“Black men have to engage in collective fatherhood. I know everybody has their own families; I know everybody has their own kids. But it’s just not enough. What’s missing in the African American community are Black men who know how to teach other men how to be men. I am not talking about teaching them the virtues of masculinity and how to dominate, how to be tough, how not to cry. I’m talking about a male example in someone who you know as a man loves you, cares about you, and will put your life first.”
~Van Lathan Television Producer and Influencer—an excerpt from: “Conversations in Black on Power, Politics, and Leadership” —Chapter 7, Stand Up Black Men Stand Up!
This beginning quote is one that I read at least once a week in order to keep myself centered and focused. I have written numerous articles which are focused or centered around death. This article is focused on life and more specifically, the preservation of Black lives.
Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than White women. I have been aware of this statistic for many years, and I have pondered about ways that our community could address it in a positive and proactive manner. When I heard about Brad Edwards, Kyra Betts, and Charity Bean’s organization, Dads to Doulas, I couldn’t wait to re-tell this story.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
Seven years ago—December 2017—Brad Edwards and his partner experienced something they could not have predicted. They suffered unimaginable pain. The twin boys they were expecting were delivered stillborn. Edwards blamed himself for the death of his baby boys. He did not know much about pregnancy or the birthing process. The feelings he felt transformed into guilt, depression, and they impacted his mental health in a negative manner. Rather than wallow in self-pity, Edwards began to channel his energy into something transformative and healing. However, he needed help.
In 2020, a St. Louis-based organization named Dear Fathers (https://dearfathers.com) teamed up with Edwards who is known for his community service work in the St. Louis area. Dear Fathers has a platform geared toward sharing stories of Black fatherhood. During the Covid pandemic, it became evident that the Black community was suffering from a mental health crisis. Much of this information I gleaned from an amazing article written by Emily Adams, the deputy editor from St. Louis Magazine.
Dads to Doulas program empowers Black fathers with free education about pregnancy, labor, and postpartum
Something remarkable happened on May 18, 2020. Not only did Edwards and his partner welcome a new, healthy, baby girl into the world, he and his colleagues also launched a virtual mental health support group known as STR8 Mental (https://dearfathers.com/str8-mental-registration/). Edwards and his partner named their baby girl, Carrielle.
STR8 MENTAL:
Edwards’ intent was to provide mental health services/counseling for Black men who sometimes avoided such help.
Emily Adams from St. Louis Magazine interviewed Brad Edwards in September 2024 and this is what he had to say: “With the Covid 19 pandemic, we saw there were going to be a lot more deficiencies in the Black and Brown communities and we also noticed that mental health was being talked about more than ever in the Black community.”
Edwards continued: “Being able to pair mental health specialists that look like these men that understood them from a cultural aspect, was crucial. Not only were we successful in providing one-on-one therapy for 80% of the men who attended, but we also had well over 5,000 guys from across the country come onto the platform just to have these conversations.”
I can testify from my own experience that there is a shortage of Black mental health professionals all over the United States. As a result, some important nuances are ignored or lost within the therapeutic experience. Psychotherapy is still kind of a taboo topic in the Black community. But platforms like STR8 Mental and Prentice Powell’s, All Black Men Need Therapy Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUt87EC8iyK6F9B0cLcABpg) are encouraging brothers and sisters to seek help when they are in pain. In reference to Brad Edwards’ situation, post-partum depression is real and can affect both the mother and father.
Brad Edwards’ lived experience influenced him to seek other innovative ways that he could serve his community. In the Summer of 2024, “Dads to Doulas” was born.
WHAT IS A DOULA?
