Wundhers of Motherhood

On this episode of Wundhers of Motherhood, the Circle Moms delve into an emotional dialogue of how they all grappled with knowing that George Floyd called out for his deceased mother in his last breath. They each expressed how heart-wrenching it is to hear your child call out for you when they are in distress, and if they were compelled to have BLM conversations with their young children. The sister-friends also explored the challenge it is to raise Black boys and girls in this America, with the fear of the unknown for what lies ahead. Tune in to hear how they suppressed Black guilt, handled all the calls from their allies, and activated to see sustainable change for the future.

On this episode of Wundhers of Motherhood, the Circle Moms take a walk down memory lane as they share their personal Womb Life journey. Have you ever been told you would be paralyzed from an epidural? Can you imagine how that follows you and impedes your future birthing plans? Sister-friend Candace serves as the start of this episode as she shares the real-real of her water birth experience. To follow suit, the rest of the Circle shares each of their birthing plans and experiences; the differences in age or child; the epidural, natural, C-section, home birth and water birth experiences; and how they felt immediately after delivery. Whether you are a mom in the making or a mom of many, this light-hearted reminiscence will give you all you need to know about which birthing plans best suits you. 

Is the bounce-back truth or myth? After childbirth, so many mothers are succumb with the idea of reclaiming their old self and even their prior bodies. They want the freedom of going and doing whatever they please, and they desire to fit into their favorite jeans again.

Natalie McKinney is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Whole Child Strategies, Inc. A neighborhood non-profit designed to coordinate efforts, provide funding and critical supports to organize, mobilize and empower community-designed and initiated solutions. These solutions work  to identify and address the root causes to the out-of-school barriers hindering children from arriving to school, every day, on-time, engaged and ready to learn.

Renée has been a senior program officer at the Annie E. Casey Foundation; director of the Health Promotion Program for Urban Youth at Boston City Hospital; director of the Community Coalition to Prevent Black Homicide, the first Office of Minority Health-funded project focused on preventing homicide in an African American community, and director of a five-year National Institutes of Health-funded school-based intervention, Reach for Health, that was named a promising program by the U.S. Department of Education.

As a former Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapist, Behavior Interventionist, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, and school leader in Shelby County Schools and the Achievement School District, Larissa Gregory has over ten years of first-hand experience bringing direct behavioral and discipline support(s) to students, families, teachers, and community members. . Larissa currently serves as the Social Emotional Learning Department Chair for the Memphis Teacher Residency and an Adjunct Professor of Education with Union University. Larissa is an advocate for culturally responsive systems and routines aimed to directly combat systemic barriers and challenges - facilitating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in action.

Joia Erin has a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences degree in English & French from Louisiana State University and a Master of Public Administration & Policy degree from the University of Memphis. She is primarily responsible for systems education, organizing, and community building in the Memphis area. A native of Memphis, with strong New Orleans roots, she spent most of her life between two uniquely diverse cities on the mighty Mississippi River.

Linda Villarosa is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, covering race and public health and a former executive editor at Essence Magazine. Her 2018 Times Magazine cover story on infant and maternal mortality in black mothers and babies was nominated for a National Magazine Award. Last year she contributed to the ground breaking 1619 Project. Her essay highlighted physiological myths, based on race, that have endured since slavery. Linda's April 29 cover story examined race, health disparities and covid-19 through the lens of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club of New Orleans, and her August 2 article, The Refinery Next Door, looked at environmental justice in Philadelphia. Linda teaches journalism and Black Studies at the City College of New York and is writing the book Under the Skin: Race, Inequality and the Health of a Nation, which will be published by Doubleday in 2021.

Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C (she/her/hers) is a Reproductive Justice informed public health activist, anthropologist and family nurse-midwife who has devoted her life to serving and empowering people in underserved communities.

Stephanie Nerissa White, the founder and president of Stephanie’s Advanced Mentoring, a company devoted to supporting and empowering women and children. Stephanie will share the difference between a tutor, proctor and supplemental educator and tips on how we can stop the panic and start the plan for a successful school year for our children.