Birthing While Black - Thamarah Crevecoeur
In the second issue of ‘Birthing while Black’ — our blog series underscoring the complexity of the Black maternal health crisis and the varied experiences of a community that we too often lump together — we spotlight Haitian-American midwife, Thamarah Crevecoeur. For almost two decades, Thamy has cared for Haitian newcommers and provided them with the culturally appropriate SRH care that we know is critical to improving health outcomes for women and newborns. In this video interview, Thamy discusses her life work and provides guidance for other midwives and health workers providing care to marginalised communities.
Thamarah Crevecoeur interest in women's health and midwifery began over 10 years ago, after taking a trip to a birth Center in Les Cayes, Haiti. There she worked with Haitian midwives and traditional birth attendants. She became intrigued with the passion and purpose of midwives in helping to care and save the lives of women during this special time. After completing her midwifery degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, she then again returned to Haiti for approximately 9 months and worked with auxiliary nurses delivering babies. For the last 14+ years, Thamarah Crevecoeur has been practicing full scope midwifery at Boston Medical Center in Boston, MA. She performs well-woman gynecological, prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Her patients are close to her heart, as they are mostly immigrants from Haiti and the other Carribbean islands. In addition to practicing midwifery, Ms. Crevecoeur completed her Doctoral of Public Health (DrPH) at Boston University School of Public Health. She is also an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Boston College Connell School of Nursing. Her academic areas of interest include qualitative research around women’s experiences with maternity care, international and immigrant maternal child health, Monitoring & Evaluation, and quality improvement. She truly believes in the concept of exceptional care without exception for all women.
