Mompreneurs: Transforming Maternal Health With Latham Thomas

Latham Thomas is transforming the way we have babies, on a mission to improve maternal health outcomes by providing nurturing and safe birth experiences through doula support. On a new episode of Mompreneurs, the maternal health expert reflects on the experiences that carried her to this point—from working as a birth doula to founding Mama Glow, a celebrated health and education platform that is revolutionizing maternal health care. Thomas sat down with Mompreneurs host and New York Times bestselling author, Nancy Redd, to talk about her empowering work, her own birth journey, and creating the first and only festival for birth workers.

Thomas is a mother, birth worker, professor, author, and founder of Mama Glow. She credits her mother, grandmother, and ancestors with laying the foundation for her to do this important work. From an early age, her mother emphasized “understanding bodily autonomy and the functionality of our bodies … She got us comfortable in our skin.”

As a birth doula, Thomas provided emotional and physical support to women at every stage of childbearing—before, during, and after pregnancy. “That kind of on-call lifestyle actually worked really well for me because it allowed me to have this spontaneity that helped to keep me excited about the work,” she said. The benefits of doula support are well-documented: doulas provide personalized, continuous care that reduces stress and anxiety and improves birth outcomes.

Thomas was inspired by her own ‘blissful’ birth experience.

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A graduate of Columbia University and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Thomas was inspired by her own birth journey (she welcomed her son in 2003) to progress into maternal health advocacy. “My son was definitely the impetus for what would become Mama Glow,” she said.

“Having this blissful birth experience and being like, nobody said it would be this, this was amazing; how come nobody’s talking about this? … Twenty minutes after my son was born, I said, ‘We have to protect this process. We deserve this.’”

By 2017, the year ProPublica and NPR released pivotal in-depth reporting on the Black maternal health crisis in the United States, Thomas—with years of experience as a doula at this stage—was prepared to join the conversation. “That was a point where Black women specifically were like, ‘What can I do?’ This was an entry point for me to come into the marketplace and say, ‘Hey, we’re here.’”

“In 2018, we had our first in-person doula training that I hosted in Brooklyn. Within nine months, we expanded from New York to LA, Miami, and Paris.” From there, one opportunity led to another. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced a global shutdown, Thomas pivoted Mama Glow to an online platform to keep the conversation going. “And that begot other opportunities over time,” she said.

Thomas’ work created pathways for much-needed representation in the maternal health space.

“Even though there were Black doulas and doulas of color, there was no vehicle for them to market themselves like we have now with social media,” said Thomas. “Since 2018 we’ve trained 3,000 doulas—85% have been people of color including Black women, LGBTQ+ folks, and disabled folks—and we’re grateful for that.”

Since the beginning of her journey, her core mission has been to improve maternal health outcomes and “to ensure that people understand the value of doula work and birth work writ large.”

Through Mama Glow and its branches, Thomas and her team are transforming the reproductive health landscape through education, advocacy, and community.

Under her flourishing Mama Glow brand, Thomas—named among Oprah’s Super Soul 100—has built a dynamic ecosystem centering maternal health. Mama Glow’s offerings include the full spectrum of doula services to training and certification programs. In 2023, the maternal health advocate opened The Soft Space, an in-person wellness experience located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Through the Mama Glow Foundation, their 501c3 nonprofit organization, Thomas and her team work to “advance reproductive justice through education, advocacy, and the arts,” also providing scholarships and grants to fund community access to doula services. Over two decades of growth, Thomas has fine-tuned a sustainable nonprofit model to grow her lifestyle brand—securing brand partnerships with The Honey Pot Company, Frida Baby, and more—all while remaining focused on Mama Glow’s impact on mothers, babies, and the broader conversation around maternal health.

Mama Glow is also behind The Doula Expo, dubbed by Good Morning America as “the Coachella for birth workers and families.” This year’s conference, which took place in Brooklyn on October 5-6, featured over 50 speakers including Emmy-winning TV host Tamron Hall, actress Tatyana Ali, and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. The theme: Reimagining Maternal Health. “It’s an active, fun space for people who are interested in this work,” said Thomas. The Doula Expo is also CEU-certified, allowing doctors and nurses to earn continuing education credits for attending the event.

 

Thomas shared wisdom she gathered along her journey as a master birth doula.

“You have to give yourself respite, not just earned leisure.” — “I want for us women, us Black women more specifically, to unhook ourselves from the belief that our value is determined by our productivity. I think a lot of what we hold in terms of our value and self-worth is tied to how much we get done,” Thomas said. “You have to give yourself respite, not just earned leisure. It has to be everyday, pouring in. It’s like putting coins in the bank.”

Doing one thing is enough. — Thomas doesn’t care for multitasking. It’s perfectly okay to focus on one thing at a time, she emphasized. “One thing is enough. Unitasking … not 5,000 things. You’re not AI, you’re not a robot—you’re a human being. Doing one thing to completion feels so amazing.”

Also in this episode of Mompreneurs, Thomas expands on her journey and shares what she is manifesting for the future. Watch this enlightening episode above.

Catch new episodes of ‘Mompreneurs’ every week.

Every week, we celebrate beautiful Black entrepreneurs who are simultaneously amazing business moguls and awesome moms. Join host and New York Times bestselling author Nancy Redd as these mompreneurs share their life stories and inspiring advice. Catch new episodes of Mompreneurs every Monday on MadameNoire’s YouTube channel. Or listen to the podcast online on the Urban One Podcast Network.

 

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