Jamaa Birth Village will have a new leader and cultural space by the end of October.
Okunsola Amadou opened the Ferguson midwifery and doula care center in 2015 to help reduce Black maternal health disparities in the St. Louis region. She is transitioning from the clinical side of the center and will move into her next role as chief operating officer of Jamaa’s newly renovated cultural and heritage center.
“My retirement gives space again for the new leader and to continue all of our core legacy programs that we've had since our inception and to also lead our new initiatives under the cultural heritage center,” Amadou said. “We are not expecting any delays, any stops, or any issues with continuing the mission of our work.”
Midwifery and doula care services will continue, but the space will take on a new name — Jamaa Birth Village Cultural Heritage Center. Jamaa will announce its next leader during its reopening ceremony on Oct. 24 in Ferguson.
Jamaa is shifting into recognizing the midwifery history and honoring the pioneers of maternal health care in African and African American communities. The cultural center will offer the community and birth workers an opportunity to learn about African indigenous midwifery through exhibitions and artifacts from all over the country, including exhibits about midwifery in South Carolina’s Gullah Geechee communities. It will also be home to the African and Indigenous Midwifery Library Research Institute to help doulas, community healthcare workers and midwives learn about erased cultural midwifery practices. A traditional midwifery school with classes taught by Amadou will also be housed in the space.
“We need a safe and sacred space to preserve what midwifery has always been, to bring back to life the practices and traditions and cultural aspects of midwifery for people to access today to save and improve lives when it comes to maternal health,” Amadou said. “We want to make sure that as we educate tomorrow's midwives that they have a place to get wholesome, holistic, culturally appropriate knowledge and education.”
Amadou dreamed up Jamaa Birth Village in 2013 while on a retreat in Ghana. She opened Missouri’s first Black-led midwifery clinic two years later out of necessity, because she wanted Black people to have equal access to midwifery and doula care and to help new parents bring life into the world without experiencing birthing trauma like she did during a previous pregnancy.
Over a decade ago, there was no support for Black midwives in Missouri, and there were fewer than 10 Black practicing doulas in the area, Amadou said.
During her tenure, she has increased the number of Black doulas and midwives in the state, created a BIPOC midwife and doula directory, trained hundreds of doulas and educated medical professionals on the benefits of doulas and community midwives.
Among all of her accomplishments, Amadou is most proud that she never gave up despite the obstacles.
“I am most proud that every single day over this past decade, no matter how beautiful or how tough, I have remained committed to this work and this vision and that the St Louis community and our supporters go beyond to keep this work alive,” she added.
Amadou will still be on Jamaa’s clinic’s board as president emeritus and will also work as an organizational consultant to make sure the transition is smooth.
