As a Filipina~American~Micronesian grandmother midwife I am blessed to kneel at the feet of birthing women, the StarGate between Earth and the Land of Souls. 

Every 11 seconds a pregnant woman or newborn dies somewhere on Earth. More than 800 mothers and 7,000 babies die each day. Most of these lives are lost due to preventable or treatable causes. Solutions include eradicating disparities in food security and making skilled midwives and doulas available to every MotherBaby.  

In answer to the need, with the help of many brave BirthKeepers, I founded Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation) in Indonesia, and Wadah Philippines Foundation. We have built Medical Relief and childbirth clinics in Bali, Aceh (post 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami), Lombok, (after devastation of 2018 earthquakes), Papua (where black women suffer terrible disparities in care). In the Philippines we sustain childbirth clinics in Dulag, (in the aftermath of the super Typhoon Haiyan) and Palawan (2nd highest known teen pregnancy rate on Earth).

My passion is culturally appropriate respect and Human Rights in Pregnancy, Childbirth, Postpartum, and healthcare as a human right. My circle of support has been the astonishing Bumi Sehat team, plus my husband, Wil, and eight amazing grown and growing children (ages 48 to 18), I have seven grandchildren, born gently into my hands. 

The seed of the BirthKeeper, was planted by my Filipina Lola (grandmother), who was a Hilot, traditional healer. Lola Vicenta planted an anting-anting, in my heart, so I would be forever ‘irritated’ by injustice. In 2006 the Alexander Langer Foundation honored me. In 2011 I was chosen CNN Hero of the Year. 2012 APPPAH The Association for Pre and Perinatal Psychology and Health gave me the Jeannine Parvati BirthKeeper award. In 2024 I became an Ashoka Fellow. 

In the shadow of the global pandemic, Bumi Sehat has helped provide basic foods to unemployed families. Along with family/friends I have harvested, dried, ground, encapsulated and tinctured heritage anti-viral herbs. Using traditional herbal medicines of my Ancestors illness and suffering has been prevented and people have been cured.

www.bumisehatfoundation.org
www.iburobin.com