Our Mission
Wombs of the World LLC is dedicated to fostering a global community of birthworkers who are passionate about learning, serving, and connecting with diverse birthing cultures around the world. Our mission is to empower birth professionals with new skills, insights, and a supportive network, enabling them to provide enhanced care within their own communities. By participating in our curated trips, birthworkers from various backgrounds come together to experience unique cultural exchanges, deepening their understanding and practice of midwifery and doula support. Through service-oriented experiences in Tanzania and culturally immersive learning in Ecuador, Mexico and South Africa, we aim to facilitate a rich exchange of knowledge, respect, and appreciation for traditional and modern birthing practices.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a world where birthworkers are continuously inspired, equipped, and supported by a global network of peers and mentors. We envision Wombs of the World as a catalyst for transformative experiences that not only enrich the professional and personal lives of participants but also contribute to the preservation and appreciation of indigenous midwifery wisdom. By bridging the gap between birth cultures, we strive to cultivate a deeper sense of community, empathy, and cultural humility among birthworkers. Our ultimate goal is for every participant to return home with a renewed sense of purpose, ready to apply their newfound knowledge and skills to support birthing individuals with compassion, competence, and cultural sensitivity. Through our efforts, we hope to contribute to a global shift towards more respectful, informed, and supportive birth practices that honor the wisdom of all cultures.
The Backstory
Wombs of the World was founded in 2018 by a pair of doulas eager to travel the world and learn from foreign birth cultures. What started as two friends traveling turned into what we are today.
When people ask us how we became connected with certain people or places, the answers are so random the best response is to give it up to God, or Spirit, or Mother Earth, or some mystical higher power that believes in improving maternal health worldwide with more access to compassionate educated support.
Some of our connections were made over a decade ago during a study abroad program in Ecuador or from a google search, others from seeking a translator on Facebook who introduced us to the midwives in her small community. Mostly, we have been following green lights and trusting in our mission.
Watch/listen to our Founder & Executive Director tell our birth story:
Core Company Values
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Evidence-Based Care
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Cultural Respect
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Self-Awareness and Accountability
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Social and Reproductive Justice Advocacy
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Dedicated to Evolvement
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Value Diversity and Individuality
Wombs of the World define diversity as individuality. This individuality may include a wide spectrum of attributes like personal style, age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, language, physical ability, religion, family, citizenship status, socioeconomic circumstances, education and life experiences.
Inclusivity Statement
Wombs of the World celebrates the spectrum of identities in perinatal spaces. We recognize that birth work is political work, it is advocacy, and it does lead to change.
We acknowledge that society associates parenting with exclusively cis-gendered heterosexual relationships and women. While birthing women (and those who self-identify as women) are deeply affected by the patriarchal system in which we birth and learn about our bodies, we are COMMITTED to including our LGBTQIAP+ friends because this exclusive hetero-normative language is harmful. This community is already deeply marginalized in reproductive health and wellness. Our role in revolutionizing perinatal health includes recognizing the oppression that this community has felt in their pursuit of happiness.
In referring to perinatal people, we will use the words woman, person, mother, mama, parent, individual, folks, people, birthers, and any new or old language that is brought to our attention to create a safe and accessible place for all members of our community.
We also recognize that the word “doula” with its origin in the Greek language, translates to “woman servant” or “woman slave”. Slave is definitely not a word that we want to incorporate into our work, or put upon our participants. Further, the word is gendered - and we know that not all doulas are women. However, the word doula is widely acknowledged and gaining further international recognition. Therefore we will continue using the word but also offer other terms such as perinatal worker, birth-worker, birth keeper, or reproductive specialist.
Some of the countries we travel to are not safe for all identities, as the LBGTQIAP+ community is often prosecuted. Wombs of the World is committed to offering safe travel experiences to all participants while respecting different laws and cultures. Within our program, our participants are safe to be wholly themselves.
We are always committed to growth and welcome feedback and conversation on improving inclusion in this space.
Anti-Racism Birthwork Statement
At Wombs of the World, we recognize that birthwork exists within systems that have long upheld racism, colonialism, and the erasure of ancestral knowledge. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) have endured generations of land theft, forced labor, reproductive violence, and the systematic devaluation of their wisdom. These harms are not historical footnotes - they are active, ongoing realities seen in disparities in maternal and neonatal mortality, in the criminalization of traditional midwives, and in the continued dominance of white, Western models of care.
