Happy 5th Birthday, Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings!
This year marks the 5 year anniversary of Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings (BADT), and we are proud and excited to celebrate with you all!
This anniversary marks 5 years of incredible work from teachers, contributors, students, supporters, and staff. Together we have created something unique, needed, and transformative.
A Message from Our Founder, Sabia Wade
5 years has went by so fast! All I can say is I’m grateful for all the BADT team members (past and present) that have contributed to getting us to this current moment. I’m also beyond grateful for all of you that have trusted BADT in your journey. We are at year 5 because of the continuous love and graciousness as we move through both beautiful and messy times. BADT is my literal dream come true. Cheers to another 5 years of magic! <3
Thoughts from the BADT Team
Iya Mystique (they/she), Program Manager
What has BADT meant to you?
As someone who has journeyed from being a student, to now a leading educator in the same space that trained me, it’s liberating that I can feel safe to be my authentic self without judgment, dismissal, or being told to dim my light.
Being a Black-owned, Black-led, queer-led birth working space was what attracted me to know I’m meant to be in this work. Others (even still to this day) do not understand the value of creating safer spaces of inclusive advocacy, activism, healing, along with improving the way all of us in this work move to help our communities both individually and as a collective.
Share what you feel most proud of when you think about BADT’s offerings and presence in the birth work space.
I love how we create a space of liberation and self-care for our students. We allow our students who are mostly from marginalized communities to show up as themselves. I love how we empower our students to understand that even though we are seen as experts and are training them, they too are experts of their own experiences. I’m always reminding students that our space is far from “traditional” or “conservative” like most birth working educational spaces. If they’re into cosplay, alt, earthy, or even into what I call “comfort core” (i.e. all about comfort like blankets or fluffy robes) whatever is their vibe, they are more than welcome to show up in their own capacity.
What do you feel excited about when you think about BADT’s future?
I feel excited about the future projects we’re working on that will excel and elevate BADT to new levels most have never seen before. We are already different from the rest, and I believe that’s what makes us successful in what we have done all these years.
Court Harris (they/them), Blog Writer/Editor/Coordinator
What has BADT meant to you?
BADT has been a space of learning and community for me over the past 4 years. I’ve made a few very dear friends through BADT, and this is invaluable to me! The learning I have been able to engage in makes me feel really proud. The reality is, most trainings are birth focused and are not justice-oriented. BADT, though, has allowed me to expand my understanding of and commitment to Reproductive Justice.
Share what you feel most proud of when you think about BADT’s offerings and presence in the birth work space.
Personally, I’m really proud of the fact that we’ve put out a biweekly blog consistently since November 2020! That’s a lot of resources– go scroll through! We’ve featured lots of great folks and other community organizations and birth workers, and we look forward to continuing this offering. More broadly, like I said above, I am proud of the intentional and inclusive (like, ACTUALLY inclusive) content that BADT offers.
What do you feel excited about when you think about BADT’s future?
I’m excited to take the Full Spectrum Lactation Educator training! This training is filling a big need in the industry.
Davina Williams (she/her), Managing Director + The Black Doula Ecosytem
What has BADT meant to you?
BADT has been an amazing way for me to personally join my talents and interests together. Working with a team, handling administration, while being involved in the education and policy shifts in the doula and reproductive spaces. Being in a space that allows me to come with ideas, work collaboratively, and continue my own learning has been a profound experience and just such a blessing in my life, and I am so grateful to be here.
Share what you feel most proud of when you think about BADT’s offerings and presence in the birth work space.
BADT presents something that hasn’t been available before. Its mere presence expands the conversation, opens people’s minds, and inserts conversations of inclusivity into the birth space where they weren’t there before.
What do you feel excited about when you think about BADT’s future?
BADT has big plans, and I’m excited to see it grow. Being in conversations with insurance companies and policy makers and being acknowledged as an organization that needs to be at the forefront of these conversations is exciting.
Sabia Wade (she/they), Founder & CEO
What has BADT meant to you?
BADT is a space of hope, action and liberation to me. BADT energizes me and grounds me in this work and in myself. BADT is a space of community, especially in the ways imperfection is expected and practicing what we preach is actually allowed to be in progress. When I created BADT, I had a vision but nothing could have prepared me for the ways our community saw it too and co-created the vision to what it is today. BADT fulfillsoften feels what I felt was missing in 2015 when I started as a doula, and now it’s a dream come true.
Share what you feel most proud of when you think about BADT’s offerings and presence in the birth work space.
I’m currently feeling really excited about our Full Spectrum Lactation Educator course and our in person events this year! The lactation course has been a labor of love, and being able to see folks in person provides me with motivation daily! These are two things our community has been asking for and being able to make it happen feels like a major sign of growth and expands the ways we want to show up in the birth work space.
What do you feel excited about when you think about BADT’s future?
We have been growing so much in our connections to organizations seeking our programming to assist them in educating their team members and community. I’m really excited to see more collaborations come in and spread this work in organizations with local reach!
Donette Lowe (she/they), Social Media Coordinator
What has BADT meant to you?
BADT has been a safe space for me. I haven’t been on the team for a long time, but I immediately felt like family. I was accepted for what I know and don’t know about the reproductive space and encouraged to learn. And given opportunities to! It’s hard to put into words, but this is what it looks like for work to be healthy and not feel like I am contributing my skillset to something that’s not for the community. It’s been purpose work.
Share what you feel most proud of when you think about BADT’s offerings and presence in the birth work space.
Liberation! Everything BADT is about getting free and having the resources to do so. That accessibility is so important and it makes BADT stand out in the birth work space. It is Black, queer-led, and inclusive. There are not many organizations that can say that.
What do you feel excited about when you think about BADT’s future?
BADT is and will continue to be a leader in this space. It makes me excited because justice involves building sustainable systems that create systemic change. I think that BADT’s work is creating that change daily. So I really look forward to the continuous moments that we see this work come to fruition and support lasting change.
Jeffrey Shiau (they/he), Head of Marketing
What has BADT meant to you?
I’m grateful to work with folks who also share a commitment to collective liberation. I’ve learned so much from my fellow team members as well as from the BADT community.
BADT is a place where we’re always discussing how things can be done better. It feels like we’re always trying to imagine a better world. When I feel despair creeping in, I’m reminded of all the different ways we are all showing up to build a new world. We’re all doing the work, contributing what we are able via our unique gifts.
It means a lot to be a part of this community. As someone who dreams of a world grounded in love and care, as opposed to greed and self-interest, I’m encouraged to be working with others who are striving to embody these values in their own work and lives.
Share what you feel most proud of when you think about BADT’s offerings and presence in the birth work space.
BADT walks the walk! When we talk about inclusivity, accessibility, anti-oppression, or any of our core values, we are not paying lip service to these concepts. We mean it. We do our very best to consider these values in everything we do.
Also, I’m super proud of the work that we do at BADT to make trainings financially-accessible for students.
What do you feel excited about when you think about BADT’s future?
It’s amazing how much of an impact BADT has already made in 5 years! I’m excited to see BADT continue to shape the narrative around what the industry could (and should) look like. In the short-term, I know that we have big plans in terms of revamping our courses! Stay tuned!
Join Us this Year and Beyond!
We’d love for you to join and support the BADT community! Sign up for our email list if you’re a birth worker or aspiring birth worker, so you’ll be first to hear about new courses, open enrollment periods, and scholarship opportunities. We have a community app where conversations and resource-sharing happens, if you’d like to join us in conversation!