Elaine Welteroth details her experience as a midwife at BirthFUND event

Elaine Welteroth, former co-host of The speech and editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, hosted a VIP brunch in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon in honor of her nonprofit BirthFUND. The organization, which sees midwifery as a unique solution to America’s maternal health crisis, officially launched last month with the support of high-profile founding funders including Serena Williams, Abby Phillip, Kelly Rowland, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.

The event took place at the private residence of interior designer Brigette Romanek, who, along with Rowland, formed the brunch’s hosting committee. Celebrities in attendance included Tina Knowles, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, Lauren London, Yvonne Orji, Holly Robinson Peete, Denise Vasi, Jeanie Mai, Angela Rye, Ryan Michele Bathe, Aisha Hinds, Allison Holker and Melanie Fiona, who closed out the evening. gathering with a show.

“When I had the life-saving experience of being cared for by black midwives, I had that experience not only alive, but fulfilled,” Welteroth said during the program. “I understood for the first time how transformative motherhood could be, how transformative birth could be. No one told me that part, and I want that for other women. We need this for other women. In a time where our rights are being taken away, they don’t want us to know our power. Midwifery makes us aware of our power.

CNN anchor Phillip, who created the report “Homebirth Journey: Saving Black Moms” for The whole story with Anderson Cooper last December, also spoke about her experience with a midwife at the event.

“I didn’t really want to talk about my birth story because at the time midwifery felt like it was shrouded in secrecy, but it also felt a bit like a secret weapon,” she said. Phillip said. “What I was looking for, and when Elaine and I met and talked about our shared birth experiences, was that I wanted to feel joy when my child came into the world, and, instead, I I was terrified, and too many women are experiencing this precise moment in their lives in the wrong way.

“We know the statistics,” Phillip added, “but the question is: do we know there are solutions?

According to research cited repeatedly throughout the event, midwifery could prevent more than 80 percent of maternal deaths. This figure highlights the direction of BirthFUND as an organization.

“The most important part of our mission is that we invest directly in covering the costs of families who need access to midwifery care now,” Welteroth said. “When you donate to BirthFUND, it’s not limited to our accounts. It won’t show up on my shoes. We collect this money, as well as bills from women who are…