Categories: For Midwives

The International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC) is an African-centered infant mortality prevention, pregnancy support and midwifery training non-profit organization. Their mission is to promote the health of the family by preserving the traditional role of the community midwife. ICTC builds capacity within the African American community to support healthy families, healthy birth outcomes, and the overall health of African American women through and beyond their childbearing years.  Specific programs include the Rites of Passage Midwifery Training Program (RPMT), Full Circle Birth Companion Doula Training, and the Annual Black Midwives and Healers Conference.  For more information, contact Shafia Monroe (sistahmidwife@msn.com) or visit the ICTC website at www.blackmidwives.org.

Shafia Monroe, an African-American midwife in Portland, Oregon (center in the photo above), who founded ICTC, is CEO of SistaMidwife International, a consulting company that designs networking strategies for midwives of color, provides recruitment and outreach, and develops and implements culturally specific curricula for midwifery schools and study circles. She has developed a National Directory of Black Midwives as a way for midwives and clients to find one another. She currently has about 100 names, including CPMs, CNMs, licensed and direct-entry midwives, student and aspiring midwives, a lactation consultant,and a childbirth educator. If you want to be included in the directory, email Shafia by clicking on the directory title above, or call her at 503.281.1688. The minimum information you need to include in order to be listed is your name, title, address, city, state, and zip code. You may also list work and home phone or FAX numbers. When the directory is complete, Shafia will send participants a notice and a purchase order. SistaMidwife will sell the book for $10.00 plus $2.50 shipping and handling and make it available through as many venues as possible. The directory will be updated and expanded to include international entries next year.