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Birth should feel safe, familiar, and centered on the family—yet too often the system delivers the opposite. We sit down with nurse, doula, educator, and Uzazi Village founder Hakima Payne to trace how personal experience scales into community clinics, data-driven policy, and a blueprint for culturally rooted prenatal care. From the early days when “doula” wasn’t a household word to today’s Medicaid reimbursement wins, Hakima shares what’s changed, what stalled, and what’s getting worse for Black maternal and infant health.

Together we unpack the difference between doulas and midwives, why VBAC remains restricted across many hospitals, and how routine inductions became normalized without consistent shared decision-making. Hakima explains why race-specific data is essential to make disparities visible, how policy lags behind evidence, and what it takes to convert awareness into funding, regulation, and accountability. We also talk candidly about the insurance industry’s outsized influence on bedside care and clinician autonomy, and why clinicians employed by hospital systems may have less power to bend the rules than many assume.

The heart of the conversation is a model: community-embedded prenatal care. Think accessible clinics in the neighborhoods they serve, culturally concordant teams, and integrated services—midwifery, doulas, lactation, chiropractic, herbal support—wrapped in details that signal safety and belonging. For parents, we share practical steps to shape their birth experience and ask better questions. For doulas, nurses, and providers, we outline how lifelong learning, anti-racism training, and cross-setting collaboration can move outcomes. Stay for a grounded call to action that keeps momentum alive even when media attention fades.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with someone who cares about maternal health, and leave a review with the one change you want to see in birth care. Your voice keeps this movement growing.

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Show Credits

Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker