Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula Project

Reclaiming Birth Wisdom

In Tewa, Yiya Vi Kagingdi means, “Mother’s Helpers.” For us, birthwork and doula care is a calling, a prayer, and a role we are honored to take. Our doulas provide services for the whole family, across generations, to encourage everyone to gather around the new parents. We value a culture of consent and seek to reclaim teachings and practices that honor the Sacredness of birth. We see this as a fundamental strategy in achieving our mission of building Beloved Families and Communities where women, girls and Mother Earth are honored and protected. We define and apply principles of midwifery in accordance with our Tewa traditions that honor birth as a community process and acknowledge the interconnections between Mother Earth, family and community.

Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula Project

In 2008, Tewa Women United started the Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula Project to serve first-time Native American mothers with culturally appropriate birth support.

Since then we have expanded our reach to include services for any family within Rio Arriba County and the Tewa Pueblo Homelands. Our doulas spend numerous hours with the families they serve to build strong trusting relationships and to provide pregnancy support, community resources, and childbirth education. We host monthly Parents Circles and offer support through Tewa Women United, Circle of Grandmothers to allow families a space to share and connect. Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula Project encourages parent-baby attachment, breastfeeding support and parenting education.

We provide:

• Prenatal Visits: childbirth education & labor preparation, birth visioning, creating a birth plan, emotional support, safe space.
• Labor Support: continuous support & presence during labor & birth, methods for relaxation & coping with pain, support to your family/partner.
• Postpartum Visits: care for the new parents, breastfeeding support & newborn care tips, retelling the birth story, community resources.
• We are currently the only community based doula program in the state of NM and are unique in that we have a commitment to provide these services for low to no cost.

To sign up for doula support call (505) 747-3259 x 1206.
Or email us at: doulas@tewawomenunited.org

Special note regarding Doula Care in the Covid-19 Pandemic:

The Yiya Vi Kagingdi Doula Project upholds recent statements made by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Health Connect One, Doulas of North America (DONA) and other professional organizations, opposing policies that restrict doulas from providing continuous labor support to birthing people.

AWHONN’s Position on Doulas with Patients During COVID-19  (3/11/20) AWHONN recognizes that doula services contribute to the woman’s preparation for and support during childbirth and opposes hospital policies that restrict the presence of a doula during a woman’s active labor. “Doulas are not visitors and should not be blocked from caring for patients in the antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum period.  Most doulas have been contracted by patients weeks to months ahead of time and have established provider relationships. They are recognized by AWHONN and ACOG as essential personnel and part of the maternity care team,” said AWHONN member Nancy Travis, MS, BSN, RN, BC, CPN, CBC, Florida Section Chair. AWHONN supports doulas as partners in care and acknowledges their ability to provide physical, emotional, and partner support to women.  AWHONN opposes hospital policies that restrict the presence of a doula in the inpatient setting during an infectious disease outbreak.