When I gave birth to my first son Edward in 2016, I encountered something no mother should ever face. My birth plan was ignored. My voice was dismissed. What I experienced in that delivery room has a name — obstetric violence — and it is far more common than most people know. My son spent time in the NICU, and my husband Vaughn and I carried the weight of that trauma long after we came home. But here is what I need you to understand: that violence did not start Baby Yams. What started Baby Yams is what came after — the healing, the community, and the extraordinary love I found on the other side.

When I became pregnant with our second son Alejandro, I had to find another way. I prayed for an answer and I found the reproductive justice movement. I found Black Mamas Matter Alliance and Birth Place Lab at the University of British Columbia. I found a whole community of scholars, healers and visionary practitioners who have been fighting, advocating and caring for Black and Indigenous mothers with skill, dignity, and deep cultural reverence. I found the Black midwife who cared for us brilliantly, Racha Lawler. Her care was transformative not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. That community care has been an inextricable part of my healing. That love started Baby Yams.

I wanted to yell from the mountain tops, because if I knew 9 years ago what I know now, my story would be so different. And when I learned that my story is commonplace, I vowed to do everything I could to amplify the message and the work. More than 80% of Black maternal deaths are completely preventable. That is not a tragedy we must accept. It is a crisis we can end because we deserve to thrive. And the people who are already ending it are the healers — gifted visionary, culturally rooted midwives, doulas, and community birth workers doing extraordinary work in cities and towns across America. They are respecting our autonomy, giving us choices, catching our babies, fighting for our our birth plans, and holding our families with care that saves lives. They were among my very first Baby Yams customers, because they understood immediately what these quilts represent. Today you will find Baby Yams in birth centers, clinics, and practices nationwide — in the spaces we must grow and protect where Black mothers are finally being seen, heard, and celebrated. 

During my second pregnancy, a group of Black moms gifted me a piece of Ankara fabric — the vibrant, iconic West African textile that carries centuries of cultural memory. I made it into a baby quilt. My husband and I sewed blessings into every stitch — abundance, joy and peace amongst them. People kept asking about that quilt. Where did it come from? What did it mean?

Launched during Black Maternal Health Week in April 2024, Baby Yams creates heirloom quality baby quilts handcrafted in small batches in Los Angeles from 100% cotton Ankara and Batik fabrics. Each pattern carries a blessing — Abundance, Joy, Peace — the same blessings I stitched into my son’s very first quilt. A portion of every purchase goes directly to Black and Indigenous birth workers — helping to fund scholarships, the licensing fees, equipment, training, and resources that allow them to serve more families. Baby Yams is proud to donate a portion of its proceeds to Birth Future Foundation and National Midwifery College to empower the next generation of Black and Indigenous birth workers.

Baby Yams is not just a place to shop. It is a gathering place for everyone who believes Black and Indigenous mothers deserve better — and who is ready to do something about it. In our newsletter Yam House Diaries we shine a light on the care providers, reproductive justice activists, and organizations across the country who are actively changing outcomes for families. Every issue is a love letter to the movement — full of the healers, visionaries, and community builders who are already creating the world we deserve. We invite you to be part of it. Subscribe to Yam House Diaries. Follow the work. Share the story. Buy a quilt for a family you love.