By: Shani K. Collins, Your Black World
Eclectic singer, Erykah Badu, is on the road to becoming a certified midwife. A mother of three, Badu has personal experience with the birthing process as she helped deliver her best friend’s child during her 52-hour long labor; she has also served as a delivery coach for several years.
Using birthing techniques such as Reiki, which is a Japanese stress and relaxation technique, Badu helps to calm her patients as they deliver their babies. Her services include messages --- all of which are free. Badu aims to receive certification so that she can open up birthing centers in inner-cities. Her patients refer to her as “Erykah Badoula.” A proponent of drug-free births, the singer said she cried when she first assisted a birthing process.
In a People magazine interview, Badu said, “I’ve always had a mothering nature. But I didn’t plan on becoming a doula. I just wanted to care for my family and friends.”
Recognizing her passion for delivering babies in 2001, Badu is currently taking professional midwifery training, and is the spokesperson for the International Center for Traditional Childbearing. Of the natural birthing process, she said, “Nothing gives me more pleasure than being the welcoming committee for a mother’s new joy.”
Shani K. Collins is a freelance writer. You may visit her at www.shanicollins.com
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