1st Annual

Black Midwives and Healers Conference

Portland, Oregon - 2002

We heard important messages at the 2002 First Annual Black Midwives and Healers Conference from our keynote speakers, Edna Adan Ismail, founder of the first maternity hospital in Somaliland, and Byllye Avery, founder of the National Black Women's Health Project.

 

Edna Adan Ismail with ICTC founder Shafia Monroe

For more information about conference speaker Edna Adan Ismail, try these links: Edna Adan Hospital home page, Edna Adan Hospital description

Byllye Avery with ICTC founder Shafia Monroe

For more information about conference speaker Byllye Avery, try these links: New York Times article, American Health article, National Black Women's Health Project

Workshop leader Chonitia teaches prenatal massage

 

An aspiring midwife's experience at the First Annual Black Midwives and Healers Conference:

I am deeply thankful for the opportunity I had to attend the 1st Annual Black Midwives and Healers Conference this past November. It was no ordinary conference. The moment I arrived in Oregon, I was welcomed into a family of women of African descent who are dedicated to helping mothers and babies take the journey into life. The gathering of these healers represented a powerful moment for me to begin entering a sisterhood of love and action. Midwifery represents for me the love I feel for my community in action. The gathering affirmed that love and connected it with a community of sisters that share a similar model for expressing it. Through this community I will become a midwife.

Since the conference I have been accepted into nurse-midwifery programs at the University of California in San Francisco and the University of Pennsylvania. As I pursue my studies, the network provided through the International Center for Traditional Childbearing will be my foundation and anchor. The women I met at the conference opened me up to a world of possibilities for practicing midwifery. From Edna Adan Ismail, CNM and founder of the first maternity hospital in Somaliland to the collection of aspiring young midwives who I am now in regular contact with, I am thoroughly motivated, inspired and proud.

Thank you, Lauren

 

Thanks to all the conference volunteers. You made it happen!

Special thanks to our wonderful sponsors for the 2002 conference: OHSU-School of Nursing, Black United Fund of Oregon, Multnomah County Health Department, Linfield College, Albina Community Bank, New Seasons Market, CareOregon, Re-Direct Guide, Education WithOut Borders, Midwifery Today, Midwives Alliance of North America, Black Networking Association, Commission on Children, Families & Community of Multnomah County, State of Oregon Health Division, Portland State University School of Community Health, Oregon Association of Certified Nurse-Midwives.

 

Contact ICTC

International Center for Traditional Childbearing
2823 N. Portland Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97217
Phone: 503-460-9324
Email ICTC: ictc@comcast.net
Email Shafia Monroe: sistahmidwife@msn.com

 

Midwives learn more from a workshop teacher at the conference banquet

 

Donations

ICTC accepts donations all year long. We rely on your donations to provide the many services to help stop the premature deaths of babies, for midwives and those aspiring to become midwives, and much more. Please make checks payable to ICTC, PO Box 11923, Portland, OR 97211.

 

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