Equity, Anti-Racism, & Environmental Justice

Nurturely's Commitment to Dismantling Oppression

Racism and systemic oppression increase the risk for preterm birth, perinatal mortality, infant mortality, bodyfeeding challenges, perinatal mental health issues, and long term infant and parent health outcomes.

We acknowledge that the barriers to optimal perinatal wellness are associated with marginalized and oppressed identities and with historical, individual, and institutional violence. Nurturely acknowledges that oppression takes many forms and can be experienced by an individual in multiple ways. We also acknowledge our colonial history of taking, claiming, and commodifying traditional wellness modalities. We are committed to prioritizing the voices of the original holders of these practices, while also honoring, understanding and representing the cultural roots of these practices. We understand that non-conforming parenting journeys can be another experience of oppression as individuals embark on their journey to build a family. Loss, infertility, adoption, surrogacy, or fostering can be barriers to inclusion, quality service, and responsive care.

Action & Accountability

We work to dismantle these barriers and systems of oppression first through ourselves and our internal policies, and next externally through how we conduct our work and interact with the community. To ensure that we are upholding a culture of anti-racism, equity, and inclusion both internally and externally, all members of the Nurturely team, including staff, volunteers, board of directors, interns, families, and partners agree to upholding the following standards of action and accountability within ourselves, within our organization, and within our communities:

Self

-Openly acknowledging our personal lived experience, biases, and limitations

-Practicing humility and curiosity toward ourselves and others

-Giving and receiving constructive criticism 

-Apologizing when mistakes are made

-Continually reassessing our own growth journey toward anti-racism and inclusion

Organization

-Participating in monthly internal equity conversations and affinity groups 

-Creating an egalitarian structure and participatory decision making process

-Supporting self-care and work-life balance 

-Requiring that new team members come with a demonstrated commitment to the deconstruction of oppression

Community

-Co-creating programming with the communities that the programs are intending to serve

-Committing resources for equitable compensation

-Committing to solidarity with those organizing against oppression

-Committing resources to honor the land/cultures that shaped this work

Planet Wellness = Perinatal Wellness

Environmental degradation, toxic chemicals, and climate change have direct effects on the health and wellbeing of pregnant and postpartum parents and their babies.  Marginalized communities are disproportionately exposed to these risks. 

We commit to taking steps in our personal lives, community programming, and organizational operations to promote environmental protection, restoration, and celebration. 

Land Acknowledgment

We acknowledge that Latin America is a term that comes from the colonization of a vast territory, that from the Eurocentric point of view was called “The new world”.
The term “Latin America” denoted belonging to the ancient cities of Spain and Portugal, to the “Latin world”, and a sought after cultural community of the American elites with their former colonizers and with the France of the Second Empire. Leaving aside the mestizo, indigenous and Afro reality. The aim was to consolidate the national states, which reaffirmed white predominance and one of whose objectives was to “recolonize” the territory with European migrants.
It does not reflect at all the cultural richness that existed in this territory before the colony, a territory where a large number of indigenous communities lived (and live) and prospered, which were annulled by European colonizers. Click here for a map of pre-colonial cultures.

 

Caregiving & Cultural Appropriation

Like many of the beliefs and practices that Nurturely supports, infant carrying is a deeply CULTURAL practice. Infant carrying has been practiced since the beginning of human history and still has a rich cultural significance in Indigenous communities around the world.

With humility, Nurturely acknowledges the colonial history of suppressing, claiming, and commodifying traditional childrearing practices, including infant carrying.

With respect, Nurturely celebrates cultural variation in infant carrying and believes that members of each culture know best how to carry their babies.

With open-mindedness, Nurturely acknowledges the techniques and guidelines we share are adaptations of Indigenous practices that may or may not be relevant to all

Language Acknowledgment

Nurturely strives to offer trainings and programs in Spanish that are accessible to the Spanish-speaking community.
We want to recognize that Spanish is not the language of the original communities of the Americas and that it comes from  the colonization effort of their people.
Pre-Hispanic America was presented as a conglomeration of different communities and languages,  that were later politically articulated as part of the Spanish empire and under the auspices of a common language.
The American linguistic diversity was such that some authors estimate that this continent is one of the richest linguistically, with around 123 language families, many of which have tens or even hundreds of languages and dialects. Some of the best-known indigenous languages are Nahuatl, Taíno, Mayan, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani and Mapuche, among others.

For the Land and Language acknowledgments in Spanish go Here

We welcome your feedback!

We recognize that equity and inclusion is an ongoing journey that requires critical analysis, humility, and community support. We welcome community feedback about any components of our work. Please submit your anonymous input here:

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