Sierra McClain, also known as Sierra Sankofa, is a homeschooling mother of 2. She is also an educator, maternal mental health advocate, full-spectrum doula, community strategist and consultant, trainer and speaker.

 

She founded Sankofa Mama Birth Services in 2014 with a mission to center and enrich the birth experiences of Black mothers and to help them navigate the systemic challenges they face birthing in the United States.

 

As a parent educator, Sierra’s belief in replacing fear surrounding birth with facts and relaxation techniques led her deeper into the study of Clinical Hypnotherapy and eventually to the creation of her first original birth curriculum, Essentials 4 Birth Prep. She has since created numerous courses for birth, postpartum and parenting preparation.

 

She is the founder of Business School for Doulas, an initiative that strives to make birth work a sustainable profession for Black birth workers through continuing education and mentoring. The program has empowered countless doulas, midwives and lactation professionals to build successful businesses and better serve their communities.

 

Recognizing that the challenges facing Black mothers cannot be addressed solely through direct service work, Sierra is a vocal advocate for change at a systemic level. She bridges birth work with policy work and has worked with a range of organizations to advance the cause of maternal health equity.

 

Through her Birthing the Revolution initiative, Sierra provides education to help birth workers understand how policy impacts the work they do on the ground, and how they can become more effective advocates for change.

 

She evaluates programming and resources for organizations helping them to restructure or create and implement more impactful initiatives to serve Black women and mothers.

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Sierra is a passionate speaker and trainer with a focus on topics related to the nuances of Black motherhood, maternal mental health, birth equity, and reproductive justice. With a sincere dedication to advocacy and education, she engages audiences and fosters essential conversations rooted in a desire to both break stigma and speak truth to power.