 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:00.579 American people, and that's going to be a whole 00:22:00.579 --> 00:22:02.880 other conversation for another day, to be able 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:07.319 to benefit and become rich off of their labor. 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:10.240 And then turn around and call those very same 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:18.079 people lazy. They paint our people as lazy. They 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:20.099 continue to say, you just need to pick yourself 00:22:20.099 --> 00:22:24.390 up by your bootstraps. Otherwise, you're just 00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:27.950 complaining or you're asking for a handout and 00:22:27.950 --> 00:22:31.789 you don't deserve it. We're dealing with the 00:22:31.789 --> 00:22:34.549 stress of trying to undo that even when we're 00:22:34.549 --> 00:22:39.250 pregnant because that same legacy and history 00:22:39.250 --> 00:22:43.789 also is rooted in the fact that women were often 00:22:43.789 --> 00:22:49.519 forced to work while they were pregnant. Forget 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:52.619 six weeks of recovery post birth. You were out 00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:55.140 there in the field picking cotton and giving 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:57.960 birth at the same time. Clean the baby up, put 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:00.140 them in, wrap them up, put them on your back 00:23:00.140 --> 00:23:06.180 and keep picking. This is the society that birthed 00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:14.269 us. And to this day in the year 2024. We are 00:23:14.269 --> 00:23:17.690 still dealing with those perceptions that limit 00:23:17.690 --> 00:23:21.029 our ability to advocate for ourself when these 00:23:21.029 --> 00:23:25.490 are things that are supposed to be in place by 00:23:25.490 --> 00:23:28.849 law. But we don't trust the law because the law 00:23:28.849 --> 00:23:33.410 also used to enslave us. The law still chooses 00:23:33.410 --> 00:23:36.710 to pull our brothers and our sisters over and 00:23:36.710 --> 00:23:41.980 kill them in their homes. killed them in the 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:45.039 street. So we have this weird sort of thing going 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.359 on where we're trying to bring life into this 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:51.740 world, knowing what this life has for our children. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.339 And what you were talking about, Melba, and what 00:23:54.339 --> 00:23:58.440 Jessica, all of us connected on at that women's 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.259 retreat in that suite was that we understood 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:05.960 that the world that our babies were growing up 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:09.119 in was going to treat them differently. That 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.099 they were going to have a different experience 00:24:11.099 --> 00:24:14.279 and that there were certain cultural aspects 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:17.059 of the way that we educate our family and our 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:21.099 friends that was going to be different than our 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:25.180 non -Black counterparts. And so we're struggling 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:29.559 and chasing to find this community. And for us, 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.339 by the time that I met you all, my daughter was, 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:36.180 what, 10 years old? You know, and your daughters 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:39.240 are younger than my daughter. But this wasn't 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:45.319 like in place for us before our daughters were 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:49.059 born or immediately after we gave birth, having 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:52.339 a support system that was made up of people that 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:55.279 were culturally and historically connected to 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:58.779 who we are as women or who our families are. