Danielle Mason

“Sometimes all we need are our sisters. All we need are other people who can feel and relate to us that really help to soothe the heart, soothe the soul. Going into BElovedBIRTH Black Centering really offered me that, offered me a chance to get to know other women. We were able to nurture each other through the process.”

I’m in grad school studying creative writing. It gives me a chance to really express myself, but also hold space for my heart. I love words. “Beloved” is a word that’s been special for me for so long. When I think about “beloved,” I think of something really sacred, something charmed.

So, hearing about BElovedBIRTH Black Centering was like, oh my gosh. When I heard about what they are doing, that it was a team of all-Black birth workers, lactation consultants, OB-GYNs, midwives—I’m like, whoa, what’s going on, Oakland? This does not happen. It just does not happen anywhere. And for me, that was super special.

I decided to go to Beloved Black Birth Centering for a multitude of reasons, but it began out of lack. It began out of anxiety and stress and really needing to access resources. I had just moved to Oakland six months before the pandemic from Houston, Texas, and I didn’t know the lay of the land. I didn’t understand where to go.

I was really depressed. I was very anxious. My relationship wasn’t functioning right. I didn’t have family here and support. I was referenced to Black Centering and Highland Hospital so that I could have care by Black women.

BElovedBIRTH Black Centering has offered me quality care by being seen by a Black midwife. It’s offered me sisterhood, having other women that are going through similar things as myself. It’s like we had a space to let it all go. We had a space to talk it out.

Sometimes all we need are our sisters. All we need are other people who can feel and relate to us that really help to soothe the heart, soothe the soul. Going into BElovedBIRTH Black Centering really offered me that, offered me a chance to get to know other women. We were able to nurture each other through the process.

I’m so humbled by all of the love. I haven’t received this much care ever.