Flint’s Selah’s Red Tent celebrates one year of supporting mothers through birth and beyond

FLINT, Michigan – China Young locked eyes with her newborn as she bounced him up and down in the air. He smiled back, waiting for the next hill in the roller coaster she had created. She later fed him and, when he started crying soon after, she knew it was because she hadn’t burped him yet.

“That was a lot to get adjusted to as a first-time mom,” Young told Flintside, referring to learning her two-month-old baby Kinzel’s cues for hunger, sleep, and general crying. “I carried him for nine months, but it’s a different story when he’s out the womb.”

Young lives off Clio and Pierson Roads.

Young said the adjustment period became easier thanks to a free doula assigned to her by Selah’s Red Tent. A doula is a trained support person on the care team for expecting or new mothers who focuses on teaching birth positions, breathing techniques, hip squeezes, and other tricks that can make labor easier.

Teachings also include post-birth care training on lactation, sleep, feeding, and bonding. Doulas also advocate for patients and, if needed, help them file written complaints during a hospital birth. 

The doulas at Selah’s Red Tent, which is in a house off Chavez Drive and Court Street, provide transportation to their location, daily meals, laundry services, and babysitting to help with the transition into parenthood.

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Selah’s services are free, and mothers can stay at Selah’s for up to 5 days after giving birth to receive 24-hour support. They have offered about 150 courses and helped nearly 50 parents since opening last May.

Young credits her doula and Selah’s birth education courses for why her labor lasted 10 minutes when she delivered at Hurley Hospital. It was a particular triumph since Young is just a year younger than the 35-year-old cutoff for geriatric pregnancies, which can carry additional risks and complications. After giving birth, Young stayed at Selah’s for several days for around-the-clock support.

“It was very caring, very compassionate, very hands-on, very attentive,” Young said. “As a pregnant woman, no one wants to go to doctor’s appointments by themselves, unless they have to. It was definitely helpful to have [a doula].”

Young added that she specifically wanted a Black doula and delivery doctor because she “was actually pretty scared going into my labor… the pain,” and she wanted the assurance that she and her baby would receive equal care as Black patients.

Maternal and infant mortality rates – the number of deaths per 100,000 live births¹ – typically show that more Black women and babies die from birth-related complications than any other demographic. A 2023 report from the National Center for Health Statistics found that the mortality rate for Black women was about three and a half times higher than that of white women.

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The Black infant mortality rate was 95% higher than that of infants nationwide in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, with Black infants being two and a half times more likely to die from early births or low birth weights when compared to infants in the U.S.

The Effect of Doulas on Maternal and Birth Outcomes, a 2023 review of 16 studies published by the Cureus Journal of Medical Science, found that mothers who had a doula had better birth outcomes, were more likely to have positive labor outcomes, were four times less likely to have a low-weight birth, and were two times less likely to experience a birth complication.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer expanded Medicaid coverage in 2023 to include doula services. The initiative promotes access to doula care and includes a registry where families can find a doula in their area. 

Selah can provide its services free of charge because Medicaid reimburses it on the back end for its policyholders. Selah’s also receives state grants and donations to fund its operations, and Beemer covers any shortfall out of her pocket.

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“Everyone needs a doula to have a good birth outcome,” said Leslie Beemer, co-founder of Selah’s Red Tent, with more than 40 years of experience. She added that her Christian faith inspired her to open the house as a safe haven for mothers and babies.

The organization is located in a formerly abandoned property that Beemer purchased for less than $10,000 from the Genesee County Land Bank. They spent a year and a half flipping it into a usable house. In addition to hosting mothers and classes, Beemer also trains aspiring doulas.

“I really wanted to serve single moms, and I love babies, so I thought it was a good way to combine those two,” said Ruth Derby, one of Beemer’s trainees. [Leslie] is such a gift to all the moms and the babies, and teaching me everything she knows. She’s always talking through what she has learned – she has lots of experience.”

Brittainy Smith, 22, is a mother of two, but she had a doula only for her second pregnancy, with five-month-old Macki. She lives off Saginaw and Maple Roads.

“I was way more informed this time. It was way less painful. It felt way more supportive,” Smith said.

Smith gave birth at Hurley and said her doula taught her how to read hospital monitors that showed her vitals, contractions, and other information, so they didn’t have to rely on the doctor for that information. Her doula also helped her file a written complaint against the delivery doctor when needed, Smith said.

“He seemed really rude when he came in. First thing he said to me was, ‘Don’t scream.’ He didn’t introduce himself or anything. He was saying he had to leave by a certain time and went to her [my doula and asked], ‘Can we get it over with?’ We were just so stunned. I didn’t know what to do at first, and she said we should do a patient’s advocate letter.”

Smith said after filing the letter, she received a better level of care from the delivery doctor.

Smith and Young’s success stories are why Beemer got into this line of work.

“It was placed in my heart that the need was in Flint,” Beemer said. “It’s meeting the need. It’s so exciting. I just love it so much.”

To learn more about Selah’s Red Tent, you can visit their website or follow them on Facebook.