Mission Statement
The Shanga Wellness Collective will prepare and train community wellness workers for a positive motherhood entrance experience through continuous workforce development, mentoring, education and support for black families through programs which assist our clients and develop inner strength while building confident birth and motherhood outcomes to meet the community need to have one hub for maternal care.
The Journey
The four co-founders of the Shanga Wellness Collective first came together in March of 2022 through their participation in the Pittsburgh: A Safer Childbirth City project, a year-long initiative to reduce racial disparities in maternal mortality in Pittsburgh. Iyanna Bridges, Keiashia DeShawn, Amber Edmunds, and Syreeta Gordon, all Black leaders in local birth organizations, recognized a profound need for their work beyond the end of the project, and established an ongoing collaboration to strengthen the doula community and provide quality perinatal care for families. It was through many in-person and virtual zoom meetings that the framework for Shanga was formed early in 2023.
Fiscally sponsored by New Sun Rising, the Shanga Wellness Collective is a grassroots movement that addresses the lack of support for small, Black-led birth organizations and responds to the needs of Black doulas, who face burnout and trauma from one of the most physically and mentally challenging jobs. Shanga’s goal is to provide community mentorship, self-care supports, a shared doula pool, and midwifery training cohorts to support Pittsburgh’s Black doula community.
Since its launch, Shanga has produced a standard of practice, “Professional Shanga Wellness Village Scope and Standards of Practice.” It has also developed a doula mentorship and self care practice program to enhance doulas’ skills and foster their well-being, filling a professional development gap in the doula profession.
About the Shanga Wellness Collective
The Shanga Wellness Collective is a team of doulas working to bridge Black maternal healthcare gaps by supporting existing and newly trained Black doulas. By ensuring that our doulas are educated and nurtured, Shanga provides quality care for Black families throughout the Pittsburgh area and strengthens the long-term viability of the Black perinatal workforce.