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:01.700 And so you guys. Talked about that beautifully 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:04.019 in regard to the different struggles that you 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:07.119 have, the different concerns that you have. And 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:10.519 this is when we are privileged to have even known 00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:14.640 what our child's diagnosis was. There's plenty 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:17.839 of children and mothers that don't know and they 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:20.980 have to go years before they find out. There's 00:25:20.980 --> 00:25:24.559 something uniquely different about my child. 00:25:24.599 --> 00:25:27.849 My child is struggling with something. And I'm 00:25:27.849 --> 00:25:29.950 trying to go to work and survive and not be that 00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:33.569 employee because I got to keep that money flowing. 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:39.390 Because no one's going to care why I can't pay 00:25:39.390 --> 00:25:42.609 the mortgage or I can't pay my rent. And if they 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:46.329 do care, we have to have people like Melba and 00:25:46.329 --> 00:25:48.869 people like Jessica out there that can point 00:25:48.869 --> 00:25:51.269 us in the direction of community. organizations 00:25:51.269 --> 00:25:54.089 and networks and churches and whoever else that 00:25:54.089 --> 00:25:56.930 say, hey, we can slide you some rent money and 00:25:56.930 --> 00:25:59.769 we can help lighten the load, right, with some 00:25:59.769 --> 00:26:02.829 transportation. And we can help identify some 00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:06.190 resources within your insurance that can help 00:26:06.190 --> 00:26:08.410 you come up with a plan where you can survive 00:26:08.410 --> 00:26:12.390 and thrive. And so that's kind of where I wanted 00:26:12.390 --> 00:26:14.630 to go with this discussion. And I'm so glad that 00:26:14.630 --> 00:26:19.829 you all entertained it with me. Before I turn 00:26:19.829 --> 00:26:23.869 it over into aspirations and inspirations, is 00:26:23.869 --> 00:26:25.549 there anything else that y 'all wanted to share 00:26:25.549 --> 00:26:27.930 or reflect on as it relates to the mental health 00:26:27.930 --> 00:26:33.970 of women who are having babies and bringing life 00:26:33.970 --> 00:26:40.990 into this world and these dichotomies? On one 00:26:40.990 --> 00:26:45.269 hand, we have a society that has elected people 00:26:45.269 --> 00:26:49.539 who put laws in place that say, You can't control 00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:53.000 your birth and reproductive system. You must 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:56.339 let it do what it does naturally, regardless 00:26:56.339 --> 00:27:00.500 of your circumstances. And yet, and still they 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:04.279 provide no additional support to help people 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:07.200 do that successfully. And when you ask them for 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:10.019 that additional support, they look down because 00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:11.539 I know some people are going to listen. They're 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:12.839 going to be like, all three of them Black women 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:15.079 was on WIC, see? And they're going to look at 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:19.230 it negatively. But we're here to say we deserve 00:27:19.230 --> 00:27:22.609 those resources. Well, you know what? You know 00:27:22.609 --> 00:27:25.410 what? Go ahead, Jessica. I already know you hype. 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:31.109 Go ahead. Yes, I was a WIC mom, but I worked 00:27:31.109 --> 00:27:34.369 part -time for WIC while I was a WIC mom. And 00:27:34.369 --> 00:27:39.849 I joined the National Advisory Board of WIC participants. 00:27:40.690 --> 00:27:43.049 I filled out an application. I got accepted. 00:27:43.609 --> 00:27:48.190 So I was on a... It was a board national federal 00:27:48.190 --> 00:27:54.309 WIC department. And we met monthly. And I went 00:27:54.309 --> 00:27:59.309 to, I got invited to DC to attend the conference 00:27:59.309 --> 00:28:02.789 on nutrition, health, and well, I can't remember 00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:05.630 the name right now, but the conference was held. 00:28:05.890 --> 00:28:08.849 It was held two years ago. And the last time 00:28:08.849 --> 00:28:12.400 they held that conference. is when WIC was formed 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:15.579 from that conference. So they held it again. 