Re-Membering Our Sacred Body of Knowledge Through Inclusive, High-Quality Sexual and Reproductive Health Services.
Queer Femme Traditional Medicinalist
A Queer Xicana/Indigena Tarahumara with Moroccon roots. I am nurse, passionate birth support, reproductive health educator and advocate. My path to birth work was guided by my Tia, a traditional midwife, and the many healers who have shared their wisdom with me.
In 2009 my friend asked me to help deliver their baby because they didn’t want to go into the hospital and didn’t trust their doctor. As a nurse, I explained delivering a baby was a bit more involved than that but I was willing to help her in some way. I reached out to my Tia who is a traditional midwife in Colorado and asked her what I should do. She laughed because she asked if I was interested in being a midwife just a couple of years before and I quickly responded “NO! I don’t want to be around screaming women” to which of course she continued laughing and said there was much more to birthwork than that.
After that call, she sent me a recommended book list: Guide to Childbirth, Childbirth without Fear, Spiritual Midwifery, Birthing from Within, The Birth Partner and a few others. She told me to read those books and have sit-down conversations with my pregnant friend. That was my introduction to birthwork and advocacy. My friend and I proceeded to have conversations and we both questioned why none of this was shared by her provider at their monthly and weekly sessions. We felt strongly that other people deserve to have access to this information. Months later, my friend had a powerful unmedicated vaginal hospital delivery which I was honored to attend as labor support. We have been CoMadres ever since.
This introduction caused me to reflect on my own process as a pregnant teen in the Housing Projects in Los Angeles and what we didn’t have access to. What we did have in community helped me imagine how we can be better for each other and ourselves. While on my midwifery path, I had a conversation with a respected Elder who encouraged me to meet people where they are at. Our people need information about their options, medical processes, historical context of our bodies, and empowerment through education. We spoke about not focusing on catching the baby but everything that happens before and afterwards. I redirected myself towards education and empowerment. That was 20 years ago.
Since then I’ve hosted countless Childbirth Preparation sessions, dozen of home births, birth center and hospital births— medicated as well as unmedicated, and many closing ceremonies. It’s a beautiful journey that I remain grateful to be invited into. Normalizing loss and abortion has also been a passion of mine. Too many people are left alone, judged, shamed and not allowed to honor their full selves during a challenging time of decision making regarding their bodies. I stand firmly with people who choose abortion and aspire to help them meet their needs in any way that I can as a Full Spectrum BirthWorker.While doing all this wonderful birthwork I was always thinking about my 2SLGBTQAI+ relatives and how we are seen, and not seen in birth and sexual health and core healing spaces. The question also kept coming up around how do we honor aging and a transforming body through hormonal shifts and aging with strength and grace. Many times when we started adulting we didn’t have time/space to honor our healing and we find ourselves later in life knowing there’s something to look back at. This is an ancestral calling. I often get asked “if it’s too late” to do a closing or an honoring of different stages of our lives, even after the fact. It’s never too late and we deserve it. Our Peoples want that for Us. Ive been gifted to work with/on people in their 70s and 80s. I started to ask Elders and community about how to transfer these skills. It was a quick resounding firm response to bring Bodywork to the community. Honoring how we present in the world and that we all need balancing and ReMembering of our true centers, gut health, breath, circulation promotion and tapping in to core knowledge. Abdominal massage is the bridge to bring Us back to Us as a decolonial model, wellness promotion and preventative medicine. At all times, and especially now, we are being invited to reclaim Ourselves for Ourselves and one another, seven generations ahead of Us. Demanding wellness as an act of resistance is our birthright and calling. Being brought in, and seen by Traditional Healers and Knowledge Keepers has equipped me with the skills to ensure that We Are Still Here.
Being close to ceremony throughout my life has always brought that front and center for myself and reminding people of their spiritual centers during this life shifting event of birthing a child and oneself. Whether its a monthly bleeding cycle, getting to know your body for your own knowledge outside of birthing, carrying a child, pregnancy release, healing transition on many levels, or learning how to navigate this lifelong process, you deserve support. Having a trusted person and community that can help guide you with valid information and grounding practices, along with identifying your particular goals can help you be more successful and present.
