Changing Woman Initiative: Birthing A Dream
Celebrate our Birth Workers
Honor Indigenous Midwifery
Birthing A Dream
Changing Woman Initiative (CWI) emerged from a dream state in 2014, with the mission to revitalize indigenous knowledge around birth and women's medicine through the development of a Native American birth center. We recognized early on that gender justice and healing are inseparable and that healing occurs when reproductive health is restored by providing a culturally appropriate access to our own tools and remedies.
Historically and currently, Native American women's access to indigenous birthing knowledge has been severely impacted by the interplay of colonization, poverty, discrimination, geography, patriarchy and racisim. 32% of Native American women in New Mexico live below the poverty line and the services they access are not delivered in a way that is culturally sensitive. These factors increase the chances of expectant mothers discontinuing prenatal care or not accessing prenatal care on a regular bases. We know this pattern of care directly impacts maternal health outcomes in our Native communities.
There are multiple barriers that Native American and Indigenous women face when it comes to accessing culturally centered women's health care in rural parts of New Mexico. In these rural locations, women's health providers and midwives can be limited in the locations they can work outside of the urban communities like Santa Fe and Albuquerque, which means Native American and Indigenous women have to drive farther for care and often miss out on important health screenings like pap smears, mammograms, and other health related care.
Many women from the surrounding Northern New Mexico communities experience fragmented health care and at times in their lives where heathcare is most needed, they don't always have the opportunity to access it.
Our Next Steps
In the following months we will be moving our office and setting up a clinic space in Pojoaque, NM. Where will be providing Native American and Indigenous centered women's health care, prenatal services, and home birth services. Our goal is to implement plant & traditional medicine's along side the care we are providing, as we recognize ceremony of transformation that women experience and would like to provide culturally supportive care.
Esperanza Mobile Women's Health Clinic
We have partnered with Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families in Santa Fe, NM, where we will be on site a twice month providing women's healthcare. Many families are unable to access their healthcare services, for fear of their safety and many leave behind necessary medications. We understand that accessing primary health care services through the emergency room is not ideal, nor does it support their healing.
Help Native American and Indigenous Women, Mothers and Babies
Your tax deductible gift will go directly to setting up women's health and prenatal clinic, on-site battered families shelter, and home birth equipment/supplies. In some situations where labs and medications are not covered by insurance, your gift will go towards this as well.