00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:19.779 So I was able to be in the room with lawmakers, 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:25.279 decision makers, huge companies like the dairy 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:30.240 company or just huge companies and just important 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:35.160 people. And it was just so good to be there. 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:37.859 But I went there just because I was a participant 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:40.890 of WIC. And I just feel... a little application 00:28:40.890 --> 00:28:44.650 to be a part of their advisory board so a lot 00:28:44.650 --> 00:28:48.589 came out of that and not not just that the reason 00:28:48.589 --> 00:28:52.089 wick is there is it's a beautiful thing so i 00:28:52.089 --> 00:28:55.750 never felt you know embarrassed because i was 00:28:55.750 --> 00:28:59.750 on wick well actually let me take that back so 00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:02.809 when i had my daughter at 15 years old that was 00:29:02.809 --> 00:29:05.089 back when they had the paper whip wick vouchers 00:29:05.089 --> 00:29:08.970 so i was 15 years old so i was just kind of you 00:29:08.970 --> 00:29:11.410 know You're a child. It's easy to get embarrassed 00:29:11.410 --> 00:29:13.769 at 15 years old. That's also when they had the 00:29:13.769 --> 00:29:17.670 paper food stamp books. Remember that? And we 00:29:17.670 --> 00:29:20.910 had those too. Give me some of them right now. 00:29:21.069 --> 00:29:27.410 And I will not be embarrassed. I was 15 embarrassed 00:29:27.410 --> 00:29:31.529 as an adult. No, I just, I was, the way I felt 00:29:31.529 --> 00:29:34.630 was it's here. It's a program that's here. This 00:29:34.630 --> 00:29:37.009 is what it's here for. I've fallen to these guidelines 00:29:37.009 --> 00:29:40.500 and why not? Because I'm pretty sure all the 00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:42.740 people who accepted that free money during COVID, 00:29:43.019 --> 00:29:46.920 because that went to people less deserving. Speak 00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:49.500 on it. Yeah. And those people had no problems. 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:53.920 So I never felt embarrassed. I was proud of WIC. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:56.799 I supported it. I even promoted it when I was 00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:00.680 on the advisory board. Because there's so many 00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:04.440 moms that qualify that aren't on there. So I 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:09.769 just feel like WIC is a great program. As far 00:30:09.769 --> 00:30:13.490 as it comes to maternal health and or just breastfeeding, 00:30:13.730 --> 00:30:18.029 WIC is there to feed. So the support for maternal 00:30:18.029 --> 00:30:22.029 health and from the health department, even from 00:30:22.029 --> 00:30:24.329 the health department or post maternal health 00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:26.549 for you or the baby, that's going to have to 00:30:26.549 --> 00:30:29.470 come from something, you know, more on the outside. 00:30:29.910 --> 00:30:32.630 So I don't blame WIC or anything or the health 00:30:32.630 --> 00:30:36.529 department, but that's where I love that Melba 00:30:36.529 --> 00:30:41.190 is a doula. There is a call for more Black doulas. 00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:44.269 My sister was wanting to be a doula. And I think 00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:47.190 UNC had some type of program where you could 00:30:47.190 --> 00:30:49.690 get your doula certification for free or something. 00:30:49.910 --> 00:30:51.490 I don't know if that's what you were talking 00:30:51.490 --> 00:30:55.349 about before, but they are looking for more Black 00:30:55.349 --> 00:30:57.369 doulas because they see that there's a need for 00:30:57.369 --> 00:31:01.309 it. So I think if we just supported other Black 00:31:01.309 --> 00:31:04.670 women that have the same, you know, like -minded 00:31:04.670 --> 00:31:08.920 people, they just need somebody to... reach out 00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:10.900 to them and bring them into the conversation, 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:13.960 just like you did, Naisha, with me for this. 00:31:14.460 --> 00:31:17.900 So I think that the, I think the energy is out 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:20.740 there, but we just