Oct 2017: Rebirthing the Vision

October 30, 2017 / 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.

rebirthing the jamaa vision

By the end of 2017, Jamaa Had served over 200+ families, and was celebrating its 2nd Annual Gala at 8 Church St. The closing of 2017, also wrapped up our first Midwifery care program partnered with my clinical preceptors, in preparation for a “For Us, By Us Model” relaunch in January 2018.

When we were first founded in 2015, we were called “Community Birth & Wellness Center” to reflect the partnership that we had with my clinical preceptors. However, due to many barriers that show up for Black student Midwives, I received new visions that led me to move our organization away from a white supervisory model and into the hands of our own solutions. 

I was invited to a Black Birth Workers Healers retreat in rural Missouri with Hakima Payne. It was there that I had the freedom, healing and space to reconnect with the original vision of Jamaa Birth Village, and in the middle of the night, received the whispering of the name Jamaa.

Excited, I pounced from the twin bed of this old historic bed and breakfast, as the floor creaked under my feet in response to hold the weight of my vision. I flipped open my laptop to google this name whispered to me in the wisp of the night. The google search returned, Jamaa means family in Swahili. I jumped up from the floor in glory! I shouted to my roommate who was also my board member, Benetta Ward, and I said, “I got it, I got it! I know our new name! It will be Jamaa Birth Village!”

Sleepy, tired and maybe also tired of my brainstorming visionary antics, Benetta shooed me back to sleep and said, “Alright Tru, if you still think it should be Jamaa Birth Village in the morning then we’ll go with it.” Like a kid smiling from too much candy, I hurriedly jumped back in bed to await the sunrise and to know if the name Jamaa was still with me. And just as the sun rose, I jumped up again waking Benetta saying, “I got it! Our new name is Jamaa Birth Village.”

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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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