Nationwide — Grasp midwife, maternal well being elder, and nationwide doula coaching pioneer Shafia M. Monroe, MPH, declares the publication of her new ebook, Mothering the Mom: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and Therapeutic, printed by Hachette / Steadiness.
Half cultural historical past, half sensible information, and half love letter to moms, Mothering the Mom restores African American postpartum traditions that after stood on the heart of household and group care. The ebook arrives at a second when Black maternal well being is receiving pressing nationwide consideration, reminding readers that lengthy earlier than trendy medical methods, Black midwives and group caregivers sustained households by means of generations of start, therapeutic, and survival.
For hundreds of years, Black midwives—usually known as “granny midwives”—served because the spine of maternal care in Black communities throughout the US. These girls weren’t solely start attendants, however healers, herbalists, counselors, and guardians of cultural information. Their work ensured the security and survival of moms and infants throughout eras when Black households have been excluded from formal medical methods.
Monroe’s ebook honors this legacy whereas bringing its knowledge into the current. Drawing on greater than 40 years of expertise supporting households, Monroe shares practices rooted in nourishment, relaxation, heat, and group assist—rules that traditionally protected moms throughout the weak weeks after start.
“Black midwives carried information that was handed from technology to technology,” Monroe says. “This ebook is about remembering these traditions and restoring the care that moms have all the time deserved.”
Broadly thought to be an elder within the subject of maternal well being, Monroe has educated 1000’s of doulas nationwide by means of her SMC Full Circle Doula Start Companion Coaching program. Her work has helped revive consciousness of Black midwifery traditions and has influenced a brand new technology of start employees dedicated to culturally grounded care.
Mothering the Mom additionally highlights the emotional and communal dimensions of postpartum care, encouraging households and communities to reclaim the observe of “mothering the mom”—making certain that ladies obtain the assist, nourishment, and safety crucial for therapeutic and wellbeing.
The ebook’s foreword is written by cultural icon and mom Erykah Badu, who has lengthy advocated for holistic maternal care and midwifery traditions.
In an period of renewed consideration to Black maternal well being disparities, Monroe’s work provides each historic grounding and a path ahead—one rooted in dignity, cultural reminiscence, and collective care.
Monroe’s profession and contributions have been featured in PBS, Scientific American, The American Journal of Public Well being, and the documentary Bringin’ in Da Spirit. She continues to mentor start employees and advocate for the restoration of culturally rooted maternal care practices.
Guide Particulars:Mothering the Mom: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and HealingBy Shafia M. Monroe, MPHPublisher: Hachette / BalanceForeword by Erykah BaduAvailable on Amazon and wherever books are offered
Shafia Monroe is obtainable for interviews with Black newspapers, radio applications, podcasts, and group media shops.
For press inquiries, ship an e-mail to Alexandra.Hernandez@hbgusa.com
