STL 360 Doula Initiative

January 17, 2023 / Okunsola M. Amadou

Jamaa Birth Village means family in the African language of Swahili. Come and go with me, on the humble beginnings and birthing of a village.

STL 360 DOULA INITIATIVE

2020 was off to a great start. Our clinic was thriving, Doulas were getting the respect they deserved, and our vision had come around full circle. We were overjoyed! As we prepared to enter 2021, we began working on a 3-year plan to expand the access, education and integration of Doula care services into our entire maternal health system.

Merck for Mothers has an initiative called the “Safer Childbirth Cities” which is an initiative to bring funding to innovations in cities with high disparities in childbirth. 

In January 2021, Jamaa Birth Village applied and was awarded a 3-year, 1-million dollar grant for the “STL 360 Doula Initiative” in harmony with our initiative the St. Louis Doulas of Color Collective! We were now tasked with training, growing and supporting 360 Doulas in the St. Louis region and helping to reshape the maternal health infrastructure in our region. 

STL 360 Doula initiative
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Okunsola M. Amadou

Okunsola M. Amadou, a Fulani-American Midwife, is the Founder and President of Jamaa Birth Village.

Brittany L. Conteh, professionally known as Priestess Okunsola M. Amadou, Folk Midwife™ and Birth Priestess™, is a pioneering midwife, educator, and preservationist dedicated to redefining the legacy of African Indigenous Midwifery and ensuring its rightful place in the cultural and historical record.

After leading the Jamaa Birth Village organization and midwifery clinic for over a decade and practicing as a Certified Professional Midwife, Okunsola is now transitioning from clinical practice to full-time cultural preservation, focusing on the documentation, protection, and advancement of her patent pending midwife designation paths of Folk Midwifery™ and Birth Priestess™ traditions-globally.

As the Founder & President of Jamaa Birth Village, Okunsola led groundbreaking efforts to transform Black Maternal Health in Missouri and beyond. Her achievements include:

Opening Missouri’s first Black-led midwifery clinic on Juneteenth 2020, after training with traditional midwives and fetish priestesses in Ghana (2013).

Becoming the First Black Certified Professional Midwife & First Black Registered CPM Preceptor in Missouri.

Certifying over 460 Black doulas, significantly closing the Black doula disparity gap in St. Louis and the State of Missouri.

Earning 24 awards for her contributions to Black Maternal Health.

Consulting hospitals, policymakers, and international organizations on equitable maternal care policies.

Receiving ten state/local proclamations, seven resolutions-including a Congressional Resolution for her work in birth justice.

As a Museum Studies scholar, Okunsola graduated from the University of Iowa Museum Studies Program May 2025, after completing an internship at the Missouri Historical Society where she launched a Missouri Midwife archive and pop-up exhibit.

Her leadership has not only expanded access to midwifery and doula services, but also challenged systemic inequities in maternal care, ensuring culturally centered and community-driven solutions.

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