IDA MAE PATTERSON CENTER FOR MATERNAL AND INFANT WELLNESS

The Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal & Infant Wellness is founded on the tenets of the Village Circle Approach™. The center offers Community-Embedded Group Prenatal Care, designed to support, protect and provide community-based clinical care to African-American childbearing persons, families, and others.

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PRENATAL CARE AT THE CENTER

Care Participants — enrolled pregnant clients— will receive care in supportive cohorts of their peers that focus on perinatal education, informed consent, community nurturance and support, all in a culturally validating environment.

The Village Circle Approach™ aims to eliminate the damaging consequences of racism in prenatal care currently demonstrated within standard medical models of care. The model focuses on clinical excellence, client autonomy, and group determination all in an environment of cultural validation and celebration.

NOW OPEN!

Interested prenatal clients can contact clinic staff at idamaecenter@uzazivillage.org or call 816-541-3718

 

Read about The Village Circle Approach™

IDA MAE PATTERSON CENTER STAFF

Atira Cole

Atira Cole

Resource Doula

Read Atira's Bio
Rochelle Evans

Rochelle Evans

Admin Doula

Read Rochelle's Bio
Arrin Blount

Arrin Blount

Village Doula Lead

Read Arrin's Bio
Sierra Yancey

Sierra Yancey

Mental Health Doula & Therapy Services Coordinator

Read Sierra's Bio
Shafeeqa Small

Shafeeqa Small

Community Life Wellness Coordinator

Read Shafeeqa's Bio
Rosie Warren

Rosie Warren

Herbalist & Garden Coordinator

Read Rosie's Bio
Rachel Williston

Rachel Williston

Senior Midwife

Read Rachel's Bio

Clarisa Evans

Midwife

Read Clarisa's Bio
Delia Pearl

Delia Pearl

Student Midwife & Village Doula

Read Delia's Bio
Cecil Watree

Cecil Watree

Therapist & Mental Wellness Coordinator

Read Cecil's Bio
Katrina Stoddard
Katrina Stoddard

Therapist & Mental Wellness Coordinator

Read Katrina's Bio

Care will be provided by multidisciplinary staff of:

Midwives

Doulas

Herbalists

Community Life & Wellness Coordinator

Lactation Specialists

Ida Mae Center Virtual Orientation

Care participants that have recently been signed up for services through the Ida Mae Patterson Center are required to go through orientation before attending their appointments. Orientations are held virutally on the first Friday of every month on Zoom 4–5pm.

IDA MAE CENTER ORIENTATION
Request an Appointment/Attend Orientation
Fill this form out if you plan to attend an orientation session to become a care participant in the Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal and Infant Wellness or if you would like to request an appointment at the center.
Please list your insurance provider or indicate in this field if you do not have insurance.
How did you find out about Uzazi Village/Ida Mae Patterson Center?
Please let us know any additional information that may be helpful for us before/when meeting with you.

Learn more about the Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal & Infant Wellness

IDA MAE CLINIC PRESS RELEASE
CLINIC INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

4232 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64110  •  (816) 541-3718

WEBSITE CREATED BY LILLIAN JAMES CREATIVE

The Village Circle Approach™

The Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal and Infant Wellness is a Perinatal Safe Spot and a Black Sacred Space for prenatal care. The Ida Mae Clinic utilizes the Village Circle Approach™  

Description:

The Village Circle Approach™ is an Afro-Centric Group Prenatal Care Model designed to support, protect and provide community-based clinical care to childbearing persons and families of the African diaspora, The model allows for a group prenatal care concept in which pregnant persons move though care in support cohorts of their peers that focus on perinatal education informed consent, community nurturance and support, excellence in clinical care, all in a culturally validating environment.  This is the chosen care approach for the Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal and Infant Wellness (Ida Mae Clinic) at Uzazi Village in Kansas City, MO. 

Purpose:

The purpose of this approach to care is to eliminate racially-embedded health disparities in prenatal care currently demonstrated within standard medical models of care.  This approach focuses on clinical excellence, client autonomy, and group determination all in an environment of cultural validation and celebration.  African-Americans bear the brunt of negative health consequences in a white-supremist, oppressive and punitive healthcare system that fails to recognize the humanity and value of African-American persons.  The current system of healthcare cannot meet the complex needs of childbearing persons of the Black diaspora and cannot solve the problem of health inequity in its current state. It is therefore incumbent upon those who understand the problem in all its nuances to offer viable solutions.  The Village Circle Approach™ is designed to bridge the care/outcome gap with care that recognizes and honors the humanity of persons of the African diaspora.