have to gather that energy 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:25.779 because Black women have so much power across 00:31:25.779 --> 00:31:30.220 all levels of anything in this country that we 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:33.440 just need to own that and we will continue to 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:36.700 thrive. is how I see it. So I'm just really happy 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:40.539 to be a part of this conversation. And thank 00:31:40.539 --> 00:31:43.779 you. You are most certainly welcome. And Jessica, 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:47.079 either now or just as we're wrapping up, because 00:31:47.079 --> 00:31:50.880 we're coming to a close, I really love to end 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:58.920 with inspiration, solutions, resources, models, 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:02.039 things that give us hope, right? Because Jessica, 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:05.730 you said it. Women, and especially Black women, 00:32:05.950 --> 00:32:11.029 we have a lot of power. We have a lot of influence. 00:32:11.390 --> 00:32:14.769 We have a lot of capabilities and strength and 00:32:14.769 --> 00:32:18.089 wisdom, right? And a lot of know -how and moxie 00:32:18.089 --> 00:32:22.470 and go get them, right? And so there's not too 00:32:22.470 --> 00:32:26.289 many things that we cannot do, right? And so 00:32:26.289 --> 00:32:29.940 with that... Not only do I want to use this platform 00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:33.599 to lift up the voices of people who have these 00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:36.920 lived experiences and ask the questions and share 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:39.500 the information, I also want to be a place where 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:43.619 people can come and say, they say Kamala Harris's 00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:47.119 mother, our vice president Kamala Harris's mother, 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:50.579 and hopefully future president. Her mother used 00:32:50.579 --> 00:32:52.279 to say, don't get mad, do something about it. 00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:55.740 So I really love that. And I'm a do something 00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:57.519 about it type of woman. That's the reason why 00:32:57.519 --> 00:33:00.000 I say I do health equity research and practice. 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:03.019 I don't believe in stopping at research. I know 00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:05.859 research is important. So as you're thinking 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:12.799 about your career, your network, the circles 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:16.339 that you're in, maybe even your social media 00:33:16.339 --> 00:33:20.220 feed, I don't know. What are those organizations? 00:33:22.269 --> 00:33:25.250 and professionals that you look up to that give 00:33:25.250 --> 00:33:28.849 you hope. What are those models or programs that 00:33:28.849 --> 00:33:31.089 you've seen? I mean, Melba, you talked about 00:33:31.089 --> 00:33:33.829 how some countries, they have a whole year for 00:33:33.829 --> 00:33:36.569 maternity leave. What are those things that you've 00:33:36.569 --> 00:33:41.109 seen that really inspire you and give you hope 00:33:41.109 --> 00:33:44.609 or that you hope more people would do what they're 00:33:44.609 --> 00:33:47.109 doing or that they would receive more funding 00:33:47.109 --> 00:33:48.970 or that? Maybe you would have the opportunity 00:33:48.970 --> 00:33:50.670 to partner with them. Is this something that 00:33:50.670 --> 00:33:52.730 you're doing? Because one thing that I didn't 00:33:52.730 --> 00:33:55.130 hear, Melba, is I know you have a company and 00:33:55.130 --> 00:33:58.029 I expect you to share with our audience the name 00:33:58.029 --> 00:34:00.690 and contact information of your company. But 00:34:00.690 --> 00:34:03.809 this is a time to share. How are you staying 00:34:03.809 --> 00:34:07.349 motivated? What are your aspirations and inspirations? 