photo by Michael Mejia
About Carmen
Carmen Mojica (she/hers) a Black Dominican woman born and raised in the Bronx. She is a certified professional midwife, author, and social justice activist with a focus on birth justice. The focus of her work is on expanding access to reproductive health education for menstruators and reproductive health providers who identify as Black and Latinx, with special attention to first-generation individuals. Carmen is one of the co-creators of Bronx (Re)Birth and Progress Collective, a group of Black mothers, doulas, and organizers who aim to build alternate solutions outside of the system that protect and honor birthing people in the Bronx and their families. She is currently working in midwifery education.
Education & Early Years
Carmen’s interest in social justice was planted in high school through Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, an after school program focused on social justice in the South Bronx. This seed was later nurtured in her undergraduate career at the State University of New York at New Paltz where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Black Studies and Television/Radio Productions; in 2004, became a sister of Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc.
Professional Speaking
In addition to being a midwife and a published writer, Carmen has been a public speaker presenting on issues ranging from reproductive health, Afro-Latinidad, systems of power, and healing. Since 2008, Carmen has presented at over 20 colleges, universities, and conferences including the Black Girls Project Sisterhood Summit, Syracuse University, National Dominican Student Conference, Cornell University, Hampshire College, New York University, “Afro-Latin@s Now!” Conference, and the Clinton Global Initiative. In 2014, Carmen co-founded La Galeria Magazine in an effort to address, discuss, and provide an online platform surrounding the issues within the Dominican Diaspora.
Publications & Dedication to Women Empowerment
Her experience within the Black Studies department became the spark for her quest for self-determination. Shortly after graduation, Carmen decided to add to the growing number of Afro-Latina personal narratives and in October 2009, published her first book, ‘Hija De Mi Madre’ (My Mother’s Daughter). Formed through a combination of memoirs, poems, and research materials, Carmen explains the effects of race on identity from an academic standpoint while sharing her personal story as a metaphor to place a common cultural experience into context.
From the process of writing her first book, she then grew an interest in understanding womanhood. Exploring her own connection to her body, Carmen became aware of holistic methods to address her needs and identify self-care. This awareness of cultivating a healthy body and spirit further fueled her interest in empowering women throughout the lifespan of their lives, particularly in pregnancy and childbirth. During this time, Carmen continued to expand on her success, publishing her first collection of poetry in Spanish entitled “Odas de La Mujer de Miel,” and contributing to anthologies such as “The Period Project” and “Walking in the Feminine”. She also writes articles on her own blog and has also been published in World Pulse, Vibe Magazine, Squat Birth Journal, The Feminist Wire, and Sofrito for Your Soul.
Accomplishments & Affiliations
Carmen is a 2013 Voices of Our Future (VOF) Correspondent through World Pulse. VOF is a citizen journalism and digital empowerment training by renowned experts, including program partners The Global Press Institute and The Op-Ed Project. Through personal mentoring sessions and support from a Vision Mentor and an Editorial Mentor to help hone her unique voice and connect with grassroots women leaders from around the globe, Carmen gained the ability to write poignant breaking news, op-eds, profile, and multimedia news pieces, and continues to use those skills to report on issues in reproductive health and justice. She was chosen as 1 of 3 correspondents who spoke on the World Pulse Live tour in the Fall of 2014. The focus of her presentation was maternal health disparities in the United States.
In August 2010 through a fellowship with Hudson Perinatal Consortium, Carmen became a certified birth doula. After graduating from Maternidad La Luz, a midwifery school and birth clinic in El Paso, Texas, Carmen attended over 90 births and provided prenatal and postpartum care in Spanish to mothers. As a doula, she provides mental, emotional, and spiritual support for women during and after the course of the pregnancy as well as providing additional support to the women’s family and friends.
My Personal Philosophy
My work is guided by a strong connection to spirit, an analysis and awareness of mental attitudes, a growing emotional intelligence, a passion for human rights, and commitment to healing body as the vehicle for manifestation. As a birth worker, I am holding the space for a person to do the work necessary to birth their child. I view birth as a natural part of life. I trust the wisdom of an individual’s body and understand the transformative nature of taking this journey.
My African-centered position on my own life, actions, and journey in this world informs my birthworker practice and philosophy. I am aware of the profound impact of the enslavement on people of the African Diaspora. It is the catastrophic event experienced by millions of African people known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade and on-going effects of atrocities inflicted on African and Afro-descendant people.
The intention of my work is to dismantle the generational effects of the enslavement and violations of human rights, striving to help birthing individuals and families break cycles of trauma in violence on a local, national and global level. I acknowledge how much the history of those who came before us affects us in contemporary times. I believe that healing the foundation of community, mothers, fathers, parents, and families, will put our painful legacy to rest and provide future generations with a new inheritance.
I believe pregnancy is a special opportunity in a pregnant person’s life to transform. It is an initiation into cultivating themselves for the optimal health of their child(ren). Pregnancy changes a person’s priorities, sense of self and expands their heart immensely. I am an advocate for mental hygiene and support prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum work with mental health resources. I view a person’s lifetime reproductive health as a dynamic process with significant milestones that deserve support, shared knowledge and qualified compassionate care. I value the empowerment of people in all aspects of life and particularly as that strength is realized during pregnancy, birth and thereafter.
I believe that every individual has the right to safe, satisfying health care with respect for human dignity and cultural variations. I further support each person’s right to self-determination, to complete information and to active participation in all aspects of care. I believe the normal processes of pregnancy and birth can be enhanced through education, healthcare, and supportive intervention.
I believe birth is the creation of not only a new chapter in a birthing person’s life but also for their partner. My work encompasses creating the space for the pregnant individual, their partner and family to change and understand the transformation taking place. I am supportive of maintaining the primary relationships strong during pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. As a doula, I provide information and support for the birthing unit; I am not replacing the birth partners familiar to the birthing person but rather enhancing and strengthening them.
I encourage realistic expectations of childbirth by pregnant individuals within their own society, with the minimum expectation that no person should be harmed by conception or childbearing. I provide care for childbearing families with respect for cultural diversity while also working to eliminate harmful practices within those same cultures. I also support people of all genders in their birthing journey.
I value the acceptance of death as a possible outcome of birth. The focus of my work is supporting life rather than avoiding death. I value the art of nurturing the intrinsic normalcy of birth and recognize that each pregnant individual and baby have parameters of well-being unique unto themselves.