Description

A renowned midwife, doula trainer, and Master of Public Health celebrates the lost art of African American postnatal healing practices in this practical, essential guide to maternal health.

As a mother, grandmother, and traditional midwife, Shafia M. Monroe intimately knows about childbirth and the fourth trimester. For over forty years, shes helped thousands give birth, and has taught thousands more how to support birthing parents, all integrating the deep wisdom of African American healing traditions. Long suppressed by the white medical establishment, these practicessuch as belly binding, heat, herbs, the lying-in period, and the taking-out-of-bed ritualare powerful healing tools. Using them, we mother the mother through a healthy postpartum period.

While this framework will be powerful healing for all mothers, the information in this book can save Black mothers lives; with African American women disproportionately suffering from maternal mortality and morbidity, there is an urgent need for an embrace of African American postpartum care that surrounds the new mother and her baby with community, love, and protection. Mothering the Mother is a resource for Black women and communities to reclaim their cultural traditions for a healthy postpartum recuperation.

Author: Shafia Monroe
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Balance
Published: 01/27/2026
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780306835438
Language: English