Birth Braid
The Birth Braid is currently 18 feet long and consists of 12 individual braids
our braids come from 6 different states in the US
Each braid is made by a person in, just coming out of, or reflecting on their postpartum time. We are postpartum people of different genders, not all of our pregnancies ended with us bringing home babies. The postpartum time begins when a pregnancy ends, and is as long as the person experiencing it says it is.
This braid represents a collective picture of our individual experiences, and the strength we build by sharing our postpartum experiences with one another.
Each braid is a portrait of its maker in a formative moment.
Braid makers also share stories, thoughts, reflections of the postpartum time
and helpful perinatal resources
This project is always open to new participants
The sculpture will never be for sale, and any money accrued from its showing will always be donated to perinatal support organizations. Wherever the piece is shown, it will be accompanied by the info to donate to at least one local perinatal support org.
Our braids
List of Contributors
Holly Popielarz New Bedford, MA 2016, Octavia Rodney Winchester VA 2016, Sara Black Chicago, IL 2016, Rosanne Somerson Westport, MA 2016, Cara Smith Philadelphia PA 2016, Isabel Mattia Little Compton, RI 2022, Glenn Diana Sherman, Little Compton, RI, 2022, Samantha Snow, Little Compton, RI 2022, Michele Christle, Frankfort ME, 2022, Anonymous, RI 2022. Kaeli Sutton, Bristol RI 2022. Olanda Estrada-Dos Santos, Providence, RI. 2022. Jess Ford, Los Angeles, CA, 2023.
List of Materials
Control-top pantyhose, hospital issued postpartum underwear, hair, hair ties, muslin swaddle blankets, fabric, thread, fluff, hair, diaper, baby wipe packaging, cloth face masks, curling ribbon, tissue paper, masking tape, pre-pregnancy jeans, pregnancy/postpartum bedsheet, hand-me-down reusable diaper, cotton string from the bathrobe I wore when I was in the hospital with Raphael (my first), piece of the house dress I wore in the summer when I was pregnant and early postpartum with Lev (my second), piece of my childhood blanket (Blankie) that stayed with me until college, breast pump tubing, Dad’s chemotherapy blanket, hair; cut for donation, baby shirt of mine batiked by my mom and worn by me and my baby, maternity mumu worn going into labor, baby/child’s clothing from his dad/dad’s family in Senegal, and symbolic urine, sweat, blood and tears of pain and joy, cotton textile, grommets, hospital issued wristband, an old burp cloth from the early days of postpartum (cleaned), a top my son has grown out of, a top I've grown out of, and a strip of painted canvas.……
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