Meet Porsche Holland-Otunba | Maternal Health Thought Leader, Doula Trainer and Mentor, CLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Porsche Holland-Otunba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Porsche, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started Reclaim Black Motherhood to respond to needs in the black maternal health and parenting community. Black maternal mortality and morbidity is at a steady all time high in the US and parenting support often limited. Reclaim Black Motherhood provides services for black families, birth workers who support them, and organizations that provide programs and services that we consume. We have a unique approach to providing evidence-based tools and resources for the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey while equipping and holding accountable the Doulas, lactation professionals, medical institutions, and nonprofits that exist to service families. As a Black mother I’ve seen the impact of having solid support systems, education, and maternal health guidance (outside typical medical care). With my transition into motherhood I realized that many of my peers aren’t afforded such opportunities or included in the conversation/decision making about their pregnancy and parenting journeys. Policies and practices are set through rigid systems and expectations often forced upon families without our consideration. This is neither beneficial or respectful of the bodies, cultural values, or ideals of Black families. This doesn’t work for me and surely won’t work for my people so I had to respond with solutions based services that demand respect and accountability for my community.

What should our readers know about your business?
Reclaim Black Motherhood is just under 1 year old but my work has been ongoing for over 3 years. I am most excited and grateful for the overwhelming support and love I’ve received from colleagues in the maternal and child health space since launching. We are based in Philadelphia but have received love and referrals beyond my amazing city and that is exciting. It took a while to “make it official” and take the leap of establishing an LLC but totally worth it. RBM has proven to be a much needed asset and thanks to a beautiful reputation and deep-rooted relationships we are growing. Within our first established year we received a $5,000 from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to host parenting groups which was very successful and much needed given the challenges of the pandemic. We have to date partnered with 3 area birthing hospitals to provide consulting projects that impact birth, lactation, and postpartum experiences of Black women. The above are just a few profound highlights from 2021 alone and I hugely attribute it to my name and the fact that people drop “Porsche Holland” in community and executive meetings across the maternal health space. I encourage anyone looking to get into business to ensure their name and reputation is strong. As I always say “the streets talk” whether good or bad folks will drop your name so my aim is to ensure great opportunities and coins (this is business of course) are associated when mine is mentioned.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There is so much to do and see in Philly! I would start with food because I love to eat so brunch at Honey’s or Sabrina’s is a must. From there a tour would be great. If history we’ve got you covered or the visual arts our murals will knock your socks off. Exploring Center CIty is a must and walking through Chinatown for shopping and food tasting as well. Cheesesteaks are a must for meat eaters so I’d take you one of 2 community staples to sample a variety of sandwiches, Paganos Steaks & Hoagies and Gilben’s Bakery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shout out Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership and amazing organization doing work to support first time moms and their families throughout the first few years of their parenting journey. This is the first organization that took a chance on me not only as a client but in full support of the Reclaim Black Motherhood mission. They have continuously been a partner in service around maternal and child health in Philadelphia and have amazing impact nationwide.

Website: www.reclaimblackmotherhood.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/reclaimblackmotherhood