Features:

Features of this model will include aspects of care in a healthcare setting that are Afro-Centric by nature and celebrate Black ‘Ways of Being.’ These features include:

  • Group education
  • Relational interaction with care partners
  • Equalized (rather than hierarchical) power structures
  • Shared decision-making and informed consent or non-consent
  • Culturally congruent staffing
  • Celebration of Black peoples and Black culture

Hi All! My name is Atira. I am one of the full spectrum doulas here at Uzazi Village! I’m Kansas City born and raised and I love US. I love my Black people. I love my Kansas City Black people. And Uzazi provides me a space to do just that in such a special way.

I came here through an internship through UMKC’s Health Sciences program as a graduation requirement. I knew I wanted to be out in my community with the people who live there and  wanted to be forming these relationships with them through any means and when I saw Uzazi on that list I was intrigued. After a dive of the website, I knew there wasn’t any other option — I just had to be here. From the moment that I came in the space i fell in love. And the more I became engaged with this work, the people within it the more i fell in love with the work that’s done within this community. Quickly, it became more than just a graduation requirement that as I interacted with the women and families that we often serve. Forming these attachments with these Black women that not only empowered me with their stories but also with their experiences and being able to join them on the journey of pregnancy and birth. It is truly a humbling experience to be able to educate and empower women that look like you in such a powerful way.

I’ve been with Uzazi for almost 4 years now and it has been amazing to see our organization in her many different phases. I cannot wait to continue to watch our growth as well as continue to be apart of it as well as the resource doula. Being able to connect our families to our resources within our community and help us stay connected together and grow! I’m so humbled to be apart of this vision, mission and organization.

About Rochelle

Rochelle is your Administrative Doula at the Ida Mae Patterson Center! Her mission is to connect all, especially People of Culture, to their divine potential and healing, so that they may live in their purpose and power, beyond all limitations. Her family includes her fiance, Morrell, their 5 year old son, Morrell II and their fur babies Demo and Mekka.

Rochelle was called to birth work as a child, mothering her many siblings and supporting friends through pregnancy, birth and loss. When she became pregnant, she realized there was a name for this role. Through her personal research, she became even more aware of the disparities we face while trying to bring our children earth side safely. Rochelle is a lifelong learner, she discovered Uzazi’s program during her pregnancy in 2017 and in 2020, decided to enroll, despite her 50 hour work week. During training, she questioned how she would  have time to begin her business and the answer came when she was laid off halfway through training! Rochelle immediately recognized and trusted that she was right where she should be and joined the Village, serving as a Village Doula full time.

 

Rochelle wants you to see yourself in your care. She is dedicated to empowering your family in attaining the birth and postpartum experience you deserve. She believes each birth is sacred, that each journey is as unique as your baby’s fingerprint and that it is an honor to serve families in something so special. Rochelle is a Certified Full Spectrum Doula, Community Health Worker, Hypnobabies Certified Hypno Doula and Reiki Master. She is presently completing a Prenatal Yoga Certification and Cannabis Doula Certification. When she is not serving families, she enjoys photography, trying new restaurants, cooking, traveling and spending time experiencing her family and friends.

My name is Arrin and I am the mother to two beautiful Goddesses Anastasia and Emberleigh. I am a certified full spectrum doula.  As a community-based doula, my passion in life is to break and prevent generational curses. 

I truly believe that it takes a village to raise a healthy and happy lineage. The mother needs to be mothered, the father needs to be fathered and the community needs to communicate. Effective parenting is one of the best ways to improve the world, and parenting begins the moment of conception and birth.

If I can help change the way women and their families views birth, I’m all for it. I need them to know birth is very doulable. (lol you see what I did there?) Providing my families with tools to advocate for themselves during a very sacred moment in time, is vital. Those same tools can be used in everyday life situations. Those same tools can be passed down to other generations. Preventing generational curses from occurring. Empowering women and their families is my new found passion, we’re an essential part in the genesis of life.

