Today we’d like to introduce you to Kindred Space LA. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Kindred Space LA came as a direct result to help address the racial disparities and needs of black birthing people in our community. We started in 2018 initially as a home birth practice, with a small space in Ladera Heights, that provided a location for people to gather for trainings, educational and dance classes and support groups, as well as for birthing people to come for their pre and post-natal care. In 2020, we relocated to our larger, current location where we not only hold classes, groups, trainings and see people for care, but we have also been able to build out two birth rooms! We were able to grow into a birth center for people to comfortably come and birth their babies! The community has been a HUGE help in getting us to where we are today with not only the financial donations to help us establish our new location, but also in providing hands-on help while we were cleaning, renovating, and decorating. The community continues to support by helping spread the word about our center so that we can continue to grow and reach as many people as possible.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road has not always been smooth. The biggest struggle thus far has been to maintain our practice and keep our doors open. Although we have been trying, we are not yet in network with any insurance companies. This won’t solve the problem fully because insurance companies‘ payments for our services is not always profitable. At this point, our clients must pay out of pocket for their care. For many families, this is not a viable option. Despite us keeping our prices as low as possible, many of our clients have had to raise funds privately, have been rewarded a grant, get approved for loans, or just work very hard to help make this type of care possible for themselves. We are always grateful for donations to our non-profit organization The Birthing People Foundation that can help us keep our doors open.
As you know, we’re big fans of Kindred Space LA. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Kindred Space LA is currently the only black-owned birth center in Los Angeles. We are a team of licensed midwives that practice the midwifery model of care and offer home and birth center birth options for low-risk, single, healthy pregnancies. Our classes and support groups are open to anyone, regardless of where someone is choosing to birth. We also have supplemental pre and postnatal care options for those planning a hospital birth. The midwifery model is patient (“client”) centered and also focuses on provided (-ing) informed consent every step of the way. While we created our organization as a result of the issues and disparities happening with mothers and babies of color, we are committed and inclusive of all families that feel comfortable and trusting with us as care providers. We aim to be compassionate, caring, reasonable, and honest with all families that we serve.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the most important lessons we’ve learned is that we cannot help everyone all the time. We are not for everyone and we also have a limited capacity on the number of families we can serve at a given time, and we are ok with that. As care providers, we have to also care for ourselves so we can show up fully for our clients. We all have families and children that we care for as well, so being a practice model has helped us to achieve that work / life balance. We recognize and accept when we need to take time off call, whether it be a day, or a week or more.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kindredspacela.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindredspacela/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindredspacela
- Our non-profit Birthing People Foundation Go Fund Me: https://gofund.me/98a46a50
Image Credits
Rebecca Coursey Dario Griffin Nicole LaCour-Wordlaw Ashanique Nelson-Cavil
