Mothers-for-Mothers Postpartum Justice
Who We Are
Mothers-for-Mothers Postpartum Justice Project (MPJ) (previously Mothers-to-Mothers) is an intergenerational and Black-led collective of community members with a focus on building postpartum justice in the Black community.
Our Mission
1. To share cross cultural postpartum recipes, traditions, and wisdom.
2. To expose current postpartum inequitable realities.
3. To promote postpartum justice in Black communities.
What is Postpartum Justice?
Postpartum Justice is the set of values forming the foundation of postpartum care that is fair and equitable. It is free from sexism, racism and a health care system that is based on profit. Postpartum Justice recognizes society’s collective responsibility for all birthing people and parents. It distills the postpartum wisdom of the past and transforms it to serve the future.
What We Do
Since 2020, we have created intersectional partnerships across industries, organizations and communities to shift the culture for postpartum care in our society, to center nourishment, connection, healing, and celebration.
NOURISH!
NOURISH! delivers a week’s worth of postpartum meals for six weeks to new Black mothers enrolled in BeLOVED Birth Black Centering (Highland Hospital, Oakland, CA), OneLove Black Community (San Francisco, CA), SF General Hospital Black Centering (San Francisco, CA), and Roots Community Health Center (Oakland, CA). The cooked food is prepared by BIPOC-owned community restaurants in collaboration with our MPJ nutritional and programmatic team.
NOURISH! Village
The NOURISH! Village is an intergenerational and multi-ethnic team of volunteers dedicated to rebuilding a culture of collective support for birthing people in their postpartum period. We are currently working on supporting our growing group of Black moms and birthing people enrolled in the NOURISH! Program with NURTURE! Kits, a postpartum kit to care for the new mom and baby during the first week of their postpartum period. These postpartum care kits are curated by Black moms for Black moms and birthing people. Each kit is full of health supplies that new parents will need during that crucial first postpartum week.
NURTURE!
Part of the Postpartum Justice culture we are forging is that new mamas rest and heal after they give birth. We find that many mamas are needing to go out of their homes to shop for products they don’t have on hand after they return home. Our assistant, Tia (a new mom alumni from Beloved Birth Black Centering) mentioned that she would prepare packages for her friends so they wouldn’t have to go out looking for these items, that’s when NURTURE! was born. We gather products usually needed during the first couple of weeks of postpartum and put them in high quality canvas bags for mamas, This way they don’t find themselves and their newborns in a store instead of healing and resting at home.
HUGs Café
New mamas and awofo (birthing parents) are usually isolated and experience mood disorders and postpartum depression, this is worse for black mamas. Additionally, not only do they feel the burden of taking care of the children (who are our future) without help from a larger village, they have to apologize for existing in public spaces with their babies. HUGs Cafe provides safe spaces at local black-owned cafes for postpartum moms to gather weekly to create villages, process, learn, and honor their journeys. HUGs honors each parent with a free drink and food at the weekly gatherings, which takes place in a warm, friendly, inclusive, and parent friendly environment. HUGs also brings in community leaders with various expertise to honor mamas with wisdom, knowledge, and information for their postpartum journey. So far, we’ve successfully launched HUGs Café at OakCali Café and Kinfolx. We want to see HUGs Cafes in multiple locations in various cities.
HUGs Café collaborates with Tia Nomore (as the curator and facilitator), BeLoved Birth Black Centering, & Black Women Birthing Justice, and receives funds from Alameda First 5.
How We Started
Recipes and Stories from the African Diaspora
These recipes were submitted by MPJ supporters during a campaign in 2020 to collect traditional postpartum recipes from the African diaspora. The MPJ nutrition team composed of registered dietitians and interns tested these recipes and analyzed their nutritional content. MPJ is creating a menu based on these Black traditional recipes and is collaborating with caterers in the community to cook these dishes as part of NOURISH! To serve new mamas and birthing people in the Black community. Our first successful attempt was on April 29, 2021 when Chef Allana from A Pleased Palate cooked four of these dishes for the people in our NOURISH! project.
The Postpartum Justice Movement
Postpartum Justice Day
MPJ organizes the official recognition of the 3rd Sunday of May (the Sunday after Mother’s Day) to be Postpartum Justice Day in cities, counties and states nationwide and internationally.
Building Collaborations to Strengthen a Black-led Movement for Postpartum Justice:
Our goal is to amplify projects built by the community for the community and initiatives that align with the mission of Postpartum Justice. We support and develop systems of community care for postpartum bodies and build collaborations that center equitable care and economies, justice, and care of Black families.
“the remaking of a postpartum culture based on nurturing, reclaiming cultural wisdoms, & justice ”
Follow along on IG: @postpartumjustice
Contact
Let’s Connect!
Email
Info@postpartumjustice.org