Black History Today: Juniper Moon, nurturing the next generation of Black history one family at a time
/Black History Today, an annual series created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond. Check back every day in February as we recognize the people actively shaping the future.
“...Let it all happen to you: beauty and dread.
Simply go — no feeling is too much —
And only this way can we stay in touch.Near here is the land
That they call Life.
You'll know when you arrive
By how real it is.Give me your hand.”
-Rainer Maria Rilke
By Reese McGillie
I’ve been fascinated by the beauty of birth since I was just 14 yrs old. Back in 1988 I recall combing through every page of my mother’s copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” — turning down the corners of pages that held details that were particularly fascinating to me.
In preparation for the birth of my twin siblings, we watched an episode of NOVA (an old PBS program) entitled “The Miracle of Life.” This TV special explained conception, pregnancy and childbirth in such a clinical-yet-engaging way that I was moved to record it on VHS and went on to watch it many more times on my own, long after my siblings had been born.
It is through this obsession with all things birth related that I came to make many of my closest friends. Juniper Moon is one of those friends. She is a loving mother, doula, yoga instructor, and midwife.
We met in 2012 at a Lamaze childbirth education training led by local doula and educator, Sharon Muza. At the time, Juniper and I were both working as birth doulas in the community — providing support for birthing families — and were taking the childbirth educator class to continue our development as birth professionals.
Through that work she was inspired to continue her education and earned her Master’s in Midwifery degree at Bastyr University, and she is currently a student in Seattle University’s Doctorate of Nursing Program.
As a midwife, Juniper provides prenatal, birth and post-partum care for families in the Seattle and Tacoma area. Research has shown that the quality of prenatal care has an impact on child development, and Juniper has cultivated a stellar reputation for the nurturing and attentive care she provided for her clients and their families.
Her midwifery practice is focused on providing a model of care that is evidence-based, equitable and accessible for marginalized groups, especially people of color. When she is taking clients they are seen at a local clinic space and she attends births at the homes of her clients or at a local birth center where she maintains attending privileges.
She is one of only a very few Black midwives currently practicing in the Seattle area. This is important for so many reasons, not the least of which is that for Black birthing parents, outcomes are statistically abysmal — we are twice as likely to have an infant who dies before their first birthday, and we have significantly higher preterm birth rates than other groups. Access to a provider who offers affordable prenatal care in an environment that seeks to minimize the dangerous impacts of implicit bias in that care is critical.
And for Black children, pregnancy, birth and pediatric care free from that same implicit bias is an imperative. Juniper’s commitment to the provision of such care is one of the many things that makes her such a celebrated and valued member of our community.
The impact of Juniper’s work is felt throughout the many families she has touched through her compassionate care and application of sharp clinical skill. With each birth that she presides over, her hands supporting the birthing parent as they lead another beautiful Black life into this world, Juniper makes Black history.
Reese McGillie is a data scientist, yoga instructor and occasional superhero. She lives in the south end of Seattle with her husband and their two sons, who both attend Seattle Public Schools.