In 2019 I trained as an Uzazi Village birth and postpartum Doula. In addition to those trainings, I am a trained sex and reproductive educator, lactation peer counselor and childbirth educator. In 2021, I extended my knowledge in lactation by becoming a WIC trained breastfeeding peer counselor and in the same year I  also became a certified Endocannbinoid doula. Currently I am a mentoring other Uzazi Village Doulas under my new role as lead doula. 

My name is Sierra, and I’m Your Fairy Doula.

Birthwork has been handed down from my ancestors and reached out and grabbed me.
I am an Uzazi Village trained Doula working on completing my certification by the end of 2020.
I am a black birth worker, a Disnerd as I like to call myself, a supporter of the arts, a dancer, a
mother, a fiance, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a cousin, a niece, a granddaughter, an aunt, I am
a future black midwife!

Birthwork is my true joy in life. It is the role most precious to me. I came to Uzazi in August
2020 because I knew this was a place of growth for our community and I just had to be a part of
it. My mother, my best friend passed away unexpectedly in 2019 and I truly feel she guided me
here to continue my education and to be an essential part of changing the culture surrounding
black moms and families. My passion about changing the culture comes from a need to find a
solution. The best way I can see to help my community, my family, my friends is to help be there
during the most crucial times in a family's life. To be that education they may not have, the voice
that they may need.

I believe that I am an extension of the birthing person. Whether you need emotional support,
physical support or just reassurance, I am here to be your guiding light, the familiar face,
cheering you on and helping to make your birth dreams come true, sprinkling your birth journey
with Faith in yourself, Trust in yourself and a little bit of my own Fairy Dust (EMPOWERMENT!!!)

About Shafeeqa

I met Momma Hakima at the Paseo steps after being asked by several people if I already knew her through their reports of her great works. After a brief exchange, we both immediately identified as foodies that held a special commitment to the healing power of sharing space and fellowship around food. She invited me to witness the cyclical model that is the Ida Mae Patterson Center which at the time was missing a nutrition focused facilitator. We both agreed that there were limitations if this model only considered licensed nutritionists, because the Village required connectivity to our food practices, heritage, and a sensitive approach to healthy food relationships without guilt or condemnation. Uzazi Village is a place that celebrates and leads with Culturally-focused support for all clients/village members.

Over the last 20 years I have devised systems for better food relationships to share with our people as a Holistic Facilitator in support of a balanced life. As the Community Life Wellness Coordinator at Uzazi Village, I have the privilege of introducing foods, life-supporting alternatives, and providing a hands-on approach to growing food interest through cooking demos, samples, and food prep hacks. Uzazi’s village model has been a comforting home or cradle for me to grow as a Chef, earth-mother, bee-keeper, food advocate/educator, and foodie that loves nurturing family at the table. Our mothers and families are served more than food, we give them food for thought, address food insecurity, liberate them from titles, and act as a reminder of how healing food can be as a practice and source of life-even beyond nutrition.

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About Rosie

Every new herb I discover motivates me to want to help someone with it. Learning all the amazing properties of these little miracles just sets my mind into gear to create. I am an herbalist and for those who may not know what that is … I am someone , a mother , daughter, sister and advocate who has dedicated my life ( the last 8 years and happily still learning ) to learning about and helping others with plant medicine. 

I specialize in working with whole herbs and my top two passions in my field are tea blends and oil infusions. I began as a mother, wanting the best for my children and my family, so I began growing fruits, veggies, and herbs to ensure we had clean food to eat and on that journey, I began to learn firsthand the healing properties of plants. I first started my journey at Uzazi Village as a Doula student in 2018 and am proud to be apart of the the sacred craft. One of my passions has always been to use herbs and plant medicines along side doula work to provide mothers and families the best experience. I am proud to say that I now own and operate an herbal medicine store right in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri “ Nature Made Me” where I provide over 50 bulk herbs, healing skin care, tea, blends, herbal elixir, syrups, and more. In my space I offer herbal education classes, as well as the urban community garden, where we grow together and learn in detail how plants, fruits and veggies can help us and our families, as well as how to use them . Continuing to teach others about herbal medicine & the natural remedies that are what we know as weeds is my passion!

