On Spirituality and Birth - An Interview with Iya Osuntoyin (Ayaba)

Hello Readers,

I had the opportunity to interview a dear friend and birth worker, Iya Osuntoyin, on the beautiful topic of spiritual care in pregnancy. I met Ayaba many years ago when she was still a Houstonian. I seem to remember first connecting with Ayaba on midwifery, babies, and spirituality over at Doshi house in Third Ward. Yes, there were cups of spicy chai involved…

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Spiritual care during pregnancy is a topic that is still mostly on the periphery, but I do see some growing interest in it. What do you feel is the role of spirituality/spiritual care during childbirth ?

Ayaba: From a spiritual perspective, childbirth is tuning into the voices of our ancestors who have been through this same process when giving birth. It’s about breath work to move closer to that realm. Labor asks us to listen for the spiritual voices, for the instructions on how to be intuitively guided in birth. I find that when I’m giving birth, I always need the room to be really quiet, but also need everyone to breathe deeply as we’re all connecting. For me, childbirth isn’t this intense event as it is perceived by most, and yet the moment that someone isn’t breathing deeply, I actually feel pain.

Can you share with us about how you experience spiritual care during pregnancy?

Ayaba: Spiritual care during pregnancy is about honoring the ancestors from both lineages so tending to ancestral altars, connecting with those ancestral foods, and connecting with the land/earth. I do find that I sit in spiritual baths less frequently when pregnant but I cleanse in a way of staying in my own energy and isolating, and communing with nature more whether it calls for going on walks or feet planted in the ground.

Is there a simple spiritual practice that you would recommend to those wanting to embrace spirituality for the first time in their pregnancies?

Ayaba: Honestly, connecting with nature. Planting themselves on the ground, going to the water to cleanse in the water, or sitting by the water to talk to the water spirits. Also, if you really think about it , water = amniotic fluid and natures ground= earthside with the baby. Connect that part for yourself.

Is there anything else you would like readers to know about midwifery and spirituality?

Ayaba: Spirituality wouldn’t exist without the wombs of women. We are why spirits are allowed to move through humans bodies. Midwives are literally the most ancient of occupations that exist. Midwives sit in the middle of life and death.

Tell us about the spiritual mentorships you offer to mothers?

Ayaba: My mentorships are about doing the internal work to move into alignment with our destiny. Sometimes we know what it is that we’re called to do, but when we have trauma it creates a fog. I help women to connect with their ancestors, develop a spiritual practice that suits them best, provide virtual postpartum support, moon rituals, and tending to themselves as the altar.

Thank you so much for sharing the wisdom of your traditions with Sana Sana Midwifery. For more ways to connect with Iya Osuntoyin, check out her Substack and her Instagram @ayabaninti.