Calling Back Our Womb is a sister site of Xica Nation and recently featured a series of Xicana birth stories by Laura Yohualtlahuiz Rios-Ramirez, a Mexican-born Xicana of Guachichil/Tepehuan/French/Spanish ancestry based out of occupied Yanaguana, Coahuiltecan/Esto’k Gna territory, commonly known as the settlement of San Antonio, Texas. Aka San Quilmas.
1:31 – Story 1
6:02 – Story 2
15:15 – Story 3
23:09 – Musical feature: “Tecolotito” by Yacatsol
Link to original article: https://callingbackourwomb.com/episode-3
Click here to submit your womb story or learn more about the project.
About Laura
Laura Yohualtlahuiz Rios-Ramirez is a trained pedagogue, performance artist, and community organizer based out of occupied Yanaguana, Coahuiltecan/Esto’k Gna territory, commonly known as the settlement of San Antonio, Texas. Aka San Quilmas. A Mexican-born Xicana of Guachichil/Tepehuan/French/Spanish ancestry, her canon of youth-based and culturally intersectional curriculum design and presenter experience includes elements of Social Justice, Hip Hop, and Earth-based cultures as vehicles for personal and collective transformation. She holds a BA in International Relations and Latin American Studies from St. Edward’s University and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership at Our Lady of the Lake University. Laura is a Bgirl, Danzante, Cihuatlatohki, dualidad, and mama with a passion for building comunidad and healing intergenerational and colonial trauma through familia, traditional indigenous teachings, and the arts.
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Quote from Laura
I am committed to this Red Road for giving me the spiritual tools to heal from an abortion to my first born and paving the way so that I could be spiritually prepared to be a life giver. Prior to birthing, I became a certified doula alongside my sister who encouraged me and assisted my births, Irasema Reza-Bailey. We trained with midwife Jessica Atkins, who is now in the spirit world. She was an amazing birthworker who created space for women of color to train and birth on their own terms. I learned from being a doula and from my own births that Reclaiming our birthing ceremonies is a process that requires the full support of familia and comunidad. The cost of home/birthing center births is many times inaccesible to communities of color. I am eternally grateful that both of my live births were supported by donations and fundraising campaigns and midwives that worked with us while being on Medicaid offering discounts, sliding scale, and alternative prenatal care arrangements. The love we received in making it possible for us to birth with midwives, doulas, and comadres really was a community effort. We have jokingly said that our kids are “community babies” for this and many other reasons. But in all honesty, we really do feel that our babies were supported by so many folx since pregnancy and we share their birth stories with them constantly so that they know how much our familia and comunidad love and support them. Since our births, our birthing teams have blossomed their practices and continue to provide accessible birth support to folx in the Central Texas. It’s important to support these trailblazing birth and womb healing workers.
Shout outs to:
Our doula team:
