Peer Support Groups

Shades of Motherhood

To make childbirth a more healing, cultural and relational experience, Stephaine Courtney founded the Shades of Motherhood Network to primarily serve birthing people of African descent and people with children of color in Spokane County. The organization aims to bring awareness to Black maternal health as Black women have the highest childbirth mortality rate in the United States.

The organization does this in part through the creation of local art exhibits.This year, the Network hosted two art exhibits on Black Maternal Health at the Carl Maxey Center and Washington State University College of Nursing. Stephaine shares one of her experiences from the events, “We were able to put up over 49 stories of Black women......

Culturally based doulas are key to improving care

Doulas are trained professionals dedicated to supporting the birthing person mentally, physically and spiritually, Courtney explains. They can help during childbirth, with prenatal and postpartum care, and as a source of support in child loss, adoption, fostering and for single fathers.

The Shades of Motherhood brought together 17 independent doulas of color into one agency to provide comprehensive care, peer support groups and community workshops. The agency also provides doulas a space for training and support from their colleagues. These doulas provided services to 44 Black mothers and mothers of infants of color in 2023........

The Shades of Motherhood Network: A grassroots approach to Black maternal health

Black maternal mortality is a reality that pierces through conversations about health equity. It leaves a gaping hole where questions about warning signs and red flags linger once hindsight is too late. Headaches, swelling, erratic blood pressure readings, internal bleeding, pain, blurred vision; these scenarios can play out to an unnecessary, fatal end when Black women are ignored during postpartum care. Compound the dismissal of critical symptoms with the caste system that engulfs health insurance, and you have a recipe for disaster. Ironically, even in cases where private, expensive insurance prevails, the threat of Black maternal mortality is still very much present and even money and resources are not a fail-safe. We must beg the question and demand answers.........

2023 Rising Star Stephaine Courtney: Sparking change for new moms

Stephaine Courtney is described by her Rising Star nominator as driven to connecting people and sparking change for the underrepresented in the greater Spokane community.

As executive director and founder of The Learning Project Network LLC and nonprofit affiliate The Shades of Motherhood Network, Courtney says she holds nothing back in her mission to advocate for the region’s overlooked minorities.

Both organizations collaboratively focus on assisting people of color and vulnerable communities to help them obtain health equity and social justice.

Courtney executes her mission with aid from local grants that support a $250,000 annual budget that funds various advocacy....