Our History
In 2021, in response to the urgent need for improved maternal health outcomes in Black communities, RAMS, Inc. joined UCSF EMBRACE and extended perinatal wellness care beyond hospital walls to Black birthing families in the broader SF community. This partnership united EMBRACE’s dedication to leveraging the power of “the village” to foster community, and RAMS’s legacy of culturally congruent care. From this joint effort, Kindezi Black Perinatal Wellness emerged as a program of RAMS designed to enhance services for San Francisco’s Black birthing families.
Operating within RAMS’ independent network, Kindezi embraced opportunities for innovative partnerships with a wide range of birthwork professionals. By collaborating with community midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, and others, Kindezi is able to offer a holistic approach to perinatal care, seamlessly integrating it with high-quality mental wellness support. As RAMS’ first behavioral health program specifically created to improve perinatal outcomes for Black families, Kindezi serves as a vital resource, blending tradition, cultural responsiveness, and clinical excellence to support families on their journey.
Mission
Kindezi Black Perinatal Wellness aims to cultivate a vibrant and richly diverse care network around Black expectant and new parents in San Francisco. We believe that true community empowerment begins during pregnancy, and that it is our collective responsibility to lay the groundwork for the next generation. We demonstrate our commitment to Black babies and their parents through comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum support, prioritizing whole person & family wellness through connection, information sharing, and healing arts.
Vision
We envision a world where Black birthing people are held gently, taken seriously, and holistically supported. We envision Black families thriving joyfully within a village that has every resource to meet their needs before, during, and after birth.
Our Holistic Approach
Inspired by the intricate, colorful picture painted by Dr. K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau and A.M. Lukondo-Wamba in their work, Kindezi: The Kongo Art of Babysitting, we adopted “Kindezi” as a distinguished moniker because our model is about building a healthy and richly diverse community of supporters around our growing babies and, of course, their expecting and new parents. We demonstrate this by co-creating a robust and comprehensive Black perinatal wellness program, integrating the “art” of mental health and soul-care practice with the nurturing care of skilled and respected birth workers.
Fu-Kiau, K., & Lukondo-Wamba, A. (1988/2000). Kindezi: the Kongo art of babysitting. Baltimore: Inprint.
Kindezi Contact
kindezi@ramsinc.org
1375 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
