Dr. Sayida Peprah-Wilson is both a licensed clinical psychologist and trained birth doula. She specializes in multicultural psychology, trauma, suicide prevention and maternal mental health. Dr. Sayida has a multifaceted career as a psychologist having worked in community-based, in-home, psychiatric hospital, correctional and private practice settings. She is also a trainer and consultant on topics of cultural humility, implicit bias and trauma as they impact mental and maternal health. Dr. Sayida is the founder of the non-profit organization Diversity Uplifts, Inc.

Dr. Sayida’s work in maternal health include serving as a doula trainer/mentor, maternal mental health and cultural competency consultant for perinatal health programs in Southern California (Frontline Doulas, Sankofa Birthworkers Collective). Dr. Sayida is also an active member of the Black Women Birthing Justice Collective and a Collaborator with the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, promoting research, education and community-based services to positively transform birthing experiences of black families. Dr. Sayida has served and continues to serve on advisory committees to improve maternal health including the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (Maternal Suicide Review Committee​ 2018-2019 & Maternal Mortality Review Committee 2020- Present), ​Perinatal Equity Initiative Committees​ of San Bernardino and Riverside County (2019- Present), and others aimed at identifying key risks and opportunities for quality improvement and prevention around disparities.

Dr. Sayida is dedicated to contributing her expertise to uplift the community and improve the effectiveness of health care and social support services.

Resources

Black Maternal Health Organizations

Black Mamas Matter Alliance: A Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice. We envision a world where Black mamas have the rights, respect, and resources to thrive before, during, and after pregnancy.

Black Women Birthing Justice: ​BWBJ is a grass-roots collective out of Oakland, CA. We identify as Black women and individuals across the African Diaspora and are committed to transforming birthing experiences for Black women and birthing people. Our vision is that every pregnant person has an empowering birth and postpartum experience, free of unnecessary medical interventions and forced separation from their child, one that honors their autonomy and maintains dignity. We aim to educate and inform, to document and share Black women and individuals’ birth stories in their own words, to raise awareness, influence healthcare policy, and keep birth sacred. We challenge human rights violations, including maternal mortality and near misses, and rebuild confidence in our Black and Brown community’s ability to birth.

Shades of Blue Project: Dedicated to breaking cultural barriers in maternal mental health by raising awareness and ensuring action is being taken to break the stigma surrounding seeking treatment in the minority community when experiencing complications after childbirth. The Blue Box is designed to help women that experienced Infant Loss. Most often times there are No words to console a grieving mother. The Blue Box is an offer of expression, love and empathy.

Birth Justice & Advocacy

• Frontline Doulas Birth Advocacy Resources

Podcasts

• Birth Trauma Training for Birth Workers Podcast: Do you believe that birth is about more than just a healthy baby? Do you believe trauma could actually be our biggest teacher and conduit for personal and professional growth? Knowing how cope with vicarious trauma and develop sustainable self-care is a non negotiable for all birth workers. Join me, Dr Erin Bowe, Clinical Perinatal & Author of More than a Healthy Baby, as we uncover “who is helping the helper?”

• Dem Black Mamas podcast answers all the questions yo mama won't! From sex & dream chasing to adulting & raising free Black children in an unfree world, Crystal Tennille Irby, NeKisha Killings, & Thea Monyee, three #BlackMamaCreatives give you all the #BlackMamaMagic your heart can hold.

• The Doctor Mom Podcast: We are mamas who love feeling confident with our families' healthcare and we want that for you too! We provide practical health tips so you can be a proactive parent. It’s time we take healthcare into our own hands! We are functional medicine providers with a passion for pregnancy, postpartum, and pediatrics. We share resources with mamas who want to be well-informed of their health options and empowered working with their healthcare providers. We bring experts on the show and share our own personal stories so you can feel calm, competent, and confident as a “Doctor Mom!”

• In the Evidence Based Birth® podcast, we cover the research evidence on hot topics about pregnancy and childbirth! Our mission is to raise the quality of childbirth care globally, by putting accurate, evidence based research into the hands of families and communities, so they can make informed, empowered choices.

• At the Mom & Mind podcast we talk about all of the stuff that you wish someone would have told you BEFORE you tried to be pregnant or have a baby. Postpartum depression is only part of the story. The goal of this podcast to put all of this info out in the open. There’s no need to hide these very human experiences…so many people deal with these struggles. So, we get into real life stories of moms, dads and family AND we will talk with experts, leaders and advocates in the field of maternal mental health and maternal health. You deserve to be informed!!!!
  

• Sisters in Loss is dedicated to replacing silence with storytelling around pregnancy and infant loss and infertility of black women. The stigma and shame that comes with sharing loss stories prevent black women from achieving the healing they need to thrive in their new normal. Sisters in Loss holds space to present loss and infertility stories in a resourceful culturally acceptable way to assure black women they are not alone on this journey.

Research Articles co-authored by Dr. Sayida

• Creativity, Resilience and Resistance: Black Birthworkers’ Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic (Download)

Tools & Guides

• Article - Questions to ask when choosing a culturally competent healthcare provider (Read now)

• Report - Battling Over Birth: Black Women & The Maternal Health Care Crisis in California from Black Women Birthing Justice (Access here)

• Tool: Black Birthing Bill of Rights from the National Association to Advance Black Birth (Find out more | Download the PDF)

• Tool: Birthing People's Bill of Rights COVID-19 Edition (Download the PDF)

• White Paper - Advancing Birth Justice: Community-Based Doula Models as a Standard of Care for Ending Racial Disparities (Find out more | Read the White Paper)

Video Clips