Today we’d like to introduce you to Nia Coaxum Morgan.
Hi Nia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Since high school, I always knew I wanted to work in the health field. I started my first year of college at Widener University as a nursing major with the goal of becoming a pediatric nurse. After two semesters of classes, I realized I didn’t actually want to do nursing but still was unsure of what to change my major to. After some brief research, I landed on public health, I didn’t really know exactly what it was at the time but it seemed like what I was interested in and my credits were going to transfer. I transferred to West Chester University for my last three years of undergrad and changed my major to public health. During my senior year, I began taking graduate-level classes under the accelerated program and received my Master of Public Health degree just one year after getting my Bachelor’s.
After grad school, I worked in behavioral health and substance use prevention. I was satisfied with my job at the time but it wasn’t my passion by any means. I knew I wanted to utilize my public health degree to address health disparities and improve the health of the Black community, more specifically maternal and child health. Although I wasn’t working in the maternal health field at the time, I decided to get involved in maternal and child health initiatives and meetings to expand my knowledge. I remember attending a Perinatal Periods of Risk meeting in Montgomery County (Philly’s neighboring county) in 2020 and learning more about maternal and child health outcomes in the county. It was disheartening to learn that Black women had the highest pregnancy-related mortality rate regardless of their age, socioeconomic status, and education level. From there, I began thinking about what I could do to make an impact in the maternal health space. I knew a little bit about birth work at the time and had 1 friend who was a doula. So after a deep dive into what being a doula meant and consisted of and speaking with my friend about her experience, I decided that’s what I wanted to do and it’s been nothing but amazing ever since.
In early 2021, I completed my doula training with Birth Arts International and by June my business Birth With Purpose was officially up and running. Since then my I’ve been able to merge my public health experience with my passion for maternal and child health and I now work in the maternal health space for my 9 to 5. I’ve grown tremendously as a Doula the past couple of years and truly do love this work.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been easy. I’ve been challenged in many ways since not only becoming a Doula but a business owner as well. As much as I love birth work, being a Doula and more specifically a Black Doula comes with its own challenges. We’re working against a system that often fails us and that was never set up for us to begin with so it can be frustrating and discouraging at times; but knowing that I’m not alone in this work makes it promising.
In terms of being a business owner, the hardest part has been being responsible for everything on my own. I’m the marketing and advertising team, administrative support, billing department, content creator, communications department, and everything in between and it seems like I have a never-ending to do list. Naturally, I’m more introverted than extroverted so I’ve also had to step outside of my comfort zone and be willing to reach out to others first in order to network and form a community. I’m still working on this one but I’ve also had to learn to go with the flow. I like schedules and set times which is the exact opposite of how birth works. So being on call and waiting to see when my clients want me to join them at their birth location sends my anxiety through the roof but I prioritize balance and self-care to ensure I’m my best self to fully support my families.
All that to say, growth requires discomfort, so while it may not always be easy it’s always worth it.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My name, Nia means Purpose and is the fifth principle of Kwanzaa. This principle means “to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.” I chose this business name because not only am I literally saying to birth with me, but through my role as a Doula I’m fulfilling my purpose to improve my community.
Birth With Purpose specializes in providing birth and postpartum support to Black birthing people and their families in Philly and the surrounding counties. My mission is to improve birth outcomes and eliminate racial health inequities among Black women and birthing people by providing compassionate, trauma-informed, and individualized support. My ultimate goal is to educate and advocate for the families I serve to ensure they’re going into their birth experience educated, confident, and prepared. I want them to be aware of all of their options, feel empowered, and know I am there to make sure their voices are being heard.
What I’m most proud of so far is the education I’m able to provide not only to my clients but to the general community as well. I often get complimented on how informative and insightful my social media posts are. I love when I’m with a client during a prenatal visit and I see the lightbulb go off after telling them something and they’re like “Omg! I didn’t know that!” or ” Wow! I didn’t know that was an option!” Similarly, I love getting DMs from people saying something I posted led them to do more research or ask their provider more questions.
When someone contacts me about doula support, we first have a brief consultation to discuss what they’re looking for in a doula and I inform them of my packages so they can determine which one might be the best fit. If they decide to hire me, I assist them with creating their birth plan after providing education on things such as the process of labor and what to expect, comfort measures, medical interventions, pain management options and a range of other topics. I also educate their partners and/or other support people so they can advocate if needed and be well-equipped to provide support during labor and the postpartum period.
Birth With Purpose offers a variety of packages that can be tailored to fit someone’s unique needs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.birthwithpurposedoula.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthwithpurpose/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Birthwithpurposellc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/birthwpurpose
Image Credits
Disturbriana Media
