Nationwide — Master midwife, maternal health elder, and national doula training pioneer Shafia M. Monroe, MPH, announces the publication of her new book, Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and Healing, published by Hachette / Balance.
Part cultural history, part practical guide, and part love letter to mothers, Mothering the Mother restores African American postpartum traditions that once stood at the center of family and community care. The book arrives at a moment when Black maternal health is receiving urgent national attention, reminding readers that long before modern medical systems, Black midwives and community caregivers sustained families through generations of birth, healing, and survival.
For centuries, Black midwives—often called “granny midwives”—served as the backbone of maternal care in Black communities across the United States. These women were not only birth attendants, but healers, herbalists, counselors, and guardians of cultural knowledge. Their work ensured the safety and survival of mothers and babies during eras when Black families were excluded from formal medical systems.
Monroe’s book honors this legacy while bringing its wisdom into the present. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience supporting families, Monroe shares practices rooted in nourishment, rest, warmth, and community support—principles that historically protected mothers during the vulnerable weeks after birth.
“Black midwives carried knowledge that was passed from generation to generation,” Monroe says. “This book is about remembering those traditions and restoring the care that mothers have always deserved.”
Widely regarded as an elder in the field of maternal health, Monroe has trained thousands of doulas nationwide through her SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training program. Her work has helped revive awareness of Black midwifery traditions and has influenced a new generation of birth workers committed to culturally grounded care.
Mothering the Mother also highlights the emotional and communal dimensions of postpartum care, encouraging families and communities to reclaim the practice of “mothering the mother”—ensuring that women receive the support, nourishment, and protection necessary for healing and wellbeing.
The book’s foreword is written by cultural icon and mother Erykah Badu, who has long advocated for holistic maternal care and midwifery traditions.
In an era of renewed attention to Black maternal health disparities, Monroe’s work offers both historical grounding and a path forward—one rooted in dignity, cultural memory, and collective care.
Monroe’s career and contributions have been featured in PBS, Scientific American, The American Journal of Public Health, and the documentary Bringin’ in Da Spirit. She continues to mentor birth workers and advocate for the restoration of culturally rooted maternal care practices.
Book Details:
Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and Healing
By Shafia M. Monroe, MPH
Publisher: Hachette / Balance
Foreword by Erykah Badu
Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold
Shafia Monroe is available for interviews with Black newspapers, radio programs, podcasts, and community media outlets.
For press inquiries, send an email to Alexandra.Hernandez@hbgusa.com