Our Vision

We recognize the ways in which systems of oppression impact the lived experiences of individuals based on their identities, privileges, and social locations. Our work centers liberation from these oppressive systems, not assimilation within them. We invite ourselves and others to confront the ways in which they are complicit in upholding systems of oppression.

We acknowledge that justice is complex and subjective, and do not subscribe to one single school of thought as a training organization. Our trainers and students alike, grapple with ideas of what justice truly is, and what it can look like for individuals and communities.

In alignment with our value of anti-oppression, we recognize that not all people are equally seen or served by the field of birth work. We center and uplift the needs of those who are often ignored, including but not limited to BIPOC, queer and trans folks, and those with specific access needs.

To us, accessibility is an imperfect and ever expanding practice. We practice access by offering payment plans and scholarships, but also by using closed captioning services in our courses, and listening to the needs of our students and community. All people have different access needs, and we try to meet as many as we can.

We believe that full-spectrum birth work does not exist in a vacuum, and we all - professionals included - need the space and permission to show up as our whole selves. This humanity is messy; it is relational; it can be uncomfortable… but it is real, and it is who we are.

With visibility comes vulnerability. We do our best to sustainably and responsibly increase the visibility of those who are underrepresented in birth work, and to give voice to the pieces of ourselves that are often silenced.

“This is not a healing space, though healing may happen here,” and, “you don’t have to be a therapist in order to be therapeutic in your approach,” are two borrowed and often reused phrases we align with. We believe that learning spaces can be healing, and that the self-awareness that is a prerequisite for responsible full spectrum birth work requires ongoing healing work.

We believe that individuals are the experts in themselves, their bodies, and their needs. In order to support people in this autonomy, we understand that it is necessary to reflect back to individuals the aspects of their identities that are most important to them. This involves understanding that we all see the world through different lenses, informed by our cultures and experiences.

We know that it is impossible to effectively and sustainably engage in full spectrum birth work in the absence of community. Within our network of students and teachers, we aim to generate and support meaningful connections. As an organization, instead of engaging in competition, we seek to collaborate with other aligned leaders in the field.