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Tsedaye • ፀደይ • Studio
@tsedaye

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NPR loves re-sharing this piece and so do I🖤 Their description below should just become my artist statement since Black Maternal Health is central to my practice. Thanks @nydiaswaby for sending this to me💞 #blackmaternalhealth #reproductiverights RP @npr ・・・ From the archives: Tsedaye Makonnen is reclining on her couch, in her home in Northeast D.C. She’s 33 weeks pregnant, and she’s surrounded by three other Black women — a midwife and two trainees — who are performing a routine prenatal exam.⁠ ⁠ They talk about how to prepare for an at-home birth, discuss a recommendation for a culturally competent pediatrician, suggest some exercises to help adjust the position of the fetus for an easier birth, and go over Makonnen’s overall nutrition and wellness. ⁠ ⁠ Makonnen chose at-home care for the birth of her son, who is now in elementary school, and for this second pregnancy, too. ⁠ ⁠ “I intentionally wanted to work with Black practitioners, because that’s who I feel the safest with,” she said. “Culturally, there’s just an understanding and a level of support that they can provide that other health practitioners can’t.”⁠ ⁠ It’s supposed to feel like that, says midwife Aza Nedhari, who is overseeing Makonnen’s care.⁠ ⁠ Both women know what the alternatives feel like, too. Makonnen has worked alongside Nedhari as a doula, advocating for Black patients in traditional medical settings, where they often face racist assumptions, microaggressions, and other barriers to effective care.⁠ ⁠ Makonnen traces those dynamics back to the history of racism and white supremacy in the field of gynecology. Early practitioners, including the so-called “father of gynecology,” performed forced experiments on enslaved Black women that launched the field in the first place.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio for more.⁠ ⁠ Images: @deedwyerjonts • Dee Dwyer for NPR⁠