AL’s Infant Mortality Rates Are Staggering — She’s Working to Change That
Long before she became a mom, Allison Miller became a doula — she wanted to help families have positive birth experiences. Meet the creator of Birmingham Born, a collective of doulas, midwives, and more. Image: Bob Miller Photography
Alabama has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the country — nearly double the national rate. Sobering facts like this are exactly why Allison Miller founded Birmingham Born, a collective of birth and postpartum doulas, childbirth educators, and lactation specialists dedicated to helping Birmingham-area families have positive birth experiences. Get to know our newest FACE of Birmingham, Allison Miller of Birmingham Born.
What inspired you to start Birmingham Born?
I felt like I lacked a birth community, so I created it for myself. In turn, I made this a wider service for the community so people could look at Birmingham Born and find lactation support, postpartum support, placenta encapsulations, and birth support. It’s not just me — it’s bigger than me.
How did you get interested in birth work?
I was a doula before I became a mom. I never really knew that I wanted to be a mom, but I always felt really inspired by strong women. And we see that strength the most, I think, in our journey into motherhood.
I started birth work around 15 years ago. I have a master’s in public health with a focus on maternal and child health and international health. I was drawn to birth work because I was learning so much about birth in the world (in the United States and Alabama), and I realized the disparities in our own neighborhoods. Alabama is 49th in the country for maternal outcomes and infant mortality. I love policy and public health, but I felt what’s going to change the health of a community is focusing on these moms.
So, instead of going the more traditional public health route, I got out of the system and started doing doula work. If you can focus on one mom-and-baby dyad and make their transition into parenthood healthy, you can change the whole community.
Why are infant and maternal outcomes so bad in Alabama, and what do you think needs to be done to improve them?
Those are the million-dollar questions, right? I think everyone’s looking at this and saying, I don’t understand how it can be this bad. But then you look at all the rural hospitals and maternity centers that are closing. If someone has to drive two to three hours to their appointments, will they go? People in high-poverty areas might not even have access to transportation, so how are these people getting care? And if they’re not getting care, how can we ensure that their pregnancies are healthy and remain healthy?
We need more practitioners working at the community level — more birth centers and mobile clinics. We need more people reaching pregnant people in different parts of the state. And there’s a lack of integration and trust to allow midwives to work with the hospital system.
What do you wish more people understood about the work that doulas and midwives do?
I wish that people didn’t think that to have a doula, you have to have long armpit hair and eat your placenta. Doulas can be for people who have C-sections and those planning on having an epidural. Doula support can be for everyone.
For midwives, people have this idea of who has a home birth, and I get to be a part of home births that bust that myth all the time — like health care practitioners who have chosen to have a home birth. It’s not just for people with chickens in the backyard. It feels so counterculture because it’s so recently decriminalized. But everyday, people are choosing this as the best option for them.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
My husband’s a photographer, and sometimes, I get to travel with him. I got to go to New Orleans with him, and I met JoAnne Clevenger, whom he was photographing. She was so vivacious and shared with me the five things she lives by: Be brave, strong, patient, kind, and silly. Don’t take yourself so seriously, but still push yourself to be brave, kind, and good. That’s my hope for my children and myself.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I am an avid reader. I read 80 books a year.
I have just recently become a potter. The midwife I work with and one of the doulas on our team has a little company called Wise Women Pottery. We started ceramics as a way to get back into our bodies with the movement of the clay. Doing something with our hands was really important in this stage of our lives, and we’ve just become addicted to it.
I also like to cook and garden. I live in Norwood, and across the street is our community garden. I really love to go there on a frustrating day.
What are your favorite things to do in Birmingham with your family?
We spend a lot of our time outside. We love to go hiking. We like to go to Moss Rock, Red Mountain Park, and Ruffner Mountain. We hit all of those different areas to burn some energy off.
Do you have any favorite restaurants?
My kids are really big into Asian food, so we go to Saigon Noodle and Red Pearl. Once a week, we go to a restaurant — it’s usually one of those.
What’s your favorite Birmingham hidden gem?
The Garage feels like the best little hidden spot in the whole town. It just transports you. The decor in the back courtyard has no rhyme or reason, but when you go back there, you’re in this other pocket of the world. It feels so great.
What’s on your bedside table?
Fifteen books, a deck of cards, and an empty water glass.
What book are you reading right now?
Where was your last great vacation?
Last year, we took a two-and-a-half-week road trip with the kids, staying at all these national parks out West. Our kids are at the age where that is really fun. So we popped up our little camper in Colorado and at Grand Teton National Park. We went digging for dinosaur bones. We went to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. It was just so epic and something that we’ll never forget.
What’s your go-to birthday gift to give?
If it’s a kid that’s not my own child, I give them the amount of money they’re turning because little kids think money is amazing. So, if someone is turning five, I give them a $5 bill.
Name three things you can’t live without.
Coffee, chocolate, and good music.
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Javacia Harris Bowser
Javacia Harris Bowser is a Birmingham-based freelance writer and the founder of See Jane Write, an online community and coaching service for women who write. With over 20 years of journalism experience, Javacia has received awards from the National Federation of Press Women, Alabama Media Professionals, Alabama Press Association, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts. When she’s not writing, she’s usually practicing Pilates, getting her 10K steps a day, or watching crime shows. Follow Javacia on Instagram @seejavaciawrite.