Birth | Culture & Community | Dixwell Community Q House
Top: Organizers Lucinda Canty, Shamica Frasier, and Shannon Knox. Bottom: Volunteers, including students and organizations from Southern Connecticut State University and Yale University. Abiba Biao Photos.
At one station, mamas and mamas-to-be could load up on cocoa butter, skin oil and baby lotion. At another, they could learn about an Afro-Centric Montessori school right in their backyard. At another still, they could connect with lactation consultants, who can make the difference between breastfeeding a baby without pain and discomfort, and stopping before a person is ready.
As they buzzed around the room, organizers Lucinda Canty, Shannon Knox, and Shamica Frasier checked in with families, stopped to chat with vendors, and often found themselves in impromptu conversations about everything from changing diapers to postpartum care.
Canty, Knox and Frasier are the minds behind the New Haven Community Baby Shower, now in its fourth year at the Dixwell Community Q House. A collaboration between Golden Radiance Village, New Birth Journey, and Lucinda’s House, the event seeks to connect new and expecting mothers with resources to help them and their babies thrive, from prenatal, postpartum, and doula care to lactation support to items like baby wipes, strollers, books and formula. Over 300 families attended, way up from around 170 families in 2021.
“I don't think people know how much support we really need, and that's why we hold these spaces so that we can shine a light on that and teach people how to do it again, like how to take care of mothers,” said Knox, better known as “Doula Sha” in the community. “Because we do all the nurturing, but we deserve the nurture, and [to] be nurtured us well.”
All three organizers have a specific focus on Black women and women of color, who in this country are over three times more likely to die than their white counterparts, and report much higher rates of being disbelieved, gaslit, ignored, and second-guessed during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum (this is most true of Black women, and also true for Native and Latina women).
Part of that problem goes back to the roots of American gynecology itself, which for decades practiced procedures on enslaved women without their knowledge or consent, and created harmful and enduring medical myths that Black women have a higher tolerance for pain. The practice of forced sterilization on Black and Native women continued through the late 20th century (as recently as 2022, birthing people reported instances of gynecological violence and forced sterilization while in ICE detention, all the more alarming as ICE increases its attacks on pregnant people today).
All three organizations are facing that health disparity head-on, and also seek to address and mitigate birth trauma, which can be a source of postpartum anxiety and depression in the days, weeks, and months after a birth (some mothers report feeling re-traumatized every time their child celebrates a birthday). They know, for instance, that birth outcomes are statistically better with midwifery and doula care, which has existed in communities for millenia.
“If we look back into granny midwives and Afro-American culture, how even enslaved women used to help usher babies into this earth, I was like, ‘Man, this is a part of me. So let me get into this,’” Frasier said. She noted the financial feasibility of earning doula certification, rather than training to become a certified nurse midwife, which may require student loans and higher financial barriers to entry.
Akwasha Bey.
Saturday, a whole village showed up to support that mission. Around the room, mothers and families could visit with representatives of 20 organizations, from the East Shore District Health Department, HUSKY Health Connecticut, and New Haven Healthy Start to educational hubs like Sankofa Learning Center and Read to Grow.
At one table, Akwasha Bey chatted with attendees about her haircare and beauty business Kway’s Collection. Founded in 2019, Bey started the business to help her mom while she was dealing with cancer, which often comes with hair loss from medication and chemotherapy treatments. When she passed, Bey was still motivated to continue and help others with their hair struggles and offer assistance with their journey to healthy hair.
"Maintaining yourself is the best form of self-love,” Bey said. Her product, a hair growth oil, can be especially helpful in the postpartum period, when it’s common for birthing people to experience hair loss. “I love natural hair. I love natural people, period. So I'm just all about restoring yourself and keeping up with your overall health and beauty.”
“It’s not only just for the aesthetics of yourself, but sometimes people need to heal internally, and I hear a lot of stories and I'm able to motivate people in different ways,” she added.
Dalesha Adkins. "A lot of people don't know where to access resources," she said.
Out in the hallway eyeing pamphlets and community resources was Dalesha Adkins, a graduate student in social work at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Before Saturday, Adkins’ professor, Elizabeth Johnson-Tyson, had encouraged her to come out to the event. As she chatted beside an inflatable ghost and pumpkin for an upcoming Halloween party at LEAP, she said she was glad she’d made it.
“A lot of people don't know where to access resources, so it's important to kind of have these small gatherings to get the word out so that people are aware where they can access resources,” she said.
As the shower continues to grow, organizers are already thinking about how to reach more families (Golden Radiance Village also holds a community health hub every August, during an annual Youth Day Block Party on Edgewood Avenue). Frasier said that while details and plans have not been finalized for next year’s event, she hopes to throw a gala in celebration for its fifth year, and possibly transition to a larger venue to accommodate more people.