Lightbourn Doula Care

01/05/2026

Grateful for her incredible work devastating news

Tonight we’re holding space for Dr. Janell Green Smith, a midwife and advocate for Black maternal health who died from childbirth complications.

Dr. Green Smith spent her life fighting for safer births, better support, and dignity for Black mothers. Her voice helped change how care is seen, how pain is heard, and how births are supported in communities that need it most.

The tragedy of losing someone who lived to protect others, especially in the very space she worked to make safer, is deep and painful.

We honor her life, her advocacy, and the legacy she leaves behind for the families she fought for.
Rest in power, Dr. Green Smith.
✊🏿🫶🏿

12/25/2025

Image: A modern Nativity scene in Bethlehem (2023) depicts baby Jesus in a keffiyeh amid rubble, linking past and present.

“The Thrill of Hope” – In the Holy Land of Palestine, then and now, every birth is a miracle forged under oppression. Jesus was born under occupation; today, Palestinian birthing people labor through bombardment and siege, often without safe hospitals or support. Yet the thrill of hope endures even in darkness. Every life deserves safe passage into this world. This is not a seasonal reflection but a defiant call for justice and reverence for life – a communal declaration that we will not turn away. ✨ From occupied Bethlehem to blockaded Gaza, the hope born at nightfall persists every dawn. Every mother, every baby: we see you, we honor you, we fight for you, and we uphold your right to safety and joy in birth.

12/22/2025

Happy Capricorn Season!

This season brings steadiness, focus, and a grounded kind of clarity — the kind that helps us recognize what deserves our energy and what we can gently set down. Capricorn season reminds us that slow growth is still growth. Life does not need to be rushed to be meaningful.

Much like the quiet, unhurried rhythm of a growing baby, Capricorn season encourages us to build what we need with patience. New life forms cell by cell — slowly, steadily, and full of purpose. Our own foundations deserve the same care.

This is an important season for your village — the people who show up with open hearts, steady presence, and shared responsibility. Capricorn energy helps us notice where structure would support us and where consistency might create more ease.

Capricorn parents often bring a thoughtful, grounded strength. Capricorn children tend to move with early focus and quiet determination. Their energy teaches us the value of small, intentional steps.

How to embrace Capricorn season:
Reflect on one place in your pregnancy, birthwork, or parenting journey that wants more stability. This may look like refining a boundary, clarifying a role within your village, revisiting your birth or postpartum plan, or returning to a routine that anchors you. Hold this truth close as you move through Capricorn season:
“My steps build my future.”

11/30/2025

⚠️ Content Warning: Pregnancy loss, medical neglect, traumatic birth experience

This video made my jaw drop. I have laughed with Comedian Tee for years. She’s someone who can turn chaos into comedy without even trying. So hearing her describe losing her son because multiple providers ignored her symptoms while she was septic and pregnant… it shook me. It’s painful watching someone who brings so much joy speak about the moment her world fell apart — and even more painful knowing her story is far from rare.

Medical neglect isn’t a bad day or a single mistake. It’s a pattern — and Black birthing people live inside the consequences of that pattern every day.

Tee went to the ER twice. She explained her symptoms. She was dismissed and misdiagnosed. She was sent home septic.

By the time someone took her seriously, she was fighting for her life. She survived. Her son did not.

What happened to her happens far too often, because our healthcare system still doesn’t treat Black pain as urgent or Black birthing people as fully human. And the facts make that clear:

❗ Black birthing people are 3–4x more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes
❗ 63% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable
❗ Providers are more likely to downplay Black patients’ pain
❗ 1 in 3 Black birthing people report discrimination in maternity care
❗ Diagnostic errors harm millions each year, disproportionately affecting Black families

This is why birth justice matters.
This is why I show up as a doula.
This is why Lightbourn Doula Care exists.

In the comments, I included a quick guide on how to talk to your doctor.

If you ever have questions, concerns, or need help advocating for yourself or a loved one, you can DM me or text me at (347) 482-1162.
You deserve to feel safe, believed, and cared for

11/28/2025

Happy Black Maternal Health Week!

11/10/2025

One year ago, and crossed paths in the most divine way — at the Bipoc Doula Network’s first doula training, led by . And from that moment on, something special began.

Mateo sat next to me, I noticed the tattoo of my favorite poem on his arm, and we struck up a conversation that has become one of the most aligned, soulful, and powerful doula partnerships of my life.

It’s only been a year, but it feels like we’ve known each other forever. In that short time, we’ve supported each other through births, through personal life, through grief, growth, joy, and a lot of wild shenanigans in between.

This is what community care looks like in real time: doulas supporting one another, holding each other up, and modeling the kind of love and care we want our clients to experience.

Lightbourn Doula Care is so grateful to Lighthouse Doula Services — not just as a collaborator in this work, but as chosen family.

Here’s to the next year — and every year after — of holding space together, birthing revolution together, and building a world where our people are seen, protected, and supported.

11/04/2025

Yesterday reminded me why I do this work.

I had the honor of speaking at SUNY Albany for Q***r Birth, Black Futures: Reproductive Justice as Resistance, where I shared one of the core truths that guides my work: every birth is political. Each birth reflects the priorities of a nation — who it protects through its laws, who it punishes through neglect, and who it deems expendable. Birth tells on a society. It exposes whose pain is dismissed, whose body is policed, whose family is valued, and whose existence is considered optional.

That truth landed in the room, and I’m already seeing its ripple — students have begun reaching out to (where I serve on the board) to intern and volunteer. It’s proof that these conversations are sparking the change we need.

When we heal birth, we heal everything that comes after. 💖

11/04/2025

Still feeling incredibly grateful after speaking at SUNY Albany on Q***r Birth, Black Futures: Reproductive Justice as Resistance. 🌙

It was an honor to be trusted with this conversation — to talk about how every birth is political, and what that really means. Birth reveals the priorities of a society: who it chooses to protect through policy, who it neglects, and who it deems expendable. It tells us whose pain is believed, whose body is controlled, whose family is supported, and whose survival is seen as optional.

That message resonated in a big way — students have already reached out to BirthNet NY, where I serve on the board, to volunteer and intern. It’s a reminder that the next generation is listening, learning, and ready to lead.

I’m always happy to speak about birth justice, maternal equity, and the power of doula care — nerves and all. 😅

10/10/2025

We’re almost there — and we need your help to fill the room.
BirthNet’s Annual Gala is happening this Thursday, October 16 at 5:30 PM at Glennpeter Jewelers, and it’s going to be a beautiful night of food, raffles, prizes, and community. Every ticket supports the training of Black and Brown doulas and lactation consultants right here in the Capital Region — the people who show up for families when it matters most.
If you haven’t grabbed your ticket yet, there’s still time. Tickets are $50, with discounted tickets available for doulas.

🎟️ Get your ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/birthnet-gala-fundraiser-2025-tickets-1647860588379?aff=oddtdtcreator

Your support makes this work possible, and we’d love to see you there.

An evening of connection and purpose, support training Black and Brown doulas and lactation consultants in the Capital Region.

09/21/2025

This time last year, I was preparing for my first doula training. Today, I can say I’ve supported families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum — and I’m only just getting started.

There is just 1 spot left for 2025. If you’ve been thinking about doula care, now is the time. Pricing ranges from $500–$1,500 with flexible options including sliding scale, payment plans, gift contributions, and barter.

Book your free consultation through the link in bio.