ByAaminah Shakur

Aaminah Shakur is an artist, poet, doula, and healer whose work centers women of color, queer women, disabled women, and survivors of sexual trauma experiences and needs. Their website is aaminahshakur.com.

  1. My son was a planned surprise, which means I wanted him but didn’t think he could ever happen. What was even more unexpected were the feelings that arose around my ability to care for him. It took years for me to figure out that a lot of my struggles as a new mother were directly related to my history as a sexual assault survivor.

    One of the unanticipated difficulties was breastfeeding.

    34 comments
  2. Nineteen years ago I studied every book I could find on childbirth and parenting in my local library when I was pregnant for the third time with my first viable pregnancy. I was a young Native/mixed woman and my partner a young Native man, but I had been adopted and raised by a white family. Knowing I was going to be a mother with so little connection to my culture made me anxious

    81 comments