00:34:07.769 --> 00:34:14.650 So for me, I love the fact that this maternal 00:34:14.650 --> 00:34:18.840 health has become a big thing. and I just pray 00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:22.739 and I hope that it continues to be a big thing 00:34:22.739 --> 00:34:26.880 and it's not just a fad. We find so many times 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:29.639 that something is a fad and it's a big thing 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:34.420 and then that's it. I just hope and I pray that 00:34:34.420 --> 00:34:42.079 it continues to go further so we don't ever get 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:45.780 back to this place again. I don't want history 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:50.099 to repeat itself like it typically does. So as 00:34:50.099 --> 00:34:53.500 far as my business, I have a business called 00:34:53.500 --> 00:34:58.260 Infinity Dual Services. I am on Facebook and 00:34:58.260 --> 00:35:00.980 Instagram, but I really don't be up there that 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:05.940 lot, a whole lot. You can email me at M as in 00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:10.360 Mary, S as in Sam, P as in purple, E -R -R -Y 00:35:10.360 --> 00:35:16.760 814 at gmail .com. Or infinity, I -N -F -I -N 00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:22.159 -I -T -Y doulaservice at gmail .com. I hope I 00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:27.840 spoke. Perfect. Yes, I think you did. And of 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:30.380 course, it'll be in the show notes. Of course, 00:35:30.380 --> 00:35:33.119 of course. Her email address, she's given two 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:36.960 email addresses. I think this is wonderful that 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:39.480 you share the name of your business, Infinity 00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:42.519 Doula Services. I'm so excited for the work that 00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:46.260 you do. And Melba, she's being very modest, but 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:50.960 she is a very well -respected doula, especially 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:54.019 in, and health advocate, health equity advocate, 00:35:54.199 --> 00:35:58.039 especially in Eastern North Carolina, which is 00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.190 a very important part of our state. And so I'm 00:36:01.190 --> 00:36:05.070 so glad to be in your number, Melba. But if you 00:36:05.070 --> 00:36:08.610 want to reach her, then of course, contact her 00:36:08.610 --> 00:36:11.710 at infinity doula services at Gmail. Is that 00:36:11.710 --> 00:36:15.110 correct, Melba? That is correct. And Jessica, 00:36:15.349 --> 00:36:17.829 I mean, I know that you're not necessarily in 00:36:17.829 --> 00:36:20.809 space of being an entrepreneur right now, but 00:36:20.809 --> 00:36:22.949 what are some organizations? I mean, you just 00:36:22.949 --> 00:36:25.150 lifted up WIC. I mean, I just thought that that 00:36:25.150 --> 00:36:28.849 was awesome. But what other organizations do 00:36:28.849 --> 00:36:35.699 you, look up to? So I do have a company. It's 00:36:35.699 --> 00:36:40.119 not a company yet, but when I, so last year, 00:36:40.159 --> 00:36:43.000 last spring, I graduated with my associates finally 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:46.400 from the community college. And it was business 00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:49.039 administration and I had to do a business plan. 00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:52.840 So I created my business plan as a lactation 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:56.780 services business. Nice. I mean, I'm so passionate 00:36:56.780 --> 00:37:00.219 about it, but it will be called Mariposa Lactation 00:37:00.219 --> 00:37:03.639 Services. But, you know, don't look it up because 00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:06.159 it's not a company yet. But when I made the business 00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:09.940 plan. I was halfway through it. I was like, Oh 00:37:09.940 --> 00:37:12.219 my God, I could do this. Like this is actually 00:37:12.219 --> 00:37:14.820 doable. When I got to like the finance part and 00:37:14.820 --> 00:37:18.800 all that stuff, but I am a part of our towns 00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:22.139 Juneteenth heritage incorporated. It's a nonprofit. 