I am Divine Bailey-Nicholas of Divine Birth Wisdom

 A Master Herbalist supporting pregnant women and new moms with herbs and healing foods from the Southern Tradition.  I’m also a Certified Lactation Counselor and Student Midwife helping families get back to basics with down home remedies and wisdom.   I have a sincere dedication to assist women and families create the pregnancy and postpartum period they want and deserve.  As a mother of four with 1 hospital birth and 3 homebirths under my belt, I understand pregnancy and postpartum can be a happy but also trying time.  Let me help you.

My Education and Training

 2005 Bachelor of Arts & Sciences English Major, Afro-American Studies Minor (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana) 
 2007 Local Louisiana Herbs  (Ronald J. Nicholas, Sr. Retired County Agent, Southern University Ag Center)
 2009 Herbs and Healing in the African Perspective (Dr. Kofi Asare, Traditional Healer of Ghana, West Africa)
 2012 Full Circle Doula (Shafia Monroe, ICTC)
 2013 Certified Lactation Counselor (Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeeding)
 2014 Rebozo (Gena Kirby)
 2015 Women’s Herbal Intensive (Indigenous Remedies)
 2017 Community Doula Training Program (Nicole Deggins, CNM Sista Midwife Productions)
 2018 Midwifery Assistant Skills (Mercy In Action)
 2020  Midwife Apprentice Permit, LSBME

My Expertise

My birth and herb work is rooted in the traditions of the Black Midwife of the American South. My work is connected to healing traditions of West Africa and the African Diaspora. I know the power of rubbing feet, wrapping bellies, cooking the okra, squatting over a pot of herbs and shaping those babies’ heads. 

I have been a presenter on many platforms speaking to the importance of nutrition and stress management in pregnancy and postpartum care.  I was a presenter for the first ever Birth Herstory Teleconference 2013, where my topic was “Foods from the African Diaspora for Healthy Pregnancy & Postpartum.”  In 2012, I founded the non-profit Community Birth Companion to decrease infant and maternal mortality in Opelousas, LA.  I presented at the 2015 SQUATfest in New Orleans where my topic was Root Woman: Herbs and Pregnancy in the Southern Tradition.  That same year I also presented for the Virtual International Day of the Midwife Conference. 

Currently, I teach the online course, Grandma’s Hands: Pregnancy and Postpartum Herbs and Nutrition in the Southern Tradition.  This is a 6 week online course focusing on the herbs and healing modalities used historically by Southern Black midwives. Since 2017, I also teach Grandma’s Hands as an in-person 1 Day, 8 hour intensive workshop in various cities throughout the United States.  I am also a chartering member of the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society, Louisiana Chapter, currently holding the office of Historian.