I, Charlotte, am a white woman. I name this intentionally because anti-racist work demands transparency, humility, and action. I benefit from white supremacy, and I am committed to leveraging my privilege to dismantle it- both within myself and within the structures I’m part of. This includes continuously examining how I teach, lead, and show up; sharing power and resources; paying Black and Indigenous educators equitably; and refusing to extract from cultures that are not my own. My work is to amplify, not co-opt. To listen, not lead. To center justice over comfort. Anti-racism is not a trend- it is a lifelong practice, and birthwork must be part of that practice.
We are committed to making all Wombs of the World offerings- courses, travel programs, circles, and resources- accessible for global BIPOC birthworkers through robust scholarship opportunities, collaboration with BIPOC-led organizations, and an ongoing investment in culturally relevant, anti-oppressive education. We are equally committed to preparing our participants to become accomplices- not performative allies, but active disruptors of injustice. This means we teach our students not just to know better, but to do better. To intervene. To advocate. To reimagine what ethical, liberatory, and community-rooted birthwork can be.
We use the term accomplice with intention. Being an accomplice means stepping off the sidelines and onto the frontlines of change. It means showing up with courage, being willing to make mistakes and be called in, and staying the course. Birth is political. Birthwork is resistance. And we believe that transforming the birth world is inseparable from the fight for racial justice.
Dismantling Toxic Volunteer-Tourism & Medical Colonization
"Any western medical institution more than a century old and which claims to stand for peace and justice has to confront a painful truth — that its success was built on the savage legacy of colonialism." -Richard Horton
Wombs of the World is not a volunteer trip. It is a global education program designed to transform the hearts, minds, and practices of birthworkers- not to “save” or “fix” communities abroad. We name this clearly because the legacy of medical colonialism is alive and well, and the global birth justice movement cannot afford more well-intentioned harm. Volunteer tourism often exploits local communities, placing foreign egos over local expertise. We reject that model entirely.
We tell participants: if your goal is to make the greatest possible impact, donate directly to the clinics and midwives who serve these communities year-round. The money you invest in this program is for your growth, so that you may return home more skilled, more conscious, and more connected. You come to learn, not to lead.
We strive to be radically mindful travelers- investing in local economies, building relationships with midwives and clinics, and dismantling any notions of saviorism. Our partnerships are collaborative, built on mutual respect and a deep commitment to cultural humility. We do not enter spaces to impose our beliefs, but to witness, listen, and support.
Too often, Western medical professionals step into birth spaces and immediately correct, critique, or “teach.” This dynamic reinforces colonial hierarchies and erodes trust. As non-medical birthworkers, our role is to offer compassionate presence and emotional support. If an opportunity arises to share evidence-based information- like the benefits of skin-to-skin, we do so only with consent, context, and humility. We are guests. And the first act of respect is remembering that.
Cultural Appropriation vs Cultural Appreciation
Cultural Appreciation vs. Cultural Appropriation
At Wombs of the World, we are deeply aware that Westerners traveling abroad to learn from Indigenous midwives carries the potential for both healing and harm. We do not take this lightly.
There is a long and painful history of colonial extraction- where sacred knowledge was taken, repackaged, and profited from by those outside the culture it belonged to. That legacy does not disappear simply because our intentions are good. This is why we’ve built an intentional framework around how we travel, how we learn, and how we give credit.
Before any participant joins a trip, they are required to complete our Cultural Curiosity, Humility, and Sensitivity course. This pre-departure module is not about becoming “culturally competent”- a standard we don’t believe is possible or respectful when entering a culture that is not our own. Instead, we ask our participants to become deeply reflective: to examine their motivations, power, privilege, and unconscious assumptions. We emphasize cultural humility over performance, curiosity over certainty, and accountability over comfort.
When we are taught a practice- whether it’s a rebozo technique, a postpartum herbal bath, or a birth ritual- we name our teachers. We tell their stories. We compensate them. And we keep their teachings sacred, never presenting them as our own. We ask: Is this something I’ve been invited to share? And we model restraint and reverence when the answer is no.
We also acknowledge that no work is entirely without impact. Even the act of traveling- while beautiful- relies on extractive systems and carries environmental weight. So, we do our best to move through this world with eyes open and hearts soft. Our presence in a community is never neutral, but it can be thoughtful. It can be regenerative. It can be rooted in relationship, reciprocity, and respect.
We are always learning. Always adjusting. And we are open to feedback. Cultural appreciation isn’t a box to check- it’s a lifelong practice of listening, honoring, and being willing to step back when needed.
If you have questions about how we work with our midwife partners or how we ensure our programs are in service of- not extraction from- local communities, please reach out. We welcome the conversation.
