Today we’d like to introduce you to Iya Mystique Hargrove.
Hi Iya Mystique. We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today. Can you start by introducing yourself?
My journey started after a traumatic childbirth experience. Our lives were in danger while I was in labor when his heartbeat stopped, and my blood pressure and heart rate started to slow down. This was due to the negligence of a midwife who didn’t care to listen to my needs and fears of labor or incorporate my birth plan. There was also a lack of access to afford a doula at the time. I experienced a very exhausting postpartum recovery for over two years that led me to have postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, and re-triggered a past eating disorder I had ever since I was 16 years old. Because of my advocacy for improving Black perinatal health and postpartum, I was encouraged and connected to be trained as a doula in my community, which led me to take a step further to become a future midwife and a future IBCLC.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
(laughs) Not! As a Blactinx (Black and Latinx) queer femme birth worker, the odds are against Black and Brown people who give birth or want to survive and thrive in our health. From racism, classism, and queerphobia to oppressive microaggressions, being a student midwife and community birth worker is not for the weak. This practice was stolen from our ancestral healers and birth workers, which created systems that are a challenge to dismantle and overcome.
As a Blactinx student midwife, I rarely (if any) see anyone who looks like me or has similar lived experiences. Those who do are on the journey like I am to take back the power and the legacies our midwifery and healing ancestors paved the way for us to learn and apply to our communities. As a student midwife, I continue to experience financial challenges and mental health/wellness issues due to the heavy workload of both school and clinical requirements I need to complete in the next 2 to 2 1/2 years of my midwifery program. We are encouraged to not work while in school which cannot apply to many of us Black student midwives as it would to privileged people. We do not have the privilege of having an additional income (i.e., another job or even from a partner/spouse; even then, our partner/spouse is not in the position to take on the burden of bringing in adequate income). Let alone additional support to cover the costs of living, our bills, our healthcare needs, or even our family’s needs (especially if we are parents). There are also limited funds (i.e., scholarships) to cover our tuition costs, books, clinical field experience, workshops, and training. And even gas or transportation to attend births can’t be fully taken care of outside of the needs of ourselves and our families. Many are even “hustling” with side jobs to make ends meet, but it is still not enough. In a sense, we must sacrifice and choose between struggling financially and holistically with our health to become a midwife or giving up our dream to survive.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us more about your business.
I created The Black Birth Healer to tribute my Abuelita, Olivia (or “Mother Canada” as others have called her). She raised me in the tradition of Caribbean-Indigenous spirituality, healing, and plant medicine. The Black Birth Healer is also the testimony of my experience as a Black queer femme and survivor of trauma as someone who has been served unsuccessfully due to countless healthcare professionals disrespecting my heritage, beliefs, and culture.
My business is centered on holistic wellness and support in birth work by incorporating my Caribbean-Indigenous roots into my practice as a birth worker, as well as a mental health and wellness professional. Having “retired” as a mental health therapist, I saw the gaps that needed to be filled for Black and Brown people during pregnancy and postpartum. With my services, I apply the wisdom of my Caribbean-Indigenous elders and ancestors to serve those in need with love, compassion, respect, autonomy, and empowerment. My work is mainly focused on serving, protecting, and supporting Black and Brown communities, especially LGBTQ+ people and families, but I also serve other communities.
I provide various services such as somatic energy work, birth, and postpartum doula services, postpartum wellness education, childbirth education, lactation education, consultation, plant medicine services, and more. Because of the lack of access to doula services, I usually provide flexible payment options such as payment plans, bartering, and sliding scale.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Many people do not know or are unaware that I used to dance professionally and teach dance to youth and adults. I grew up thinking I would become a famous choreographer, direct theatrical projects, and have my own dance therapy studio for inner-city kids as a dance therapist. However, as a future midwife, I still carry a therapeutic spirit in this line of work. Because the process of conception, pregnancy, and postpartum are various “beasts” that need to be provided with love and compassion for those who fear childbirth or pregnancy altogether because of the statistics that constantly remind our communities how healthcare systems are failing to keep us healthy and alive.
Pricing:
- Birth Doula Services: starting at $1800 (package bundle price)
- Postpartum Doula Services: starting at $55 per hour
- Prenatal and Childbirth Education Class: $180
- Lactation Education Class: $75
- Consultation: $100 per hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackbirthhealer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackbirthhealer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackBirthHealer
- Other: https://www.parents.com/author/iya-mystique-faodugun/
Image Credits
Kendra Knight Photography
