Thank you Brittsense, LP's vibe, Sankofa Ra, Auntie Eve and others for tuning into our live video! Our next Exchange will take place on October 28th, with a focus on Matrescence. Join us every 4th Tuesday for skill building, eye opening conversations for birth workers.
This week inThe Exchange, we explored what family-centered care — a foundational part of the Borne mission — really means in maternal health. One highlight I want to share here: the work of Celeste Phillips, RN, EdD — a pioneer of family-centered maternity care whose name I hadn’t heard until recently.
In the 1950s, she began challenging practices like excluding fathers, separating babies, and medicating women without consent. Her radical (for the time) philosophy was simple but profound: the childbearing experience belongs to the family, not the caregivers.
In 1994, she codified this vision into 10 principles of Family-Centered Maternity Care, including:
Childbirth is wellness, not illness.
Care is personalized to each family’s needs.
Education prepares families for active participation.
Families make informed choices.
Partners and support people are included.
Family presence is encouraged during birth.
Continuity of space and caregivers is prioritized.
Mothers are primary caregivers for their infants.
Mother and baby are treated as a unit.
Parents remain involved in newborn care, even with high-risk babies.
Imagine if this were the baseline for every family today.
You can watch the full conversation above and hear more about how these principles can reshape maternal care.
Until next time…
