10 Black and brown celebs who birthed their babies at home: Part 2
If you missed Part 1 of my blog sharing Black and Brown celebs who birthed their babies at home, check it out here 👉 Part 1: Black and brown celebs who birthed their babies at home
It’s been such a joy to continue scouring the internet for more stories of Black and brown celebs who birthed their babies at home. Some of the reasons included:
Wanting to use all the tools available, including pleasure
Trusting their body and birthing on their own terms
Black women aren’t being believed in hospitals
Wanting the whole family to be there
Being able to move freely
To not be rushed and induced
Birth in the same home their ancestors have birthed for generations
Create education and awareness for Black and brown pregnant people
To know exactly who would support them in labour
To see care providers that resembled them
A survival decision in a system that consistently fails Black women
To feel safe
Yaya DaCosta
Actress Yaya DaCosta trained as a doula in 2010. Yaya gave birth to her son in what she described as an “an ecstatic home birth” back in 2013.
She stated, “My favorite thing is home birth because it’s just like, you can do what you want. You can play your music, you can dance, you can dim the lights, you can use all of the tools available to us, including pleasure…Obviously, it’s not always possible, but I think it’s possible more often than we think because of what we’ve been told.”
2. Janai Norman
News presenter, Janai Norman welcomed all three of her babies at home. For her third birth she had her husband, son and daughter present.
“Eternally grateful to @cihuapahtlimc for again empowering me to trust my body and birth new life comfortably on my terms.”
“I recognize how fortunate I have been, which is what further motivates me to share. In these incredible 23 seconds, in the comfort of my own home, with my favourite candles, and a specially curated playlist, I experienced the gentle magic of helping guide my little angel earth side.”
“If she decides to be a mom one day, I hope major improvements to maternal care mean these statistics never even cross her mind. And if she lets me, I’ll be there holding her hand then, too.”
3. Renee M Morrison
Renee M Morrison, wife to Glee star Mattew Morrison, birthed her second baby at home after a previous birth at a birth centre. She has also supported others as a doula.
It was a peaceful home-birth that was filled with intention and care. After the birth she practiced the Chinese tradition of Zuo Yue Zi, or “month of sitting”, which is crucial to the future health of the mother and newborn.
4. Teyonah Parris
Teyona had always wanted a home birth but her partner was very anxious about the idea of a home birth so she looked into options for a birth centre birth. However she was told that it’s her first baby and she’s over 35 so it wasn’t an option for her.
"We started our pregnancy journey intending a hospital birth, but that shifted late in the game for us and I'm so glad it did! Everything truly happens for a reason, and being at home was an incredible experience and opportunity for our whole family," she shared.
I was so grateful to be home and not under cold lights on a cold floor. I was working through the pain, channelling my ancestors, my mother, everybody that I could to get in the mind space that I needed to bring this child earthside and it really was transcendental.
5. Sonequa Martin-Green
Actress Sonequa Martin-Green shares her home birth story on social media saying, “It was a profoundly beautiful home birth, and now both of our children have been born in the water. We never felt that anything was missing, but now that she’s here, we feel a perfect sense of completeness.”
6. Marz Lovejoy
“Outside of showing the world that pregnant women and mothers are sensual, incredible creatures, I’m using my pregnancy and home birth as an educational and awareness tool. Black women and women of colour are not being heard and often don’t have the resources or knowhow to advocate for themselves. According to birth workers and pregnant women I speak to, the hospitals are inundated, so they’re rushing births and inducing labours to get women out of the hospitals faster. This treatment of women is unacceptable and has proven fatal.”
“Instead of going back to NYC, we came to my mother’s home in St. Paul, Minnesota. My family’s had this land for generations and my son will be the fifth generation born in this house, including myself. We’re spending time being still, going back to our roots, and preparing to bring a new baby into the world.”
The birth with seen around the world with viewers from every continent except for Antarctica. I feel so proud to have used my birth as a tool for awareness in support of black and brown mothers everywhere.
“We raised more than $38k of which will be allocated to Amber Isaac’s family, @mamaglow, @rootsbirthcenter, @mnhealingjustice & @birthfromtheearth for grants and projects that support Black, WOC, and LGBTQ doulas, midwives, and mothers.”
7. Christina Elmore
For the birth of Chirstina’s first child, she had a positive experience at a Birthing centre supported by an all-white medical team.
For her second pregnancy, Christina found out she was pregnant on the same day that George Floyd tragically died. Christina said , “I was mourning and rejoicing at the same time. It was a really hard time to be Black in America… I was bringing another Black life in this country, and I wanted the experience to be different for him. I wanted him to be caught by Black hands that would be able to give me the care I deserved.”
Christina’s biggest worry was not knowing who would be supporting her if she went into hospital, so she hired a black midwife duo to support her at home.
Towards the end of her pregnancy, she developed hypertension. Her midwives came to her home mornings and evenings to check her blood pressure and connected her with other Black providers including an acupuncturist who helped with calming her and lowering her blood pressure.
For her birth, she said “I was looking across a room that resembled me. These women looked like my mom and my aunties. I felt safe.”
8. DJ Duffey
Basketball Wives LA star, DJ Duffey and husband, NBA agent Iman Shokuohizadeh. She shared a video of her home waterbirth on social media saying, “yesterday was so special! I am now a mom of 3!! This was my first home birth and I want to say that it was soooo much better than my hospital experiences! I’m happy I trusted my body and my team!”
9. Linda Chung
Actress Linda Chung opted for a home birth for her second and third baby.
“Before having my own children, I thought giving birth had to be in a cold white hospital with lots of equipment, tubes, and machinery around us. It felt like a project, kind of more technology based. We can’t really move and are told what to do. We wait, undergo a lot of pain and suffering with possible interventions before baby is born. Giving birth to a baby is definitely no joke, it's life-changing, and it is a very tough process. However, from my experiences, it doesn’t have to be scary.”
“I find in this modern world, technology, marketing and personal gain has taken over. We have lost touch with our bodies and ourselves. We have adapted to relying on things to make us, ease us, and help us. When actually, we have all the tools within us to heal, recover, and do things.”
“My birthing experiences has been so empowering for me. It allowed me to get back within my true nature and trust in me.”
10. Christina Clemons
Olympic hurdler Chrstina Clemens gave birth at home in her bathroom.
Her decision to have a home birth wasn’t about preference, it was about survival. “Black women aren't choosing alternative birth paths on whims. We're making survival decisions in a system that consistently fails us,” Christina shared.
