Episode 21 - Empowered Birthwork & Why You Should Work With A Doula
ABOUT STEVIE
Stevie Merino wears many different hats as a: cultural practitioner, community organizer, anthropologist, IBCLC & lactation educator/trainer, birthworker, executive director, speaker, and doula trainer. She has been a community organizer & activist since 14 years old, & her politics shape the way she approaches life & this work. She has an 8 year old neni.
Stevie is the Executive Director, and co-founder of Birthworkers of Color Collective and the facilitator of their full spectrum doula training.
She speaks & presents around the country on perinatal health disparities, experiences, and traditions of communities of Color with a special focus on reproductive justice/LGBTQ+ folks/Pacific Islander communities/birthworkers of Color. She's been featured in anthologies, articles, academic journals & books on doing frontline birthwork during the height of covid-19, abortion as healthcare, Pasifika birth & lactation, & more. As a living arts practitioner, she pushes to take up space & reclaim the oral traditions, talk story & traditional healing as part & parcel of the arts. She has also curated two exhibits highlighting pregnancy, healing, & birthwork including one at Pacific Islander Ethnic Art Museum based on her master’s research, an exhibit that was the 1st of its kind, entitled “Carrying the Pacific: Pregnancy, Birth, & Parenting.” Showing up & showing face in solidarity is an important tenet of her work & is reflective in her community relations. She sits on various leadership positions in the community, birthwork, and academia including the American Anthropology Association as the appointed ombudsperson.