Today we have Jessica Reña on The Mag. Jessica is the creator of Mamas in Color, a Navy wife and vet, a soon-to-be Midwife and mother of an almost one-year old. Learn more about Jessica and her family, what inspired her to start Mamas In Color, her water birth experience and much more!

Introduce yourself, your family and your brand.

My name is Jessica Reña, I am originally from SoCal. I am a Navy wife and vet, a mom to the spunkiest, funniest, spit-fire of an almost 12 month old little girl. I am also a dog mom to a goofy, protective German Shepherd and am working towards becoming a Midwife. I met my husband Alvin in an airport headed to Navy bootcamp in 2011 in Great Lakes, IL years before I knew he’d become my husband; we met again in a bar in 2015 and got married shortly afterwards. I’ve been following him around the world via Uncle Sam ever since. Mamas In Color is a safe space for birthers of color, we aim to highlight and normalize natural birth, postpartum, just reminding mamas of color that they are magic.

Tell us a little about your amazing water birth experience. What inspired you to birth this way?

I’d always known even as a child that I wanted to have a water birth. I used to watch a baby’s story on TLC as a kid with my cousin and there were a few water births on the show, after seeing that, I just knew that’s what I needed to do. It rang even more true after researching the maternal mortality rate amongst Black women. My birth was a dream. It was everything I’d hope it would be and everything I manifested. A few weeks before our daughter was born, I saw a photo our birth photographer had taken in the studio during one of my birthing classes – it was of an en caul birth; I told my husband, I hope our baby is born like this and a few weeks later when she made her arrival, she was.

Why is creating an online space for birthers of color so important?

Creating an online space for birthers of color is so important because, we need spaces where we can be seen, heard, triumphed and not need to explain why we merely exist. When my birth photographer submitted multiple photos from our viral birth (the most viral I’d seen) to a few birthing contests and the results came out with still mostly white or white passable birthing people selected as winners, I knew we needed more representation. I also recognized the disconnect between the education, resources and options that were easily accessed by white birthers versus BIPOC birthers – I wanted to change that.

Do you have any tips for birthers of color of expecting families looking to find doulas, midwives and other birth supporters? What kinds of questions should people ask and where should they look?

If you are searching for your birth dream team, I would absolutely make sure they mesh with you, your family and your birthing space – make sure they are implementing informed consent. Birth is so sacred and natural you will want to choose someone who makes you feel comfortable and safe. I would ask and research how they are with birthers of color read reviews, run through your birthing plan with them, ask about their transfer rate, ask the hard questions like what do they do if something goes awry. Ask how often things go awry. I would join birth support groups, natural birth groups, groups surrounding birth and exclusive groups that highlight birthers of color, enlist in a really good doula they are worth it.