By Mariah Strong 

This poem was inspired by the life-long work of my mother, who is my deepest inspiration and teacher. My mom has served families on Maui for over 40 years as their ally and midwife in autonomous birth. She has birthed her eight children at home, with fellow midwives, her friends and family, into water, or into her own hands. She has welcomed her grandchildren in the same way, with the same values. Her life work has been to hold space for birthing families and their choices, to educate and empower. She is a traditional midwife, and has held that role my whole life, inspiring me so deeply that I have chosen to walk this path by her side, as a midwife. 

The words below came to me in an inspired uproar, when I was told my mother would not be "allowed" to call herself a midwife after four decades of holding that title. That the State of Hawai'i would be taking that ageless designation under a new law, and only let it remain for a certain few. In most cases, these few will be birth workers who have been privileged enough to afford midwifery school and to travel out of the state to complete it. Without an amendment, this law would make all others, the traditional and cultural midwives, the direct-entry midwives and even licensed midwives from certain states, unable to serve our families legally and strip them of the title "midwife.” If they continue to use the title, the position that their community and actions bestowed upon them, they would be legally persecuted. The option to choose our care providers and birth support team would be dramatically minimized, and in some areas extinguished. Once again, our bodily autonomy and medical choices would be taken away and put into the hands of the state. 

We must preserve the wisdom and teaching of those that are outside of the white-washed education system.

We must stand up for the safety of the birth workers that have tirelessly served our families, helping us to not only birth our children, but honor and uphold our personal traditions and cultures. 

Now is the time to fight for our access to culturally appropriate midwives. 

The words below are my call to action.  

To learn more and add your voice and experience to the cause, check out Hawaii Home Birth Collective.  

“You can keep your label”

Midwife
A simple title 
Defining a truly selfless act 
A serving on the deepest level 
To the reflection of soul in another’s eyes 
Serving the highest power within 
To birth anew 

Midwife 
The attempt at labeling something that is nameless 
Something that is ageless 
A song of sisterhood
that has been sung since the birth of this world
When the goddess birthed her daughters 
Her midwife, the cosmos and the stars 
The ember of that holy service kept alive in the hearts since time immemorial
Forever this song was stirred hands into service 
The igniting of a dance that is performed by the side of a woman in labor 

The stage of this dance never the same 
A field, a cave, a home, a brightly lit room, the wake of a tsunami, the back of a car, a sterile room 
Regardless, we hone the ember of service 
Of care, devotion, love, strength
We welcome the new world 
That is birthed with each babes first breath

Even after all this time 
There are those that don’t understand 
They believe a label 
A word 
Is what we are 
Midwife 
In your confusion you burn us 
You jail us
You beat us 
You label us and try to hinder our service by law 
But you don’t know the song that is hummed in our bones 
The power that makes us dance 
swaying our hips 
Moving our hands
The dance of birth 
We will forever serve 
We will always be there when we are needed 
When in the cry of labor
In the dark of night 
A sister needs us 
We will be there 
No matter the label 
The word
The phrase 
The terminology you try to
Force on us 
Separating us 

We stand tall
Midwives 
Sisters 
Mothers 
Daughters

Regardless of name or label or law 
We know our dance and will
Keep rhythm as one until the end of time 

This organization was started with love and dedication for our community by a group of women experiencing what it was like to be in our childbearing years and mothering here in the islands of Hawaiʻi in the 2000s. Most of us were and are struggling on many fronts to juggle the needs of our growing families, make a living, navigate relationships, and within the mix of it all find time for the things that bring us joy. Daily reminders told us that the changes happening in our bodies were something to fear. Despite Google, unbiased and useful information felt shockingly hard to come by.   

We had to learn as we went, and found resilience and strength in each other. We shared a vision, that together this transformative, transitional part of our lives did not have to be quite as hard as it sometimes felt. We wanted it to be easier and more comfortable for families in our community to find resources and to feel empowered and supported on their journeys into parenthood. That's how the Pacific Birth Collective was born! Now six years later, it is continuing to evolve and grow. 

At the time we started, many people told us that there was no way, we would not be able to maintain it. We fell flat on our face a few times and received some harsh but necessary feedback over the years about the responsibility of holding an inclusive platform, to honor the past while adapting to the needs of modern citizens of Hawaiʻi. Culture is not stagnant, it is alive and molded by the practices, values and needs of individuals engaged in community. For us to successfully work together, we believe it requires a commitment to open non-violent communication, compassion for our struggles both personal and collective, and a willingness to embrace and respect differences in all forms. We are all in this together. 

For this first blog post I would like to share a little about myself and my dream for our collective future. My Name is Charlene Kiana Rowley,  I am a straddler of many things, including my heritage being a white woman who grew up in Hawai’i. I always felt a desire to fit in but had to face the reality that my white western ancestors perpetrated the decline of the culture, language, and sustainable life giving practices of Kanaka Maoli who have cared for these islands for thousands of years. Now at 37, I do feel that I belong to Hawaiʻi. I also feel a responsibility to acknowledge past wrongs and advocate for reparations and revitalization of traditional practices that sustain the health of our islands and her people.

Native Hawaiians and other indigenous peoples suffer from horrendous health disparities. Poverty, food insecurity, addiction and an out of control housing crisis that are killing and displacing them from their ancestral lands. This is not okay. In this uncertain world they hold the key to our survival!! The health of these islands is reflected in the health of her people, and until these disparities are corrected, none of us can thrive.  

This blog is a living breathing documentation by our community, for our community as we seek to elevate and empower our generation to care for our bodies, our families, our communities and our environment with the collective wisdom of our ancestors and the resilience that comes when we care for and believe in one another.  Mahalo nui loa to each and every one of you who contribute your best self to our community so that together we can proudly pass the torch to the next generation. 

With love and respect,

Kiana, PBC Vice President