The Life After Birth project offers ongoing support to birthing families. Through our partnership with the Black Women’s Health Imperative we created NOURISH, a community doula training program. $1 from all of our Maternity and Postpartum Collection go towards supporting NOURISH, as well as all proceeds from our book Life After Birth: Portraits of Love and the Beauty of Parenthood.
I’m a wife and a mother — and from early on, I’ve always viewed myself as an athlete. Becoming a mother has both challenged and affirmed that part of my identity. No matter what images you see in the media, the greatest athletes in this world are mothers.
Our first child was a beautiful surprise. And like many first-time parents, it felt as if we were learning the rules of the game whilst smack in the middle of it. My first pregnancy and delivery took a toll on both my body and mind.
I suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety, as well as body dysmorphia. It was difficult to look at a body that was vastly different than what I was accustomed to. After struggling to feel like myself after my first birthing experience, I knew I would approach things differently next time.
Ready for Round Two
(Jaleecia sporting the Leakproof Nursing Bra and CoreLove Underwear in Indigo with the Waffle Robe in Grey)
When our oldest turned two, I finally felt like myself and stronger in my body again. And just like that: I was ready to sacrifice all the progress I’d made for another child. We tried for 7 months before finally getting a positive test. When we did, I approached my second pregnancy like I was preparing for a track meet.
I didn’t allow it to happen to me but instead, ensured I was an active participant: calling shots, researching all my options, and vetting midwives and OB-GYNs in order to assemble the best possible team for my ideal birth plan.
As a Black woman in America, it’s impossible to ignore all of the heartbreaking statistics around the maternal mortality rate and the disparities we experience in the medical field. What’s even more disturbing are the number of lives lost to completely preventable situations.
For Black women, the difference between life and death during labor and postpartum can come down to one person’s prejudice. These facts invoked so much fear and anger in me, I made it my mission to do everything possible to experience labor and delivery as safely, confidently, and fearlessly as possible.
Assembling a Dream Team
(Jaleecia and her dream team, photographed by Carmen Bridgewater)
So, your girl hired a midwife and doula team straight from heaven, including two women who were aware of these alarming statistics and passionate about changing the narrative around Black women and birth. My midwife, Ashley Greene, and doula, Yvette Atkins — some of the most amazing human beings I know — held my hand and walked me through my pregnancy, removing all doubt and fear from my mind.
I suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) — a rare condition that causes severe nausea — and anemia throughout my entire pregnancy and watched it ravage my body, making it even more unrecognizable. Not only did I look different but I felt lethargic, weak, and frustrated that no matter how much I prepared, pregnancy still threw me a curveball. But that’s where your team comes in.
My midwife listened, validated, and paid very close attention to my holistic health. She felt more like a sister with an abundance of medical knowledge who cared deeply about me and my unborn child. My doula also tended to my mental, emotional, and spiritual health in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. I thought she would simply teach me how to breathe — instead, she taught me how to trust my body and believe in myself.
I was also very blessed to have three additional teammates help me through those brutal 9 and a half months: my mother, my oldest daughter, and the MVP, my husband. My mother helped cook, clean, and entertain my daughter, while my firstborn watched countless birth videos with us and reassured me I could do it. She even created a game in which she practiced delivering her dolls in case we needed her help.
I also would not have made it through my pregnancy, labor, or delivery the way I did without my husband, who is my physical embodiment of unconditional love. When it came time to push out my nine-pound baby, unmedicated, this man flooded me with love, humor, affirmations, and affection. With this all-star team, we welcomed our little peanut after just 4 hours of labor and 3 pushes.
Shaping Your Own Birth Story
(Jaleecia and family, photographed by Carmen Bridgewater)
Everyone’s birth story is their own and I discovered that my birth story didn’t have to be scary and traumatic, as is often portrayed in film and TV. I believe it's this peaceful and loving energy that ushered me into a relatively harmonious and confident fourth trimester.
My body didn’t “snap” back, my kids still wear me out, and I still have arguments with my husband. But at the end of the day, this experience has strengthened my belief in myself. After pushing out a nine-pound baby and enduring months of illness, there is nothing I cannot do.
Jaleecia Pinson is a Dallas-based commercial voice actor and full-time mom.