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Christina Elmore, who plays new mother Condola on Insecure, opened up about her motherhood journey. In an essay for Women’s Health, Elmore discussed her experience with having an all-Black team of midwives that helped her deliver her second son, Solomon.
In the essay, Elmore explained that she made this decision after having an all-white team help her deliver her first son unmedicated at a birthing center. She said even though they were great and it was an “empowering” experience, she wanted to have a team that was attuned with her needs.
I wanted to feel like my worries and my pain would be heard and that I wouldn’t have to be translating while talking about fibroids, which I and many Black women have, or my fear of a C-section because of keloid scars, which people with darker skin are more susceptible to developing. Keloid scars aren’t necessarily dangerous, but they can be uncomfortable and restrict movement in the area.
She added that bringing her child into the world “at the height of the racial reckoning in this country” also played a role in her decision. Finding out that she was pregnant on the same day that George Floyd was killed brought on some “weird feelings.”
“I was mourning and rejoicing at the same time,” Elmore wrote. “It was a really hard time to be Black in America. I would choose to be Black every time, but it was hard to see that this country wasn’t made for us. I was bringing another Black life in this country, and I wanted the experience to be different for him. I wanted him to be caught by Black hands that would be able to give me the care I deserved.”
While working with her team from Kindred Space Los Angeles, she said she “quickly noticed a difference in my care.” When she had some high blood pressure concerns, they acted with a sense of urgency regarding connecting her with other holistic care providers and also came to her home twice a day to check on her. When she was giving birth, having a room of women who resembled her made her feel safe and supported.
“There was such a difference in my holistic care,” she said. “This was a group of women who just heard me. I didn’t expect to have that in the medical field—it felt so unique and special.”
Elmore said that she hopes that Black expecting mothers understand that they can “choose to give birth in any way” they want because there’s “no right way to give birth.”
“I want women to understand that we have options around birth. There’s no wrong way. I hope that other women are able to feel empowered as possible, and listened to and valued as I did. Because we all deserve that.”
