BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Buffalo’s East Side, Our Mommie Village has spent the last year supporting mothers, and the founder said the space was created to provide prenatal care, doula support, and wellness resources for mothers of color.
Right on Jefferson Avenue, Shyana Broughton has been welcoming and supporting mothers at Our Mommie Village since January 2025.
Her mission is simple: a healthy mom and a healthy baby, and she says she does not rejoice until both are home.
"A healthy mom and a healthy baby… I do not rejoice until they are home," Broughton said.
She created the center to provide prenatal and postnatal support services for mothers and families across Western New York, including doula care, lactation support, wellness education, and community meditation programs designed for mothers of color.
"We pretty much talk about everything that has to do with motherhood, transitioning out of any of those spaces and making sure we are making good choices for our families," Broughton said.
According to the CDC, Black women in the United States are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women, a disparity Broughton said highlights the need for more culturally responsive maternal care.
"The need always was a safe space for Black moms and I kind of recognized that as my own experiences as a Black mom, but as I was getting older, I was noticing that the disparities were the same," Broughton said.
WATCH: 'I don't rejoice until they are home': Our Mommie Village brings maternal support to Buffalo’s East Side
She describes Our Mommie Village as a sacred, community-centered program designed to walk alongside mothers from pregnancy through the early years of parenting.
"Sometimes they do not feel as comfortable… you have 15 minutes with your provider, you will sit in that waiting room for a good two hours… so the comfort level is not necessarily there," Broughton said.
Naila Ansari Catilo is in her third trimester, expecting her fourth child. She said as soon as she found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted the support of a doula.
"It was really important for me to not be one of those statistics," Catilo said.
She added that support was important to her because of the higher maternal health risks facing Black women in New York State and across the country.
"I knew I needed that support because we have such a high maternal health risk here in New York State and in the country for Black women specifically," Catilo said.
Broughton said bringing services like this to the East Side is critical, adding that community-based maternal care can help improve outcomes for families.
"We don’t have anything like this over here, so if we are welcoming families and babies over here, you will start seeing things change on the East Side," Broughton said.