00:37:22.840 --> 00:37:27.159 I'm on the board. So we do our counties Juneteenth 00:37:27.159 --> 00:37:31.340 Festival every year. And it's fairly new, a few 00:37:31.340 --> 00:37:34.300 years, and we're trying to find more volunteers 00:37:34.300 --> 00:37:37.559 to do more community engagement. But I remember 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:40.760 the first time I was asked to even help with 00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:44.000 the festival last minute, it was when I was a 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:47.539 peer counselor at the WIC office. And I created 00:37:47.539 --> 00:37:50.980 all of these infographic flyers about specifically 00:37:50.980 --> 00:37:55.860 about blast black. breastfeeding rates and so 00:37:55.860 --> 00:37:59.119 non -profit uh juneteenth heritage is really 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:03.980 good about anything you know related to the black 00:38:03.980 --> 00:38:08.380 community and i'm sure they would support anything 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:11.800 related to health and specifically black women's 00:38:11.800 --> 00:38:15.900 health so there's that and i am on the board 00:38:15.900 --> 00:38:19.630 of our local partnership for children And the 00:38:19.630 --> 00:38:22.130 Partnership for Children is a nonprofit. It's 00:38:22.130 --> 00:38:25.349 state funded and their focus is from birth to 00:38:25.349 --> 00:38:30.010 five years old. So they focus on reading specifically 00:38:30.010 --> 00:38:34.250 and they really do focus on child care. So they 00:38:34.250 --> 00:38:38.090 do a lot of things about assisting people who 00:38:38.090 --> 00:38:40.789 want to get into child care, people who want 00:38:40.789 --> 00:38:43.849 to be certified, you know, training people on 00:38:43.849 --> 00:38:47.480 what it takes to be certified. They offer. vouchers 00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:51.900 or incentives for workers to be child care workers. 00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:54.739 The Partnership for Children were actually the 00:38:54.739 --> 00:38:57.639 ones who facilitated pre -K in North Carolina 00:38:57.639 --> 00:39:01.880 until a few years ago when Head Start took over 00:39:01.880 --> 00:39:05.420 and it became NC Pre -K. So it used to be through 00:39:05.420 --> 00:39:08.880 the Partnership for Children. But they also work 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:11.300 with our local health department every year during 00:39:11.300 --> 00:39:15.030 breastfeeding week and they provide so much support 00:39:15.030 --> 00:39:19.590 to do a huge event about the promotion of breastfeeding. 00:39:20.489 --> 00:39:24.829 I just think that if you can reach out to any, 00:39:24.929 --> 00:39:27.530 specifically when it comes to Black maternal 00:39:27.530 --> 00:39:32.710 health, there are organizations around in North 00:39:32.710 --> 00:39:37.210 Carolina that you can find and give support to 00:39:37.210 --> 00:39:41.670 and postpartum health, breastfeeding, et cetera. 00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:46.119 Thank you so much, Melba and Jessica. Oh my gosh, 00:39:46.300 --> 00:39:49.800 this is awesome. And I'm gonna provide some additional 00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:54.300 resources. Please check my social media, LinkedIn, 00:39:54.699 --> 00:40:00.159 Facebook, Instagram. You can find me at naishafrayconsultingllc. 00:40:00.260 --> 00:40:06.300 Also sign up for my newsletter. That is at naishafray 00:40:06.300 --> 00:40:13.619 .com, N -I -A -S -H -A. F -R -A -Y .com. You 00:40:13.619 --> 00:40:16.019 can sign up for my newsletter. You'll get lots 00:40:16.019 --> 00:40:18.219 of resources, lots of opportunities to learn 00:40:18.219 --> 00:40:21.239 more about Jessica, to learn more about Melba, 00:40:21.340 --> 00:40:25.219 and most importantly, to learn more about how 00:40:25.219 --> 00:40:28.659 to connect with organizations that are doing 00:40:28.659 --> 00:40:32.219 great work to improve the maternal health and 00:40:32.219 --> 00:40:36.579 infant. mortality amongst black women and other 00:40:36.579 --> 00:40:39.579 women in the United States. So thank you so much, 00:40:39.659 --> 00:40:42.559 Jessica and Melba. If you have any last comments, 00:40:42.599 --> 00:40:45.420 any last aha moments, this is a great time to 00:40:45.420 --> 00:40:50.579 do it. I just want to say thank you for having 00:40:50.579 --> 00:40:56.099 us. Thank you for having this platform. Thank 00:40:56.099 --> 00:40:59.139 you for being you, because if it wasn't for you. 00:41:00.010 --> 00:41:02.570 we wouldn't know what questions to ask. So thank 00:41:02.570 --> 00:41:06.210 you. Well, we all have it all deep down inside 00:41:06.210 --> 00:41:08.429 of ourselves. Like you said, it's kind of in 00:41:08.429 --> 00:41:11.230 the blood, right? So I'm just using the gifts 00:41:11.230 --> 00:41:14.530 that God gave me as you are. And thank God for 00:41:14.530 --> 00:41:17.730 putting each other, putting us in each other's 00:41:17.730 --> 00:41:19.530 paths so that we could do this work together 00:41:19.530 --> 00:41:23.130 and uplift these very important voices and stories 00:41:23.130 --> 00:41:24.610 and resources.