About Me
Hi, I’m Malaika!
“Malaika” means Angel in Swahili and many other languages. My parents were born and raised in Panama and Jamaica and met here in New York, after immigrating to the United States. I have an older brother, Emmanuel, and an older sister, Anika. My family was in the military for many years - we traveled and lived all over the country and overseas. My mother had a tubal ligation (a permanent sterilization surgery) in June of 1991, six months after having my older sister. My mother still got pregnant with me and she gave birth to me in Germany, shortly after her tubal ligation failed. I grew up being reminded often that I was determined to be born and that I have a unique purpose to fulfill in the world. After the military, I grew up in the Atlanta area. I graduated from high school at 17 years old and was on my own to go out into the world and figure out my purpose in life.
While I was in college at Vanderbilt University my closest childhood friend, Shanice, and I reconnected. She confided in me that she was pregnant and wanted me to be her son’s Godmother. I was so grateful to be a part of her life again and experience being there for her throughout her pregnancy. When she went into labor, I drove 4 hours from Nashville, TN to Atlanta, GA to be with her in labor. We laughed and cried together. We got into different positions to help her cope with the surges of pain she experienced. She had an epidural placed. Then I sat at her bedside until she started having the urge to push. I didn’t realize at the time, but she was my first of many labor support (doula) clients! She had a beautiful, uncomplicated birth attended by a Midwife. It was one of the most defining experiences of my life up until that point. I traveled back to college determined to go to nursing school and then become a Midwife. I could not see myself doing anything else. My best friend Shanice and my Godson, William, helped me discover my purpose in life.
I completed my first Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development with a minor in sociology at Vanderbilt University. Having completed all of my prerequisites for nursing school, I applied and was accepted into the accelerated entry to practice nursing program at Columbia University School of Nursing. I became a DONA certified childbirth doula in the Fall of 2014. In May 2015, I received my BSN and became a Registered Nurse in the State of New York. I continued on to Columbia’s Nurse-Midwifery program and completed my Masters of Science in Nurse-Midwifery at Columbia University School of Nursing in October, 2016. All of my clinical hours were completed at various NYC private and public hospitals.
I have been working as a Certified Nurse Midwife at NYC Health + Hospitals - Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx since 2016. In May 2021, I decided to also begin working as a Midwife at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan in an effort to gain a new perspective and reach more childbearing women in the communities of Color that I serve. I’ve learned that, if we are intentional, we can combat the racial and ethnic disparities in women’s health from within as well as outside of the industrialized medical system that was never designed to protect us, nor provide us with quality care. In 2022, I accepted a Faculty appointment and started teaching in Columbia University's DNP Nurse-Midwifery Program.
When I was called to do this work I never imagined how much of my life and identity it would consume. However, It is absolutely the purpose I was born to fulfill. After 7+ years of full scope Midwifery practice, including over 600 births, countless prenatal visits and procedures, and working through a global pandemic, I decided that I would also offer my client’s the option of safely giving birth in the comfort of their own homes. Then, Mother Ocean Midwifery was Born !