At Heart & Bloom, we believe in the inherent strength of women and the innate wisdom of the female body; we believe that birth is safe, natural, and beautiful. While we are thankful for interventions when necessary, we trust the birthing process. We honor women in their birthing time by serving, encouraging and lifting them up. We believe that every woman deserves the birth she desires, and we work tirelessly to provide evidence-based resources to our clients and their families so they are armed with information, assertive in the choices they make for themselves and confident in their advocation of them. We believe in autonomy-that every person should have the right to make decisions for their own health and their own body.  Above all-we believe that women are powerful, that they are capable of making the best, most informed decisions for themselves and their children, and we believe that in the sacred time of your birth, you should be surrounded by ONLY love, encouragement and belief in your abilities.

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A Statement From The Owner

In years past, the business advice given to those of us just starting out has been to not make a clear stance on "controversial" topics or our political leanings for fear of loss of business or business relationships. I have often disregarded this advice. Call it my need for advocation or my rebellious spirit. But I feel that it is time for businesses and people with influence in their communities to make a clear stance on issues where marginalized groups of people are being harmed by our society and our system. 

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I believe firmly in the well-documented data, that people of color (namely Black, Indigenous People of Color, or BIPOC), are at higher risk of receiving poor care by medical professionals, which has led to so many cases of infant and maternal loss of life. I acknowledge and understand that many of these medical practices such as gynecology have been established on the backs of tortured and mutilated slaves who had no rights to their own bodies. A large majority of these systemic problems today are still rooted back hundreds of years where it was believed that people of color could not feel pain. This is obviously an erroneously barbaric thought, but studies done in 2016 showed that 40% of white medical students not only believe this, they also believe that black people have less nerve endings, thicker skin, and that their blood coagulates faster. These racist, unchecked and detrimental beliefs are contributing to the large disparities that are harming, maiming and killing people, and especially women, of color. A study as recently as 2019 shows that Black, Indigenous, and Alaskan Native women are 2-3x more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than white women. And despite the many citable reasons for this, it is utterly unacceptable. As a provider who serves women in this vulnerable time of their lives, I want to make myself abundantly clear to my clients, my colleagues and my community that I take an actively Anti-Racist stance, not only in my work, but also in my life. I see the problems, I see the fundamental dehumanization of our existing system, but most importantly, I see you. I refuse to work alongside colleagues who do not share this knowledge and understanding. You will never have to fear that my back up doula or business affiliates don't share the same sentiments. Whether or not I serve you in your birthing time, I am committed to holding my colleagues accountable, making changes within my own organizations, and using my voice to advocate for true equality. I am hopeful that these conversations are happening more in our communities, but as we have seen so many times as we watch black people killed before our eyes on livestream, it is going to take much more than hope and conversations. It takes firm boundaries, active allyship, and hard lines drawn in the sand. This is my hard line. 

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I truly hope that everyone reading this is capable of taking my message to heart. I serve all kinds of people from all walks of life and I will continue to do so, unapologetically. However, if your beliefs are rooted in supremacy, I am not the birth professional for you.

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It is time to do better. It is time to elevate the voices of the marginalized and demand protection, equal rights and equal treatment of their lives, their children and their bodies. Black lives matter. They always have, and they always will.

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With love, hope and urgency,

Kaci Dean