Dy’Ana Turner BIPOC Doula Journey Bursary Winner Spring 2020

My name is Dy’Ana Turner; I am the single mom of an amazing 5 year old and a veteran of the U.S. Army. I currently reside in Houston, TX but I’m from Richmond, CA. Community is the backbone of our cities, the closest gathered union next to one’s own home. My parents and community nurtured a spirit of always wanting to give back and be of service no matter how big or small to your community.  I grew up in the Bay Area of California, we were the trickle down of the immersive community efforts of The Black Panther Party. These things in mind, I knew I wanted to serve those I saw everyday who were subjected to less access to those who and that which would support healthier journeys before, during, and after childbirth. I want this scholarship because I truly want the opportunity to begin my journey to become a valuable member of the MSP community and outward.

I attended a webinar hosted by bebo mia when I began researching how I would begin this journey. After that webinar not only was I confident in my desire to become an MSP, I was confident that I wanted this training from bebo mia. They spoke about the inequities that affect the birthing journey and the loss of lives because of this. I want to be a doula after my own experience; without a maternal support practitioner, I later realized how much having this person could’ve not only affected me during my journey, but with the postpartum depression that accompanied me for sometime afterward. After having my son I learned of doulas and midwives; I’d heard the term but then I had questions; why hadn’t I heard of one, and if I didn’t know this could be available to me, how many more families like mine didn’t know?  Before nurses became a permanent position in healthcare, communities had doulas and midwives; they were entrusted to support the journey of motherhood before during and after the process no matter the outcome.

My business plans after the program will first concentrate on gaining experience as a maternal support practitioner and continuing my dedication by obtaining certification to practice as a Holistic Nutrition and Weight Loss Expert. I want to first concentrate on creating ties within my community by contributing to volunteer opportunities and outreach events by providing information and services to those who may not otherwise have it. All in all, my plan is to contribute to the pursuit of birthing justice, to a life of selfless contributions and to bringing a very important kind of support to families, to the community, to this country and to this world.

– Dy’Ana

bebo mia’s live & exclusively online doula certification has been built on four foundational pillars. They are: teaching excellence, cultivating community, ongoing mentorship and holistic & unwavering advocacy. Our mission is to connect womxn* to their intrinsic value & power. One of the ways we aim to do this is by offering the most comprehensive combined fertility, birth & postpartum doula training! Our team of instructors are diverse, interesting, committed to social justice & super funny.

Collectively we are committed to changing the landscape of birth experiences across the globe. 

*We use the term ‘womxn’ in our mission and throughout some of our values work. We define womxn as womxn-identified, femme-presenting, two-spirited, genderqueer, trans-inclusive, gender-non-conforming, androgynous, agender, intersex, bigender, gender questioning, gender fluid, butch, non-binary, queer positive or any person that would like to be included in this definition.