Southern Birth Justice Network

The Goal of our Campaign is to build a Birth and Wellness Center in Miami, Florida.  

We invite you to support this powerful campaign!

Imagine a world where every birthing person, regardless of their social or economic challenges, can embark on the magical journey of childbirth with unwavering support and access to compassionate care. 

The Southern Birth Justice Network (SBJN) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, nonprofit organization that works to improve access to community-based midwifery and doula care through its perinatal services, workforce development and community advocacy.

To address maternal health disparities in Black, Brown, youth, immigrant, indigenous, LGBTQ+ and low-income communities, we fight to increase access, educate and advocate with our stakeholders. Programs that we offer to our community include our Midwife Assistant training, Birth Justice Doula Training, Mobile Midwife Clinic, community outreach events and forums for community storytelling.  

Southern Birth Justice Network is investing in establishing a Birth and Wellness Center as a home base for Birth Justice. 

The purpose of our center is clear:

• To ensure access to midwives in maternity care deserts across South Florida through our Midwife Mobile Clinic,

• To mitigate the impact of recent hospital closures of labor and delivery units in communities of color in Miami Dade County,.

• To expand partnerships and community engagement in order to raise our collective voices, speaking truth to power about the policies that impact our health and our lives,. 

• And to ensure sustainability of doula and midwifery care by building the workforce of birth workers locally.

Since January 2023, our key focus areas have involved the following:

• Access to free and low-cost midwifery and doula care.

• Educating expectant families about their birth rights.

• Developing a community hub linking clients to necessary care.

• Providing wrap-around services, including client follow-up addressing barriers.

• Implementing our own model “Black Midwives Care” in our clinical settings

• Training over 350 providers, students and other allied professionals in Birth Justice.

• Collaborating with community-based organizations to maximize service provision

• Participation in community events with midwives and doulas on site for walk-in, point of service, free care.

• Trained 28 Birth Justice Doulas and graduated 20.

• Trained 18 Midwifery Assistants with certifications in progress.

• Purchased and branded our RV to be outfitted as our Mobile Midwife Clinic.

Community Partnerships and Stakeholders in Our Work:

• Dade County Street Response (DCSR): Clinic Partner Site that hosts Mobile Midwife Clinic for community clinic days at DCSR’s site.

• Florida International University, Center for Women and Gender Studies - Black Mothers Care Plan. Educating local obstetric providers on Birth Justice and anti-racist practices.

• Miami Diaper Bank: Provides diapers/pull-ups and wipes to our MMC client families.

• Period Miami: Provides menstrual health and self-care items for our clients and community.

• Miami Home Birth Collective is our referral partner for clients seeking home birth.

• Magnolia Birth House: Provides medical supplies and is also a referral partner for clients seeking birth center services.

• Movement for Change: Referral partner for mental health counseling.

• Your Bold Doula: Referral partner for lactation services.

• Metro Mommy Agency/MOMCHA: Referral partner for doula services.

• Dr. Christ-Ann Magloire - OB/GYN - Referral partner for clients seeking or needing OB care and hospital deliveries.

• Black Maternal Infant Health Equity Collaborative (BMIHEC) - partnership between Southern Birth Justice Network Metro Mommy Agency, YWCA and Magnolia Birth House. Our goal is to train, certify and integrate 65 full spectrum doulas into local health care systems by 2026. 

• Jackson Health System - SBJN hosted two provider education sessions on Birth Justice at Jackson’s Holtz Women’s Center in 2024. Birth Justice Doulas have served dozens of birthing people at Jackson Memorial. 

Southern Birth Justice in the News

• Florida: Barriers to Address Maternal Health Inequities: Inadequate Support for Doulas by Human Rights Watch.
  • Read the Full Article here
• See an Impact Video created by ACLU of Florida featuring our Executive Director, Jamarah Amani. .
• Our work has also been featured on an episode of Changemakers that can be found on Paramount Plus. 
• You can also find us on the Independent TV documentary “The ‘A' Word” episode featuring SBJN’s Mobile Midwife Clinic.