Dads to Doulas educates Black fathers on prenatal and postpartum stages

By Miya Norfleet

Published Sept. 19, 2024 at 4:52 p.m. CDT

Brad Edwards and doula Kyra Betts chat at a Dads to Doulas information session in a birthing suite in Barnes Jewish Hospital. — Brad Edwards and doula Kyra Betts chat at a Dads to Doulas information session in a birthing suite in Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

In 2017, Brad Edwards expected to grow his family by two. He and his then partner were expecting twins, but both babies were stillborn.

The family tragedy changed Edwards’ view on the birthing experience.

“For my father's generation, it was a thing of we're going to go smoke a cigar or have a drink, [then] come back up and celebrate and hold the baby and do all this stuff,” Edwards said. “Well, this is no guarantee that you'll come back up there and that baby's going to be there for you to hold.”

Edwards was moved to action and got involved with Dear Fathers, a media platform connecting Black fathers to discuss family, health and Black culture. In July, he hosted informational sessions for a new initiative, Dads to Doulas, in which men can be educated on the experience of birth and eventually can begin doula training.

“My goal is for men to be as present as possible during that labor and delivery,” he said. “They'll learn everything from emergency births, how to navigate hospital staff, perinatal, everything that you will learn with an official doula training, but it's going to be tailored to Black men.”

Registration for Dads to Doulas is open, and training begins Oct. 1. Edwards is eager to begin working with fellow fathers.

“It's going to be a lot of great information. My thing is to learn something here and take that to one of your brothers, friends, cousins, someone in your village, and let's continue to share this knowledge.”

For more with Brad Edwards on Dads to Doulas, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.

Dads to Doulas educates Black fathers on prenatal and postpartum stages

Related Event

What: Dads to Doulas
When: Weekly, Oct. 1 to Nov. 5
Where: Delmar Divine (5501 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63112)

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.

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