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About Rachel

I have been a midwife in the Kansas City area for twenty years. I first obtained my MSN/CNM from the University of Missouri-Columbia, so that I could provide a wider range of women’s health services. I pursued my CPM credentialing because I believe it more accurately reflects my passion for out of hospital birth. I have practiced as a CPM since 2011. I have been the primary midwife at approximately 750 births. I have worked in a variety of settings, including home, birth center, and hospital. I co-founded Sage Femmes Birth center in 2003. I founded A Mother’s Love Birth Center in Independence, MO in 2010. I have been to Africa twice teaching and catching babies. I love being a part of a families growth and development.

Watching women and men become moms and dads is an amazing transformation. I am blessed to be a part of it. I had all of my boys at home with midwives. I am happy to share that experience with you if you ask. Samuel is 19 and was a water birth. David is 16 and was born onto dry land into my best friends hands, and Jonathan is a 9 year old whom my husband unexpectedly caught before the midwife arrived. We have a grown daughter and grandchildren who bring much joy to our lives. My life at home is noisy and messy, and I love it!

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About Clarisa

Clarisa Evans is a Senior Student Midwife at the Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal and Infant Wellness. She has partnered with several local midwifery practices. She is a former full spectrum Doula, patient care specialist and childbirth educator. She believes that continuity of midwifery care sets the tone for better birth outcomes and helps provide a gentler transition to parenthood.

Clarisa is extremely passionate about black, maternal health and infant mortality here in the U.S. She’s made it her mission to bring awareness to the issue and to continue educating her community on their pregnancy options in an outside of a hospital. She’s a wife and mother of three in her free time you can find her enjoying the beautiful outdoors with her family!

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About Delia

Praise Him! I’m Delia Pearl, a mother of six beautiful little expressions of myself 4 girls and 3 boys and a bonus son! Ever since I was 10 years old I had a passion and a desire to become a midwife for mothers that might be overlooked due to their economic status or lack of education or support given by their surrounding healthcare providers. It all stemmed from learning that a older brother of mine in Cuba had a disability in his legs due to the lack of education the medical staff had about breached babies. I vowed to myself that I would never let that happen again to another person.

I later learned that my journey to becoming a Midwife started with learning and serving as a Doula. My OB/ Great Friend Dr. Mualik introduce me to Uzazi Village and Mama Hakima and that’s when my dreams started to become my reality.
I believe that childbirth is the rewarding result of being blessed to carry human life in your womb. The Journey should be filled with knowledge, power, love and lots of laughter no matter what your circumstance or social status is. I just want to bring ‘ big sister vibes’  and enjoy this journey with you!
About Cecil

Cecil E. Wattree, LCSW, LSCSW (he, him, his) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Macro Lens. He received his Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Emporia State University in 2008 and Masters of Social Work from University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2015. With over 14 years of experience in mental and medical health, Cecil Wattree has worked with all ages, to provide consultation, develop roles within outpatient mental health settings, implemented strategies, evidence based practices and worked within the community to assist families of color on the micro, mezzo and macro level. He continues to devote his experience and practice to community organizing, behavioral and medical health within the Kansas City Metro area.

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About Katrina

I am Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT) in the states of Kansas and Missouri. In addition to being in private practice, I teach a graduate course at the University of Kansas as well as provide guidance and therapy skills to graduate level students at Friends University. I specialize in couples therapy, maternal mental health, and trauma in adults as well as children. I am an ally to all individuals, partners, and families! I define “family” how you define family, any human being that is meaningful in your life. I respect diversity and work with all family structures, genders, and cultures.

I am passionate about helping partners stay connected especially when the fight feels like it will never end and help to put in place skills to “Fight Fair” and maintain a healthy loving respect for each other, and keeping or getting back to the sexy, loving dance of intimacy.

I also work with couples, adults and children who have experienced trauma. This work is very fulfilling to me and I have extensive experience in this area. One tool I use to help my clients move from surviving to thriving is called EMDR (Eye movement desensitization reprocessing), which was developed specifically for those who have experienced a trauma.

Maternal mental health is another area where I am devoted and passionate! When I became a mother, it became clear to me that mothers of color need more support. I do this work because it fills my heart and is my contribution to people of color.
I enjoy what I do and I work hard to help you fill your healing journey with tears, laughter, and growth!

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