We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mek Rollerson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mek, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Byrth Perinatal Services was created to educate birthing families about the birth space, so they can advocate for receiving quality care and have a desirable birth experience. It is important to not only nurture the baby but also nurture the mother during this time, and providing safe birth spaces is a direct way to do that. As a woman who has given birth in the United States multiple times, I’ve had several different birth experiences. I have experienced birth induced by medicine as well as natural births, all in different settings (hospital and birth center). My personal experiences motivated me to become a Doula. The disparities that Black and Brown women face while pregnant and when giving birth are a direct motivator behind my mission. Black women are dying at alarming rates for reasons associated with childbirth. To help combat this issue my goal is to challenge my clients to pay attention to their bodies’ natural flow in order to understand what type of care will suit them the best. By doing this they will become involved in their care and be able to make well-informed decisions, starting with their birth team.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi everyone! My name is Jazamek Rollerson and I am a Birth Doula from Maryland. My clients and those who know me in the birth community call me Mek or Mek the Doula. I am a wife, mother of 3 and Owner of Byrth Perinatal Services. I provide Doula services to pregnant and birthing families in the DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia (DMV) areas. My services include childbirth education, labor and birth support and early postpartum care and resources for the family. After giving birth to my daughter during the pandemic, I was inspired to become a Doula to push for desirable birth outcomes for women. The main thing I want is for my clients to feel empowered and educated enough to know that they are capable of giving birth in a way that they desire. So much of labor and birth is internal- mental, spiritual and emotional. When clients work with me we go to those places to unlearn fears and myths associated with childbirth. What makes me feel accomplished is when the families I serve reflect on how much they’ve learned and grown throughout their journey! Most of my client relationships blossom and they become like family. I believe this is because I show up as my true authentic self, so my clients have the chance to know me and feel comfortable with me being an advocate for them in such a sacred and vulnerable space. I love helping women step into their confidence by educating and empowering them. The motto of my business is “Empower the Feminine, Heal the Family.” I am a firm believer in the fact that when the woman and mother of the family is healed, she will use those practices to heal the family around her. This healing starts at the beginning. A healthy and informed pregnancy, so that our children are developed in peace and love, and a desirable birth where both mom and baby are healthy through the postpartum phase. On a personal level, I am most proud of the information that my children are exposed to because of me being a Doula and a business owner. I am able to teach my children valuable lessons in some of the most important areas of life. I am also able to create a schedule where I can pour time into my family. That’s the most important part for me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I recently experienced a pivot in business and life when I became pregnant with my youngest son. I had only been a Doula less than a year and was just getting my business up and running when I learned that I was pregnant. I knew the importance of prioritizing my own health, and that physically I would become incapable of supporting births at a certain point. I also didn’t have the capacity to save space for others emotionally, so I had to take a break. Early in my postpartum journey I began taking clients again when I was met with the reality that even that was too much for me. So I had to give myself longer. During my entire pregnancy and postpartum phase I didn’t feel creative at all. I wasn’t posting on my social media pages or creating in any way some days. I’m grateful that now I’m at a place where I’m fully back in business and have a better balance on business and my personal life. Sometimes that can be a blurred line when you’re an entrepreneur. I recently hosted a wellness event for women. Creating the event and having a safe space to share experiences among several women was like a breath of fresh air. Even though I educated the guests on different topics surrounding womanhood, I was able to gain insight from the guests, who were women just like me (wives, mothers, professionals), on navigating these different spaces in our lives. Putting on that event gave me the push I needed to confidently reemerge into business.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The absolute best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth. With all of the many different platforms for marketing, good old fashioned word of mouth has been vital for me. The work I do is centered around a very vulnerable time and space in a person’s life. People want to feel protected and well cared for. When I provide top notch care, education and service to my clients, they can vouch for me every time when sharing their birth story and experience. And they do! All of the people who share my posts on social media, spread the word about me in conversations centered around birth, and my colleagues and fellow birth workers who may refer me to potential clients, I am grateful for it all. Apart from word of mouth, social media has been a good help. I’m just not an influencer type of social media account so sometimes that can get lost in all of the many accounts that are more aesthetic. But I do still gain clients on social media. In my field, community building is extremely important as well! That goes for both being present and involved with the people in the community and building a community with fellow birth workers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://msha.ke/byrthperinatalservices/
• Instagram: @mekthedoula
• Facebook: Mek The Doula
• Linkedin: Jazamek Rollerson
• Other: Tik Tok: @mekthedoula Email: [email protected]