Within the context of this article, a “doula” is a trained professional who provides expert guidance for the service of others and supports a woman during and through her childbirth experience. It is important to point out that having a companion providing support to the birthing woman, dates back to prehistoric times. (Source: Wikipedia). As I mentioned earlier, Edwards and his partner gave birth to their daughter, Carrielle, in May 2022. Prior to Carrielle’s birth, Edwards created a group chat with friends of his that were doulas. That’s when his doula education began. Immediately after Carrielle’s birth, her mother (Edward’s partner) experienced an acute case of post-partum pre-eclampsia (hypertension). The possibility of her suffering a stroke was real, and she was hospitalized. Brad Edwards had to stay home and care for his newborn daughter. The good news is that he was not alone. His doula friends from the group chat helped guide him through the process of caring for Carrielle while her mother was hospitalized. NOTE: Women who have pre-eclampsia are at increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke later in life. In some cases, hypertension is a hereditary issue in the Black community.
So, as I said, Dads to Doulas was started in the Summer of 2024. The free six-week program is lead by the team’s two maternal health specialists (doulas) Charity Bean and Kyra Betts. The program provides hands-on doula training to men.
Losing his twin boys most certainly influenced Edwards’ decision to embark on this journey. However, there were other troubling statistics which illuminated the need for this unique initiative in the Black community. Edwards was quoted by Emily Adams saying this: “Last year (2023) in the State of Missouri alone, we lost enough babies to fill 13 Kindergarten classrooms.” He continued: “We had 447 Black babies die before their first birthday. That’s devastating for any community.”
I decided to research Black infant mortality rates across the United States and here are the top five worst cities for Black mothers and their babies. But STOP! WAIT! I need to tell our readers something. When we used the AI feature in Chrome to search for infant mortality in the Black community, it provided flawed data. Here are the top five cities/counties that were provided:
- Falls Church, VA
- Los Alamos County, NM
- Douglas County, CO
- Sioux County, Iowa
- Hamilton County, Indiana
Sisters and brothers, this is a whole different topic, but there are clear and pronounced racial biases hardwired and programmed into these AI search algorithms! Luckily, I am a Black man who is in tuned with authentic platforms that provide content about true Black experiences. My beautiful and intelligent wife, Gale, helped me find the information that was posted on TheGrio.com. That’s where we found out that Mississippi has the worst rate of Black infant mortality in the United States.
Here, also, are the statistics for Oakland, California. Oakland has one of the worst infant mortality rates for Black babies in the State of California:
African Americans had an infant mortality rate of 11.7 per 1,000 live births, whereas Whites had an infant mortality rate of 1.9 per 1,000. The infant mortality rate for Latinos (4.7 per 1,000) and Asians (3.1 per 1,000) fell below the citywide rate (5.1 per 1,000). The African American infant mortality rate was 6.16 higher than the rate for Whites.
Dads to Doulas is needed not just in Missouri but in urban and rural areas all over the United States. It is obvious that Dads to Doulas was created by Brad Edwards and his colleagues because they have an overwhelming amount of love and compassion for their community. The lives of Black women and Black babies are precious, so this program is an expression of love. I chose to tell this story at a specific time in order to honor and raise awareness about the African American holiday known as Kwanza.
Kwanza is a celebration of African American culture which takes place every year from December 26 to January 1. Each of the seven days is dedicated to one of the seven principles known as The Nguzo Saba:
Umoja (Unity)
Kujichagulia (Self-determination)
Ujima (Collective work and responsibility)
Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)
Nia (Purpose)
Kuumba (Creativity)
Imani (Faith)
The day number one principal, Umoja (Unity), is especially relevant here because it advises us to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Dads to Doulas surely exemplifies this principle. I ask that those who are interested to conduct their own research into Dads to Doulas and spread the word. Birth education is also for dads. Remember, they’re having a baby also.
Lastly, we deviate from the norm and ask our readers to answer a couple of provocative questions:
- Is the level or quantity of health care provided to Black pregnant moms considerably different than their White counterparts?
- What exactly is the most prominent reason that the Black community is distrustful of the health care industry?
As is customary with our media pieces, Destination Freedom Media Group sends out this song and video by H.E.R., featuring Daniel Caesar, entitled, “Best Part” reminding our readers during Kwanza that Black Love is a revolutionary act.
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group.
